January 9, 2009 - Pulau Pisang, Malacca Strait, Malaysia

Early this morning we cast off the docklines, cleared out of Singapore and headed North up the Malacca Strait. After two months at the dock, each of our fenders had a small kelp farm growing from its bottom. As the day wore on, and the kelp drying in the sun attracted every fly in the greater Singapore area, the lowly flyswatter proved once again to be one of the most essential pieces of equipment on a cruising boat.

Our friends who did this run North a month ago all motored much of the way. But our delay has worked in our favor, as the Northeast Monsoon is now firmly in effect. We had 15 to 20 knots of breeze all day long. Mata'irea's leeward rail carved through the water as we ducked and weaved through hundreds of the thousands of ships anchored off of Singapore. Sten had a terrific time helming the boat as we kept the speedo pegged over 8 knots.

For our first sail in two months, we not only had great conditions, but we had fantastic snacks. Our friend Naomi left behind the hors d'oeuvres she brought over last night, and every few hours we had another tasty treat to look forward to. Due to the great sailing today, we arrived at Pulau Pisang early enough to drop anchor, restitch the latest failed seam on the dodger, grab a shower and still have a cocktail in hand by 2 bells. It is GOOD to be out cruising again.