Back in Indonesia, we noticed a slight knocking sound coming from the rudder whenerver we rolled in swell. After diving on it, we found out that a rudder bracket had worn itself loose and required a haulout and new bushing. This wasn't an urgent problem, but it was something we would need to fix before our next bluewater crossing. I began looking at haulout options and considered facilities in Bali, Java, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
This wasn't complicated work, but we would need a machine shop nearby (and price was an obvious factor). The yards in Bali and Java didn't have sufficient facilities, yards in Singapore and Thailand were far too expensive, and some of the Malaysian yards had disreputable operators. I did hear about a new marina near Pangkor called 'Marina Island.' They had the ability to haul us out of the water, but were new so I was uncertain of their capabilities.
Our experience there, however, was more than positive. James, the marina manager (pictured on the right, above), went out of his way at every possibly moment to make sure that everything was going smoothly. On his trips in and out of town, he routinely purchased little gifts for all the sailors at the marina (either local fruit or local pastries such as the ethnic Chinese 'Grandfather's Bread' pictured above). Not only was James always reachable by phone, his staff would stop by several times a day and check to see if there was anything we needed.
The account manager, Loi, took us into town several times to swing by an ATM, and since leaving, he's twittered us many tips on places to go and see in Penang. One of the property managers, Ali, was exceptionally friendly and went out of his way to help sailors, even though his job was unrelated to the operations of the marina.
There was a local British ex-pat retiree named Roger who kept a boat at the marina. He was a loquacious, friendly, and genuine person who made it his job to chat with all the sailors that came in and out of the marina. He gave us rides to town, filled us in on the 'down-low' of the area, and entertained us with his quips.
James set me up with the manager of a local machine shop (they call them 'foundries' in Malaysia) who did a very professional job on our rudder bushing, and even custom fit a new propeller for us for an excellent price. In the end, the work we had done on the boat could have conceivably been done at anywhere, but James, Loi, Ali, and all the staff at Marina Island were what made our visit there such a positive experience.
We were ready to untie our lines and leave once all our work was done, but we elected to stay another two days and spend Thanksgiving with our new friends. On the surface, it was just another marina, but at it's core, it was the people there that made it so much more.