SY Sophia: Across the Strait of Malacca

Well, if you're following us on facebook, you'd know it's old news that we sailed around Singapore (the around will be explained in a photo below). We actually did that over a week ago. Since then we have been in Danga Bay. It's a big marina in Johor Bahru which is in Malaysia, but just across from Singapore. We could literally see Singapore from the marina.

Phil has, again, fixed our engine rattle. The cheap stern tube that we got in Kota Kinabalu was totally worn out, so we're glad we got a new one via Phil's parents' visit to Singapore back in June. The New Zealand version was eight times more expensive (NZ$ 280) but hopefully it also will last at least eight times longer than the cheap one! We had hoped to only spend a few days in Danga bay, but an unexpected holiday and weekend meant we spent over one week in the marina.

While Phil was working on the engine, I popped over to Singapore for at quick visit, as exciting news had happened since we left: Theresa had a baby boy. He was very tiny and very cute and is lucky to have two sisters to adore him.

We are now on our way north, hopefully to as far as Langkawi. I'm flying home to Denmark for Christmas on the 12th December and Phil follows me a week later. It will be my first Xmas in Denmark in eight years, I have totally gotten used to warm Christmases with pool time and strawberries (NZ), but I'm really looking forward to the real deal (cold!!!) and to show Phil all our traditions, but mostly to seeing my nephews and niece.

This picture explains the sailing aorund Singapore. We started at the beginning of the red line in Malaysia at the last possible anchorage and sailed almost right around Singapore. Unfornatley because of the bridge, you can't sail the shorter way. It's approximatley 50 miles, so a fairly long day, although it is possible to anchor earlier.