JOIN DAVID BRADLEY ONBOARD THE KAY SIRA AS HE SAILS ONE OF HIS DREAM ROUTES, SINGAPORE TO PORT KLANG. WITH HIS FRIENDS IN TOW AND A WELL-STOCKED GALLEY CLOSE AT HAND, DAVID TAKES TO THE SEAS AND MAKES IT A TRIP TO REMEMBER.

To sail from Singapore to Port Klang (Pelabuhan Kelang), the main port of Kuala Lumpur, on Kay Sira, a beautiful old 42' ketch, has been an item on my bucket list for many years. Recently, together with three mates visiting Malaysia (two Brits, Barry and Lee, and Frazer, a South African based in Bristol), I ticked this item off my list.

DAY ONE
We started our journey by sailing from Singapore to Kukup, and I was skipper for this short leg. After getting our passports and visas sorted we motored slowly out of Raffles marina and into the narrow straits separating Singapore from Malaysia (near the new causeway to Johor).

The Singapore maritime patrol boats kept a close eye on us until we had cleared this channel and changed our course to 230 degrees, which was to be our heading for the next ten miles. After crossing the 30-m contour line we kept a lookout for a green light flashing every three seconds on our starboard side, which, according to the chart, was about five miles away.

This light signalled the entrance to the Kukup port, a port that proved to be much shallower than the chart datum indicated. At one stage we touched the soft muddy bottom but, by turning to starboard, we found enough depth to make our way slowly into port. Once we reached the extensive fish farms between Kukup town and the large mangrove island, the depth increased.We followed this channel down until we could edge our way through the farms, and we anchored on the islandside of the fish farms.

Kukup is renowned as the place for fresh seafood on the south western tip of peninsular Malaysia. Seafood is plentiful, and there are many waterside restaurants on stilts to satisfy locals' and visitors' culinary wishes. We launched Doris, Kay Sira's dinghy, and went into town for one of Kukup's famous seafood dinners and a few beers.

DAY TWO
The next morning we visited Pulau Kukup, one of the largest mangrove islands in the world, where we found an attractive boardwalk leading to a lookout over the extensive mangroves. We spotted a lot of bird life, including beautiful whitebreasted sea eagles and Brahminy kites, and we also glimpsed a wild boar rooting around for a feed, some monkeys, and many bug-eyed mudskippers.

On our departure, Lee and Frazer had the job of retrieving and cleaning the anchor chain which was covered in thick mud. This took some time as it all had to be done manually, but when we finally set off, we were travelling north from Kukup to Melaka, about 90 nautical miles away. Very calm weather would allow us to motor-sail all day and overnight, and so our ETA was set for early the following morning.

Barry offered to cook bangers and mash for dinner, so we duly enjoyed a great meal of fried sausages with Barry's special onion sauce (I think a bit of everything went into this tasty concoction), mashed potatoes, and stir-fried vegetables. After a nice cup of tea, we began keeping watches; three hours on and three hours off, from 2030 hours onwards.

DAY THREE
It was an uneventful journey and we arrived at the Melaka marina at 0730. The water depth here was shallow, so we had to take care, staying to the left of the port marker just outside the marina. As this was our first official port of call in Malaysia we had to undergo customs and visa formalities with the local authorities. We decided to have a day off from sailing in Melaka as we realised that it was St Patrick's Day. We passed the day re-provisioning for the next leg of our journey, enjoying some good deals on draught beer, and eating some excellent food before returning to the marina relatively early in anticipation of another early start the next day.

DAY FOUR
We departed Melaka at 0700 at the top of the high tide, raising all of our sails as soon as we were clear of the marina and motoring on in very light winds for 1.5 miles at 190 degrees. We started our three-hour watches at 0730 hours, with Barry and me taking the first watch. We managed to sail beautifully in a freshening NNE breeze for the better part of three hours.

The trip up the coast was just magical. There was a lot of storm activity over the land, but no bad weather at sea. We passed numerous fishing vessels, some of which put out very long nets which they guarded zealously lest we catch them on our keel or propeller.

At dusk, we put two reefs in the mainsail for safety's sake and motor-sailed north until, at 2130 hours, we reached the southern entry channel to Pelabuhan (Port) Klang.This was the sailing school classroom come to life! For the next three and a half hours we saw every ship's light and navigation mark light imaginable, and a lot of traffic. I was surprised at just how fast the big ships travel when entering and leaving port – three or four times faster than us! We also marvelled at the constant hustle and bustle of tugs-in-tow, containers and cargo vessels, pilot boats, and many other vessels going about their business.

This was a very exciting and somewhat stressful time for me. I was skippering a lovely yacht in the midst of an incredible cacophony of shipping in a strange port. I had to rely only on my pilotage notes, various charts of the area in different scales and detail, our instruments, navigation markers, and the entire crew on deck as lookouts.

A pilot boat went past us and had a good look at us with his searchlight, which added to the excitement! With almost continuous course changes and the need to keep a sharp lookout for the next pertinent navigation mark, we were all kept busy until, finally, the Royal Selangor Yacht Club hove into view, albeit in total darkness due to a local blackout.

I took the helm after a big pat on the back for Lee and adopted the ferry-gliding technique, using the strong current to assist us to berth safely. Once we were safe, sound, and securely berthed outside the RSYC, we all had a nice, hot cup of tea before slipping into our beds. Mission accomplished.