Friday morning I went by the offices of Port Control, Customs and Immigration to clear out and took off for Brunei. It is only a 19 mile trip, but with a late start and a straight head wind I decided to motor, also a good test for the engine. Well, with 7 miles to go the engine stopped, in the seas that had built up the fuel in the tank was whipped up enough to get air into the fuel lift pump so basically I ran out of fuel even when the tank still had fuel in it.
Got the sails up and then added a jug of fuel to the tank. When coming to the channel I started the engine and motorsailed in. That was no luxury, the entrance is the mouth of a river, with the tide running out. With engine and sails the speed was still only 3 knots. About 2 miles up the river is the Royal Brunei Yacht Club (RBYC) where I anchored. One interesting thing is that there is no alcohol for sale in Brunei at all. But at the yacht club you can bring in your own drinks (of course I only have warm beer to bring).
Free wi-fi in the yacht club so I have been reading up on the Tour results, interesting. This morning I kayaked to the ferry terminal to check in with customs and immigration. After that a squall hit, and it got pretty rough here in the anchorage.
The yacht club has good food, and I met some people (all expats) that will help me getting some fuel (local priced fuel is really cheap, but yachts can’t get that unless you find some local help).
The capital is about 10km away, I have been told there is not much to see there, but I want to pay it a visit. Not much else planned and I might continue on my way south along the Borneo coast early next week.