Well, the plan was to get a bunch of boat projects done in Langkawi. Then we just didn’t feel like it and honestly, didn’t find (or just didn’t put out the effort) what we were looking for. After rest and recouping, we decided to join the Sail Thailand rally, a short and sweet rally whom a few of our fellow Indonesia/Malaysia fleet were doing. The Sail Thailand rally jumped from Langkawi to Phuket about January 15th, so we deiced to stay….then we were asked if we wanted to volunteer (with the crew of 3 other cruiser boats we knew) to help out on the mark boats for a regatta the RYLC hosts for the last 16 years…sure why not…the regatta ended on the 12th…enough time for us to get provisioned afterwards and join the Sail Thailand rally…NOT!!!!
Remember these guys from our anchorage in Kumai on the island of Borneo, Indonesia?!
Yup…they made an appearance just after the new year. We saw a few flying around our boat. Didn’t think much of it until they kept on appearing…every other day or so around 2-4pm when the boat would heat up from the sun. We finally thought twice and took a better look at them…and then a lightbulb went off!!!! TERMITES?!
We saw a few holes in our companion way and tapped it with a screwdriver….. someone has been busy. 
More evidence…they drop their wings when they have found a mate and burrow to make a new colony…ekkks…
We spend days researching them, what to do about it, and finally trying to find companies to fumigate us, the only option we were comfortable with as it had been 2 months of these little %&#@$! eating away at our home. We have so much wood in our boat and storage space in places a small child couldn’t get to, there is no way to detect where they are without tearing EVERYTHING up and out and searching tirelessly for days or weeks. Fumigation it is…however, this is not an easy task. Especially when you are trying to organize it around the holiday season and then when you have already committed yourself to volunteer for a regatta.
We had a company come out to inspect our boat…this was a joke (though they were just trying to do their job) as again there was no way to detect them. We unfortunately killed the ones we saw so there was “no evidence” of them present. So I decided to start a collection and I would send the company’s manager photos just to prove we had them.
Keep looking guys….
My collection has started…I had many more later…they stayed alive for over a week?! 
Its not a flying ant which is what we thought back in Kumai. They don’t have a segmented body like ants do…
Finally, they agreed fumigation was necessary (after multiple long discussion that we live on this boat and for all safety reasons, can’t have termites eating away at it…in the middle of an ocean!!!). We had a date for a team from another island, Penang (the local office did not have a fumigation team in Langkawi) to come fumigate…unfortunately it was right in the middle of the regatta. We spoke to our “boss” and they said they understood and would let us “off” for that day. However, when that day came, it was determined they could not do it where our boat was because it was a safety hazard. Apparently, the gas they use is deadly…duh…just didn’t think to ask about WHERE we should be for such a lethal chemical..silly me. So the fumigation was called off…for now.
The Royal Langkawi International Regatta was a blast…even though we/I was dealing with scheduling the fumigation. We learned a lot and moreover…that we don’t know crap about racing sailing boats.
Training day: Had to go through a bag which had spcific itens for each boat. 
Different anchors for different marks and for the boat. 
Large and HEAVY radios each mark boat had so we could contact each other.
I never realized how large these marks are….. 
The “Pins”….they mark the start and finish line
Simon, our ruthless leader (LOL). He has been doing regattas for many, many years throughout asia. He was headed to Dubai next.
We got to choose which mark boat we wanted to be on…originally both Trevor and I were on the “Pin boat” (I had no idea what that meant at the time) but as soon as I hear the Start boat had a “real bathroom”…I jumped ship : ) Trevor stayed on the Pin boat while I was to be assigned, in “luxury”,on the Start boat. What I didn’t know was the amount of work that goes on the Start boat…bathroom might not of been the best trade…just kidding.
The start boat 
On the start boat we had to signal which racing class was on what course at the stern of the boat. Each flag represent a class. The numbers represent the course. 
Each race, which there were usually 2-3 races a day, was determined by the wind direction and speed and the the capability of each racing class. 
I love this guy…this was Simon’s right hand man for the managing the locals on the mark boats, media boats, and the authorities. He is determining the wind direction with a piece of cassettt tape around a pencil and a compass…clever…a new trick up my sleeve…just need a cassette tape : ) 
The horn…we had to blow it between each start of each class, and the finish line. They let me “toot” it a few times
Trevor on the Pin boat. They would basically follow the Start boat as they would set the start and finish line… They really didn’t do anything else…so Trevor tells me. He basically played video games on his iPad all day…rough life!
So the race begins…. so much easier if you just see it for yourself : )
So one boat actually hit the start boat so hard they left a dent in it. These guys would come so close to the start boat when the race started and somehow, the captain just didn’t turn in time. No penalty..just an insurance claim I am sure of it!
Captain and crew of the start boat along with us race committee…. We all signed a flag and presented it to the captain of the Start boat, which is in fact a police boat for Malaysia.
Then it was time to party!!!!
The Sea Volunteers: Most of us were fleet members of the Sail Malaysia rally. So we hear, the reason they like cruisers to help on the mark boats is because we don;t get seasickness. I guess in years past it has been a problem with locals getting sick. It is a bit bumpy and we do go outside the protection of the island for certain ’round the island’ courses. The mark boats are small and have to run fast to set the courses. Additionally, they have to sit and wait for boats to round the mark and record times…this can be pretty rolly. We had a guest on the start boat, I think a media person. She was all kinds of sick. I felt bad as we couldn’t just leave the race and bring her to land.
We all thought it would be fun to “collect our drink cups….. 
And it begins…. 
trust me…it got taller : )
It was actually a great time, being out on the water, watching people do what they love. It was rejuvenating!
In the meantime… the termites were filling up their bellies and making new colonies on Flo. It was time to get this fumigation DONE! Finally, after moving to a different slip, then back to another slip, the manager of the marina almost not letting us do it, to scheduling the Penang team to arrive in Langkawi…we finally made it happen….THANK GOODNESS!
We had to purchase containers to put our stuff in. We needed to extract all food items that did not have a factory seal, all medications, some electronic, anything that had soft rubber (diver gear), and enough crap to be able to lift the different levels of storage so the gas could reach deep into the hull. 
It took way longer than we thoughts and we had to go back and buy more containers. Lucily the gas does not leave a residue and clothes and bedding, cushions were ok to stay…otherwise we would of had to rent a storage unit!!!!
Poor Flo! Sealed up, red taped, and left alone. We stayed at a hotel for 2 nights…clearly it was unsafe to stay in the boat.
The next day it was time to let out the gas from the boat. They tested and measured the level of gas left inside the boat and it was at 57%…their acceptable level is 30%…this is a good thing…it must of been a good seal to keep the gas in which means more termites dead…hopefully. Trevor got to go in to help turn on all of our fans and blowers.
This is Eileen, the company’s Langkawi manager. She was so good to us and truly worked over the scope of her job to get our issue worked out. She was even calling other marinas for us when the RLYC tried to turn us away. SHe stayed for the entire process and walked us through everything. Lucky for us…she ended up leaving the company at the end of January. HSe called us to make sure we didn;t; need anything and that she was leaving. Too kind! She is likely headed to travel in Pakistan…we wish her the best and like us…she loves to travel…maybe our paths will cross once again…on hopefully better terms : )
Check…that’s done!
Now it’s near the end of January and we thought we would be in Thailand by now. So we kept up the pace and provisioned.
So before I show you the photos…you need to understand that Langkawi is a “duty free” island. This means we can buy goods TAX FREE… so of course you can image we loaded up on the good stuff for the months as we cross the Indian Ocean. Of course we are not the only ones who take advantage of this rarity. So the government has placed limits on the amount of “goods” (what I mean is alcohol) you can buy per passport per calendar month. We were told: 3 cases of beer, 2 bottles of wine, 2 bottles of liquor. Well this is just not going to do. We opted to go to every “duty free” shop and buy the limit at each place but then that seemed to be too much work. We had a contact (if you want more info, just ask) who works as a “co-op” so she can sell large quantities and make it look like it was purchased between said other vendors/places. So that is what we did.
We calculated it out…this could be a 6 month stash…at 2 beer a day….clearly not enough ; ) 
So we thought we would diversify…wine, liquor…you know the basics!
Not knowing what was available in Thailand, we loaded up on dry good assuming the prices were cheaper in Langkawi than Phuket, thailand…..I think we were correct.
This place had things we haven’t seen forever?! Avocado oil, salsa, a huge bag of frozen guacamole (yeah we have some of that), and truffle oil! 
Most important was that they had orange cheddar cheese…seriously…what they call cheddar in SE Asia is white and very mild. Don’t ask me how much cheese we bought…it’s embarrassing!
Being “duty free” meant that we could ship things to us without being levied the VAT and paying customs to import it. So we thought we were smart (but not really) and ordered a bunch of stuff that we didn’t find locally. We order through Amazon Prime, little stuff and big stuff, had it sent to our mail forwarding address to have it shipped to Langkawi. Of course we didn’t think it was going to cost us over $700 usd to get it to us….rookie mistake…once again…still learning out here.
The most expensive “christmas” like box ever…..that I can remember 
Trevor is excited!!!! 
Well, was it worth the money? probably not but it happened anyways….got to live with that decision. Will learn from our mistakes (fingers crossed)
Well, it was that time again and after spending 1 1/2 months at RLYC we were ready to leave the dock and head out to open waters again. So we checked out of the country on January 22nd…loaded, fueled, and ready for the next adventure. Next up….Thailand!
Omg…look at my hair….typically a crazy lady in the wind…haha….well, sadly my visa application was rejected by Pakistan and ended up I have left my footprints at the suburb in Victoria State, Australia. 😉
Keep us posted ya, love to know more from Slow Flight!!! hugssss!