Thursday, 15 July
I woke up at 0630 to a beautiful morning and spent the next 3 hours on the final preparations for departing Singapore. Rob and his daughter Charlotte, Geoff and his daughter Mckenzie, and James and Binoy arrived at 1000 having come to see me off and assist me in getting away from the pontoon on this, my first solo sail.
l motored out of the One˚15 Marina on Sentosa at 1045 and cleared out of Singapore at 1125. I hoisted the mainsail whilst at the Western Immigration Anchorage, and then motored around the islands south of Sentosa, eastwards to the Keppel Fairway. From there, I headed across the traffic lanes through the precautionary area opposite the Keppel Fairway, towards Batu Berhanti. I could not have picked a better time to do so, as somewhat unusually, there was very little traffic in either lane.
Once across the traffic lanes I set an E’ly course for Nongsa Point Marina. As the wind was S’ly force 3, I raised the jib and mizzen and stopped the engine. I was able to balance the sails and did not need to engage the autopilot as the boat sailed herself for the next 2 hours to Nongsa. As she skipped along at just under 4 knots I sat back in the cockpit and, as they say, took time out to smell the roses.
I arrived off Nongsa Point Marina at 1500. Dropping the sails was more challenging than hoisting them notwithstanding the benign weather conditions; and I identified some issues which I will need to address before starting the sail to Lombok in due course. The boat didn’t look too pretty as I motored into the marina where I was directed to anchor, pending clearance for berthing; but once at anchor I set about tidying up the sails and the boat generally.
As the day closed I was grateful for this gentle introduction to solo sailing, and the pleasant, incident-free trip; and to be on my way home at last.
