Back on Pulau Hantu Besar

Date: Jan 16, 2016

Trip #12
Weather: Cloudy, brief afternoon showers  
Waters: Fairly calm; the tide stayed high through the afternoon 
On board: C, A, J1, J2, and R
New on board: Pelican case (waterproof) for our phones 

We planned to leave for the marina at 11am, but "delays" happened, so by the time we got to Pulau Hantu Besar, it was nearly 3pm. We topped up Little Wanderer's petrol tank today. That last tank had  lasted us around half a dozen trips, and there was still a quarter tank left, and this was our 12th trip in just under six months. No, we haven't got any numbers on the rate this boat drinks. 

We landed on Pulau Hantu Besar after an uneventful journey out under a cloudy sky. The island was crawling with NTU students from an outdoor activity club, there to spend the night after a day of "team-building games". No, the island wasn't quietly idyllic today. 

Just as we were done unloading our gear, it rained. Thankfully, it was only a short shower, but we stayed under one of those shelters provided by the good people of Sentosa Development Corp. There under the shelter, to music from the Beach Boys, we fried up sausages, bacon, tomatoes on the vine and asparagus. 

Under that one shelter not occupied by the hordes of NTU undergraduates. 

The Bauhinia blakeana, or Hong Kong Orchid Tree, fresh after the rain.

Fishing was fruitless today. Nothing bit at either the island's jetty or the breakwater fringing the lagoon where the boat was anchored. I think the footnote here was that we didn't bring any bait...  

Nope, the fish didn't like the bits of sausage we took from our picnic stash. 

Fishing off the breakwater lost us a set of hooks and a weight.
We came up empty. 

As we packed up to leave the island, we got help from a bloke who was camping there for the night with his Japanese wife. There were five of us, so we didn't really need the help with our assortment of bags, BBQ grill and stuff, but he volunteered and was friendly. We gave him a beer for his effort!