Pulau Sembilang to Terengganu

After a great day of sailing without the constant drone of the engine, we arrived in Pulau Sembilang. The sunset was amazing and it sure was a great place to anchor for the night.

The next morning we departed for a 3 day trip, continuing our passage north. The beautiful sunset ended the day’s sail on a high note..

On the second day we also had some good sailing, after which the wind died down by sunset. We motored for an hour, and then the adventure really began...

The engine cut out.. After a few attempts of re-starting the engine and going for a few minutes, it completely stopped working!

We were trying to get to an island to anchor for the night, so we tried to sail with just the Genoa (foresail) out. The wind was non-existent, which was one very frustrating situation. The captain and I alternated two hour shifts each, dodging fishing boats and otherwise just bobbing around.

By the morning time a massive rain cloud passed over us. We sat there without any control of the vessel, in the rain.

Once the system had passed, Mother Nature gave us the greatest gift! The perfect wind to sail at 6 knots to the anchorage.

In the above picture I am sailing on the left. Photo credit: @desreemay

The island was beautiful and we sailed right into the bay, and dropped anchor.

After a much needed swim I passed out for an hour. Once we ate lunch, we started working on the engine. All that was needed was to bleed the fuel line, where air was trapped. The engine roared to life and there was hope that we could get away to the next port, 1.5 hours away.

While we were onroute, the engine cut out twice more. We sailed when we lost the engine and bled the engine again.

Right before we go into the breakwater, the engine died again, this time a problem with the battery. Luckily we managed to react quickly and sailed through the breakwater into the protected waters. It was so hair raising and resiculously scary!

We managed to drop anchor and are safe for now. What a crazy 24 hours it has been! None of this story is fictitious, but it sure feels like being in some horror movie..