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We have had a great time in Singapore, a very sophisticated and cosmopolitan city. We were given a really enjoyable party

by the Keppel Bay Marina which coincided with Chris and Julian’s leaving the next day so it turned into a big leaving party!!

Ensured a good sleep on the plane for those guys!
Mike arrived - a colleague from the 2002 Challenge Business race across the Atlantic. Mike is from Atlanta, Georgia.
We had a drink on top of the three towers of the Sands Hotel and Casino with a viewing deck on top that looks like a spaceship. We enjoyed fantastic views of Singapore although the round of drinks broke the bank!!
I went to change the oil in the engine, a task that has to be done every 200 hours of running so has been done frequently

on this rather windless trip. On starting the engine to warm up the oil I discovered that one of the exhaust hoses had a

hole in it and water and exhaust fumes were spewing out all over the engine!!
The next 2 days were spent hunting for hoses which were not available anywhere in Singapore! In the end David and Mike

found some stainless steel fittings that would work and installed with 60 mm radiator hose which works well. All these sort of things could stop the trip in its tracks so having David and Mike on board who seem to be able to fix virtually anything is a great asset!!
We provisioned the boat in the nearby supermarket and when we came out it was pouring with rain and the taxi line was a

mile long. We thought we would have to wheel our bulging trolleys all the way back in the rain but managed to pick up

what was a very expensive taxi but saved our legs and kept us dry!
We have decided to sail up to Langkawi with only one stop which is a bit adventurous as there many unlit nets fishing

boats floating logs in the Malacca straight as well as the possibility of pirates!! On second thoughts why are we doing this?