The Malacca Strait is the body of water between the west coast of Malaysia and Indonesian Sumatra, and it connects the Pacific and Indian Oceans. A very busy waterway 560 miles long, it is one of Asia’s primary sea routes, with almost 100,000 vessels passing through each year. Read on for our experience cruising the Malacca Strait. Malacca is pronounced Muh-LAK-uh.
Post Puteri Harbour Anchorages
A few days after returning from Kuala Lumpur, we untied our lines and left the Puteri Harbour dock. We day sailed for the first two days, stopping at the small islands of Pesang and then Besar. I don’t remember much about either, so they must have been peaceful and boring, which is good.
Besar is a little southwest of the city of Malacca, for reference. Also, please note, Malaysia is on the Equator, so we rarely sail because there is little to no wind. That also explains why it’s so damn hot all the time.
At one anchorage, we encountered boaters we’d met in Puteri Harbour, so we buddy boated for the next week until Pangkor. After cruising alone for so long in Indonesia, it’s nice to have company. We separated after Pangkor, where they stayed to haul out while we continued cruising the Malacca Strait northbound.
Traffic in the Malacca Strait
Despite the Malacca Strait being such a busy shipping route, we didn’t experience a lot of traffic. We mostly saw fishing vessels, who were friendly, waving as they passed.
Two Nights at Port Dickson
After anchoring for two nights, we stayed two nights on a mooring at Port Dickson World Marina. Located in a calm pool, it’s very protected but also very hot. We were ready for a land break, which for us included a sweaty day of hiking. It was a very interesting day off from cruising the Malacca Strait.
Tanjung tuan
This cape south of the Port Dickson marina is a recreational forest with beaches, ruins of an old fort, and a lighthouse. Boasting several hiking trails, we laced up our boots for a day on land. After passing a few groups finishing their hikes (people exercise early in the tropics), we spotted some cheeky monkeys on the power lines.
The trails were not well maintained, and we were parched and sweaty by the end. Still, we got to see beaches and monkeys and trees.
We finished our land day in Port Dickson with a visit to a resort pool to cool off before returning to Go and cruising the Malacca Strait.
Anchoring in The Malacca Strait
The nice thing about cruising the Malacca Strait is you are always close to shore and semi-decent anchorages, especially if the weather is good. We appreciated the short day sails, a relaxing change from Western Indonesia.
What isn’t so nice is the water quality. While it isn’t as fouled with trash as Indonesia, the trash is there. We also saw large jellyfish with even larger tentacles, which completely turned me off swimming. I have since read that deadly box jellyfish are common in the region, so my instinct to stay on board was good.
From Port Dickson, we had two more anchorages before we could stop in Pangkor: Port Klang and the open area near Sekinchan. They were places to sleep safely, but we didn’t even bother to take the dinghy down.
Pangkor Marina
Our next stop while cruising the Malacca Strait was Pangkor Marina. It took us a week to get the 275 nm from Puteri Harbour to the marina, located in a placid lagoon across from the west coast island of Pangkor.
The marina is the first place we’ve been in a while with a liveaboard community. We met some nice people, and cute cats, enjoyed the amenities, including the pool, and rented a car to spend a few days inland Malaysia.
At Pangkor, we had already covered nearly half of western peninsular Malaysia.
Before leaving Pangkor, we took the ferry across to Pangkor Island for a beach day. If you’re cruising the Malacca Strait, there’s a great anchorage there and the water is swimmable!
On shore, we spotted the beautiful Malaysian bird, the oriental pied hornbill.
Pangkor to Penang
While Pangkor was nice, our stomachs were grumbling for the world class cuisine of Penang. With a shared UNESCO designation with Malacca and a beautiful historic city, Penang is one of Malaysia’s top destinations.
Pangkor to Penang is too long for a day sail, so we took two days. First, we anchored just north of Pangkor followed by a long day fighting current to the marina. It took us so long to get through the last few miles of current the marina manager had to stay late to let us in. We were lucky to get a spot in the small marina and enjoyed a few weeks enjoying Penang (with a side trip to Kuching when it got too hot).
Fun fact: the anchorage we stayed for the night was called Monkey Island. We didn’t see monkeys from the boat, but here’s a macaque we spotted at the beach on Pangkor Island.
Cruising the Malacca Strait: The Last Leg
After a few weeks in Penang, other boats were clamoring for our spot in the marina. It’s the only marina and only has space for a few transient yachts. Fortunately, they are building a huge complex with a marina across the way, so future sailors will have more options. It was time for us to head for our final destination in Malaysia, Langkawi.
The last stretch from Straits Quay Marina to Langkawi was a day motor, and now we’re enjoying the many islands of Langkawi before moving on to Thailand. Have you been anywhere in Malaysia’s Malacca Strait and where did you go? Share your experiences in the comments.
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