Friday 24 April Kudat to Labuan

Leaving Kudat on Monday morning we've day hopped to Palau Labuan, a duty free island 17 miles off the Borneo coast and Brunei.

stranded dive boat

 Our passage took us around the most northerly tip of Borneo and as conditions were very calm we took the shorter inside route between the big island (3^rd biggest in the world) and a small island with lighthouse. As we were coming around a small dive boat was waving at us frantically. Were we close to their divers in the water? Was there a hazard ahead of us? Or did they need our help? With the binoculars I saw five men in wet suits, waving their orange surface marker buoys. Deciding it was our help we slowly approached, they were anchored indicating shallow water, and hanging over the bow I was able to talk to them. They'd run out of petrol. We could have towed them close to the resort but would have needed to leave them offshore as the charts showed water too shallow for us.

Mt Kinabalu

fishing boat in KK

Instead I got a phone number from one of the divers and called his wife at the resort to report the situation, possibly they could send out one of their other boats but as we were standing we hailed a passing local fishing boat which was able to throw the dive boat a line and take them to the beach.

Our stop that night was a quiet inlet. There was no wind and no swell, just peaceful. Next night it was a bigger bay and still no wind or swell.

Sutera marina, KK

On our way to Kota Kinabalu there was a clear early morning view of Mount Kinabalu. In KK we anchored over night in front of Sutera marina, one of the least welcoming marinas we've encountered. Dinghies are forbidden and attract the attention of every security guard. David dropped me on the dock used by day boats and I popped into the city for a quick shop before David did another dash in to the harbour to scoop me off the same dock. We left early next day.

sunset at anchor

labuan oil industry support fleet

There was one more anchorage, on the west coast of Pulau Tiga, before we did the short hop in to Labuan and one of the friendliest marinas in Borneo.  In fact the last time we were in a marina was here in Kudat last June.  I'd forgotten how many oil industry support vessels are permanently anchored here - must be over 100, all ready and waiting to supply the nearby oil wells.