Rescue at sea!

A few years ago I realised that I had somehow got into the habit of saying no to lots of things, such as invites from friends to go to the cinema and concerts even offers of help when I was clearly overloaded with work, home commitments etc etc. I missed out on lots of things so I decided to try and change and made my new years resolution to say YES to opportunities when they presented themselves (unless they were illegal, unhealthy or downright dangerous) hence we ended up saying yes to moving to Singapore in February 2014 and on the whole it's been a great decision with lots of new and exciting opportunities coming my way.

Just over 10 days ago another opportunity was given to me which I very nearly said no to because

 a) there was lots going on both in Singapore and in the UK 

b)I was apprehensive about if I could cope with what was to happen and 

c) I've been away a lot recently and 

d) it was something that I knew Papa T would love to do but due to work commitments he didn't have the time to so I felt guilty that I could go but not him. 

Anyway I said yes and I'm glad I did as it was quite an adventure and below tells the story.

Friends whom we have met here sailed their yacht from the UK to Singapore. SH and KH left the UK several years ago and have stopped off at many places along the way, they've crossed the Atlantic, sailed around the Caribbean, through the Panama canal then crossed to Tonga, Fiji and then Indonesia before arriving in Singapore, so they are pretty expert sailors. 

They've made friends wherever they've been particularly with other fellow round the world sailors. Whilst in the Caribbean they met JM and SM who have also been sailing around the world in their 30ft yacht Chevaldy. JM and SM recently found themselves in difficulty with a broken engine just south of the equator somewhere between the island of Borneo and the islands of the Riau Archipelago.  They need to sail to a boat yard in Malaysia where they can get the engine fixed (apparently only 3 boat yards in this part of the world have the right equipment to take the boat out of the water and conduct the repair once the parts have been sourced!) but light winds and adverse tides meant they were making poor progress and after more than 2 weeks of drifting they were getting short on food and water. 

SH and KH volunteered to come to their rescue by sailing their yacht out into the South China Sea to find Chevaldy and tow them to the boat yard. They invited all of the group we regularly sail with to join them as some extra hands would be helpful on the 5-7 day trip, but I was only one to say yes, I am fortunate in not working so had the time to go plus a husband who although he would have loved to go on the trip himself encouraged me to say yes, so early on Saturday morning we arrived at Changi Sailing Club in the pouring rain to join Temptress of Down on her rescue mission!

SH & KH had spent the previous few days buying provisions, servicing the engine and getting their beautiful 47ft boat ready for the trip. I arrived with some spare clothes, waterproofs, a homemade frozen lasagna, snacks and a willingness to help as best I could.

The rain stopped just after we left Changi and shortly after leaving Changi we met the Singapore immigration boat mid channel and were cleared to leave Singapore waters. 

We had a lovely relaxing trip (with George, the autopilot, in control during the easy bits) over to Nongsa Marina on Batam island, Indonesia where we would buy extra fuel. SH worked out the route and waypoints throughout the trip, using a combination of sailing charts for the area, the onboard GPS plotter and a program on her iPad 

 We looked out for all the channel markers, lighthouses and buoys along the way which helped guide us safely around reefs, areas of low water and other dangers 

3 and a half hours later we arrived at Nongsa

 Here we filled up the spare fuel containers and secured them to Temptress, we were now completely ready to head out to the open sea. It was sad to say goodbye to Papa T who had to leave us at this point, in compensation he planned on heading into town for a massage before getting the ferry back to Singapore

We motored on throughout the rest of the day and into the evening having supper before it got dark. It was so peaceful now that we were out of the busy Singapore Straits with only occasional fishing boats and other boats passing by

 SH and KH clearly have a well rehearsed and effective routine whilst at sea and I particularly enjoyed the nightly 'sundowner' drink just before sunset, a tasty G & T. They limit themselves to 1 alcoholic drink as they need to always have their wits about them never know if or when something might happen like a storm blowing up or something going wrong.

 During our sundowner the night watch shift was discussed. Being only an amateur sailor and never having sailed overnight or done a night watch alone I was rather relieved when it was decided that the watches would be done in pairs, whilst the 3rd person slept with a 2hr shift change. This meant we would each get 2 hours sleep then be on watch for the next 4 hours

 KH and I took the 9-11pm shift whilst SH slept, then SH and I were on from 11-1pm whilst KH slept and then KH and SH had 1-3 whilst I slept and so on until daylight. SH brought the life jackets into the cockpit and I was reminded me that at night not to leave the cockpit without putting one on and clipping on to the various safety points, a man overboard situation at night is definitely to be avoided!
 It was a beautiful starry night and the moon gave quite a bit of light but we had to keep a keen eye on the water around us for other boats and navigation lights. To my amateur eye I found it quite hard sometimes to work out if the light I spotted was a ship or small fishing boat, which direction it was going in, how far away it was and how fast it was travelling and most importantly if we were on a collision course with it. 

Gradually I became slightly better at working the lights out but I think it will take many years of practice to get to the level of SH and KH. 

I was pretty tired when it came to 1am and my turn to sleep and was very happy to tuck into my cozy cabin, I didn't bother to read and was soon asleep for a blissful 2 hours

Back on watch with KH between 3 and 5am the moon had gone and we were in total darkness, it was even hard to tell where the horizon met the sea. KH was snoozing in the cockpit whilst I was looking out, I heard a faint engine noise somewhere to the side of us which quickly got louder, KH immediately woke and jumped up and we both could just make out a very fast sleek speed boat flash pass our bows and a few seconds later another mysterious boat whizzed by. Both boats were a dark colour, had no lights on and the people on board were all dressed in black. We agreed that they were certainly up to something dodgy, maybe drug runners, people smugglers who knows?

At 5am I was off duty and headed back to my cabin for 2 more hours sleep but SH woke me at 6.45 with the exciting news that the boat we were looking for had come into view. Out on deck I could just make out the tiny shape of a spinnaker sail in the distance, as if to add to the celebration we had some dolphins swimming in the water around us for a few minutes-magical

We had found this small yacht mid ocean, miles from land and just a few miles north of the equator thanks to the incredible navigation and huge sailing experience of SH and KH, no mean feat.

 (N.B Having not crossed the equator this meant I was still a Pollywog -  a sailor who has not crossed the equator. Once a pollywog has crossed the equator and 'endured' the initiation ceremony surrounding this tradition they are considered to have been inducted into "the mysteries of the deep by Neptune they are thereafter known as a Shellback ") 

 As we came close we could call across to each other, JM and SM seemed in very high spirits and clearly delighted to see us 

 First things first we sent over a bag of much needed and appreciated fresh food

 and then I threw over the towing line which JM attached to the bow of Chevaldy

 Once attached KH slowly moved Temptress forward to take up the slack and the rescued boat started to pull through the water behind. At 07.25 we set off for the journey back 

After a few minutes more line was attached to lengthen the towing line so that Chevaldy and Temptress were at a safe distance from each other. It wasn't long before we smelt the aroma of cooking emanating from Chevaldy, I think this meal must have tasted particularly delicious. 

On and off throughout the day we could hear them singing, which was lovely

We towed all through the day, and into the night. We had one worrying 'incident' when Temptress's engine suddenly slowed, KH jumped into action, disabled the autopilot, put the engine into reverse and then back into forward to attempt to clear whatever was obstructing the propellor. Fortunately this worked and we were able to carry on.

 Throughout the trip I frequently saw debris floating in the sea, including coconuts, branches, logs, polystyrene, plastic bags and other objects, as well as being unsightly and environmentally unfriendly they can be hazardous to sailors and their boats

Just after midnight we were getting close to Nongsa Marina where we would stay for the rest of the night. To get into the marina safely we had to bring Chevaldy alongside Temptress. Although the water was relatively calm and KH slowed the speed down to1 knot it was nerve wracking when the movement of the water caused the 2 boats to rise and fall at different rates and with the big difference in size between the tow boats they were at danger of crashing into each other despite having many fenders tied between both boats. 

But it was fantastic to at last be able to meet JM and SM face to face and over the following 30-50 minutes of towing to the marina hear a few of their amazing exploits at sea including coping with big storms and surfing down 12ft waves, suffering agonising renal stones at sea, equipment breakdowns and being threatened by tow tugs many times their size!

 By 1am we were at last safely in the marina with Temptress tied to a pontoon and Chevaldy snug beside her. It was time to celebrate with quite a few drinks including my introduction to the 'Rusty Nail' concoction (!) and plenty more reminiscing until we finally went to bed about 3am

The following morning SM & JM were up early and had their clothes washing in both the marina washing machines. They spent time cleaning and tidying their boat

but once that was done there was time to rest and relax and enjoy the marina's lovely swimming pool

Before sunset we walked around the marina and to the next door hotel, unfortunately their sunset pier and bar was closed for repair but it was great stretching our legs 

 Back onboard Temptress we had supper together and then the music began. Both SM and JM play instruments and sing beautifully and we were entertained all night with Irish folk songs, ballards and some hilariously raucous songs

The following morning after a good night's sleep, we set off agin for our final destination, Sebana Cove in Malaysia about 20 nautical miles away. We left the marina with Chevaldy alongside but unlike the previous night the two boats travelled calmly side by side into the deep water outside where again Chevaldy was let out onto a long tow line

 Soon after leaving Nongsa we could see the busy shipping lane ahead. The international shipping lane in the Singapore Strait is 105 kilometres long, 16 kms wide strait between the Strait of Malacca in the west and the Karimata Strait in the east. Approximately 2,000 merchant ships traverse these waters on a daily basis making it one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world (n.b Dover strait is the busiest in the world)

Taking any small craft through this congested area requires great expertise and skilful navigation. Crossing with another small boat in tow made it an even trickier task but with care and good judgement we made it safely across

Once through it, we kept out of Singapore waters (towing another craft in Singapore waters is not allowed unless registered to do so) and kept south of the ever growing Pulau Tekong. This island although geographically closer to Malaysia than mainland Singapore is owned by Singapore and is being expanded by land reclamation works, the extend of which can be seen on the chart by a thin border around the island and with a pointy bit pointing down to the bottom right corner

Each time we moved from Singaporean into Indonesian waters and later from Indonesian into Malaysian waters SH would put up the appropriate flags.  

Past Tekong we turned up towards the Santi River where again we could bring Chevaldy alongside for the final five miles to Sebana

Part way along the river there is a huge mast carrying electric wires across the river. KH assured us that Temptress' mast although tall would fit underneath but we all watched carefully as we passed under the wires, which looked pretty close to the top of the mast

 With our last obstacle out the way the clouds darkened and the rain started 

Temptress is perfectly equipped so that even in the pouring rain the helmsman does not get wet, this covering was much appreciated throughout most of our trip by shading us from the hot tropical sun

so we slowed down our speed to wait out the storm which fortunately didn't last long and as the marina came into view the rain stopped

It was only a few more minutes and then we were moored on a pontoon and it felt like at last SM and JM could really breathe a sigh of relief. 

We had a friendly welcome by the marina staff, who know SH and KH well and the situation about the rescued boat was explained. 

 This marina will be Chevaldy, and her owner's home whilst repairs done and plans for her onward travels are made. Clearly this 'incident' has not daunted SM and JM's appetite for exploring the world and they have plans on living aboad her and sailing for many more years yet. I wish them the very best of luck

Temptress, SH and KH really had come to the rescue, we had covered 240nm by the time Temptress was back on her pontoon in Singapore and I feel very fortunate to have played a small part in this mission.
I am in awe of all four of these amazing people I was with on this adventure; SH, KH, SM & JM, their expertise, vast knowledge about navigation, boats and anything to do with sailing, plus their courage, camaraderie and positive attitude as well as that little touch of madness they all share!

If you would like to follow Chevaldy's travels here is their link; https://chevaldy.de.tl/Logbook-Englisch.htm