9th December 2008
We motor sailed all the way to Ko TaruTao to the most NW Anchorage where there is a park ranger who supposedly is interested in sailors and is willing to guide you on walks. We arrived and found a new, rather tacky concrete set of chalets and the park warden wanted 3 quid each to land our dinghy. How things change in the 10 years since the cruising guide was written!
Fliss...
3 pounds each was total rip off, unfortunately there was nothing we could do so we handed over our 6 whole pounds with a pained smile. There really wasn't anything to see and the locals were so surely & miserable that we were back on board Naz within 30 minutes.
Welcome to Thailand!
10th December 2008
This morning, we managed to sail to Ko Adang. We had a good sail and managed to strip varnish off some parts of the cockpit surround whilst under way. After arriving, we finished off the stripping of damaged areas, sanded and varnished before going snorkelling on the surrounding reef. We had noticed the water becoming steadily clearer as we moved away from the mainland and the visibility was really quite good. Tomorrow, we will move about 3 miles to the West side of Ko Adang and do some more exploration.
Ko Adang - Checking depth of bommies after anchoring
Last night, we confirmed that we were in the Northern Hemisphere since we both got up to relieve nature at about 5am and the Plough was sitting well above the horizon like a long lost friend. We haven't seen the Plough for maybe 2 years now - we must be getting close to home!
12th December 2008
This morning, we set off at 05:30 and followed the Plough to Ko Rok Nok and Ko Rok Noi. As we arrived, the water turned azure blue with browny bits (Coral) and we investigated the mooring bouys set up for visiting yachts. Having decided that they were too close to the reef for comfort, we set of between the islands only to have to suddenly reverse as the depth dropped and the water turned brown (Reef!!). We circuited it and found another bouy in 8m water with just a few bommies around us that were deep enough not to cause concern. We were immediately surrounded by fish of all sorts and (after another quick varnish job) we went off to explore the underwater world. We have a waterproof case for the camera now and have taken a few good shots although it is difficult to find the subject via the display on the back. We snorkelled around the bouys that we refused to go near and found that they were amist coral heads so shallow that we could stand on them!
We will probably stay here tomorrow since an American couple we met here told us that they had been to Phuket and that this was the best visibility of water that they had found in the whole of Thailand.
Fliss....
Probably the best marine life & coral we have seen in a long time. The fish are so tame that they swim alongside you sneaking quick glances. Loads of brightly coloured fish and our all time favourite Clown Fish. Funny little fish as they are very territorial, if you get too close they'll come out soft coral and swim towards you as if to say back off. It really is a spectacular island.
Finding Nemo
Little Fishies
13th December 2008
We stayed another day at Ko Rok Nok . When we inspected the bouys at Ko Rok Nok that were close to the reef, we found that they were actually tied around the coral heads (ours was securely fixed to a big concrete block). A Belgian family had moored to one of these and was friendly with an English catamaran who arrived yesterday.
The Belgian family had left very early this morning and we have just heard an English voice on the radio saying "he got up at 03:00 to investigate the mooring buoy banging against his hull and found himself to be in the middle of the bay - we don't think he wanted to leave so early". Lucky he wasn't on the rocks.
Yesterday we were visited by the park wardens.
They came out to Naz at about 6ish and asked for 800 Baht in park fees (400 each). Fliss said that we didn't have that much so the warden immediately agreed to drop it to 400 but without a receipt. I said that we only had a small amount of Baht because we only changed up what little we had in Ringitt when we left Malaysia and Fliss confirmed that we didn't have that much as we'd already paid park fees at Taruato. Fliss showed her theTarutao tickets and the warden immediately said we can stay no charge & promptly buggered off, god knows why!.... another boat said they had no Baht as they were on their way to Phuket to check in & they only gave them a packet of cigerettes...
We checked the information leaflet that we picked up in Ko Tarutao and it clearly states...............
The Service
Charge goes inside 200 national
park adult baht borders
100 children are baht
the season travels
island uncle loud group attack
the chinese unit of
weight equal to 37.5 milli-
grams
is accurate a stool is but
16 November - 15 May
of every year
island Tarutao group
open travel through all year
So now we know every finite detail and will proudly regale these simple rules to anyone else who wishes to charge us National Park fees.
We again went snorkelling and saw a 4 foot painted lizard happily walking along the beach not at all bothered by us being so close, amazing.
Lizard
14th December 2008
We had good winds for the initial run to Ko Phi Phi and were close hauled with one reef, on our ears, blasting along at 6.5 knots. "A bit of practice for the Red Sea" I thought as we pinched up to 45-50 degrees apparent wind. However, we are now back to motoring as the wind has died but left behind the steep chop which caused us slow progress.
We went to Ko Phi Phi about 14 years ago and the isthmus in the middle of the island had a few wooden and bamboo buildings which housed restaurants and lodgings. I suppose that most of that was washed away with the Tsunami a few years ago and they are rebuilding with vigour. Lots of new hotels and the main bay in the South of the island is packed with tripper boats racing around with unsilenced engines - a bit of a disappointment really. We anchored next to the rubbish barge and sniffed diesel all day.
Ko PhiPhi was wiped out by the Tsunami
Fliss...
Ok it was very touristy but sometimes it makes a refreshing change. It was interesting watching how the other half do it. Pete & I ordered a beer & a glass of wine and nearly passed out at how much it cost. The table next to us was overflowing with empty glasses and dinner plates. We really are out of touch on how much things really cost.
Early afternoon we stopped at a food market to sample some local Thai food, I ordered TomYum soup & rice & Pete had chicken with cashew nuts and rice. The soup was served in a huge bowl. Pete laughed and said it was nearly as big as me. It was very very hot & delicious the only thing with Thai soups is working our what you can eat as it's full of bits of bark and leaves.
It's shame that it's built up but there's no denying that it is still a beautiful island.
Early evening we took the dinghy to explore the caves and you could hear the bats squeaking. As we motored back big monkeys and their off spring were play fighting on the beach. Lovely.
15th December 2008
Today we set off at about 09:30 and had a spanking good sail to Ao Chalong on the island of Phuket where we visited officials and made ourselves legally here. There is a "Yacht Club" here where we parked the dinghy and we got chatting to two retired English guys hoping to pick their brains about the correct prices for taxi fares to the supermarket. One of them, Ian, said that if we parked Naz just in the next bay, he would drive us to Makro's the following day.
Local Fishing Boat
16th December 2008
So, this morning, we moved around the headland, dropped the hook and met him on the beach where there is a small restaurant/bar. We spent the rest of the day re-provisioning at Makros, Tescos and visiting the house that he rents here. He keeps a boat in Cyprus and is Wintering in Thailand before returning there next April.
Fliss....
The guys who have been ferrying us about to get shopping in for the sail across to the Red Sea have been great, in the evening they took us to a restaurant which was really cheap at 2 quid a head. I had a Thai (not spicy) curry, it was nice but too many peanuts in it for my liking. I don't like nuts in food for some reason. Jeff came back to the boat for a night cap, at 2am I made them ham & cheese sandwiches and left them to it.. Pete crawled into bed at 6am this morning. Later when he feels better we'll head back to Ao Chalong
17th December 2008
Fliss...
I went and had my hair cut given the language barrier she did a great job. I left Pete at the Yacht Club nursing a hangover and doing some internet stuff.
18h December 2008
Today, we went to the Boat Lagoon (the only marina here) by taxi to sort out spares ready for the next leg. More epoxy resin, deck caulking, engine filters, alternator belt, dinghy repair kit, sail telltales (for Red Sea close hauled), Engine Oil, ATF Oil, Switches to have as a backup for the Bowthruster control that is dodgy. There are boat maintenance and building companies everywhere at the Boat Lagoon and it appears that you can get anything you want - we certainly did. This afternoon, it has turned out a bit too late to go anywhere by sea so we might just go for a walk at Ao Chalong and then head North into PhangNa bay tomorrow where there are said to be superb limestone stacks, caves into inland lagoons, bats, birds etc etc. We will probably head for Ao Nang bay for Christmas(just West of Krabi) and back to Phuket for Christmas before heading West across the Indian Ocean very early January.
19th December 2008
Today we set sail from there the 10 miles to Ko Phanak. The wind was light so we put the main up at anchor and ghosted out of the bay. Soon, there were flurries of wind that had us going well across the flat sea very close hauled but the breezes kept increasing and I decided to put a reef in the main. As I went up to the mast, the headsail suddenly started luffing and we realised that the webbing strap at the head of the jib that is attached to the halyard shackle had parted. we quickly got the jib down on deck and then put in the reef in the mainsail because the wind had increased further. Ko Phanak is a very tall island falling vertically into the sea and we found good shelter behind it where we stopped for the rest of the day. I unpicked the top of the headsail and spent the next few hours trying to persuade the awl to go through so much cloth.
Ko Phanak has a couple of Hongs. These are inland lakes with vertical cliffs caused by collapsed limestone caverns and reached at sea-level through caves. They are accessible by dinghy at high tide but high tide today was about 17:00 and the wind was starting to blow into our anchorage pushing us towards the cliffs that were only about 100 yards away.
21 December 2008
We heard that there was a spectacular one near to where we had anchored Naz... so 1st thing this morning we took the dinghy around to have a look. Unfortunately the tide was too low so we could get the dinghy into the entrance as there was a rock in the way. So we ear marked it for another day
We decided to move to Ko Yai where the vertical islands huddle together and there is another inland grotto reached by cave. The tourist boats are here in abundance but they all move off at about 15:30 so we shall have peace and quiet then.
We have had an amazing day today.
They have things called 'Hong's" which are collapsed caves with an inland lake, tall vertical cliffs that totally enclose the lake.
The wind died in the afternoon so we decided to risk taking the dinghy back to the Hong we had tried earlier on in the day...
We took the dinghy into the entrance of the cave & within minutes it was pitch black! inside was really creepy as you could hear that bats squeaking. The sides of the cave we really sharp with rock oyster shells so we were not only worried that our torch wasn't charged enough (you'd have serious problems trying to find you're way out in the dark) or that we'd puncture the dinghy. This would be a serious problem as we were we'll over 3 miles from where we had anchored Naz, so we chickened out! Again
As we came out of the cave a tour boat arrived and put loads of people into canoes with torches into the water. We asked them if we could follow them in and they said no problem.
Amazing tall cave with loads of bats clinging to the roof and squeaking as we went passed.
Apparently at the end of the cave you go through a gap in the cave into the enclosed inland lake, well, as we got to the end we realised that the dinghy was too wide & too high to make it through the small gap which was only 1.5 foot high, Damn we thought we're buggered and it's end of the road for us. Again fortune smiled as an inflatable canoe came alongside and asked if we wanted to go with them through the small gap. We were so lucky as he had an 4 man canoe & there was only him & another guy so there was room for Pete & I...
To get through the small gap you had to lie flat on the canoe and the roof of the cave was 2 inches away from my face!!! scary stuff as the tide was still coming in. Pete asked the guy who was paddling the canoe if we would be ok to get out again & he said no problem.
It was THE most beautiful place we have seen. Tall sided cliffs covered with jungle. Monkeys sitting on rocks picking rock oysters, banging them on the rock and eating them. The place was tranquil with woodpeckers calling & pecking & crickets singing. wonderful!
Getting out was interesting as the guy let a lot of air out of the canoe so we could just make it back out under the ledge...
They were so kind to take us through & they didn't ask for any money. Other people who had taken the trip would have paid a lot of money to take the trip and we were so lucky that they were there & had space for us! Pete & I were buzzing all evening..
In the evening we took a drink & sat inside the open Hong where Naz was anchored & watched the bats fly out.
22nd December 2008
Today we drove Naz against headwinds a little North to the Ko Raya group of islands. The dramatic vertical stacks become even more impressive here and we took the dinghy around to visit arches through islands and eventually anchored of an island with a massive stone column at its western end - beautiful. During the afternoon, we went over to James Bond Island (Man with the golden gun was filmed there) and you could not fit another tourist on the place however, everywhere else was very peaceful. In the evening, we met up with a solo sailor from Australia and went back there (with dinghy) when the tourists had left. A nice island but we were anchored in a much nicer spot.
Ko Raya
"Sahula"
23rd December 2008
Last night was a bit windy but we were anchored in 4m with loads of chain out. We sailed down to Ko Roi, where there is a tidal Hong and beautiful scenery and met up with some Belgium friends. We have also met with a few World Rally English boats and everyone seems to be heading for Ao Nang, Krabbi for Christmas. We are doing the same & will hopefully meet up with Nomad Life & Toboggan.
Ko Roi
Phang Na Bay
24th December 2008
We went to Ao Nang for Christmas but the people that we thought we had arranged to meet there are in Ao Chalong. Anyway, Ao Nang was busy and very noisy with unsilenced engines of the longtail boats running tourists hither and thither so we rushed around to get some more petrol and some more supplies at the local market and set off to Ko Dam Khwan where we had been invited for a barbecue by 3 British boats and an Italian boat from the Bluewater Rally. We went over for and we plan to have a BBQ on the beach for Christmas lunch. A very nice bunch of people they are and we shall enjoy their company.
25th December 2008
Christmas morning and it is raining HARD, what a shame as the BBQ would have to be cancelled. Luckily one of the English boats was big enough to house all of us. A wonderful day spent with them and Yes, it was well lubricated....Hugh the surgeon turned up having already had 2 bottles of wine and Ian told us that he got back onto his boat and promptly fell overboard. Luckily, no-one drowned or injured themselves and everyone seemed reasonably perky in the morning except Hugh.
Fliss....
We couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor tourists who were just dumped on the beach and left all day there in the pouring rain. They'd obviously had romantic notions about spending Christmas Day soaking up the rays on a Thai beach, poor sods.
26th December 2008
Not much more to tell since we had a quiet day yesterday with a little exploring on the beach and some reading. Christmas day was very nice and we were made very welcome amongst the ralliers.
27th December 2008
We are now off to Ao Chalong again where we hope to get some of the main organising and provisioning done as well as final check on all the main boat systems before we depart across the Indian Ocean in the New Year.
31st December 2008
New Years eve was very pleasant and ourselves and Toboggan went over to Nomad Life for dinner. We did the starter of fresh prawns and toast and the others provided curry, veg, rice and dhal alongside the nan bread that we had bought from an Indian restaurant earlier. Following that, we had my hand-made fruit salad with yoghurt. Yum Yum but we were all stuffed by the end. After that, we met up with Ben, Corolla and family from Lasse on the beach and went to the Novotel Hotel at the beachfront to listen to a local singer and to countdown the new year and associated fireworks.
1st January 2009
HAPPY NEW YEAR
We just had a lazy day recovering from yesterdays festivities.
2nd January 2009
Now the work starts getting ready for the push across the Indian Ocean.
8th January 2009
Pete...
Some time ago, dad sent us details of yachts wanting to convoy through the Gulf of Aden. I got in contact with Sheldon Lindsay and we have been in e-mail contact since that time.
Today, we met up for a spot of lunch with Sheldon and Vanessa. Sheldon is a professional delivery skipper who picked up a 60 foot catamaran in Hong Kong and is headed for Spain with 2 Phillipino Crew and Vanessa. Both Sheldon and Vanessa are from South Africa during lunch Fliss mentioned that we know another delivery skipper from South Africa called Otto (we did our trail run through the Panama canal with him). "Oh Yes" said Sheldon, "Otto with the one eye! Was he delivering Moorings catamarans?" So, immediately we had something in common. Sheldon and Vanessa have friends in England and said that they have visited Surrey on a number of occasions. We said that we lived in Surrey and it transpires that the friends own Hambledon Manor where Holly has previously waitressed to help out the "Lords n Ladies".
We sent them our schedule by e-mail yesterday and it apparently fits precisely to their own plans so we are now officially a convoy of two. Sheldon said that they are not as fast as they should be and that the difference in boatspeed should not be a problem. They are slowed up with heavy generators, 3500 litres of fuel, the heavy duty washing machine in the bows, the air conditioning, the large stock of ice cubes, the 240 volt full cooker and oven, the 700 bottles of fine wine etc etc - it's a hard life worrying about someone elses boat.
So, we will leave a couple of days before them and then meet up in Uligamu (Maldives) for a full roast dinner, G & T with loads of ice being gently fanned by a cool, de-humidified breeze. Sounds good to us!
Sheldon received a phone call from the owner whilst we were with him. It appears that the owner may insist on their taking a couple of heavily armed mercenaries through the Gulf. We will stay close by!
9th January 2009
Last of the potable water supplies delivered to Naz today and only additional shower water to load this evening. We checked out with customs, port authorities and immigration at lunch time and then went to Tesco's for the last of the provisions.
We are now stowing and packing everything securely ready for the off tomorrow morning.
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