Just returned from 4 days and 3 nights at sea on-board the Malaysian fishing boat above.
Video clip above shows departing the river mouth at Mersing in to the estuary
Lunch is served shortly after we left (above) and the video clip below shows when we are starting out in the open water.
Passing the Island! above shows the island where I am currently based when not away when surveying the surrounding waters.
The moon shines brightly down from above over the south China sea and brings a close to the first day at sea.
Lesser Frigate-birds patrol the skies above but never really came down low enough to get any decent photos.
Above shows the flag of Johor at the back of the boat whilst the photo below shows a rather large jelly fish off the back of the boat. I took this shot of the jelly fish with my Sony digi camera through the polarised lens of my sun-glasses in order to cancel out the glare and provide a much better natural colour. I also had a Hawksbill Turtle off of the back of the boat just like this jelly fish but it was when I had just taken a wash on board the boat and my camera was stashed away safely in bag! (Just the place it should have been)
Great Crested Terns (above) came in around the boat when the nets were being brought up and the same with Bridled Terns (below)
Crew on board repair and maintain the nets whilst awaiting to find a shoal of fish using the sonar scanning unit.
The odd Brahminy Kite circled over the boat when the nets were being lifted up, with a total of 7 together and 3 White Bellied sea-Eagle at one point.
This Sea-Horse was found in the nets during one of the catch's photo below next to the Leica's is to give you an idea on size.
Fresh squid, photo above and the video below shows it being fried up with a little chilli sauce less than 20 minutes after being extracted from the nets. (can't get much fresher)
As I opened my eyes from awakening on the top back deck of the boat the photo above was the first thing I saw this morning on day 3.We were moored up in the bay of Pemanggil Island.
We took the small boat from the fishing boat and arrived on the island for breakfast.
Above shows one the local Islander's huts and below shows the school of the island. there are around 150 inhabitants on the island of Pemanggil
One of the locals came up to me with this Yellow Bittern in his hand and gave it to me, this juvenile seemed fine and in a healthy condition. I am not so sure though if it was a migrant or a resident to the island or how he caught it.
The main beach of Pemanggil Island (above) and below shows the day drawing to a close when we are out at sea. The following morning when I awoke we were just 20 miles from Mersing as we were heading back as the catch last night was good enough and the crew on aboard were happy and so it was time to return. So 4 full days and 3 nights at sea was the longest I have ever spent out on the water and I must say I think this was enough for my first over-night duration at sea. I must say that the crew were extremely friendly and ever helpful through out my time on-board. During this trip at sea I found myself reflecting back on this year so far and really feel that I have done some pretty cool travel so far. 
