19 Jan: 1st day sailing around Boat Lagoon
This
morning
we
left
Khao
Lak
at
7:00
am by
taxi in
order to
arrive
at Boat Lagoon
Marina in
Phuket
at
8:30.
Today
we
start our
first
day of
9
days
sailing
in a
26
foot
MacGregor
sailboat.
Francis
was
waiting
for
us
with
his
boat
when we
arrived.
He
is
going
to
spend
the
first
two
days
sailing
with us to
teach
us the
ropes. The
morning
was
taken up by a
briefing,
so Jenny
and the girls
quietly
sneaked
off for
a dip
th
e
Marina's
pool ! In
the afternoon
our
boat was
lifted
from
the
dry dock into
the
water
and off we
headed
with
the motor,
out of
the
Marina for
our
first
sailing
lesson. The
Marina's
channel
takes
roughly
three
quarters
of
an
hour to
navigate
through
at
4-5
knots and
can
only be
used at
high tide
when
it's
a
mere 1.5 - 2
metres
deep.
Unfortunately
there
was
no
wind,
so we
spent
the
afternoon practicing
manoeuvres
in
Phang
Nga Bay. We
anchored on
a
beautiful
beach
on
the island of
Koh
Rang Yai and
spent
a
good hour
cooling off
in
the
waters. Then back
to the
marina,
a
swim
in
the
pool and
a
Thai
meal
overlooking
the
boats in
the
marina. We
all
slept
like
babies on
the
boat
that
night.
 |
 |
| Our home
for
the
next 9
days
(Macgregor
26
feet
sailboat) |
The dinghy to
row to the beach / port |
20 Jan: 2nd day sailing around Boat Lagoon
A quick dip in the marina's pool to wake us up and at 9:00 we
were ready to start sailing. There's more wind
in
the
morning
so
we
were
able to
sail
from
the end
of
the
marina's
channel
out
into
Phang
Nga
Bay. We
practiced
the
basic sail
manoeuvres
and
headed
up
wind
towards
Koh Sup (2
rocks). We
picnicked on
the
way and
around
12.30
the
wind
dropped
and
we finished
the
journey
with the
motor... We then indulged in a
refreshing
swim
around
the
rocks,
which
stick
out
majestically from
the bay's waters,
before
heading
back
to
the
marina.
Francis
kindly
dropped
us off at
a big
Tesco
supermarket
on the
outskirts of
Phuket,
so that we
could
stock
up
with
food
for
the
week.
Many of the
islands are
uninhabited,
but
we
will
try
to
spend
the
majority of
nights
anchored
off
small
islands
where
there is
a local
island
restaurant.
We
therefore
stocked
up
with
food
for
picnic
lunches
and
a
couple
of pasta
dinners when required.
 |
| François
swimming around Koh Sup rocks |
21 Jan: 3rd day sailing to Koh Phanak
Today we were set loose, just the four of us and our
boat for the next 7 days (Shany 2) ! After
navigating
through
the
long
marina
channel, we
hosted
the sails with
the
objective of
sailing
as
far
north
as
we
could
towards
Koh
Phanak, our target
for
the
night.
We
zigzagged
slowly
northwards,
avoiding
islands
and
rocks, each
cap
taking
roughly
an
hour
between
2.6
and
4
knots.
We
are
beginning
to learn
that
sailing
is
a
sport
which
requires
a
lot
of
patience
!
We managed to sail until 13:45, at which time the wind
had
dropped
completely.
The
thermal
winds
seem
to
win
the
battle
around lunchtime
and
cancel
out the
wind
completely.
The
prevailing
winds
win the
upper
hand again
at
about
19:00
for the
rest
of the
evening and
night... In
other
words,
we
have more wind
at
night
than
during
the day
which is
quite
frustrating...
We
stopped
on a
beach at
the
north of Ko
Yao
Yai for a
refreshing
dip
before
setting off
again with
the
motor for Koh
Phanak. Koh Phanak
is a
beautiful
uninhabited
island
with
four
majestic peeks
reaching
over
100
metres. Its
limestone cliffs
have stalactites
and
passages
(hongs,
as
their
called locally)
in
the island
to
explore
by
dinghy.
Once we'd anchored, François and the girls jumped in
for a swim. Unfortunately the swim was cut
short by a jelly fish
that stung both Gaelle
and Sophie
simultaneously.
After
much
screaming we
managed to
get the
girls
onboard
again
and Charlie
and
Betty,
an
Australian
couple
in a
boat
anchored next
to
ours,
came
over
with their
dinghy
with
jellyfish
first
aid
materiel
(vinegar,
ice
and sting
spray). Thank
you very
much for
your help
and
kindness.
Once the
kids had calmed
down
we
decided
to
postpone
the
explorations
by
dinghy to
the next day and
settled
down
to a
spaghetti
bolognaise
cooked
on
the
boat,
whilst
admiring
the
stars
and
satellites in
the
sky.
 |
 |
|
The girls having a ride in
the dinghy ! |
Swimming at Koh Panak just
before the jellyfish attack... |
22 Jan: 4th day - Koh Hong and Paradise Resort
Farewell to our Australian friends and we set off northwards
to
the
island
of
Koh
Hong
where
there
are
spectacular
passages
(hongs) and
inside
lagoons to
visit
by
dinghy. We rowed in
the
little dinghy
through a
small
cave
opening
filled with
limestone
stalactites,
before
emerging
inside
the
group of Hong
islands. The scenery is breathtaking
scenery and we embraced
the peace
and
solitude.
There
are
other
small cave
openings
that
lead to
inside
lagoons. And
guess
who
we
bumped into in
their
dinghy -
our
Australian friends
!
Speedboats
starting
arriving
with
their
day
trip
passengers
around
10:00
and at
10:30,
when
we were
departing the
number of
speedboats
and
canoes
they set free was
frightening.
Fortunately
we
arrived
early
enough
to
explore
the
islands in peace.
Then
we set our
cap
northwards
to
by
pass
Koh Na Knac before
hosting the sails to
sail
to the north of Koh
Yai
Noi
and
the
Paradise
Island
Resort for
a
decent evening
meal
and
shower!
After
15
minutes
of
sailing, we
abandoned as
the
wind
had
vanished
and
we
motored
to a
deserted
golden
beach
on
Koh
Batang
for a
dip. We
spent
the
rest of the
afternoon
at
Paradise
Island
Resort,
after a
close
miss
with
the coral reef
in the
bay. After a dip in the lovely pool the
kids did their
homework on
the
beach. After
dinner in
the
resorts
restaurant
w
e had to row
in
the
dinghy back
to the
boat
in the pitch
black
-
quite
a
feat with a
strong wind ! Fortunately
we'd
left
the
light on
the
mast to
pick put
our boat in the
bay.
 |
 |
 |
| Rowing through
the
small
cave
entrance to
the
lagoon
in
Koh
Hong |
The sailboat
from inside the lagoon |
Paradise
Island Resort restaurant on the beach |
23 Jan: 5th day Koh Pak Bia and Ko Hong Krabi
We had asked for some ice at the restaurant yesterday evening for
the cooler
box in
the
boat
(the
makeshift
fridge),
so
François
and
the
girls
returned
to
the resort
in the dinghy
to
pick
it up.
Unfortunately all
they
had to offer
us
was a
small bag of
ice
cubes. Better than
nothing, but it won't
keep the cool box
contents
cold for
long...
We set off with the sails for Kho Pak Bia. We're not having much
luck with the wind; there are gusts
around the
islands and nothing in
between, very little
wind during the day
and quite strong wind
at night ! We
started off with a
respectable
3.8
knots
and
after 15
minutes we
were
drifting with
the
current...
So
down
came
the
sails
and we
started
up
the
motor !
The beach
on Koh
Pak Bia crosses
the island from SW
to
NE
and is only
15
meters wide. It's a well
known
snorkelling
spot,
so we weren't
alone -
there were
at
least
40
other
snorkelers
on
the
beach. The
coral
was nearly all
dead and
there weren't many fish. It was nothing
special.
For the
afternoon
we
headed
to
Ko
Hong,
another
famous
island with
a
beautiful
bay on the
SE
for
snorkelling and
a
big
hong
(lagoon) on
the
north
side. We
managed to sail
most
of
the
way -
yippee,
clocking
up a
maximum
speed
of 5.6
knots
!! As a
local
restaurant
is
indicated
to
be
on the
bay,
we
planned
to eat
dinner
there.
However,
we were
disappointed to find
only a
drinks stall and
an
empty ranger's
station,
but lots of
tourists
on day-trips,
plus
another
sail
boat
and
a
catamaran
moored in the
bay. The
beach is
lovely; fine
white
sands
with
a
forest and
limestone cliff
backdrop. The wind
of
course picked up
again
and was
strangely
easterly
so
our
little
sail
boat
started to
rock
about
quite
a bit
on
its buoy.
Rowing
back to
the boat
will be
fun
with the
choppy sea.
Fingers
crossed we'll
be
able to cook
some
pasta
for dinner
and get
some
sleep !
 |
 |
| Jenny sailing
the boat ! |
Koh Pak Bia |
24 Jan: 6th day Chicken Island and Ao Nang
Have you ever wondered what is must be like to be a pairs of
socks in a washing machine ? Our night in the
sail boat must be
about
the closest you can
get
! We were rocked and
rolled all night,
until
about
1:00 in the
morning when
the
waves
calmed slightly
and
we were able
to get
a
few
hours
sleep. E
ven
the
portable toilet on
the boat
was rocked off
its base ! The
Macgregor is
like
a
cork tossing and
turning on
the
waves; we
watched
the
bigger
sail boats
and catamarans
with
envy
as
they
rocked
gently
with
the
waves...
Next morning the wind and waves had dropped completely... The
weather is teasing us...! We motored to
the
lagoon in Koh Hong
and
set off to
explore it
in
the dinghy
at 9:00 in
the
morning.
It's
only
accessible at
high
tide,
is
between 2
0cm
and 1 metre
deep,
has
lots of
limestone stalactites
hanging
off
the
sheer
cliff
walls,
mangrove
trees, beautiful
blue
birds, trees
with
huge
hanging beans
and even a couple of
box
fish.
We then set off for Chicken Island with the sails for the first
20 minutes, then by motor... We weren't alone.
It's
a
popular
day
trip
from Krabi by
longtail
boat.
There
were lots of
large
purple
jellyfish
washed
up on the
sands -
probably
victims
of
the
rough sea during
the
night - which made
the
girls
hysterical
and
there was
no way of
persuading
them to
swim...
François
enjoyed
the
snorkelling;
the
only
coral reef he'd
seen
since the
Similan
Islands
and the
girls
collected
tiny shells
on
the
beach - 1-5mm in
size !!!
We anchored off Ao Nang, a small town. It took 12 minutes to row
to shore - ouff ! We were able to buy bread,
read our mails in a
WIFI
café,
get
some
ice
cubes
and dine
before
retreating back
to
our
boat for
the
night. The
grown
ups watched
the
film
"The
Island"
on
the
Archos under
the stars,
with
the lights of Ao
Nang in the
distance
and
the
longtail
boats motoring
back and
forth
in
the bay...
 |
 |
| Exploring the
lagoon in Ko Hong Krabi |
Chicken Head
on Chicken Island |
25 Jan: 7th day Koh Phi Phi
We left directly Ao Nang, direction the famous island of Koh Phi
Phi. 17 nautical miles and we managed to sail
almost all of the way.
Yes ! We moored in the
bay at the west tip of
Ton Sai for a swim. We
were surprised to
see
monkeys on the
beach,
Crab-eating
macaques.
Because
of
the
monkeys
the
small beach
was a
stop off for
longtail boat
excursions
from the
village at
Ton
Sai Bay.
The
tourists
came with
bottles of
fresh water
and fruit to
feed
the
monkeys and
many
left
their plastic
bottles lying on
the
golden
sands.
Then we moved north to moor for the night on a buoy in Ton Sai
Bay; a fairly crowded bay, full of speed
boats, longtail boats, dive
boats and only a
few
sail boats. We found a buoy close to the
shore in 13 metres of
water and set off to
explore the village and
stock up on water and
ice. It took us a good
20 minutes going from
mini-market to
dive shop
to
supermarket
to
find
somewhere that
sells
ice cubes. As an
aside,
if we ever
hire a
sail
boat
again, it'll
have
a
fridge
! A
cool
box
is
not
practical
for
a
week's
sailing...
The entire village has been rebuilt since the Tsunami of 26th
December 2004. There are only low story
hotels, shops,
restaurants and
bungalows,
but
everything was hastily rebuilt
and a lot of
the village
looks
more
like
a
shanty
town
than
a
prime
holiday
destination...
 |
| Navigating to
Koh Phi Phi |
26 Jan: 8th day Koh Phi Phi Le and return to Koh
Rang Yai
We set off for the small Phi Phi island of Koh Phi Phi Le. The
1999 blockbuster film "The Beach" was filmed
in Maya Bay on the
island. It's a
spectacularly scenic
lagoon, surrounded by
soaring
limestone
cliffs
and
harbouring
3
sandy
beaches.
We
didn't
expect to
be
alone
on
the
beach as
it's a
prime
day trip
destination,
but we
weren't
quite
prepared
for
the
number
of boats
and
tourists
we
encountered.
The bay was
almost
completely taken over
by
speedboats
on
one side
and longtail
boats
on the
other
with
a
small area in the
middle reserved
for
swimming. We managed
to
moor
out
in
the
bay on
a
buoy with
dive
boats
and
small
ferries for
company.
François'
first
reaction was
to
flee,
but the
scenery is
so
beautiful
that we
managed to
persuade him
to
row to
shore.
We weren't disappointed, the lagoon is beautiful. Clear,
transparent turquoise waters with a stunning
backdrop of soaring
cliffs - we don't know
if
islands like this are
unique
to
Thailand,
but
we
certainly
haven't
seen
such
islands
before.
We
carefully
inspected
the
swimming
waters for
jellyfish
and
were
relieved to
see
none.
The
girls once
reassured
,
took
to
the
waters
and
had a
whale
of a
time.
We walked via
a path in the
mangrove
to Loh
Samah bay on
the
south of the
island
and
picnicked
back
on
the
beach
in
Maya
Bay.
Then at 13:30 we left the Phi Phi islands direction Phuket to
stay the night moored off Koh Rang Yai. A
journey of 25 nautical miles with the motor,
as there's no
wind...
At the resort restaurant in the evening we were literally
attacked by flying ants and had to hastily
retreat from the beach
setting.
The Thai
green
curry
that night
was too hot for even Jenny,
even
though we'd requested not spicy
!
 |
 |
| In Maya Bay
(Koh Phi Phi Le) |
Longtail boat
in the bay |
27 Jan: 9th day Koh
Rang
Yai
We sailed a bit around Koh Rang Yai in the
morning, before returning back to the
beach on
Koh
Rang Yai for a picnic lunch.
Then back
to
the marina at high
tide
to meet Francis, the
boat owner. Once the
boat had been
taken
out
of the water,
inspected
and left
on the tarmac in it's
cradle
we headed
off to the marina's pool for
a much
needed
dip
! It
took a
good few hours to update
our
internet
pages offline by
the side of the
pool
- it
takes quite a
lot of time
especially
as the number of days
had
accumulated whilst we were sailing as we
had had
little
access
to the mains or the
internet... Then we
bought
a WIFI
access card and uploaded the
pages on
the net
and
checked our mails.
We spent the night on the sail boat on dry land. At least we
won't get rocked and
rolled
tonight !
Francis
will kindly pick us up at
8:15
tomorrow
morning to take us to
the
airport.
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| 
