BORNEO – LABUAN TO KUDAT

8 August 2024

Finally, after many days of waiting the sail I had been expecting turned up at the courier’s office.  Why the courier in Malaysia is so slow I have no idea, they don’t seem to understand that a courier should be a fast service – especially at the price they charge.  The waiting at Labuan has been so stressful,  If the anchorage had been safe and secure I would be in a completely different state of mind.  Anyway, eager to remove myself from this place I bought a few last-minute fresh food items and without regret sailed out from Labuan.  Both Truce and I happy to be back in clean waters and heading northwards up the coast.

Our next destination was Kudat around the top of Borneo.  I was looking forward to this part of the trip as there seemed to be some decent anchorages and a more interesting coastline.  Along the way there was an opportunity to stop at Kota Kinabulu, a large city with a good marina.

The wind went light as usual, but we managed with a combination of sail and motor to cover forty three miles up to Tiga Island where we anchored for the night.  The night was peaceful with a slight roll as the ever-present low NW swell came into the anchorage.

The next day started with a soft easterly breeze and soon we had full sail on, making good progress.  This wonderful state lasted for about thirty minutes, then the wind died.  We ghosted along northward making slow progress towards Kota Kinabulu.  By midday it was stifling hot on board, I put the engine on to move us through the hot, sticky air.  We alternated between motoring and ghosting along for the rest of the afternoon. 

Late afternoon I pulled in behind a small island and anchored about ten miles south of Kota Kinabulu.  Very slow going today, only twenty-one miles covered.  The coastline is getting more interesting now with high land and mountains visible in the distance.  The night at anchor was peaceful with a slight roll.  All night there was the unpleasant smell of burning tyres coming from the shore. 

The next morning I was away at first light, happy to get away from the burning tyre smell and thinking of the stop at Kota Kinabulu.  There was no wind today, we motored up to Kota Kinabulu and through the dredged channel in the outlaying reef.  The water was extremely polluted, a nasty soup of plastic and garbage.  The city looked huge with an imposing skyline.  The marina appeared to be quite full, I saw a couple of superyachts inside.  At this time I decided not to stop.  The thought of dealing with a marina, with its rules, regulations and paperwork then the process of checking in with customs, immigration and the harbour master – it all seemed too daunting.  Then having to do the process again when departing became a challenge I could do without. I could not face the bureaucracy.  I motored past the town and was soon heading north, the sea was still flat calm.  I must admit to glancing back a few times and pondering a run ashore.

Later in the afternoon I anchored off the small village of Kampong Ambong.  A beautiful peaceful anchorage with good holding on a mud bottom and quite sheltered.  Turtles were swimming around the boat with birdsong from the shore.  This was far better than a marina in the city.  Although a run ashore and a few beers in KK would have been nice. 

This anchorage turned out to be the first sheltered anchorage with good holding that I had since departing Indonesia.  A relaxing place to be after the stress of Labuan, I stayed for three nights at this anchorage.  The walks ashore were great and all the people I met were very friendly.  As usual when walking a lot of people in cars stop and offer a lift – thank you for the offer but I am going for a walk – they drive off with a puzzled look, why would anyone walk when they can ride?  Birdsong, verdant jungle vegetation, butterflies and millions of creepy crawlies, I enjoyed my walks.

My next stop was Usukan Cove, just a few miles around the corner from Kampong Ambong.  This was a lovely anchorage off a nice clean beach, wonderful to get away from the pollution further south. On the beach there are two restaurants, the more expensive one even having the luxury of air conditioning.

Whilst at Usukan cove I mentioned to one of the girls in the restaurant that I wanted to go into the local village and get some fresh provisions.  She said that the following day she was going into town and I could ride along.  Great, a lift into the local village so I thought.  The next day I turned up and off we went in her little car, she was a good driver but didn’t have the formal qualification of a licence, she said it didn’t matter as she only drove locally.  The trip into town turned out to be a full-blown family shopping trip.  Along the way we picked up and dropped off sisters, mothers, cousins and a whole tribe of assorted children.  All good fun although conversation was a bit limited.  The children were at first gobsmacked and then relished the presence of a white man the car, such a novelty.  It turned out that we went to the town of Kota Belud and not the local village.  The shops and local market here were fantastic.  If I had known in advance I could have done a full restock, the variety of produce an goods on sale were first class.  My day out was very interesting and enjoyable.  Thank you very much to the kind people who looked after me. 

Time to move on again, we headed north and had a mixed bag of a day, rain, squalls, lightening and calm periods.  There was no rest, constant sail adjustments and engine off and on in the calms. After a run of fifty-one miles we anchored in Kelambu Bay.  This is a stunning anchorage with a beautiful beach and some cafes ashore.  Unfortunately, the weather was unsettled and a swell was coming into the bay making life uncomfortable.  As much as I wanted to go ashore, I could not leave Truce unattended in those conditions on a lee shore.  The following day the weather was still unsettled, I decided to spend another day at anchor and let the weather pass over.

The following day the weather was calm again, we had to motor around the tip of Borneo and down to the port of Kudat on the eastern coast.  Just before noon we dropped anchor off the town of kudat. 

This is my last stop in Malaysia, I will clear out here for the Philippines.  Kudat turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for me.  I don’t know what I was expecting but it just seemed a bit grotty and worn out.  The shops didn’t seem to have the items I was shopping for, a bit frustrating.  Maybe I was not in the best of spirits, I had picked up the flu of something, most likely from the little germ carriers I shared the car with in Usukan cove.  Anyway, having the flu in the tropics is no fun.

The check out formalities in Kudat were straightforward and professional.  All the formalities in Malaysia were good, just as well because you get to do it in every port.  So, we are now checked out of Malaysia and ready to head up to Palawan in the Philippines.

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