Sailing Triteiavideo
Getting Proped by Rope in the Malacca Strait & A Dangerous Night Arrival to Langkawi
16 November 2025 · 36 min · 30K views · Malacca Strait
Crewman leans over boat after cutting prop rope
What this video covers
A rope wraps around the Alberg 30 Triteia's propeller and locks the rudder in the Malacca Strait, forcing James to anchor in strong current and dive to cut it free.6:04 The ordeal takes 45 minutes: he drops the hook in 25 feet of water, ties a safety leash, and spends the time underwater sawing through a large knotted rope mass while fighting half-knot-plus current.16:26 Exhausted to the point of hooking his chin on the rail to haul himself back aboard, he then retrieves 75 feet of chain by motoring forward in short bursts against the current, with a five-foot shoal bank dangerously close.17:02 The two-hour delay pushes the 53-nautical-mile leg from Penang to Langkawi into a night arrival.17:59 Headwinds from the northwest close off the planned anchorage at Cigna Island, forcing a diversion to Teluk Duyung (De Jong Bunting Island), a cove with a 175-foot-wide entrance.24:50 A squid boat anchored dead center in that cut, its bright green light blinding any view of the cliffs, makes the approach in moonless darkness extremely tight.25:04 James creeps past and anchors in 11 feet under the keel.32:41 Langkawi is the season's endpoint before a haul-out at B&V Marine Boat Yard for an Indian Ocean refit.20:16 A safety leash is essential when diving on a fouled prop in current.17:21
Boats in this video
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