Haganes – Singapore  26^th August 2011.

 

Funny old week.

 

It would appear Haganes is loath to leave these waters.

 

By now we should be 4 days out of Singapore and rounding the northern tip of Borneo, and we would be if the owners, when they applied for Panamanian registration had written in the “vessel type” box – “Private Yacht” instead of “Research Ship”.  As a result I have instead been spending the week in consultation and negotiation with 2 lawyers from separate companies in Panama, two owners in Florida, the Technical Director of Shipping at the Panama Embassy in Singapore and a shipping registration and survey company in Singapore seemingly full of people named Mathew.

 

I created a line of “falling dominoes” when I went to clear out on Monday morning. The Singapore Customs picked up on the vessel type on the registration papers as being “Research Ship” and deemed it to be a commercial vessel on that basis. They said being a commercial vessel I had to provide a “Loading Certificate” and a “Safety Equipment Certificate” to get clearance. They said my argument that she was a private vessel would only be accepted if I got authorisation from the Panama Embassy to that effect.

 

Mr Fernandez (Senor Director Marine Technical Department – Panama Embassy) during my appointment the following day however, hooked onto the fact that she was over 27 metres in length (she’s 27.43), and it was that which meant she was indeed required to have a Loading Cert etc. No problem though, he would take me to the Surveyors in another part of town, who could issue these.

 

The surveyors aid it was easily fixed, all I had to provide was the “Tonnage Certificate”, which being a non commercial vessel, we don’t have. To get a tonnage certificate of course means the boat has to be measured and surveyed. Nothing that an inordinate amount of time and money wont fix.

 

If this isn’t messy enough on it’s own, the Panamanian Lawyer representing the company is convinced they are erroneous in their demands and every time he is asked to provide a document responds questioning the validity of the request instead of sending the bloody document which, because of the 12 hour time difference, costs us another 24hrs.

 

Hopefully tomorrow will bring a positive result and we’ll be out of here like a dog shot in the proverbials!

 

Meantime my carefully rigged fishing lures remain hanging in the stern sheets instead of swimming through tropical waters in search of Mahi Mahi, Tuna and Wahoo, and our wasabi waits expectantly in the galley!

 

 

……………………//……………………..

 

 

 

 

Prior to all this drama we had to wait a couple of weeks in Puteri Harbour Marina, Malaysia for the papers to come through. The time was spent on provisioning and boat preparation so it was only the last week (of 3 that I was there) that we were waiting around. Gelang Patah where the following photos were taken, is about 15 minutes drive from the marina in our flash rental car. There aren’t any supermarkets or malls there but the night life’s huge. Well when I say huge…there’s the Tuesday ‘Night Market’, which starts at 5.30 and finishes at 9pm, and then there’s…well, nothing else really.

 

John, Carol, Enrico and Joel in an upscale Gelang Patah restaurant.

 

Piles of various grades of Ikan Billis, like sun dried white bait. These really are nice in stir-fry veg or chicken, soups, or fried by themselves as a snack.  In the foreground, chillies so hot you could run a power station on them.

 

 

Carol stocks up on fresh, the best thing in the market.

 

 

Fish stall at the Tuesday night market containing surprisingly fresh looking fish. Amazing how some Filipinos can turn a nice looking fish into something quite inedible.

 

 

Malaysian takeaways – even if you get over the fact that the fish look like road kill, they’re so spicy you need to have an asbestos throat to eat them. Thanks, no I just ate.

 

 

 

Care for some barbequed  chicken wings? I know, they look harmless enough, but he’s marinating them in some goo that’s formulated to incapacitate your taste buds for a week, and I actually like spicy food.

 

With provisioning complete (120kg rice, 100kg flour etc.) a mission with the nearest super market a 25km away, I decided that a last sea trial to make sure water maker, nav. systems and other systems were working ok should take us to Singapore. We could pick up the funds the company was sending over, get a couple of provisions we couldn’t get in Malaysia, and the crew could have a couple of days R&R in the vibrant environment that is Singapore……………Well I wish I could get to have another go at that decision!

 

We cleared out on Wednesday evening had drinks for the locals on the dock, well, I had drinks for the locals on the dock. Apart from the fact that none of my crew drink, it’s Ramadan so none of the locals drink either. In fact I’m not sure if they even do when it’s not Ramadan – funny mob.

 

Carol the cook, Barry a just retired Royal Marine with some interesting stories to tell about Afghanistan and Yugoslavia, Francoise solo Herishoff owner who’s lived here 100 years, and John at the dock party.

 

Barry’s daughter Phillipa and wife Elaine. They are now cruising on their recently bought Halberg Rassey, and another gentleman who’s name I forget but has been living on a boat here for 100 years with his wife also pictured.

 

Steve and Sue – ex Kiwis of Tara II likely to be here another 100 years. And John.

 

The marina staff, really ripping into it!

Good people though, very friendly and helpful and I definitely recommend Puteri Harbour if you need somewhere over here to leave your boat a while.

 

And so we wait in One Degree 15 Marina in Singapore. As I write this we’d have been 4 days out if it wasn’t for this bureaucratic hefferlump trap. The irony is that in 1990 I snuck out of here, using guile and cunning under cover of darkness, with Nero. This time we’re legal and stuck.

 

So just a couple of shots of the surroundings.

 

From this…

 

to this…. The Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino, where my niece Caroline’s Husband, Mike is an F & B manager.

 

Mike on the sticky out bit up the top.

 

The infinity pool at the top. And yes, apart from a small ledge which doesn’t look big enough to walk around, it is straight down.

 

More anchored ships. Out marina’s off to the right of picture.

 

Well I’ve said it before, but I hope the next update I post will be written from an wheel house ever moving with an undulating ocean swell,  nothing to see but an empty horizon, the occasional whale, blowing in the distance, the sun to challenge my skills with sextant and a Filipino accented cry of “Fish on the line!!” While I’m dreaming, perhaps even another Filipino accent enquiring “Would you like a cold beer, Cap.?” After all, I’ve catered for 2 cans a day for every drinker aboard.