Rebak Island is a private island in west Malaysia in the Malacca Straits in the Sea of Andaman. It has a resort and a marina. I had never heard of it until I saw a for sale sign on a sailboat in the north Penang yacht basin during my city hike. I looked up the company that night and found that they are based on Rebak Island.
Challenge accepted.
The only way to get on the island is on the resort/marina’s private ferry. Figured out where and when and the next morning arrived 20 minutes early and pretended to be a dude who knows he is doing. Sat down in a plastic chair in the open-air shack next to a sleepy cat and made friends. Made it onto the ferry and the island. Only staying 90 minutes until the next departing boat back to the bigger island.
Did not expect such a sailing intense experience in this trip. Very interesting for me and a highlight of my trip. To a sailing buddy I sent this: No, I did not go sailing. Malaysia was not on my list when I left for Asia. Before arriving in Penang Malaysia Tuesday, Langkawi was only a possible add-on. Once I committed to Langkawi, the universe sent me a suggestion on Thursday that my reason for Langkawi was to try to get onto the island of Rebak on Saturday to learn about serious sailing cruisers. Walking around the harbor was like living hours of YouTube cruiser videos. It seems to be the only/must stop between Singapore and India. Hard to describe so here is a brief video and some of the pics I took of boats for sale or that looked interesting. No motor boats. No luxury yachts. Just serious cruisers. You could show up here any day of the year and walk into the marina and approach anyone and say: I got a few days here and I know something about boats, need help fixing anything? You would get a free ride anywhere on the boat of your choice.
