Melaka

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Revision as of 07:48, 10 August 2009

Melaka

Background

See Wikipedia for details of the city of Melaka - go to Wikipedia Melaka Page

Check-in facilities/Ports of Entry

Melaka is a port of entry for Malaysia with Customs and Immigration offices in the city.

Marinas & Yacht Clubs

Melaka Marina / Malacca Marina is now open!

We visited the new Melaka Marina on 9th August 2009 - even though we weren't sure it would be open! Probably we were the first cruising yacht to use this new facility – there were just three local boats inside when we were there. We can now confirm that it IS open and offers a great opportunity to visit this interesting city without the bother of road travel from Port Dixon, or using the (often rolly) anchorages off the Water Islands.

The entrance waypoint is at 02 11.1N, 102 14.46E. Approach at approx 30 degrees true then turn to port just before you reach the outer mark for the Melaka River entrance. This mark is lit - red flash every 4 seconds. Our boat 'Street Legal' draws 2.1m and we saw no less than 3.3m on the approach at 1 hour before HW springs (2.2m). We reckon the channel has about 1.8m at low water springs. Inside we calculated there would be about 2m at LWS but the bottom is soft, deep mud so deeper draft boats should have no problems as long as they don't try to get in or out at low water. A night entry is possible but the entrance is lit only with white flashing lights, not red and green. In addition the harbour walls are lit all along with the same lights, so it could be very confusing.

The Marina under construction - pontoons are now in place

There is water and power to all berths, which are good-quality finger pontoons, and new showers and toilets. As yet there is no management in place (though it was a Sunday when we arrived) but the friendly security men at the gate let us in and out. Its about a 10 minute walk to town, past the huge Ferris wheel 'Eye on Malaysia' - which by the way you'll see as an excellent land mark as you approach. The marina is a 'Jabatan Laut' (ie municipal facility) so prices should be reasonable - though we've not yet found anyone to pay! There is some surge in the marina - usually not toouncomfortable but use stretchy dock lines (ie nylon not Dacron) if you don't want to rip your cleats out. Unfortunately the builders used only closely-spaced concrete piles to build the sea-wall. It needs the addition of a rip-rap wall to get rid of the surge.

This marina should make an useful stopover for yachts transiting the Malacca Straits as its about 34nm south of Port Dickson and 75nm north of Pulau Pisang. Melaka has all the facilities of a modern city so provisioning, internet etc are all available. There is no fuel dock but the Jabatan Laut office might be able to help with deliveries of larger quantities. Smaller quantities could be jerry-jugged from any local service station.

One place we liked in Melaka was the Limau-Limau café on Jalan Hang Lekiu (just off Jonker Street). It has free wifi internet access, good food and coffee. There's also a good Dutch/French cafe on Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock called Cafe Orang Beland.

Guy & Annika Oury, Yacht Street Legal

Anchorages

You can anchor north or south of Pulau Besar in the Water Islands, depending on the season and prevailing winds. These are about 6nm south of Melaka River and Marina.

References & Publications

Publications, etc.

Cruiser's Friends

Contact details of "Cruiser's Friends" that can be contacted for local information or assistance.

Forum Discussions

List links to discussion threads on the Cruiser Log Forum

External Links

Links to relevant websites.

Personal Notes

Personal experiences?

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