When we left Royal Langkawi Yacht Club Marina there was a bit of a breeze so we took the opportunity to do a few sail drills, tacking (turning the boat so that the wind comes onto the other side of the boat and the sails have to move across) to see if we could get the 
foresail (the sail at the front) to go through the gap between it and the staysail.  The answer was no, at least not in the light wind we had, so we had to roll it away and roll it out on the other side.  This is a common situation on a cutter rigged boat-we will see what happens with a bit more wind.  We anchored off the town for the night to do some provisioning then had a slow drift back down to Pulau Singa Besar as we were thinking of going up the West Coast to Telaga.

Clear as mud?

Where we went this time out:  Start @Royal Langkawi YC, 1. Kuah town anchorage, 2. Pulau Singa Besar, 3. Penarak Bay, 4. Hole in the Wall, Finish, Rebak Marina at Pulau Rebak Besar

There had been signs up around Langkawi about LIMA (Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace show) for months, and now it arrived.  The waters around Pulau Singa Besar were full of warships from several different countries and there were daily air displays over the South and West Coasts.  In search of some peace we headed back up past Kuah (stopping to fill up with diesel at the fuel barge off the town) then carried on round the east and north of the island.  We spent one night at Penarak Bay which was just the other side of the island from our normal anchorage in Kuah then continued to Hole in the Wall, an anchorage we had been wanting to try.
Hole in the Wall is a river with a narrow entrance within the Kilim National Park, an area of Kaast rock formations and mangroves.  It’s a popular tourist spot so is busy with boats and jet skis during the day, but quiet at night.  We had the place to ourselves the first night and it was so peaceful with just a few local fishermen and the eagles on the cliffs.  The next day we took our dinghy round the mangroves trying, unsuccessfully, to find the route a group of canoeists had taken, then went up the river for lunch at a floating restaurant.  The fish, fresh from the farm, was tasty in two different sauces but it was the most expensive meal we have had anywhere in Malaysia!

Heading for the Hole in the Wall

Just to be sure you know where you are

Inside, we anchored mid-river

Dinghy trip through the mangroves

The floating restaurant underneath the Kaast cliffs

Lunch being caught.

Peaceful anchorage once the Jet Skis and motorboats go home

Internet was not good in the anchorage, but we picked up a couple of messages from the broker: she had a viewing coming up on Serenity and, better still, she had an offer from the last people to view. Feeling the need to be in contact and wanting to check Serenity before the viewing we reluctantly left Hole in the Wall after just 2 nights.  We tried to sail on the light wind but it was flukey where it came over the hills, so we resorted to the motor.  The batteries were low after a couple of cloudy days so motoring would help recharge.  The next morning the batteries were even lower, so we paid more attention when the engine was on and realised we weren’t getting any charge from the engine through the alternator.  We bought forward our arrival in Rebak Marina so we could plug into shore power and charge up.  The next day Sarah cleaned Serenity while Phil investigated and found the loose wire.
After 3 nights we had done everything we needed in the Marina so paid our bill and cast off.  Meikyo reversed out of her berth fine, but when put into forward we had no drive. Thinking to reverse back into the berth we put her in astern.  Now we had lost drive in reverse as well.  The wind was blowing in through the marina entrance and pushing us towards the pontoons and we were heading towards probably the most expensive boat around.  We launched the dinghy from the davits (something we couldn’t have done on Serenity) and got it tied on ready to tow Meikyo, but the outboard failed.  A few strong words flew around as we got ready to fend ourselves off the moored boats but luckily people on a neighbouring boat had seen what was happening and came to our rescue in their dinghy, securing us alongside another boat until the Marina staff came and moved us into a berth where we could stay.  On investigation Phil found that the propeller shaft had become detached from the gearbox and had actually moved backwards about 8 inches.  Just another day in life on Meikyo!
As a result, we stayed in Rebak over a week while Phil moved the shaft back into place and reattached it.  Meanwhile Sarah did some adjustments to the mainsail cover so that it can be done up over the stiffer new sail, replacing the failing zipper at the same time.
We have been negotiating with the people who made the offer on Serenity and the sale is now complete apart from the final paperwork.  We have to get the Bill of Sale notarised but the only person in Langkawi qualified to do that is away until July,  Her new owners are a group of four young Kiwi friends, and we understand that Serenity’s first adventure with them will be to take them surfing on Sumatra.  We are sure she will look after them as well as she did us.