With new antifoul, a new mizzen sail, some duty
free booze and the cat we began the journey from Langkawi to the east coast of
Peninsular Malaysia where we intend to spend the SW monsoon season.
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| Spectacled gibbons in Langkawi |
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| red roofed buildings of SQ marina, Penang |
Our first leg was a day sail 60 miles to Penang
with good on shore winds in the afternoon to speed us along. We had a booking at Straits Quay marina but
the marina is silting up and we can only enter and leave at high water. (It is scheduled to be dredged in the next
few months.) After anchoring out for the first night we went in on the early
afternoon high pulling the newly antifouled keel through the mud. Knowing we
would be staying only three days we went straight to work and hit Tesco's (a
short walk away) for the first provisioning trip. Next day we went into Georgetown and visited
China House cafe / art gallery on the recommendation of the sailmaker's wife,
Astrid. She was right – a long, long
table of cakes. Lunch became a coffee
and half shares in three different kinds.
I'm not usually a sweet person, but these cakes were divine, not too
sweet and full of flavour. We left
feeling rather full.
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| garden at China House |
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| why limit yourself to only one piece? |
We didn't do a lot at SQM apart from enjoy being
there. It was like a mini break with provisioning.
Leaving Straits Quay on a mid afternoon HW we
motored down the channel with a favourable tide and anchored in a quiet spot
south of the airport. Next day was morning motoring then afternoon sailing with
our overnight stop behind Pulau Talang, then a short day past Pangkor island
and up the Sungai Bernam river to anchor by a Chinese Temple. It was at the
entrance to this river friends anchored overnight and were hit by one of the
fishing boats that constantly stream in and out of the river.
After sunset we were in the cockpit having a drink
before dinner when Polly leaped in from aft with a bird in her mouth. We thought it was a bird – wings,
flapping...brown fur, squeaking. A bat, and not a small one either. Somehow
she'd caught a flying bat about half the size of a fruit bat and now she wanted
to take it inside to kill and eat. Not
what we
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| two small wounds below little finger |
wanted. David reached down to grab cat and bat and he was bitten. The bat was released from cat's mouth and
released into the night to fly away leaving David with two puncture wounds.
Measuring the distance between holes at 8mm and Polly's fang gap we concluded
he'd been batted. I swabbed with
medical alcohol, administered a glass of drinking alcohol and waited for signs
of rabies. Luckily we are still waiting
to see if David is foaming at the mouth and not seeing any fear of water I
conclude he's going to live. Even more
fortunate is Polly has been inoculated for Rabies...perhaps I'll see if David
can have a shot when she goes for her booster next month.
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