Tuesday, 13 May 2014

12th May - Pulau Pisang to Singapore (One15 Marina) - vale Tom Hafey


Tuesday 13th May



At 5.30 last night we arrived at a safe anchorage at Pulau Pisang, where, according to my contemporaneous evidence, we had a ghastly rock & roll time last year in November.  Our lovely Cheryl (hitchhiker!) was with us and it was our first night out of Danga Bay… She must have wondered WHAT she was letting herself in for…



We have been colonised by insects… This morning – a glorious LARGE moth, sheltering on the windows.  And a not-so-adorable cockroach which I thought, at first,* was a mouse – yes it was BIG.  For a cockroach… Pete and I have unfurled weapons and the whole boat is now dotted with small pots of cockroach bait.  I hope this also puts paid to the numerous small, nasty, bitey flying things which have decided to make 2XS their main base!



Pete has been introduced to Tom Sharpe…



I was sad to read (isn’t cyberspace wonderful, though??  So much easily –available information at our fingertips…) that Tom Sharpe died just last year.  No more Wilt, no more Blott…




Today we have come swiftly down the coast into the heavily populated harbour of Singapore.  I took photos, of course, but it is hard to capture the sheer volume of great BIG boats in this concentrated area.



It seemed better to take a photo of the Raymarine screen.  Each little blue triangle represents a very large ship…



Pete navigated us around and through this busy waterway and we arrived at One15 Marina at 1300.  I was faint with heat… Pete said, Oh it’s not THAT hot.  Well it was THAT hot – 40 degrees in the cabin…

There are quite a few marinas in Singapore.  I had rung all of them and…no room at the inn.  Until, last attempt – One15 Marina, on Sentosa Island.  This was very much a forlorn hope – this marina is only six years old and it caters mainly to local people who live in this very ritzy part of the world, and who like to have their big, sparkly yachts at their doorstep.  Miraculously they did have a space, just…we are squeezed up next to a very splendid gleaming cruiser, on E4.



It is all very beautiful and luxurious.  Rudi, the manager, told us, VERY proudly, that One15 has won the prize for being Best Marina in Asia three years running. 

So here we sit…There is a promenade running parallel to our pontoon, busy with skaters, bikers, scooters, walkers.**  And the occasional lovely big luxury dog…



We had to check out of Malaysia and into Singapore to get our Malaysian visas extended.  As a bonus – Ru (Gregg) and Bridget (Walch), long-terms friends of Pete’s from Jericho, will be here late tomorrow so we can have a Singapore/Jericho day with them.

* It was 5.30am…not my brightest time of day…

** Pete thinks everyone here is motorised.  And indeed there are lots of Segways, and motorized bikes, scooters, vehicles.  Who can blame the riders  it is SO hot…I am filled with awe and admiration when I see people jogging, or even pedaling gently along the boardwalk.




Sad news…I am sure the Australian media has a grip on this but I want to express family sadness at the death of Tommy Hafey - a legend in his own time, most definitely!  (Tommy and Maureen’s Number #2 daughter is our much-loved Karen, wife of my brother Chris.)  Tom was a larger-than-life character and was a most influential and loved man in the world of football and beyond.

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