RE: Alpha autopilot

Bill,

I remember your boat well, and have been aboard. It was tied next to ours in
Green Bay, Yokosuka. I wondered what happened to it.

Your mention of Palawan reminds me of our last boat delivery in the South
China Sea: we had to pick up a Tayana-52-the owners were cruising the
Philippines and ended in Palawan-and sail it to Singapore. They said they
would be at anchor in a large bay on the north side of Palawan. We got off
the plane and with a local tourist map tried to figure out where the bay
might be, then hired a pickup truck to take us out to the bush. We arrived
in a village at the foot of the suspected bay after a nearly unbelievable
adventure on the jungle roads, but as far as the eye could see-there was no
sailboat at anchor. We hired a local canoe to take us out to find this boat
(this was a comedy worth a lengthy story). It took us an hour or more of
desperate searching and finally found our charge in an adjoining bay. Mind
you, we could not speak Tagalog, and where we were hardly anyone spoke
English.

The owners left us with a boat without fuel, water, or food and a
thousand-mile trip ahead. Fortunately, we had excellent NE monsoons, which
gave us a quick two-day reaching trip to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. We
provisioned there, one of our favorite cruising locations. We were there a
few years earlier for a few months and had a glorious stay. We made many
(some lifelong) friends in Kota Kinabalu and even climbed to the top of Mt.
Kinabalu (14,000+ feet). We spent a few weeks at anchor there in company
with Bill and Gary of AMADON LIGHT fame-also contributors to this site.

We planned a leisurely trip to Singapore and adjacent marina in Malaysia
from KK but my wife broke her foot the first day out. The rest of our trip
was an endurance trip for her.

Anyway, your note brings back some very interesting and exciting memories. I
think I could spend years sailing around the South China Sea-if I had them
left. Thanks for writing. With a touch of envy, I hope you share your
adventures with us.

Sincerely,

Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-baba-l@ballreich.net [mailto:owner-baba-l@ballreich.net] On
Behalf Of Bill Wiggins
Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2006 3:34 AM
To: baba-l@ballreich.net
Subject: RE: [Baba-L] Alpha autopilot

Mr. Tom Beard,
  My name is Bill Wiggins and I bought the Baba-35 in Yokosuka. My
wife and I are cruising on her in the southern Philippines. We left
Japan in May 2005 have been cruising the P.I. ever since. We will be
departing Palawan to the south before the SW monsoon starts up heading
for Malaysia. The original name was "Renaissance" and we
recommissioned her as "Jipz Rose", hull #103.
  We really appreciate all of the really good information you guys pass
along via internet chat. It has been most helpful to us as we cruise.
  Aloha...Thanx and take care,
Bill
S/v Jipz Rose
Baba-35




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Received on Tue Apr 11 10:24:19 2006