Arriving
back in Kudat on the north tip of Borneo felt like coming home. I
had a real sense of joy to see the familiar coastline and know we
were back in Malaysia. It's strange how one place can feel so
comfortable, almost like home.
Nine
months ago we came to Kudat for the first time on the Sail East
Malaysia rally and yesterday afternoon we crossed our tracks to
complete a 4,000nm loop which has taken us to the 3Ps, Papua, Palau
and Philippines. It's a very friendly town, not big and with a strong Chinese community.
One
change on this visit to Kudat is where we anchored. Last July it was
the SW monsoon and The Pond, a man made harbour with marina was good
protection and easy access ashore using the police pontoon. Now it's
the NE monsoon blowing 15 to 20 knots into the mouth of the Pond and
the big bay in front of the town offers the best protection. It
really is good in front of town; lots of space in 8m depth, excellent
holding and shelter from NE, no swell, very little boat traffic and
we can use the police dock for our dinghy. We later learned the
pontoon in the pond was no longer available to use and the marina was
charging RM300 (£56) per month to use their dock.
 |
| view of Kudat from Police dock |
We
love the simplicity of clearing in to Malaysia; it's straightforward,
fast and fee and 'gift' free.
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