Annual Summary of 2010

January - Returned to the boat in Danga Bay, near Singapore, after a holiday in the Philippines with Jennifer and our three grandchildren. We sailed to Penang with a friend who is a Qatar Airlines pilot from Sarawak. We revisited some of our favorite places and restaurants in Penang. Daughter Hilary won a Peoples Choice Award for her photography, which provided cash and an exhibition in New York City.

February - Dorothy and Dan visited us in Penang for ten days. We all enjoyed the Thaipusan Festival and other sights plus excellent Indian and Chinese cuisine. Mom and Dad Hickson moved to Valley Terrace assisted living. We sailed to Thailand with a two-month visa.

March - Sailed north along the western side of Thailand to Ko Phayam on the Burmese border. Enjoyed Ao Yai Bay where Aoy and Jay and their two young sons operate the Phayam Beach Resort where Annette and Uli from Germany let us stay overnight in their tent when we couldn't get our dinghy safely through the surf in the dark. In Ao Kwai Bay we made friends with Jan at the Banana Resort and had her aboard for pizza. Ko Phayam has many cashew nut plantations so we learned much about them. In the future we will avoid the caustic juice which surrounds each raw nut since we know that does blister our skin. Sailed to the Surin Islands, carefully avoiding the Burmese border since a kayaking tourist was detained a week earlier when he strayed across.

April- Had excellent snorkeling in the Surin and Similan Islands. In Khao Lak we participated in Songkran, the Thai water festival, with British friend Claire and her sister Nicola. Then we sailed south as the northeast monsoon season was ending. The docks were removed at Patong Beach when we were there for the equinox on the 21st. We stopped in Phuket and then sailed further south. We stopped at the northern end of Ko Tarutao and visited the Crocodile Cave near the park headquarters.

June - Arriving at Langkawi Island in Malaysia, we tied Arctracer to a mooring in Telaga Harbour Marina on June 4. Our stainless steel fuel tank had a small leak so we took all the fuel out of it in preparation for its replacement. We spent some pleasant evenings socializing with other cruisers including those aboard "Quorsum" and "Rainbow Gypsy." We made the long airline flights to the USA near the end of the month.

July - Visited Hilary & Rick in South Pasadena, California. Explored the Rose Bowl area, visited the Museum of Jurassic Technology and spent Fourth of July at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic. Flew to New England and had reunions with our parents and other relatives in New Hampshire. Got our bicycles working and took rides up to 50 miles long. Took AMTRAK to the Philadelphia Folk Festival where we camped with Dorothy, Dan and their friends.

August- September - Stayed at the homes of several brothers and sisters in Vermont, enjoying the advantages of houses with high-speed wi-fi, plenty of electricity, hot water showers, BBQ's, and no anchoring problems. Played bridge with friends several times. Participated in Jerry's 50th High School Reunion and a mini-reunion with some of Nina's High School friends. Enjoyed camping with family members at Flying Point near Bath, Maine and Pawtuckaway State Park near Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

October - Drove a 2000 Ford Mustang from New Hampshire to Hilary in California. Camped and walked in National Parks including Great Smoky Mountains (NC) where we visited our nephew who is a ranger there, a Wildlife Management Area in Arkansas, McClellan Creek National Grasslands (TX), San Juan National Forest (Utah), Mesa Verde National Park (CO), Arches (UT) after crossing the San Rafael Desert, Bryce Canyon (UT), Zion (UT) and the North and South Rims of the Grand Canyon (AZ). We really enjoyed seeing wildlife in all the national parks including mule deer, turkeys, elk, coyotes, prairie dogs, pronghorns, condors, and other birds. Between the North and South Rims we drove past the Vermillion Cliffs, went through a large Navajo Nation Reservation, saw the Antelope Point Marina in a desert setting at Glen Canyon, visited the Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell and walked to beautiful Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River. We visited another cliff dwelling in the Tonto Basin and drove to Tucson where Ben & Katyana had a beautiful wedding ceremony in a desert setting on a hillside overlooking Tuscon on 10-10-10. While in the Tucson area we enjoyed lots of good Mexican food, went to Trail Dust Town, visited the Sonora Desert Museum, and did a walk on Mount Lemon where they ski in season. Driving the Mustang onward towards Pasadena we camped and walked in the Joshua Tree National Monument and had quite an experience driving on very curvy mountain roads which introduced us to the smog down in the valleys. After spending a couple of days with Hilary and Rick, we flew from LA back to Singapore and Langkawi, Malaysia.

November - Cleaned the boat thoroughly, which was necessary after leaving it shut up for so long during the tropical rainy season. Replaced the fuel tank. Fixed some problems with sails, engines and did many other boat projects. Hauled out onto the land at Rebak Marina where we repainted the bottoms of our hulls with antifouling and replaced shaft seals and bearings. Filled the boat with food and drink in inexpensive Langkawi.

December - Sailed to Thailand for the eighth time. Cruised around Phang Nga Bay with Jennifer and Antonio, snorkeling, walking, exploring hongs and caves. "Arctracer" traveled 1662 miles this year.