Singapore
Fleck
Sun 26 Sep 2010 09:26
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Raffles Marina, Singapore
Position; 01:20.55N 103:38.00E
Sunday Sepember 26th
Time on the run again, I suppose that's how David
Milliband must feel, too. I'm well up to date with all things British, as one of
the perks of staying at Raffles Marina is a 'free' morning newspaper, 'The
Straits Times' delivered to your boat each morning. I really have a fascination
for other peoples' newspapers, and still hanker after the Sydney Herald. The
Straits Times seems to be very much in the Government's pocket, but does give a
good view of local issues, even if it tells you what to think about them. There
are ongoing tensions between here and Malaysia to the North and Indonesia to the
South, and the current spat between China and Japan is big news too. Globally
there is quite a lot of interest in the USA, and the English Priemier Football
league! Speaking of which, I see that B'ham scrambled to yet another goalless
draw yesterday, and Worcester are going to struggle all season to get back into
the Rugby premiership.
Difficult to believe that I've been here nearly a
week: an absorbing crossing from Batam Island last Monday, as these really are the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
Having checked out of Indonesia, you are obliged to leave at once, so I was
relieved to find good visibility in the Strait, and at dawn, no sign of
thunderstorms. There is a traffic separation zone, and small boats are required by law to cross these at right angles
to the big ships. We minows have absolutley no rights of way at all. When it
looked clear I darted behind the stern of two ships heading east, but when I got
to the imaginary central reservation there was a supertanker coming from the
opposite direction. The huge size of these things makes it very difficult (for
me!) to judge their speed. I was about to charge across in front of
it when I suddenly realised that I would never make it, so I stopped in my
tracks to let him pass, only to find a whole rag bag of shipping in his
wake. Whatever, we made it safely accross, and no one felt the need to hail me
with a series of long horn blasts: one of the Collision Regulation
messages which would politely translate as 'Would you be so
kind as to get out of my way?' Now we were in the Port of Singapore, bustling
with ships of all shapes and sizes. My route was prepared the night before, and
fed to the chart plotter, I also had some paper charts of the Straits from
Australia: very costly, but useful, as you can see the whole picture at a
glance, much better for these congested areas than the 'plotter's 5inch screen
and zoom buttons. All went well, we cut through several small ship channels, and
across big ship anchorages, weaving under the bows and sterns of container ships
and bulk carriers of all descriptions. We passed Sentosa Island where Hannah
and I spent an afternoon on the beach during our stopover her four
months ago. I do remember that day, wondering how clean the water might be (not
very) and being amazed by the number of anchored ships just off shore. I hadn't
imagined that I would soon be threading my way between them. Further to the West
they are solving their population density problem by creating more land: huge
amounts of it. None of it shows on my electronic charts, but the Australian
charts were updated with purple ink, and proved their worth again, So, by the
simple expedient of staying on the sea we safely crept round the western tip of
Singapore Island, and reached Raffles Marina on the North West Coast, in the
early afternoon.
Its a Country Club for the locals, membership is
very expensive, and visiting yachties, like me, are in the minority. We feel
rather out of place in the loos, where the attendant counts his complimentary
little bottles of shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner very assiduously as we
enter and leave. Electric sliding doors in several areas, but not the loos
themselves: you can still lock yourself in there! There is a posh eating place
which I cannot afford, but a bistro too which is OK. and just a little cheaper
than UK prices. We are miles from downtown, and our local shops are at Boon Lay.
a residential area, full of concrete high rise like Berlin, but much much
cleaner. The completely graffiti free MRT underground terminates here, and
passengers transfer to the local bus network to get to their homes. The system
is amazing. you wait in air conditioned comfort, and when the bus arrives a
glass door slides open and you board the bus; like walking onto an aeroplane,
you hardly notice the join! I have a Singapore Oyster card, which works on
the trains and the buses. The centre of Boon Lay is this transport hub, over
which is a huge shopping mall: like Merry Hill, or Touchwood! There are a huge
number of eating places as well, and of course a multiplex. it really does
seem to be the case that Singaporeans live to eat and shop. The roads are modern
motorway standard, and not so many cars, as vehicle ownership is controlled by a
curious flexible taxation which gets steeper as demand for cars rises. An
incredible contrast to Indonesia.
The Big Thing is the Singapore Grand Prix. As
it's a street race there is a huge impact on the city, but this seems to be very
welcome. The attitude is extraordinarliy upbeat: 'Singapore's race is the jewel
in the Crown of Formula One', 'the only night race in the Calender',
etc. Huge coverage in the press and TV, VIPs
like drivers, Richard Branson etc are followed everywhere, and the various
sponsors get huge coverage. All the tickets (£500 for a grandstand seat) are
sold out, and there are huge pop concerts inside the track area, each night of
the practice sessions.
The race is tonight, and I shall watch it on the
big screen that has been erected here on the lawn: the pundits fear rain, but
the marina clearly knows best!
I have been very busy indeed with maintainence
tasks: the engine needed a lot of love and care after the marathon Bali trip,
and the sails have also had a hard time, all that reefing and gybing up the
Australian coast, and then the slatting and chaffing in the lighter
Indonesian breezes. Plus the water maker, loose gas bottles, you name it!! Work
is quite difficult in the heat: early morning and evening are not so bad, but
midday is best spent in this air conditioned lounge, writing my
blog!
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