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.... need we say more? Sunset... Sean - doing it tough

The SW Monsoon is yet to blow itself through.  Wet, wet, wet!  And when the sun comes out, it is hot, hot hot.  We are in at Ao Po Grand Marina getting the water maker repaired, picking up the Canadian crew, completing lots of small maintenance jobs and doing final provisioning. A run up the mast, heads-down into lots of hot, confined spaces, new sails put up then taken down again, pounds lost by the litre... Craig has left us, unsupervised, in charge of his yacht.  And so our adventure truly begins. Looking down from the top of the mast Hanging out with the cool kids - yes, we are almost 50 feet long! Tropical downpour - at least the deck is clean! Enjoying Thai culture to the max

SY Popeye 1 - with a very trusting owner... So, this beautiful 47 foot tub of plastic is to be our home for the next 10 months across two hemispheres, two continents and five countries.  Or perhaps I should be more nautical - over six seas (Andaman, South China, Java, Banda, Arafura and the Coral) and through two straits (Malacca and Torres) - a distance of just under 4000 nautical miles (7235 km).  Three cabins, two heads, a watermaker, 50 pounds of propane, 430 litres of diesel for our backup mode of propulsion (an 85 hp diesel 'iron sail') - what more could one want? The first stage is race deliveries.  We are again racing the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi in Malaysia starting on 18 November.  Our first task is to deliver Popeye from Phuket, all prepped and ready, in time for the Regatta.  We are also members of the race crew!  Following the Raja Muda , Popeye needs to be delivered to Kata Beach of the SW ...

Marina Bay from Level 33 Brewery Last time I was in Singapore was in the late 1990s.  My memories are of a grimier, busier, dirtier Asian city.  Today, it is stunning and green and clean and quiet.  The country is now 11% larger than it was back then with amazing developments and parklands on land that did not exist 20 years ago. Staying at Marina at Keppel Bay with Julie and Mark provided accommodation, tour guides and activity directors - the full package!  With Mark off at work and Sean delayed in Calgary, Julie set off to show me Singapore. We leapt up a the crack of dawn to go walking with her walking group.  A wonderful gaggle of expat wives from all over with great stories and tales of adventures had to be told.  Always the expat, never the wife, it was great fun to have a taste of the other side.  We drank beers from the brewery on the 33rd floor overlooking Marina Bay, explored Chinatown, fancy shopping malls and passed a few hours in ...