WEEK 9: 3 April – 9 April –Koh Pak Bia to Tarutao

DAY 57 – Saturday 3 April –Koh Pak Bia to Ko Hong (on buoy)
08°04.544N 098°40.821E
Headed for Ko Hong at a leisurely time of the morning as it was only three miles away. We circumnavigated the island then picked up a buoy around 12 noon. It was a bit overcast so headed round to the Hong in the dinghy. There was a gap which the longtails were going through so in we went. We have obviously been spoilt as we didn’t find it as spectacular as some we have seen so came back to the beautiful beach and went on a nature walk. There is actually a memorial here to the people who were killed in the tsunami. We really hadn’t comprehended the extent of it and this is the only island so far (that we have seen) that has mentioned it. They have left the remains of the longtails where they landed quite a way inland and this forms part of the walk. We came out to a beautiful beach and Dell thought we had walked to the other side of the island but we had just come out a bit further down the beach! Had a swim – beautiful. It rained. Its amazing how many people got out of the water because it rained! Went back to the beach in the late afternoon and walked around after all the tourists had gone. The outboard stopped (water in the fuel from the rain) so we rowed back to the boat. Fixed the fuel problem with a bit of metho.
Miles: 3 Total: 5,936

DAY 58– Sunday 4 April –Ko Hong
Were going to circumnavigate the island in the dinghy but it was a little rough so had a boat day. Got confirmation Debbie and Phil are coming so made plans!!!

DAY 59 – Monday 5 April – Ko Hong – Ao Chalon
07°49.228N 098°21.291E
Left Ko Hong at 7am and headed for Ao Chalon to check out and go back to Langkawi for duty free resupplies! We motored the entire way and as we were coming in the depth dropped and we were suddenly in very little water. A quick turn to port and we were ok – a near run thing! We arrived about 1.30pm and anchored amid lots of boats and buoys. Some more big boats came in on the buoys in the late afternoon so we were quite close to them but were ok. If we had realised it was a holiday tomorrow we would have checked out be we didn’t. Went to shore around 4pm and walked to Tesco supermarket for supplies for the trip to Langkawi. Found a lovely little restaurant on the beach and had the coldest beer (the weather is soooo hot!) and had dinner. We started walking back along the very long jetty and one of the buses stopped and picked us up and delivered us to our dinghy. There was a big boat tied up near where we had left the dinghy so we put all our supplies on that with the help of one of the crew and got in our dinghy off the back of their boat. Sat on the deck in the evening watching the lights of Ao Chalong and some sort of a big fire up the road.
Miles: 30 Total: 5,966

DAY 60 – Tuesday 6 April – Ao Chalon
Changri Day Holiday
We could have checked out today if we had paid the staff overtime but we chose not to. Went to shore around 4pm. There was a very smelly carcass of a skinned eel (or something) wrapped around the rope of our dinghy! Walked around for a bit then went back to our restaurant – Tamarind – and had dinner with Linger Longer and Cheshire Cat. Nice walk along the jetty to our dinghys and then the clamber down.

DAY 61 – Wednesday 7 April – Ao Chalon – Phi Phi Le
Happy Birthday Pete!
07°40.794N 098°45.86E (on Buoy)
Went to shore at 8.30am as immigration was supposed to open at 9am (that’s what it said on the door!). However, we were informed that it didn’t actually open till 10am. We managed to get through Immigration, customs and the Harbour Master in half an hour so were pulling our anchor up at 11am. We were in 4.4m of water and as we turned to port the alarm went off and said we were in 1m of water. (when our depth sounder says 1.4m we are on the ground!!) So that meant we were on the ground – Dell’s heart almost stopped and then it went back to 4.4m – quite a little heart starter for the morning!!! Followed the buoys out and there was quite a breeze so we thought we might have a good sail but then it went around on the nose – again! Arrived at Phi Phi Le around 4pm and were lucky enough to get a buoy. This is the place where the movie The Beach was made and it is quite spectacular. There are high cliffs all the way around except for the entrance and the whitest beach. Jumped off the back of the boat and there were hundreds of little fish under the boat chewing on the barnacles. Fed them some bread and was entirely surrounded – right in the middle of the school of fish – amazing! All the tour boats left except for one which took all its guests to shore to sleep on the beach. When it got dark we could see lines of fluorescence floating past the boat. What a fantastic place.

DAY 62 – Thursday 8 April – Phi Phi Le to Koh Rok Nok
07°40.794N 098°45.86E (on Buoy)
We left at 6.40am just after Liaison – had a bit of wind for a while and motor sailed and then, as always, what little wind we had went on the nose. We arrived around 2pm. We went round the island and started heading in to the channel between two islands heading for a red buoy. The depth started dropping very quickly from 19m to 2m (.6m under the keel) we did a quick about turn hoping there were no coral heads where we turned! Obviously that buoy was for shallow craft. We went back out and found a passage so went to the second buoy in but that buoy had no rope so back we went to the first one and managed to pick that up. There was a fair swell coming in so Pacific Express was bucking a bit. We saw a huge brown thing on the surface of the water – a stingray perhaps – we didn’t know but it didn’t make us feel much like jumping in the water there. Went into the beach – beautiful white sand and clear water with the most gorgeous green tinge to it. Went down to see the shrine with wooden effigies, most of which are phallic symbols, then had a swim and went for a drift snorkel with the dinghy. There were lots of little fish – when we looked back there were heaps of little fish actually following us and swimming with us! There was not much colour to the coral as apparently the coral was dynamited for fishing in 2002 but it was a good snorkel. The swell settled down and we had a comfortable night.

DAY 63 – Friday 9 April – Koh Rok Nok to Tarutao
06°38.426N 099°36.932E
It rained early in the morning so we upanchored at 6.30am and had breakfast on the way. There was no wind and if there were it would have been on the nose!! We were melting and the sweat was pouring off us!! Got into Taratuo at 4.15pm and there was quite a swell coming in. Watched a lone monkey walk along the high tide line on the beach.
Miles: 48 Total: 6,108

Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas

Dell and Peter

WEEK 8: 27 March - 2 April -Yacht Haven Marina to Koh Pak Bia, Thailand

DAY 50 - Saturday 27 March -Yacht Haven Marina - Koh Chong Lat
08°16.661N 098°37.881E
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEBBIE
Began the day with a skype to Debbie and Phil - it was a bit slow and disjointed but lovely to see them. Kristie 1, Cilantro and we all left at 9am heading to Koh Kudu Yai. The weather was still and we motored going over some quite shallow parts so we had to watch our depth. As we got closer to our destination the wind came up and the seas got a bit rough. Our anchorage was between two islands but when we got there, there was a terrible swell running through and it was obvious that it would not be suitable. We headed for Koh Chong Lat and got up into the channel between two islands. It was quite shallow going in but it is extremely sheltered as we are surrounded by high cliffs. There is a little village just around the corner. We got in at 4.40pm after a long and tiring day.
Miles: 31 Total: 5,921

DAY 51 - Sunday 28 March - Koh Chong Lat
A boat day put to good use cleaning up the boat and then sundowners on Kristie 1. Finally got phone and internet coverage in the evening so downloaded some logic puzzles.

DAY 52 - Monday 29 March - Koh Chong Lat
Happy Birthday Lottie
A boat day - Peter reading, Dell doing logic puzzles. A storm came up late in the day so we took the cover down and put up the water catcher and replaced the two jerries of water we used yesterday.

DAY 53 - Tuesday 30 March - Koh Chong Lat
Kristie 1 left to head back to Yacht Haven Marina to get some canvas work done. Another quiet boat day. Were going to have sundowners with Cilantro but a huge wind blew in at 3pm - there were willy willies on the water. We got blown around a bit and it rained so we didn't have the pleasure of Cilantro's company.

DAY 54 - Wednesday 31 March - Koh Chong Lat
Cilantro collected us in their dinghy and we went around the edges of the islands - all rocks and caves. Because it was a very high tide (springs) we were able to motor through the mangroves. We discovered some rock paintings in a couple of places and saw two different sorts of Kingfishers. One was very small and blue and white while the other was a little bigger and orange with an orangy beak - when he flies he has a beautiful blue on the back. They look as though their beaks are too big for their bodies. We found a little inlet which had a little waterfall going over it and on the other side of the channel we found a hong. It looked as though it had been blocked off, perhaps to trap the fish in there when the tide went out, but James discovered a little opening at the side so we went through and had a good look around. Really lovely. As we went past the little huts built on the water - there was one rather large one built on a bamboo platform with a little hut (woven palm) on each corner, a large one on the edge and a gazebo in the middle. Everything built out of cane, chairs included. The chap called us over and introduced himself as Salaam and offered the boys coffee and indicated Sandra and I should sit under the gazebo (away from the men!). Salaam had built the whole place himself. The huts on the corners were bedrooms with mosquito nets and a fully tiled bathroom at the back - a proper squat toilet and a barrel of water for washing. The middle hut was the kitchen - table and chairs all made from cane. They had very little English and we had no Thai though the men seemed to manage. Sandra and I didn't have much success at trying to communicate with the wife. She got us a sealed bottle of water out of their longtail boat. We tried talking and hand movements but it didn't work so she went back to chipping the growth off one of the floats which holds the whole thing up. We said our farewells and went back to our boats hoping to catch up later but once again a huge wind swept through and then the storm. We put all our flaps down and were quite comfy in the cockpit and it rained for a few hours. Once again no company!

DAY 55 - Thursday 1 April - Koh Chong Lat - Koh Pak Bia
08°06.971N 098°40.435E
Where does the time go - it feels like forever we have been away but it is less than a year! Cilantro left at 8ish to head back to Yacht Haven to get some canvas work done. We are heading for Koh Kudu Yai - a little concerned about the winds which roar in but we will see. Koh Kudu Yai had a fierce current running through despite the fact that it was almost a slack tide. We circumnavigated it in the yacht - a fantastic hong or two and definitely worth exploring in the dinghy. Looked at a couple of prospective places and decided to save them for another day. We arrived at Koh Pak Bia at around lunch time. It has a lovely sandspit at one end and some great karsts as a backdrop. The tide was high so the spit was covered with a metre or more of water. We anchored in 13.9m and went ashore for a swim. There were a few tourist boats in but not too crowded. The water was lovely and there was quite a current starting to run as the tide went out. The French in a charter catamaran anchored too close to us so we daren't leave the boat. They left just before the storm came in. Two of the little fishing boats came around and anchored either side of us. Unfortunately, when the winds blew us it straightened out our 55m of chain so we ended up very close to the now exposed rocks. The tide had dropped over 3m and the sandspit we had earlier been swimming over was 3m above the waterline and the beach was now all rocks! We probably would have been ok but probably isn't good enough so we upanchored in the pouring rain, went between the fishermen and moved further out and had a very comfortable night.
Miles: 12 Total: 5,933

DAY 56 - Friday 2 April (Good Friday) - Koh Pak Bia
Had a quiet boat day reading etc. Peter cleaned all the barnacles off the waterline of the boat and Dell did some computer work. We decided to have a shower (with all the water we had caught the night before!!) off the back of the boat before all the tourists showed up. As fate would have it as soon as Dell started her shower she could see a speed boat approaching and Peter could see one from the other direction! Just got her shower in in time! Peter waited till all the boats had gone past and the tourists were on the beach and he had his shower in the cockpit. And our boat slowly but surely started turning until the cockpit was facing all the tourists on the beach!!! Peter made a hasty retreat down below. Watched a huge storm over Yacht Haven Marina - lots of lightning and looked quite scary. We however, only had a couple of drops of rain and the evening was lovely.

The really fantastic news for this week is that Debbie and Phil are coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks on 26th April so we are really excited and will head back to Langkawi, Malaysia to stock up with goodies and be back up here to meet them!!

Hope all is well with all of you.

Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas

Dell and Peter

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WEEK 7: 20 March - 27 March -Ko Phanak to Yacht Haven Marina (anchored off)

DAY 43 - Saturday 20 March - Ko Phanak
Trepidation at the thought of going through a 200m pitch black tunnel with bats. We have to wait for the tide to rise to get in - will it be deep enough all the way through or will we rip the bottom out of our soft bottomed dinghy!! We went in about 11am with some tourists in kayaks The tunnel went in about 20m and turned right and it was pitch dark - thank goodness the kayaks all had lights as it is hard to row and shine the torch at the same time. After another 20m the tunnel turned left - still pitch dark. About another 60m further on we could see some lovely green muted light and as we got closer the ceiling started coming down and when we got up there we were very disappointed to find that the gap wasn't high enough for us to fit through. Thought of swimming through (for about 3 seconds!!) but the water was very murky. We went out with the kayakers. Cilantro and Kristie 1 turned up about an hour later so we organised to go in when the tide has dropped a bit. Its really a catch 22 with this place as at low tide there are big rocks all round the entrance and at high tide you cant get through. We tried again after 3pm - we went in our dinghy and the other four went in the other dinghy. We led the way having a vague idea now which way it went. It is sooooo dark. Got up to the hong but we still couldn't get through. We figured if we waited there for 20mins to half an hour we might have managed it but some of the party weren't keen to stay so out we went. Drifted out with the tide so we had time to use the torch and see the stalagmites and bats on the roof. You so need a kayak to get into these places, Jean and David where are you!!! We went in about 6pm to see the cave at really low tide - it had dropped about 3 metres. There were rocks and mudbanks in the tunnel. Had a walk around and went back to the boat.
DAY 44 - Sunday 21 March - Ko Phanak - Ko Hong, Phanang Bay
08°13.601N 098°30.112E
We upanchored on a fairly high tide around noon. Lots of tour boats were coming in so it was a good time to leave. We headed to Ko Hong and went around to an anchorage between three islands. Beautiful. Got in our dinghy and went to look around. It was a beautiful little bay with a cave/hong you could paddle through and come out the other side where Kristie and Cilantro were anchored. Went in again in another entrance then followed the kayaks into a little tunnel which led to a hong but once again we couldn't get through. Went out and paddled around looking at all the stalagmites and overhangs. We went back to the boat and blew up the lilo thinking we may be able to float through the hong on that. We settled in enjoying the view. The park rangers charged us 400 baht (about $14) to stay. Blew the other lilo up and slept on the deck as it was so hot.
Miles: 3 Total: 5,852
DAY 45 - Monday 22 March - Ko Hong to Koh Daeng Yai (near James Bond Island)
Happy Birthday Jean
08°16.597N 098°29.051E
We were going to take the lilo into the tunnel to get through to the hong but couldn't be bothered. Upanchored at 10am on a rising tide and motored round to an island just across from Koh Phing Kan (James Bond Island - the man with the golden gun). The bay is quite shallow but we had good depths and we anchored in 7.5m. At 1pm Kristie and we took the dinghies over to the island and as soon as we landed on the beach the ranger came down to collect our 400 baht! We took the dinghies around to a little beach which was covered in souvenir stalls and heaps and heaps of tourists and the noise of the longtail boats on the other side of the small beach. Another ranger came to check we had our ticket. We motored around the rest of the island and another couple of islands. We had a late swim on a very small beach near our boats and then returned there for sundowners. Because the bay is so shallow the water is quite murky.
Miles: 3 Total: 5,855
DAY 46 - Tuesday 23 March - Koh Daeng Yai to Koh Pan Yi
08°20.438N 098°30.319E
We left at 11am to catch the rising tide to go up to a village built on stilts up the river. The waters are very shallow all around here. We tried to cross in one place but then the water went down to .5m under the keel we prudently turned back and went a bit further down to get across. We followed the channel with enough water and arrived at the village around 1pm. We anchored opposite the village and a huge longtail quickly came out and wanted to take us on a trip up the river. The noise from the longtails was horrific. They are long boats of varying sizes with various sizes of truck engines sitting at the back with a huge shaft going out the back with a propeller on it which is how they manoeuvre. The engine has no coverings of any kind and are very noisy. Cilantro went a bit further up the river so Kristie and we joined them. We went ashore and walked through the village. It is a village built on the water on stilts with walkways all the way through it. It has a school, a mosque and a health centre and hundreds of souvenir shops and heaps of restaurants which service all the tourists on the longtails for lunch. One restaurant was open all day so we had a late lunch. One lady had a baby gibbon with a nappy on and wanted 100 baht for a photo. She shoved the gibbon into Peter's hands so we agreed 50 baht for a photo. Then another lady shoved another gibbon on Peter's shoulder while Dell took the photo. This was annoying as the little gibbon kept looking at the bigger gibbon so it took a while to get its attention for the photo. We paid the lady and then the other lady demanded 50 baht! We refused to pay that as we hadn't done a deal with her. We went back to the boats and the rangers turned up and we had to pay another 400 baht - we weren't expecting that. A couple of long thin colourful boats came past with about 16 crew rowing and counting - they seemed to be training and racing. We went back to the restaurant for dinner and I have to say it was the worst and most expensive meal we have had. So it turned out to be quite an expensive stop. To explain the fees - all this area is a National Park and it is 200 baht per person per day.
Miles: 9 Total: 5,864
DAY 47 - Wednesday 24 March - Koh Pan Yi - Yacht Haven Marina
08°10.387N 098°20.509E
Left at 9am on a low tide. We had intended to head to Krabi and Cilantro and Kristie were going to check out the Yacht Haven marina but we haven't been able to renew our internet so we are heading to Yacht Haven too. It was the hottest day we have had with not a breath of wind and we were just melting. We were very happy to get to Yacht Haven Marine at 3pm where we anchored outside the marina. We all met ashore and met Bill off Liaison who is staying in the marina. We went to the restaurant for happy hour (2 hrs) and then had dinner.
Miles: 26 Total: 5,890
DAY 48 - Thursday 25 March - anchored off Yacht Haven Marina
We met ashore at 9.30am and looked around then walked to the nearby village (Muslim) to try to sort out the internet but no go. The person there had a four month old ocelot (he told us it was a tiger) which had been found in a rubber plantation and he bought it for 3,000 baht ($100). It was pretty wild. They said when it got too big they would give it to the zoo. We walked back and tried to get a taxi but too expensive so went to the car hire place. He had a station wagon but said we wouldn't get 6 people in it and wanted to rent us 2 cars. After some negotiation we got the car for 24 hours. The backseat was about 12 inches deep. The back of it was sealed off from the car. So four of us squeezed into the back - had to get in in the same order or we didn't fit! Brian was in the front with his knees on the dash and Peter was driving and off we went aircon blasting. We went to check out Boat Lagoon marina and had lunch there, then to the shopping centre to sort out the internet. Because we hadn't renewed before the month was up we lost all the hours we had! We did some shopping which filled the back of the station wagon then drove up to the Ao Grand Po marina to check that out and then home at about 7pm - big day!
DAY 49 - Friday 26th March - anchored off Yacht Haven Marina
Today was fuel and water day. When we realised we could get the fuel 600 baht cheaper from the petrol station Cilantro and we put our jerry cans in the back of the station wagon and drove to the petrol station. Manoeuvred it all back to the boat and then went to get our water and return the car and we were all done by 12 so we went to the little cafe for lunch. Kristie took his boat into the dock at low tide and got fuel and water from the fuel boat. We went ashore at 5.30 and had a shower then met the others at the restaurant for happy hour and a meal. We could see lots of lightning around then it got really windy and a palm frond landed just next to us. We paid and Kristie and we hurried back to our boats. The calm water suddenly had huge waves on it and we got soaked getting back - exhilarating. We took down the shade cloth and Peter put out another 20m of chain. We thought we had dragged but were still the same distance from all the other boats but were a lot further back than the marina boats. We concluded that all the boats couldn't have dragged so therefore we mustn't have either!! However a boat had dragged near Kristie so they upanchored and moved out the back. Cilantro came back a little bit later when the seas had calmed and the wind dropped. We are approaching the transition period between NE & SW monsoons so it was a little lesson for us when we leave the boat to prepare it for the worst weather!!
Debbie's birthday tomorrow - so sorry we cant be there with you - miss you. We are currently in a beautiful place but the internet is intermittent and slow so will upload some photos hopefully later in the week.
Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas
Dell and Peter
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WEEK 6: 13 March - 19 March -Patong Beach to Ko Phanak

DAY 36 - Saturday 13 March - Patong Beach to Nai Harn Bay
We left Patong around 10.30 and sailed to Nai Harn Bay and anchored very close to where we had been previously. There are not as many yachts in this time. Its quite windy. Had a quiet day on the boat.

DAY 37 - Sunday 14 March - Nai Harn Bay - Happy Birthday Brian!!!
Kristie and Cilantro went to shore then called us up to tell us they had tracked down some drinking water. So we went to shore and ordered 8x 20 Litre bottles of water and when it came we lugged it down the beach to the dinghy and put four in - the surf was breaking so it was quite a feat to get the dinghy out. Peter came back to get the other four - was watching the surf and thought the waves were coming in sets of six. Peter came back in and we returned the bottles and recovered our deposit and we sat having a beer on the beach. Chris, James, Dell and Peter were joined by Judy and Mandolin Wind who had been for a massage. Sandra was expecting James back for lunch but he decided the surf was too dangerous and had a couple more beers!!! Chris said the waves were coming in sets of 7 which appeared to be correct so we managed to get back to the boat ok. We all met ashore at 6pm and went out to dinner - the little restaurants are all together just above the beach - each restaurant has different tables and chairs so you can tell where one ends and the other starts - no walls. It was dark when we went to come back so we couldn't see the waves. Kristie copped two big ones over the top and Margaret got soaked. Our dinghy got knocked sideways and took my feet out from under me and I was left sprawling across the top of the dinghy!! Eventually got back - bit battered but ok!
Miles: 11 Total: 5,818

DAY 38 - Monday 15 March - Nai Harn Bay - Debbie flies to Bangkok for a photography job!
Judy and Chris off Braveheart left to head back to Malaysia to get another visa. We went to shore around lunchtime and ran into Geoff and May (the Scottish Embassy) off Wavesweeper - was so lovely to see them again. They are anchored a bit further out than us. We met Bill and Jean off a cataraman called Out of the Box and they were just having a new dinghy delivered. We were very interested in it. It is a RIB but only weights 31kg so it is manageable. When we need a new one we will get one the same. Dell bought another pair of swimmers and bargained quite well this time and then we met Cilantro for lunch. We were watching Kristie come in and they got hit by a wave and Margaret's legs went up in the air and she disappeared into the dinghy! That evening we had sundowners on Kristie with Cilantro, Wavesweeper and Out of the Box. Was a pleasant evening then we ate on board - didn't want to brave the surf again!

DAY 39 - Tuesday 16 March - Nai Harn Bay
Very windy. Put fuel from the jerries into the boat. Had a boat day as we didn't want to brave the waves. Cilantro and Kristie went in but when it came time to come back out they wished they hadn't. That evening we all went with Wavesweeper to a rocky little bay near where they are anchored and went out to dinner with some friends of theirs who are thinking of doing the rally. There wasn't much of a breeze so it was hot but there was no surf and the meals were lovely and cheap - no complaints!

DAY 40 - Wednesday 17 March - Nai Harn Bay - Pan Wa Bali, Ao Chalon Bay
07°48.853N 98°22.885E
We left at 7.30 meaning to stop at two places on the way to Ao Labu but when we came round the point it was really blowing and it was really quite rough so Kristie and Cilantro headed into Ao Chalon Bay but we kept going around Koh Lon Island. It wasn't too bad but we decided to go in and anchor with Kristie and Cilantro at Pan Wa Bali on the eastern side of Ao Chalon Bay. We dropped anchor at 9.30am three times to get it to hold in mud. We went to shore to check out the little restaurant on the beach and the man told us that at 6pm there would be no water and we wouldn't get in till 8.00 or 8.30 - then he pointed out roughly where there was a channel. We went for a walk and had a look around and bought some eggs (turned out to be very old!!). Went back to the boat about 2 and watched the tide drop and amazingly by 4.30pm the entire beach was rock and coral with no way across EXCEPT the channel. There was a channel which had been roughly smoothed out between the rocks so it was fairly sandy and just wide enough to drag a dinghy. We went in at 5pm and got out at the start of the rocks, put the wheels down and dragged the dinghy about 100m to the beach and went to the restaurant and had a beer. James and Sandra decided to have a go too so they came in but their dinghy is much heavier than ours so all evening as the tide was rising James went down to float it a bit higher till it too was on the beach. The food was very cheap and quite good and it was a wonderful atmosphere sitting at tables on the beach. By the time we went back the tide was high enough for us to float the dinghies and motor back. A great night.
Miles: 9 Total: 5,827

DAY 41 - Thursday 18 March - Pan Wa Bali - Ao Labu Bay, Koh Yao Yai
08°01.633N 098°33.782E
We left at 9am and came around the point and it was still windy and quite rough so we headed across towards the island of Ko Yao Yai. The water settled a bit the further we got away from Phuket Island till finally it was beautiful and we were able to get the headsail out and motor sail. Went past a huge rock island with a few huts precariously perched on it. You can go quite close to them as the water round them is deep. Passed quite a few places we would like to do day stops at but it was a little windy for that today. Plenty of places to go back to. Kristie headed to the south of the bay as did Cilantro but we elected to anchor in the north of the bay. It was a bit boisterous at first but settled through the night. We went ashore about 5pm. The tide was almost right out and the water was about 200m from the beach. Left the dinghy there and walked along the beach and then came back to the boat.
Miles: 19 Total: 5,846

DAY 42 - Friday 19 March - Ao Labu Bay - Ko Phanak
08°11.348N 098°29.191E
The wind was just coming in spurts but the sea was very flat. We left at 11am without Kristie and Cilanto - sad. Motor sailed to the really exciting looking island we saw yesterday. We can see all the karsts and rock islands coming out of the sea and it looks magnificent - this is what we imagined Thailand to be like. We arrived at 2pm and motored along the edge of the huge limestone cliffs and came back and anchored in the middle of the western side of the island near the entrance to the hong cave. Apparently hong means room - there is generally a cave entering into the middle of the island with walls all the way around and no roof. We watched a couple of kayaks go in the cave and then jumped in our dinghy and went up the side of the island under huge stalagmites and the little monkeys were on the beach and a monitor lizard went up the cliff beside us and the cliffs are amazing - red in the sunlight. We went further up and turned the corner into the most gobsmackingly amazing semi hong - like a lost city - pulled into a little beach - birds, eagles - came back and as it was low tide we were able to row into a little cave which came out into a total hong with monkeys in. There was another cave on the other side - could we go up it too!! Dont want to wait too long as the tide is dropping. Relent and leave. Come back to the boat. Sat and looked at the view - amazing rock islands rising from the ocean in front of us. God is in his heaven and all is well. Birds calling from the island. Small fishing boat in front of us. SY Contessa near us and we are speechless to describe the scene. So beautiful you could cry. This is what it is supposed to be like. Sun setting amazing. It makes you glad to be alive!!
Miles: 3 Total: 5,849

DAY 43 - Saturday 20 - Ko Phanak
Trepidation at the thought of going through a 200m pitch black tunnel with bats. Just thought I would leave you with that to keep your interest for the blog next week!!!

Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas

Dell and Peter

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WEEK 5: 6 March - 12 March - Koh Miang, Similans to Patong Beach

DAY 29 - Saturday 6 March - Koh Miang, Similans
Met ashore at 10am and headed up the 350m adventure walk to the lookout. It turned out to be quite an adventure trail with ropes in places with which to pull yourself up (like absailing in places) then through a cleft between two boulders, more ropes and a ladder but it was worth it. The view was amazing. Had a swim at the little beach and snorkelled back to our boat. Actually saw some beautiful coral. A lot of the coral has been damaged - possibly anchor chains but it is a National Park now so no anchoring and much to Peter's chagrin - no fishing! At 5pm we went to shore and walked to the Sunset View. This is on the other side of the island past all the little tents and up another trail. Not as bad as this morning. Came out on a rocky ledge with no apparent access to the beach. We were soon joined by lots of other people and watched the sun set. Then it was a fast walk back to the dinghies before it got too dark.

DAY 30 - Sunday 7 March - Koh Miang, Similans
Took the dinghy across to the other side of the bay and had a snorkel but it wasn't that good so came back and snorkelled back to our boat. The fish are amazing - so colourful and every time we go in we see a type of fish we haven't seen before. Also saw a moray eel and Dell was quickly into the dinghy but ventured back in after a while. Dell went to get in the water from the dinghy and got the leg of her swimmers caught on a knob on the dinghy and was hanging upside down from till Peter came round to rescue her!!! We have discovered a shower ashore so had a shower and then had sundowners on the beach with Single Malt, Kristie 1, Cilantro and Jacana II.

DAY 31 - Monday 8 March - Koh Miang, Similans
Had a quiet day reading and Peter made some bread. Dell had a snorkel off the back of the boat around 4pm and saw the biggest fish ever - blue with black spots. Quiet night watching all the lights from the scuba divers make their way along the island. Its quite spooky seeing scuba divers below you when you are snorkelling!

DAY 32 - Tuesday 9 March - Koh Mian, Similans
Snorkelled to the beach then walked across the island to another little beach which wasn't very interesting. Tried to get back across the rocks but couldn't get down so we walked back the way we came and snorkelled back to our boat. At 4.30 we snorkelled to the beach (saw a big eel in the rocks), showered and had sundowners on the beach. Jacana II had left in the morning.

DAY 33 - Wednesday 10 March - Koh Miang, Similans
Having trouble leaving. Dell suffering a bit from too much exercise - very tired so had an easy day.

DAY 34 - Thursday 11 March - Koh Miang to Ao Bang Thao
08°01.650N 098°17.116E
Awoke at around 4.30am with the boat bouncing up and down and a strong wind from the South East - not good! Single Malt left at 4.30am and Cilantro left at 6.10 followed by Kristie at 6.20. One of the moorings close to the beach with a tourist boat on it broke the mooring and headed for the beach - they just managed to get off in time. We got away at 6.30 with the wind on the nose and punching into 2m seas all the way and at times we were only doing 2.5knots. The wind shifted direction to NW (good angle) about 2.30 so we were able to make some time up - got in at 5.20pm - an 11 hour day!! We handsteered the entire way as we didn't want to risk the autopilot. Just after we anchored and Cilantro got in it poured rain so we showered in the rain and Peter put up the rain catcher and we got a couple of jerries of water. A lovely peaceful night.

Miles: 54 Total: 5,797
DAY 35 - Friday 12 March - Ao Bang Thao to Patong Beach
We left at 9am heading for Patong to do some shopping. Nice bit of breeze heading under headsail. Arrived at 11am and headed to shore to the wet market and bought heaps of lovely fruit and vegetables and then to the supermarket. Staggered back fully laden to the boat and sat and watched the mad jetskiers speeding about suffering the roll as they speed past the yachts as close as they can to have a look. There always seems to be one bully who tries to play dodgems with the others. Can't imagine how many people must get hurt doing this. At 6pm Braveheart, Cilantro, Kristie and we converged on the shore and went out to dinner and then to our favourite bar where we all played the hit the nail in the wood with the pick handle. Was an ok night but not as much fun as last week!!
Miles: 10 Total: 5,807

Just a follow up on the leaving the beach last week with the engine roaring in the surf. It seems that James was loath to put the engine into gear until Peter got in the dinghy and Peter didn't want to get in till the dinghy was moving so it was a case of too many skippers!!!

Still trying to organise our year - will let you know when we get it sorted!!

Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas

Dell and Peter

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WEEK 4: 27 February - 5 March - Kata Beach to Koh Miang, Similan Islands

DAY 22 - Saturday 27 February - Kata Beach - Patong Beach
07°53.678N 98°17.344E
Left at 9am and motored to Patong Beach to do a shop to go to the Similan Islands arriving at 11am. Patong Beach is a long beach, once again covered with lounge chairs and beach umbrellas. There are jet skis roaring around the boat. It is very busy with tourists everywhere. Headed to shore to go shopping when a jet ski headed directly at us and turned sideways about 5ft from our side so we had a wall of water go over us - we were soaked and the dinghy full of water and the guy was laughing. The jet ski operators came out and got him to shore and got him out of there so by the time we got in so Peter could "have a discussion with him" he was gone (which was maybe just as well). We honestly felt as though we had been assaulted and were a bit traumatised. It was a dumb tourist not the Thai people but left a really sour taste in our mouths. We went to the wet market and got heaps of great fruit and vegies but couldn't face the supermarket and didn't need much anyway so went back to the boat. About 5 minutes later the parasail boat came out to us to return my handbag which I had left sitting on one of the dinghies on the beach. I hadn't even missed it and it had my glasses and quite a bit of money in it. This was such a feelgood moment and restored our faith in humanity!! We gave them a small reward but when we went to shore a bit later we gave them a decent reward and they were most concerned that I was alright and the boss of the team gave me a cuddle!! (They all work in teams). We had a couple of drinks in a lovely bar and a small gay mardi gras parade went past. We met Single Malt and Cilantro for dinner and then wandered up and down - the street is closed off at night - looking at the nightlife and all the girls and lady boys. The three men had a ball and stuck their heads into a few of the clubs - couldn't keep the smiles off their faces!!! It was a really fun night and we didn't get back til around midnight.
Miles: 7 Total: 5,660

DAY 23 - Monday 28 February -Patong Beach to Ao Bang Thao
08°01.667N 98°17.094E
We went to shore at 8am as we had organised for our friends on the beach to deliver us some drinking water. True to their word there they were though they could only get their hands on 8 big bottles instead of 12 and the price went up a bit but we appreciated it. We upanchored at 10am and arrived at Ao Bang Thao at around 12.30. We headed for the middle of the bay then made our way to the north of the bay which seemed much quieter and more sheltered. There is a little creek which goes up to a lake. We went in for a swim and the tide was going out so we floated down the creek with the tide. Then we all met on the beach for sundowners and walked to the little restaurants but it seemed that they only open for lunches so it was back to the boat to cook.
Miles: 10 Total: 5,670

DAY 24 - Tuesday 1 March - Ao Bang Thao
It was such a lovely spot we decided to stay another day. I had an easy morning reading - I had fallen into a bit of a hole and Peter finally starting cleaning the stainless. About 11am James and Sandra picked us all up in their dinghy and we went up the creek exploring. We saw lots of concrete poles all over the place which were different heights and close together so it didn't look as though it had been or was going to be a building. We couldn't work it out. Found the lake and went back out the creek and over to the beach and went to the restaurant for lunch which was lovely. When it came time to head back to the boats there were some quite big waves rolling in - mostly in sets of three. So we timed it and all dived in the dinghy and I can see a wave coming and yelling hurry up and the motors roaring and Brian's saying it wont go!! Peter was out the back of the boat holding it. We got hit by about three waves and were all soaked and the boat was filled with water before Brian realised he was in neutral!!! Put it in forward and off we went - bailing. It was hilarious. Called by and said hullo to Single Malt on the way back.

DAY 25 - Tuesday 2 March - Ao Bang Thao - Ban Thap Lamu
08°34.097N 98°13.054E
Upanchored at 7am and motor sailed on calm seas arriving at 4.10pm. It was quite windy when we rounded the point to head up the river and we had wind against tide which made it very rough. We passed the Navy base and anchored on the opposite side of the town. All you can see of the town is fishing boats - heaps and heaps of them all rafted up together.
DAY 26- Wednesday 3 March - Ban Thap Lamu
Today would have been Judy and Phil's wedding anniversary. Thinking of you Judy.
Brian and Margaret picked us all up in their dinghy and we headed into the town across the river. There was a strong current running. We walked around the town (our first mainland town) and found a couple of hardware type stores and Peter bought some oil. We found guitar strings in another shop which seemed to have heaps of different things - very interesting. The town is quite smelly and dirty with lots of rubbish but when you see into people's houses they are really clean. We had a lovely lunch at the Navy cafe. Had sundowners on Cilantro to plan for tomorrow.

DAY 27 - Thursday 4 March - Ban Thap Lamu - Koh Miang (island No. 4), Similan Islands
08°34.097N 98°13.054E
Left at 7am with the river looking like glass. The brand new raymarine auto pilot snapped off at the end - it wasn't even rough weather. So once again Peter had to get the old one out to get a part to fix it. Quite a boring day. Quite a few tourist boats passed us along the way. We managed to sail for part of the way but in the afternoon the wind died and we motored in. Kristie 1 and we picked up a red mooring and Cilantro hopped on to one of the bigger ones. Single Malt has been here for a couple of days. The sand is really white and fine and the colour of the water is amazing - so clear, aqua blue and darker blue in the depths. One of our number was heard to comment that the water is so clear you can't wee in it cause you would see it! When Kristie 1 came in to grab their buoy Margaret missed it and they had to reverse back to get it. It was only later that we found out that Brian had given Margaret a broom to pick it up with instead of a boathook!!!! We went for a walk to the other side of the island where hundreds of tents have been set up. We had a beer there but we forgot the aerogard and there were heaps of flies so we came back to the boats. A big catamaran came and anchored quite a long way from us (you are not allowed to anchor here) and put out heaps and heaps of chain which worried us a little bit.

DAY 28 - Friday 5 March - Koh Miang, Similan Islands (paradise)
We were awoken at 4.30am by the buoy banging on the side of the boat. Peter went up to check and came back saying that cat is only two feet away from the side of our boat. It drifted away about 5 feet and we tried shouting to them and shining the torch on them but to no avail. They drifted out the back of us then around the front - we couldn't alert them so went back to bed thinking they would drift back where they came from. We didn't think they were dragging anchor, we just felt they had way too much chain out, but we may have been wrong. Anyway at 5.30 (still dark) there was a clunk so we shot up and the front of the cat had hit us in the side so we banged on their boat and yelled till a naked man came up and didn't say or do anything - just stood there looking down at us. Then a man with trousers on came up and said sorry and started pulling chain up and reversing back. They went round the back of us and our dinghy was almost under their boat then they moved off and went back where they came from. Cilantro managed to get a red buoy closer to shore. We dived off the back of the boat at 10am and snorkelled for an hour and a half. We didn't think the coral was up to much but the fish were so big and so colourful. Saw a great big powder blue fish - so pretty. We have a fish that visits at the back of the boat and we can feed it by hand - Jack would have loved that! Had a quiet afternoon then we all went to Single Malt and Doug fired up his barbeque. We all took a salad and meat and we had quite a feast. It was a really good night.

Well we seem to have found ourselves in a pretty nice spot so will be spending a few days here. The Similans are 30 odd miles off the coast of Thailand. We will stay here for a while as we have a buoy. There are 9 islands in the group and I think only number 8 has other overnight buoys. We will look around before we leave but meanwhile we seem to be in a little bit of paradise. Thank you to all of you who have emailed us. We really appreciate it and I get really home sick sometimes so its nice to know we are not alone out here. Hugs and kisses to Jessie and Rosie. Take care of yourselves.
Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas

Dell and Peter

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WEEK 3: 20 February - 26 February -Ko Lanta to Kata Beach, Thailand

DAY 15 - Saturday 20 February - Ko Lanta to Phi Phi Don
07°43.797N 98°46.206E
Went to the beach at 7am and walked/ran around 4km and upanchored at 9am. Sailed for a bit, motor sailed for a bit and arrived at Phi Phi Don at 1.30pm. There are heaps of resorts ashore and boats everywhere coming and going, boats on buoys and anchored and huge tourist boats and myriads of small ones, so it was hard to find a place to anchor and it was rough as boats were roaring past. We went for a snorkel - got in the dinghy to go and a huge speedboat cut across the back of our boat just as we came out from behind it and nearly collected us. I thought the huge wave from the wake was going to knock us out of the dinghy!!! Close call. Visibility was ok - not great, coral almost non existent and some fish along the drop off. Was nice to be back in amongst the fish though! Went to shore and walked down the beach past the hospital then cut across the isthmus to see the other side of the island. Went through the middle and found lots of little laneways full of shops and tour operators - heaps of little laneways. We ate dinner at a little local place and thoroughly enjoyed my spicy red curry chicken and Peter had Thai spicy chicken meat. Phi Phi Don is not a place to spend a lot of time in a boat. The constant boat traffic is very wearing and keeps the water churned up all day. Night is very quiet and a good anchorage in 17metres.
Miles: 17 Total: 5,614

DAY 16 - Sunday 21 February - Phi Phi Don - Nair Harn Bay
07°46.395N 98°18.113E
Departed Phi Phi Don at 8am and had the usual motor, motor sail, sail day arriving at Nai Harn Bay on the western side of Phuket at 3pm. Its a lovely big bay and the beach is covered in beach umbrellas and beach chairs and there are quite a few yachts in the bay. We have chosen to come here rather than go into Ao Chalon as we have been told it is rather shallow and hard to get into. We went to shore and were looking around and next thing were hailed by Braveheart and Cheshire Cat. So we all had a catch up drink together and had dinner together. There are lots of little eateries along the shore and a couple of small shops.
Miles: 32 Total: 5,646

DAY 17 - Monday 22 February - Nai Harn Bay
Caught a tuk tuk truck - bit like a troop carrier and we all headed to immigration, customs and harbour master to check into the country. This took about half an hour and we were in. We then caught a tuk tuk to the shopping centre to sort out phone cards and internet. Had a shopping centre lunch - not good. Got the phone sorted but not the internet. We then caught a tuk tuk to Patong Beach which is huge and is the place where the night life really rocks. We had a look around and a beer in an aussie bar where the tv displayed cartoons from playboy! (presumably!!!). Caught a tuk tuk back over a big range about 18k back to Nai Harn. Saw elephants parked in their garage(!) and a few more elephants a bit further on. Got back and had sundowners on Kristie 1. I bought some swimmers and forgot to bargain!!!

DAY 18 - Tuesday 23 February - Nai Harn Bay
Had a chill out day and went for a swim then walked to Cape PromThep to watch the sun set. There is a temple there dedicated to elephants with statues of elephants and people have put thousands of little elephant statues around the outside of the circle. Watched the sun set - was a bit cloudy on the horizon so didn't actually see it go into the sea. Ate on board.

DAY 19 - Wednesday 24 February - Nai Harn Bay
Hired a motor bike for the day - 300 baht ($10) and headed off to see the Big Buddha which is a huge white Buddha high on a hill made of cement and covered in white marble tiles. It is still under construction. We went to the shop and got the internet sorted, then just rode around. The Thai writing is not English letters and not a lot is written in English so by the time we realised there might be something to look at we would be past it - went back a couple of times but in the end just enjoyed the ride. We stopped at a few clothes markets on the way back but you get assailed by the stall/shop owners at every turn so it gets a bit wearing. Got back after 5 and Kristie 1 were in one bar/restaurant so they joined us because ours was cheaper and then we realised Cilantro were at another place so we eventually all joined up and had dinner. Very tiring day.

DAY 20 - Thursday 25 February - Nai Harn - Rawai
07°45.605N 98°19.165E
Not a good day to do the washing but had soaked the sheets overnight so had to continue. By the time we had everything washed and hung it was raining and it was getting quite rolly. We hung everything in the cockpit and headed to shore so Peter could get a haircut. Waves were breaking on the beach so we had to move quickly to get the dinghy in. After the haircut we both decided to have a Thai massage - 300 baht ($10). For your information "in a Thai massage, the masseuse concentrates on pressure points across the body where an abundance of energy has built up. Releasing this energy and evenly distributing it across the body to create a balance is the basis of Thai massage" (in case you were wondering!!!) It was a good hard massage and they bent us up like pretzels - if you had one every week it would definitely improve your flexibility. It poured rain while we were in there. Then we walked around to another little bay and had a call from Cilantro saying it had got too rough so they and Kristie 1 were heading around the headland to get out of the westerly swell. We launched the dinghy into the waves. When we got to the boat two of my shirts on coathangers had come off and luckily were wrapped around the back of the boat. The boat was bucking and rolling quite badly so we upanchored and went around the headland to join Kristie 1 and Cilantro. A quiet night with dinner on board and sat on the deck and watched a movie "Thankyou for Smoking" - bit weird!
Miles: 2 Total: 5,648

DAY 21 - Friday 26 February - Rawai to Kata Beach
07°49.142N 98°17.684E
Couldnt sleep so got up very early and upanchored at 9.15 and went around to Kata Beach arriving at 10.35am. It is a very busy beach with jetskis and parasails and beach covered with umbrellas and heaps and heaps of people. We went to shore at 1pm and walked around. Brian and Margaret won a free holiday in one of those time share things so went off to see about that. We came back to the boats at 4pm and went in at 6 for dinner. Peter and I shared a Tom Yum soup then I had a massaman curry which was perfect. Peter's meal was too hot for me and he had tears rolling down his cheeks. A lovely night out.
Miles- 5 Total: 5,653

All the beaches have sirens and tsunami warning signs telling you where to go in case of an earthquake and up the hill is another sign saying tsunami safety area. As you know this western side of Phuket was pretty much wiped out in the tsunami but you really couldn't tell now. We are heading slowly up the coast heading for the Simillan islands which you can only do in the NE season. When the SW's come we will tuck around in the bay the other side of Phuket island.

Hope you are all well. We currently have the internet on the boat and Katie, I was wondering how our little Rosie girl was going.

Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas

Dell and Peter

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WEEK 2: 13 February - 19 February -Kuah Malaysia to Koh Lanta Thailand

DAY 8 - Saturday 13 February - Kuah
06°18.717N 99°50.874E
Were told that Sunday and Monday are holidays for Chinese New Year so got up early and walked to the wet market to buy fresh fruit and vegetables and then to the warehouse to buy a few cartons of wine. We caught a taxi back with all our shopping, washed and stowed all the fruit and veges then walked to the post office and then to the Chinese supermarket at the opposite end of town. Went to the night market and bought lots of yummy food from the stalls and returned to the boat to eat it. Must have walked 20ks today!!!

DAY 9 - Sunday 14 February - Kuah
VALE Cousin Noel Nielsen - found out today that Noel passed away sometime in January. Sincere sympathy to Judy and her family. A wonderful man.

All the Chinese shops are closed today. Bought ten cartons of beer (A$10 a carton) then went to dinner at a lovely restaurant with Single Malt, Cilantro and Kristie. A lovely night out.

DAY 10 - Monday 15 February - Kuah to Telaga
06°21.738N 99°40.776E
Went to the Harbour Master at 9.30am, then customs and immigration and officially checked out of Malaysia. Bought Peter a cheap guitar and Dell a bucket!! And upanchored at 12 noon. Motor sailed and anchored at 4pm in 3m. Were going to go in to Faizel's bar but the tide was way out so decided to have drinks on Kristie and discuss where to go tomorrow.
Miles: 16 Total: 5,498

DAY 11 - Tuesday 16 February - Telaga, Malaysia to Ao Sone, Tarutao, THAILAND
06°38.525N 99°36.949E
Upanchored at 9am. We now have a week to get to Phuket to check into Thailand. We have put up the Thai courtesy flag and taken down the Malaysian one which was much the worse for wear! As we were leaving we were deciding whether or not to put the main sail up when Single Malt went past and said it was gusting 28 knots so we just put the headsail out. It was so windy and lots of tipping so reefed into a half a headsail and were still flying along at 6 knots. It was scarily windy and after a while we took the sail down completely. Cilantro told us later it gusted up to 36 knots!! Anyway we crossed the 5 mile gap between Malaysia and Thailand and are unofficially in Thailand. We made our way up the island of Tarutao and at one point the wind completely died. We were making our way to E in the Sail Thailand book but went to the north of the bay as it was still a bit windy. Dropped anchor in 6.9m at 2pm. Cilantro had a problem with an oil leak which turned out to be the dipstick wasn't put back properly. Once they got over that fright they collected us and Kristie in their dinghy and we went ashore. There was a nice new ranger station but uninhabited and some old buildings in various state of disrepair (tsunami damage?). We sat in a dilapidated rotunda and discussed where to go tomorrow. We are just trying to do short day hops. Then we had a beer and a swim in that order. The water was lovely and clear and we had a lovely lazy afternoon. Single Malt went on a bit further and when they went ashore were charged 200 baht (~$7) for the privilege!! The wind howled all night but we were pretty steady.
Miles: 20 Total: 5,518

DAY 12 - Wednesday 17 February - Ao Sone, Tarutao to Koh TaliBong
06714.925N 99°22.037E
We upanchored at 8am after adjusting our clocks one hour back (I think!!) and there were hundreds of fishtrap flags in front of us. We weren't sure if they were nets or traps so we nudged slowly forward into their midst and they did in fact turn out to be traps. There are heaps of them everywhere. The wind calmed - nice breeze motor sailed under headsail. Around lunchtime the wind came up so we put the main up and had quite a good sail for a couple of hours. It was overcast and we could see rain over the mainland. The islands are very interesting being limestone rock which just rise up out of the water and they have caves in them. We were heading to Koh Phetra but when we got there it was blowing SE instead of NE and it was much too rocky and rolly so we kept on for another 12 miles and went to a little bay in the NW side of Koh TaliBong. Single Malt is also here. Anchored at 4pm and watched a video - The Quiet American.
Miles: 42 Total: 5,560

DAY 13 - Thursday 18 February - Koh TaliBong to Ko Muk
07°21.540 99°17.453E
Upanchored at 8am and had a slow leisurely motor sail across to Ko Muk. Went past the anchorage and round to where the cave to the hong is hoping to anchor just north of there but there was already a yacht in there and not much room between two high rock walls and a small beach at the end. One more yacht may have squeezed in but not three so we came back around to the first anchorage. Arrived at 11.30am. Anchored off a busy beach with resorts, boats, tourists etc. Took us three gos at dropping the anchor to get it to hold - rocky bottom. As Dell looked up to see the wind direction she saw a little swallow perched on the arrow right at the top of the mast. We then watched tiny little fish all leaping out of the water as they went along - sometimes they would split and go in opposite directions and it was like watching a water fountain. At 3pm we got in our dinghys and motored around to the Emerald cave which is called a hong (Tham Morakot). An 80m long limestone tunnel (pitch black) leads to an inland beach totally surrounded by vegetation clad cliffs. The entrance is quite small and can only be accessed by sea on a low tide. We dinghied in with our torches. Next time I think I would like to swim in. Apparently in times past pirates used to hide their loot in the cave. We rowed in and when you get past the entrance the tunnel opens out. The noise in the tunnel was pretty spooky - different noises going in and out. Probably water banging into other caves but when we came out it was more like a roar. When we came out of the tunnel it was the most amazing sight. The little beach is totally enclosed by huge cliffs. We timed it so there were only a couple of people in there but when we went to leave, a big tour boat had come along and we could hear heaps of people yelling in the tunnel and then emerged two tour guides towing a conga line of tourists all hanging on to the person in front - life jackets on. There must have been 90 of them!! When we left the water at the mouth of the tunnel with the sun shining in it was the most exquisite emerald colour. Still had to duck our heads to get out even though it was low tide. After that we headed for shore and walked down past a couple of resorts checking out the menus and prices and ended up at the other end of the beach at a run down looking establishment which sat on a cliff overlooking the bay and had a few beers and the most amazing Thai meal ever!!
Miles: 12 Total: 5,572

DAY 14 - Friday 19 February - Ko Muk - Koh Lanta
07°37.985N 99°01.547E
We upanchored at 8.30am and motor sailed under full sail past some lovely dramatic limestone cliffs. Had a slow motor sail over lovely green water arriving at 2.30pm. Anchored in 4.5m next to Bach & Byte and Single Malt. Have started doing my long stitch embroidery and am quite enjoying it. Beach is strewn with resorts and backpackers. Went in at 6.30pm with all the gang and had dinner.
Miles: 25 Total: 5,597

Special love and hugs to Rosie and Jessie

Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas

Dell and Peter

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2010 - WEEK 1: 6 February - 12 February - Rebak to Kuah Malaysia

DAY 1- Saturday 6 February - Rebak to Telaga
Spent the morning doing chores and finally at 1pm left Rebak marina and headed out. The prop jarred and grinded as it threw off some junk but we were on our way. James had dived on his prop the day before and took him ages to get it clean. Peter had suggested he run a rope round so he could get up and down easily instead of diving every time and it worked well but when he finished and started the motor he forgot to take the rope in and it wrapped around his prop!!!
We got to Talaga around 2.30 - motored and went to the fuel dock to fuel up and anchored around 4pm. We went to Faizel's bar at 5.30 with Kristie, Cilantro and Single Malt but it was Faizel's day off. Had a nice time and agreed on a programme for tomorrow. We all put flashing blue lights on our boats now as just after Christmas one of the dinghys was hit by an illegal Thai fishing boat and Giles ended up in the water. He put his arms up to protect himself and ended up with 2 broken arms (3 in each arm) and a prop gash top left and bottom right. He couldn't swim but his mate somehow got him back on board (the fishing boat kept going). He lost 5 litres of blood and luckily a Canadian doctor was on the dock and gave him initial first aid. He is staying at Rebak in a room at the resort and has two titanium plates in his arms and is working hard on his rehabilitation.
Miles: 4 Total 5,438

DAY 2 - Sunday 7 February - Telaga to Tanjong Rhu
06°27.714N 99°49.340E
We left Telaga at 9am with Kristie and Cilantro and had a bit of a sail heading round Langkawi Island. We can see Thailand a few short miles away. We anchored in a lovely little spot at 1.45pm, had some lunch and then went for a swim. The water is quite murky - lovely green but more like pea soup - not clear. Had sundowners on Kristie.
Miles: 20 Total: 5,458

DAY 3 - Monday 8 February - Tanjong Rhu to Hole In The Wall
06°25.280N 99°52.040E
James and Sandra collected us in their dinghy and we went over to a rocky island and saw some monkeys and lots of sea lice in the water, then all of a sudden the sea lice were all over the back of the dinghy! Peter was trying to wash them off but it was almost a losing battle. Got out of there and went to check out the inlet and floating restaurants and headed up the river aways. We upanchored at 1.30pm and sailed for a bit then motor sailed around the top NW corner of Langkawi to the Hole in the Wall. We followed a waypoint in and the water was quite deep all the way. Anchored at 3.15pm.
Jumped into our dinghys and went past the floating restaurant and round to the crocodile cave which we could go through. It was really beautiful. Came back and had dinner at the floating restaurant. We had sundowners on Cilanto and then all of a sudden there was Whistle Down the Wind coming into the anchorage so we called them up and invited them over too. It was really great to have the whole gang together again!
Miles: 7 Total: 5,465

DAY 4 - Tuesday 9 February -Hole In The Wall
Met at 10am and all went in our dinghys to see the Eagle feeding and then continued up mangrove tributaries following a 2002 mud map. The tributaries started getting smaller - it was really beautiful - looks like real crocodile country but it isn't - so they tell us! Brian was having trouble with his outboard so Kristie and Cilantro turned back. We continued on with Whistle and ended up rowing but the tributary got too narrow so we had to turn back, tried another one which ran round a rock wall but it also got too narrow and so we had to turn back. On the way back there were lots of eagles feeding so it was lovely. Peter dived on our prop and cleaned all the crap off it - really did look like croc country so he was working fast!!!

We all went to the restaurant for dinner and they showed us through the fish farm and fed all the fish for us. The stingrays were particularly interesting to feed. They would kind of flap up onto the edge of the pen and the keeper would turn them on to their backs so their mouths/faces were exposed and feed them. With the baby ones he just put his hand under them and fed them. They had some giant grouper - 50kg - heaps of big barramundi who all waited to be fed like a herd of cattle and made such a noise grabbing the food. There were archer fish which spat at a hunk of fish about 2ft above them and hit it so it fell into the water. They had giant trevally and reef fish and small grouper. Choose your fish - it is fresh. We passed on the fish!

DAY 5 - Wednesday 10 February - Hole In the Wall
Met at 10am again but Kristie elected not to come so we set off with Whistle and Cilantro and went through the cave and were supposed to keep going but Peter misread the mud map and took us a different direction - it was lovely but the wrong way. Sandra figured out which way to go so we gave her the mud map. Went back through the cave and to a very narrow pass which had been blasted out to connect the bays of Hole in the Wall and Danjong Rhu. Saw some monkeys on the other side and Whistle decided to turn back. We continued with Cilantro and saw a tourist boat putting pieces of fish into the water to feed the eagles so had a magnificent display of eagle feeding! Continued down past some old charcoal works with a couple of old kilns. I had my parasol and Sandra a big umbrella - the sun is rather fierce and it is so hot. Got through to Tanjong Rhu where we had previously been anchored and went to the floating restaurant there for lunch. Dell had a mango salad and asked for spicy. It was VERY spicy (hot!!!) so Peter had to finish it but all the meals were delicious. We then made our way back only taking a wrong turn once (a total of 10 miles). There were a heap of very curious monkeys just before the pass. Arrived back at 3pm having had a wonderful day out. We had sundowners on our boat. We put a cover we bought in Indonesia on the seat and wished we had bought 2 instead of one as it looked so nice, put the cushions out and lowered the dodger to allow the breeze in and had a lovely night. Soooooo hot now!

DAY 6 - Thursday 11 February -Hole In The Wall to Pulua Timun
06°18.592N 99°55.665E
Whistle left at 8.30 to head towards Penang to get their Thai visas and the rest of us left at 10.30 heading out of the Hole In the Wall around and between some lovely islands arriving at 12.30. After lunch we trolled around a rocky island with no luck and then went for a swim. Had a quiet night on board watching "The man with the golden gun" (what a silly movie!!!).
Miles: 9 Total: 5,474

DAY 7 - Friday 12 February - Pulua Timun to Kuah
06°18.716N 99°50.87E
We all upanchored at 9am and headed across the shallows to Kuah town and anchored at 11.05. We went to the harbour master to check in as apparently we should have done this when we first arrived in December and he gets very upset if you don't check in. Went to the supermarket and then to a nice restaurant for a couple of very cold beers. Went out to dinner in Kuah with Kristie and Cilantro in a pretty dingy looking restaurant but the food was ok.
Miles: 8 Total: 5,482

Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas

Dell and Peter

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Back at the boat

Well today is Wednesday the third of February and as mentioned earlier we are trying to be more organised and have spent the week trying to find a place for everything and everything in its place!!!! No more having to move things from here to there as everything is finally put away (after all this time!!). It has taken us all this week plus some to do it and we can fit nothing else on this boat!

On Tuesday 26th we caught a taxi to Kuah town and had lunch with Brian and Margaret from Kristie and it was good to catch up. They were in the marina there trying to get their fridge fixed. We then jumped on the 2.30 ferry to Penang and arrived at 5.30 in the midst of a torrential thunderstorm so had to catch a taxi to our digs (called Banana) and gave them our passports to get our visas. Everyone had paid 5 ringetts each for this service but as of yesterday it had gone up to 30 ringetts each!! Anyway we had a lovely two nights stay and just sat at a little bar the second night and watched the world go by. They were playing 42 golden oldies on the cd and we realised that we must be golden oldies too as we knew all the words!!! Love the food in Penang – so nice and so cheap. Caught the 8.30am ferry back to Kuah and were back at the boat in the afternoon of Thursday 28th.

We hired an old car on Monday and went to do our resupply – mainly meat, fruit and vegies as we still have so much in the way of canned stuff. It was a good day and we went everywhere (got lost only a couple of times!) and managed to catch the 4.30 ferry totally loaded down with goodies. When we got back Cilantro were back from Aus so it was great to catch up. Have eaten at the yachtie’s restaurant most nights and walked around the island every morning – sightings include hornbills, monkeys, otters and a 4ft water monitor lizard (huge). We had dinner one night with Val and Frank on their catamaran Play On and the hospitality was wonderful. Anyone wants a really nice cat it goes on the market shortly!!!

Happy birthday Brett on the 2nd of Feb. Brett’s heading off to uni this year and we visited the Macquarie uni with him when we were in Sydney and it looks pretty good so hope you have a magic year Brett. Pam and Carol – hope you found that wretched snake!!!!!

Anyway we are preparing to leave shortly (maybe tomorrow) to circumnavigate Langkawi island with Kristie while Cilantro resupplies and Whistle Down the Wind is heading back from Thailand to renew their visas and Wave Sweeper is due back tomorrow. We hope to rendezvous in a week or so at Kuah to check out and all head towards Thailand together. So as soon as we get back on the water again we will keep you posted. Many thanks to all those that said they actually read this thing!!!! For any yachties heading to these parts I will add on to the blog (one day soon) all the anchorages we stopped at on the way through Indonesia to here.

Until then calm seas and fair winds
Dell and Peter