Tioman

Tuesday 20th Arrived Tioman Island about midday. Anchored in the bay as the marina looks a bit difficult to get into ... I tried snorkelling but didn’t like it - The reef is quite beautiful and the fish are all shapes and sizes, but I just can’t do it… everytime I put my face in the water I panic! Maybe if I had my feet on terra firma? Drew put on his scuba gear and went down to check the hull and keel for damage – some cracking of fibreglass where we hit the wreck (?) It’s minor stuff but the boat will need to be hauled out at some point for repair.

Walking to and from the port offices we passed shacks and dwellings that I’m sure will be long gone by the time we return here in our own boat. There’s a lot of tourist development going on, alongside the simplicity of island life. I wonder what we’ll see here on our return?

Massive downpour in the evening– not seen rain like that since Florida and an approaching hurricane! Happily, not a hurricane or cyclone here. Dined well at a small Chinese restaurant. and returned to the boat by dinghy. if the link works, this where we are: http://wikimapia.org/#lat=2.7894248&lon=104.128418&z=7&l=0&m=a&v=2

Wednesday 21st Tioman. Chilled out for the day. rene drew and I went ashore to eat. Drew’s a nice guy and has many an entertaining tale to tell. We're really learning a lot from him. Jon's OK when he's in a good mood, the rest of the time he tends to be monosyllabic and short tempered. Wonder how long we'll put up with it?

Thursday 22nd Tioman. Caught up with some boat jobs early in the day before the heat set in. 5pm we left the anchorage for the passage to Borneo. 4 hour watches for us all -full moon tonight and starry skies, lots of traffic around...