Mohammad 's Birthday

Today is December 1. This is the Prophet Mohammad's birthday. Since my  knowledge of Islam is very scant I don't know the proper way to acknowledge this fact. I did not, however, want it to pass unacknowledged. 

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Rinse, No Wash

It has been raining for the past couple of days. Reboot is getting a great rinse. Unfortunately it needs a wash first.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Return of the deluge

I was thinking about returning to Reboot after I finished my beer. No such luck. The deluge has returned. 

Fair winds and following seas  :)

The rise of the useless class

No, not politicians...

https://ideas.ted.com/the-rise-of-the-useless-class/

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Afternoon deluge

The weather pattern has been morning sun and afternoon deluge. With the cyclone off Indonesia we now have higher winds in the mix. A good time to be in a marina.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Interesting point of view. Trump Brings Foreign Policy Back to Earth- The Wall Street Journal.

Trump Brings Foreign Policy Back to Earth https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-brings-foreign-policy-back-to-earth-1511825878

"Mightism"

Def: The selection of the one possible outcome, however improbable, that advances one's political agenda.

Syn: "Couldism"

Example: Passage of tax reform MIGHT (could) end the universe. Women and children hardest hit.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Slow

My 4G 300 baud internet connection is slow this morning 

Fair winds and following seas  :)

3 AM Mystery

Every morning at about 3 AM XO wakes me up and wants to go outside. He takes a turn around the deck, makes cat noises, returns to bed. This morning the wind was up so I stepped of Reboot to adjust the dock lines. Into the local ferral cat morning coffee klatch and gossip. Mystery solved.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Constitutional Republic (Like the USA)

Great article with some interesting twists:

http://www.constitution.org/soclcont.htm

Thunder

The marina provided shore power cable shorted out. The electrician who came to fix it is s ham radio operator. We got to fixing and talking. He told me that Reboot means "thunder" in Malay. Appropriate as we are experiencing a big thunderstorm. 

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Thanksgiving

On this Thanksgiving  (which here was yesterday) let me share some of my faith with you. Not the Judeo-Christian kind, but faith in my fellow Americans. Whatever you think of the slogan #MAGA are there any of us who don't want to make American great for our children and the next generation? Don't we all aspire to do deeds that will give them a better life?

We live in a time as Austrian-American economist Joseph Schumpeter noted of "creative destruction" a.k.a. the "gale." Although his work in the 1950's addressed economics the underlying concept is that one needs to tear down existing institutions in order to build new and better ones. We live in a time where a UW / Dallas Cowboy football player raises $38 million in disaster relief on a go-fund-me page and the old media rather lauds another NFL player who disrespects our flag in a juvenle cry out for attention. When every day there are new revelations of malfeasance and sexual harassment by those in power. When a form of governance that has killed 100 million people and is killing more every day in Venezuela is promoted on college campuses and by a former candidate for President of the United States.  When the objective of the media seems to be to create hysteria in order to get "clicks." Yes, there is a lot of #fakenews. Some is psyops by foreign nations, some is lies to support the "narrative", and some is mentally ill people craving attention. We now are required to think, to analyze, to sort through the muck to get to the gold. You know, the facts.

Don't you want to #draintheswamp? Don't you want all those in government, industry, and the media who have used their position and influence in a self serving way to be exposed and castigated? Isn't that the dream of "of the People, by the People, and for the People?" To prevent the back room deals, the power of K Street, the principle of party over Country?

I am thankful to be an American. And I am thankful that for most of the last 20 years we have had a free and unregulated Internet. I absolutely believe that the desire for Internet regulation is the first step in Government control of the Internet. And that the purpose of that regulation is so the "swamp" can regain control of  the "optics" and the "narrative." The idea that "We the People" could have access to the truth scares them to death.

The world is a mess. The country is a mess. But for the first time since the New England village square the People can bypass the establishment to get to the truth.* To me this is the silver lining. Or perhaps a better metaphor the bedrock foundation of a better world.

Today I called my sons to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. They have a tradition of cooking their turkey together. But not this year. My younger son was invited by his girlfriend's parents to join them for Thanksgiving. When they found out about the Jones tradition they added a few seats to the table and invited the rest of the Joneses. There are loving, giving people in America and the world. I have faith that they will work us out of the mess we are in. Quietly, individually, with no fanfare or tweets. They are every day making the world a better place.

Happy Thanksgiving and

Fair winds and following seas :)

* The last time we cut out the middle man was the Protestant Reformation. Nope, didn't need a Priest - you could talk direct to God. IMHO that worked out pretty well.

Pangkor Internet

For some reason the Internet in Pangkor has been very slow the past few days. This is particularly frustrating as I have been trying to get an order together from Defender. It seems to be a wide area problem. 

Fair winds and following seas :)

Marine Directory Asia - A useful resource

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Anthony Gates (MDA)" <anthony@mda-media.com>
Date: Oct 21, 2017 3:54 PM
Subject: Marine Directory Asia
To: <rebootagent@gmail.com>
Cc:

Dear Roger,

 

My wife and myself sailed to Asia aboard our yacht in 2004 and we are still here.

 

Recently we developed an online Marine Directory for Asia.

 

Our aim is to assist Cruising Yachties like yourself find the Marine Business you need; in your location.

 

Feel free to check it out at:

www.mda-media.com

 

Currently we have +770 Marine Business Listing in Asia searchable by:

+60 Marine Categories

+20 Cruising Regions.

 

If you can recommend a marine business we have missed please let us know.

 

Also please feel free to spread the word about Marine Directory Asia to other cruising yachties.

 

Attached is our flyer.

 

Wishing you fair winds and safe passage.

 

Kind Regards,

Anthony Gates

Marine Directory Asia (MDA)

 

M : +66 (0)81 893 9985

E : anthony@mda-media.com

W : www.mda-media.com

Mailing Address : 124/598 Moo.5,

T. Rassada, A. Muang, Phuket 83000

Thailand

 

 

Outside

XO is on the  ompanionway steps meowing. Wants to check outside. Wakes.me up. He goes out, comes back in, lays down. Awake I make coffee. Then notice it is 2 am

Fair winds and following seas :)

Rain water

This tastes so much better than my bowl.

Fair winds and following seas:)

Masts

Been a long time since this has been my view. Malaysia has marinas!

Fair winds and following seas:)

Schrödinger's Cat

XO needs a rabies shot. A recommended clinic was Schrödinger's Cat.

Pangkor

After a trip that included a severe thunderstorm I am here on Marina Island in Pangkor. At the moment I am anchored out but expect to move into a slip tomorrow. I expect to stay here about a month and give Reboot an in depth review and overhaul. At the end of the month I will do a haul-out and paint the bottom. 

Fair winds and following seas:)

Wind instrument revisited

Things have calmed down quite a bit so I went up on the foredeck. Amazing. The Garmin wind instrument is still there. Now to find out why it is not transmitting. In port. One of "Roger's Rules" is to avoid fixing things underway. One might make things worse. 

Fair winds and following seas:)

Wind instrument

Last night saw strong winds and thunderstorms. Apparently at some point my Garmin wind instrument decided to depart Reboot. Very frustrating but not quite as bad as when the radar dome decided to fall from the mast to the deck. 

Sailing is always an adventure.  

Fair winds and following seas:)

Prices

I have been here in Port Dickson for about a week. I just paid my marina bill. Including my laundry it was less than 2 nights in a U.S. marina. Quality!

Fair winds and following seas 😁

Departure

Planning on a 2 pm local departure from Port Dickson. Destination Pangkor Marina, Marina Island, Pangkor. About 155 nautical miles. With currents about two full days. 1 POB + 1 Cat. 

Fair winds and following seas:)

Why you never say goodbye.

I am in Port Dickson, Malaysia. I have had a fun week: met some fellow cruisers, enjoyed the music and company of the current band at the Sailor's Bar; and got some work done on Reboot. My plan was to head off this morning to Pangkor, a plan I had shared with a number of people. The trip is pretty short but with adverse winds and currents will take two days. (I learned to just anchor when the adverse current exceeds 1 knot, otherwise I burn a lot of fuel and don't make much progress.) During my final workup I checked the weather and discovered that severe thunderstorms are in the forecast for tomorrow. Thus I will wait until Monday to depart. I am just waiting for the "I thought you left" comments." 

Fair winds and following seas:)

The front of all wisdom

I lovingly call my brother "the font of all wisdom." Here is his trivia comment for the day:

The Germans call today, 9 November, the "Schicksaltag" - the "Day of Fate."  Not only did the Berlin Wall come down (1989), but also Kaiser Bill abdicated (1918), Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch took place (1923) and, most notoriously, the Nazis conducted their Kristallnacht pogrom (1938).  I wondered in 1989 if the East Germans let the Wall open on the same day as the Kristallnacht to drown that memory, but in fact it's pure coincidence - a result of an unforced error by the DDR's press spokesman.  The Germans considered using November 9 as their reunification date, but opted not to do so - so that the event would not overshadow the memory of the pogrom.

In "To the Sun for Freedom," Peter Siefert goes through the Wall at the Bormholmer Strasse crossing at about 10:30 PM.

BTW "To the Sun for Freedom" is one of Al's (unpublished) books.   

Fair winds and following seas :)

Weekend getaway

Admiral Marina. Spent time in the pool to wash off the transit dirt. Nice Place.

f

Fair winds and following seas :)

That look of contentment

Some days are like That.

Fair winds and following seas:)

Cold in Johor, Malaysia

The time here in Puteri Harbor Marina has been a mixed bag. On the one hand it has been nice to be able to wash Reboot, head into Singapore for parts, and be able to go out on the evening without having to dinghy back in the.dark.

On the other hand it has been debilitatingly hot making it difficult to get things done. 

Why is it that almost all of the restaurants serve their hot food cold? Yesterday I discovered a great breakfast buffet at the Hotel Jen. Went back this morning. Everything was cold: eggs, sausage, potatoes. It was inedible. Why?  

Fair winds and following seas :)

Relearning Cruising

The gang has gone on in the Malaysia Rally. I am here for a couple of reasons. First, I am tired. After 6 months of continuous cruising from Sydney, Australia I needed a longer break. And because I wanted to spend some time in Singapore and needed some boat parts. So now I am alone. 

It dawned on me how much of a crutch Steve (Chandara) has been. Since we met up in Cairns I have stopped doing much of the research I would normally do. Steve would say "here are the waypoints to the next destination." I would add them in and off we would go. He also maintained the schedule - "we need to leave on Tuesday." "OK." And we would leave on Tuesday. 

Of course as I have noted before he was the person who, after my dinghy died, ferried me around for about three months. 

So as I sit in Starbucks actually reading and downloading again I need to publish a big THANK YOU to Steve.

Fair winds and following seas :)

--

CAPT Roger J. Jones USN (ret.)

Sailboat Reboot (MMSI 366 958 630)

411 Walnut Street #9700, Green Cove Springs, FL 32043-3443

Reboot's Agent's Email: and phone Rebootagent@gmail.com (201) 925-2581

Reboot Email (in port only) rogerjohnjones@gmail.com

Reboot Phone:

+1 (414) 326-9562 (US - Forwards to wherever I am)

+60 017-7462716 (Malaysia)

+65 91635427 {Singapore)

Satellite Phone  (870) 776-4111-46

Web Site: www.sailboatreboot.com

Blogging: blog.sailboatreboot.com

Reboot position http://www.winlink.org/dotnet/maps/PositionReportsDetail.aspx?callsign=W2ZDB

Ham Radio: W2ZDB via Maritime Mobile Service Net 14.300 Mhz

Ham Radio Email: W2ZDB@winlink.org

 This email is sent from an infrequently monitored mailbox.  It may take several days or weeks before REBOOT and I are in port where I can receive it.  Should you have an immediate need please contact me via Reboot's agent.

They know where you are!

When I joined the "Wonderful Sail 2 Indonesia" I thought it would be fun to keep track of the other participants.  I upgraded my Marine Traffic account and added all the boats. It turned out to be a bust as there are almost no Internet linked AIS receivers in Indonesia. But wait, there's more.

Near the end of the three month rally I was sitting with the Government representative. I casually said: "I wonder where boat 'x' is?" He opened his phone, scrolled down, and told me. He knew, and known, where every boat in the rally was every day. Don't ever think that you are incognito. 

Garmin GLO

Bought a Garmin GLO as I needed a Bluetooth GPS. My major reason for picking Garmin over cheaper alternatives was my excellent experiences with them. Delivered to Florida.  Shipped to Malaysia. Doesn't work. Finally do a web search. GLO is not compatible with Windows 10. What? 

Not happy.   

Fair winds and following seas:)