Taken out on a hoist August 2011

We brought SeaWolff to Ao Po Marina in the North of Phuket, and she was lifted out on a dolly with wheels. They put the bars under the boat, got the diver to check and then slowly lifted and pulled her out.

We then climbed on to pack things away and put out the de-humidifying buckets.

We will return in December to do lots more exploring of these beautiful islands. For now its back to South Africa to the cold winter.

Islands and flat water

The next day we explored a few bays and islands further South East. The book said anchor in 7m deep water in front of the 'mushroom' rock. Well there it was. Great to have a guide book as there is very little info on the Marine Charts. On the other side of this island are coral heads coming up from 20m so not a good place to anchor. We walked along the beach there.

Some of the islands have upmarket resorts on them with restaurants we could visit if we wanted to.

Then moved on to another spot where we had sun downers on the beach. Swimming here is great as the water is 31C!! This is away from the muddy water and the water is clear. The calm sea makes enjoyable cruising.

'James Bond Island'

We decided to do some touring with Sea Wolff and headed north into the Phang-Nga Bay. The first attraction was 'James Bond Island' where the movie 'Man with the Golden Gun' was filmed. Its a very popular spot. From there we moved on to the Muslim Gypsy village all built on stilts. Its really a fishing village. I gets more muddy as these are wide rivers feeding into the bay. We anchored in the muddy river with the Mangrove trees along side, then went ashore by taxi, a long tail boat, for dinner. (Thats Kirsten and I waiting for dinner) Thai green curry and rice. Before dinner we walked down the 'street' between the wooden houses. Each home has a small stall selling all the normal tourist things. In the evening the long tails bring the children back from school on the mainland.

Tried to sleep on the deck but the mosquitos were very bad!

Big Buddha

There are a few musts in Phuket, one is eating on the beach and the other is a visit to Big Buddha. Buddha sits on top of a hill and is itself 45m tall so can be seen from far out at sea.

Beaches in Phuket

The West side of Phuket has many long beaches. Not always safe to swim in them, Red flags indicate danger with strong currents. In season, Dec to March, these beaches are teaming with tourists and the sea is flat calm. Rob is sitting watching the sea.

Phuket customs

Phuket is all set up for yachts with a nice customs and immigration office in Ao Chalong, at the pier. They are at present building a very modern building on the pier which will be ready at year end. It too about 40 minutes and lots of forms at both offices and then we also had to do paperwork for the harbour master. Interesting that while sailing in the Americas any friends on board were signed in as crew. Here they are signed in as passengers.

We had brunch next to the pier with all the 'long tail' boats on the shore. These wooden boats have the propeller in the water, at the end of a pole. They do represent Thailand.

Phi Phi islands

At last we are in Phi Phi, clear blue skies and water again. We drove into Phi Phi lee which is where the movie 'The Beach' was filmed. Did not go to the beach as it was too rough. Moved on to Phi Phi Don where we anchored in calm water. After a swim in the 29C water we went ashore to wander the beaches and shops (stalls). The island makes a perfect C shape which offers protection from most weather.

Thailand islands

We spent the night anchored off this beautiful island. We did not go ashore but could hear the voices of a small community that live there. The Cocks crowing in the morning awoke us. Rob and I took the opportunity to sleep out on the deck on a blowup mattress. The cool wind and lack of mosquitoes was wonderful. We still pass fishing boats. This one has the light bulbs hanging off outriggers, for night fishing.

The skies are clear of smoke at last. So nice so see blue sky again.

Smokey skies

The wind blew from the South all night last night and with it came the smoke. You cant really smell it, just makes everything foggy. Rather depressing. The info on the internet about these fires is very interesting.

We filled up at the Diesel barge in the bay. Note the smog.

Headed for Rebak Marina for the night. This is a super Marina with all the Taj resort facilities available to the yachties.

I attended the yoga class, great to stretch again.

Tomorrow we head for Phi Phi islands, Thailand, with an overnight next to one of the many islands on the way.

Duty free Langkawi

Langkawi is a Chocoholic's dream. There are whole shops dedicated to Chocolates which Kirsten loved. The alcohol is also cheap so we stocked up on the good stuff.

The family were not brave enough yet to try the local cusine so it was MacDonalds for lunch. R14.00 for a MacMeal.

The sad thing here is the smoke in the air. It comes from Sumatra in the South where they are apparently burning forests to plant Palm Trees for Palm oil production.

Langkawi, Malaysia

Our trip from Penang was again interrupted by fishing boats, but we now know what to look for. The very interesting sight was sticks in the 25m deep water. They were not moving so were well anchored. They were 'protected' by a fishing boat. What could they be harvesting?

We are now in Royal Langkawi Marina. This too is a big island with lots of smaller islands around. The attraction besides the beaches is that its duty free.