E218 - A Pygmy Elephant Sighting We’ll Never Forget (And a Close Call)

We completed our last-minute provisioning in Sandakan with new crew Geoff and Anne before setting off to negotiate the shallow shoals and enter the Kinabatangan River. After a leisurely motor upstream to the midway stopping point at the big U-bend, we took the tender into a side lagoon for a true Borneo jungle adventure. That evening, all the rally boats gathered for a celebratory drink. Unfortunately, we were interrupted by the blast of a tug’s horn as it came downriver towing a huge barge. With no time to waste, we leapt into the tender and raced to the first upstream boat, dropping two people aboard to get it started and out of the way. I immediately spun the tender around and pushed with everything it had, forcing the yacht sideways just enough to narrowly clear the oncoming barge. We then raced downriver, pushing each yacht in turn to clear a path. There simply wasn’t time for anyone to lift anchor and move under their own power. Thankfully, every yacht in the barge’s path was shifted to safety. Continuing upriver, we made it as far as the powerlines at Sukau, 36 nautical miles inland, and enjoyed a couple of wildlife tours in search of proboscis monkeys, orangutans, hornbills, and—if we were lucky—a pygmy elephant. On the return journey, we once again negotiated shallow shoals and strong currents before making our way back out, covering a total of 86 nautical miles along the river. WHO ARE WE? Hey there! We’re Chris and Jo, an ordinary Aussie couple living our extraordinary dream aboard our Seawind 1260 since January 2019 and now we continue from 2024 aboard our new 1370! Our adventure began with an unforgettable journey down the east coast of Australia, followed by a sail to the stunning New Caledonia. In 2020, we continued our exploration further north, and by 2021 and 2022, we circumnavigated Australia, discovering breath taking locations along the way. Having previously owned fishing and water-skiing boats, our passion for sailing deepened after crewing in South Australia, leading us to make the leap into full-time living at sea. We hope to inspire you, just as we were inspired by other YouTube channels, to chase your dreams and explore the wonders of this beautiful world. Join us on our journey, and don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more sailing adventures! #seawind1370 #seawindcats #sailing #sailingboat #sailingyacht #yacht #yachting #yachtinglifestyle #cruisinglife #kinabatangan #borneo #malaysia