by Judy Handley | Feb 20, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 120, Year 4: Visa Extension Granted-Just Not Long Enough
Date: Thursday, February 19, 2009
Weather: Sunny and Hotter Than Normal-Absolutely No Breeze
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
The main story of today was the trip to the Immigration Office to get a 30-day Visa extension. We would have loved to have gotten a 60-day extension, but there is no such thing. Our current extension makes us legal until March 23 and then we must drive to Myanmar (Burma) or to Malaysia to get another extension. That extension could be for 30 days or for 15, depending on the mood of the border officer. Either will probably do for us as we really hope to be leaving Thailand by the end of the first week of April, but we do find the changing rules and regulations to be a bit frustrating.
On the way home, we stopped by Ratanachai Slipway. It is one of the three haul-out facilities on Phuket Island and one we had not visited it before. It is a huge, commercial facility where all the fishing boats and other commercial boats haul out. We only saw one sailboat there yesterday and the place looked a mess. We have heard horror stories from different people about getting work done there, but it is certainly a cheaper alternative. It was a coincidence that yesterday afternoon I got online to read the logs of a cruising boat that Jean on Renaissance had recommended. The boat’s name is Sunflower and they hauled out at Ratanachai this time last year and had a mostly positive experience. So looks can be deceiving. They did note that the amount of pollution fall-out from the fish factory next door kept them busy cleaning the deck each day, but otherwise things were fine. The reason I was looking at Sunflower’s log is because they have left their boat in Thailand for six months each of the past three years and had horrible experiences with mold and mildew on everything when they returned. They have learned some tricks to help avoid this so I will carefully note their suggestions and use them when we are readying Windbird for her stay here during the wet season. I think we will be looking for a dehumidifier that we can run while we are gone. That should help with the inside problem, but preventing mold and mildew on the newly painted cabin top and teak deck will be a littler
trickier.
In last night’s log we had asked for help from anyone who knows more than we do about coax cable. We had barely sent the log when we heard back from our son-in-law, Jed. He had great information for us that assured us that we had bought the right cable. This morning we got another email from a man who has been following our logs, and it was in even more detail, still assuring us that we had the right thing. It is at times like these that I am in total awe of the internet. Being able to get feedback from competent people so quickly is just amazing. So thanks to Larry and to Jed.
Today there was more sanding, more fairing, and more sanding on Windbird’s hull. The crew is making sure that every little bump and wrinkle is sanded smooth and this takes time. We’re just not sure when the next coat of primer is going on. We thought tomorrow, but Mark talked to Luck today and thinks he was saying Monday. So we shall see. All of the stainless from the aft end of the boat is now down at Nop’s shop. The shop is just a hole in the wall at the end of the marine services next to the hard stand area. There is a jumble of stainless stacked here and there, but we were able to identify Windbird’s stainless and get some photos. The welder and an assistant were grinding away when we were there, making sure all the welds are as smooth as possible. After the grinding will come polishing. We’re not sure when the completed product will be installed on Windbird, but I’m sure those details will be revealed to us as we roll along.
Tonight we went out to dinner with a number of cruisers from here and from Royal Phuket. It was the same group as last night, Susan and Richard of Sea Bunny and Nanette and Stuart of Truest Passion, with the addition of two boats from Royal Phuket. Heather and Dave of Milliways (who thought seriously about buying our Suzuki outboard at Rebak) and Dave and Di of Amoenitas joined us. All of these folks are from the UK, so we are the only non-Brits in the group. We met out on the highway just outside the Boat Lagoon and risked our lives to cross the highway to get to the good, but very cheap restaurant. We asked that they bring us enough food for ten people and left the choices up to the cook. The food was excellent and the cost was only $7 US for each couple. This included as much beer as we could drink. What a great deal. I’d do this every night if I didn’t have to cross the highway. That little trek makes me super nervous, but we were careful and all was fine.
We started our day by packaging up everything in our apartment in plastic bags. We had a written notice from the hotel office soon after we moved in explaining that they would be doing routine bug spraying and fogging on February 5 and February 19. I assumed this meant they would be spraying and fogging inside our apartment, so on both days, I packaged and covered everything. Silly me. We learned today that the spraying and fogging goes on outside the apartment building. I really, really don’t like chemical bug sprays, so I took the extra precaution. Oh well. Now I know the process and won’t have to take the time to package everything in plastic the next time we get a notice.
Our son Justin and his wife Jo are starting to think about the “paraphernalia” they will need when the baby arrives in April. We have been spending time emailing back and we have been searching the web to see the things they think they want. It is very difficult for parents these days to make choices that are environmentally friendly and still affordable. We are enjoying the back and forth on baby “essentials” and extras. So there are lots of things keeping us busy and happy.
by Judy Handley | Feb 18, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 119, Year 4: World’s Largest Custom Built Sail Loft
Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Weather: Sunny, Beautiful Day; Lightening and Sprinkles at Night
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
Today we visited Rolly Tasker Sailmakers in Phuket Town. The sign inside claims this to be the world’s largest custom built sail loft with 9038 square meters of floor space. It is huge. It is certainly the largest sail loft we have ever seen and we were amazed at what they offer for sale. Every piece of hardware you might need for sails and rigging can probably be found there. It was truly overwhelming. We were actually out looking for RG 213 coax cable to connect our VHF radio to the antenna. The old cable needs to be replaced and we found out last night that they don’t have it here in the Boat Lagoon and the cost of ordering it was out of sight. We didn’t find coax cable at Rolly Tasker, but we did see Piet Hein of Double Dutch and Steve of Oz and spent an hour or so just looking around. The location of Rolly Tasker was south toward Ao Chalong, so we drove on down there to go to the best dinghy repair shop we have seen in all of our travels. We needed a new handle for the front of the dinghy as our current one pulled out sometime in January. We got that and on the way back to the Boat Lagoon we stopped at Phuket Marine Electronics and found what we (and they) believe to be the equivalent of RG 213 cable. This is labeled as RG 8A/U here but it is much larger than normal RG 8. It looks right, but it was so much cheaper than we expected that we are just not sure. If anyone out there knows more about this than us, please let us know!
Work on Windbird continues. The hull sanding is complete and today was spent sanding the cabin top, cockpit, and the mast and boom. The welder from Nop’s stainless shop showed up today and secured the spot welds so all the stainless could be removed and taken to the shop for final welding and polishing. We worked on hardware inventory and started the hardware cleaning process. There are loads of stainless screws, bolts, nuts, washers, pulleys, cleats, and on and on that need to be soaked in diesel fuel and then cleaned to get rid of the old caulk before they are put back on Windbird with new caulk. Mark started today with the big items like the winches off the mast and will continue on tomorrow.
We had dinner here in the Boat Lagoon tonight with Susan and Richard of Sea Bunny and Nannette and Stuart of Truest Passion. Nannette and Stuart are just here for a few days getting a few repairs and getting the boat cleaned and polished. Richard and Susan are our new neighbors across the way from Windbird. Sea Bunny is a 1985 Halberg-Rassey that needs a new teak deck. They came in on Monday and already the old teak is mostly off. The speed of the work done here is amazing. We did learn at dinner tonight that we need to go to have our Visa renewed tomorrow instead of Friday. Evidently if you go in on the last day before your Visa expires you can sometimes get fined for not coming in ahead of time. Not sure we understand this, but we won’t take any chances. So tomorrow morning we will head back to Phuket Town to get the Visa extensions and then back here for more boat work.
by Judy Handley | Feb 17, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 118, Year 4: Back to Normal
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Weather: Sunny and Beautiful
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
After yesterday’s frenetic pace, today seemed a little more normal. Of course, there’s not a whole lot that is normal about our lives anyway. Boat work is progressing nicely. Most of the primer put on Sunday is coming off in the sanding process, as it should be. The arch is almost ready to go to the shop to do the final welding. We made our down payment on the canvas work that will be done once the boat is mostly back together. I went food shopping while Mark went to the hospital to get his “all clear” report on the infection he has had for about six weeks now. Hurray! I did laundry, catalogued half of the hardware taken off the cabin top and mast, put the last of cleaned and dried lines away, and with what little time was left in the afternoon, I continued to work on editing and naming photos for the web. I finished and Mark uploaded to the website all photo folders that weren’t already on the site from our time in Thailand and the few days from Bali that weren’t done earlier. Now I’m working my way back through Malaysia to Singapore. Slow, slow process.
I’m hoping most of the on-site stainless work will be finished tomorrow morning so the paint crew can start standing the cabin top. Windbird should be ready for another coat of primer on Thursday and we sure don’t want to slow that process down. On Friday of this week our two-month Thai Visa needs to be extended, so we will have to head to Phuket Town to do that. We like to be here on paint days to watch over the process, so hopefully the timing will work out and painting will be done on Thursday.
We still haven’t made our plane reservations for coming to the US in April, so maybe that will be tonight’s job.
by Judy Handley | Feb 16, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 117, Year 4: Incredible
Date: Monday, February 16, 2009
Weather: Sunny and Beautiful
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
In the last twenty-four hours we have found so many things to be incredible. Last night we talked to my sister-in-law Sue in Florida and she remarked about how incredible it was that we were talking from Thailand to the US on a computer. Then we talked to Heather, Jed, and Sam and enjoyed the incredible video of Sam playing in the tent he was given by his Goldstone grandparents. He would look at us on the screen, play a while, and then come back and look at us again. With Skype, we can take still photos of Sam while we are talking to him. I’ve included one of those in the photos with this log. Sam has been very sick for the past few days, so he started to fade towards the end of our conversation. He was on his daddy’s shoulder when we said goodbye but he heard us and waved his little hand goodbye without even looking at us. Incredible.
And then there was today. We started by talking to Justin and Jo and hearing that things are going well in New Mexico. And then we had to run to the boat to meet Nop, the stainless guy. All of sudden things are moving very fast again. Nop and his crew moved in and set up their shop next to Windbird. They measured the stainless pieces and cut them right on the spot, carried the measured and cut pieces up to the deck of the boat to fit them, bend them, and then spot weld the entire structure.
An engineer stayed on site all day directing the work, and by the end of the day we have the skeleton of an arch and stainless rails from our gate to the back of the boat. By the end of the day tomorrow, the total structure will be spot welded and then removed to the real shop for finishing. We found this pretty incredible. And while this was happening, Oh’s crew was filling in the rough spots on Windbird’s hull, spraying the whole hull with colored spray paint, and then beginning the long board sanding process to smooth everything out to ready it for the next primer coat. The colored spray paint is put on just so they will know where they have sanded. We talked with Oh, chose the color of paint we will be using, and that has been purchased and is ready and waiting. Oh says we could be applying AwlGrip by the end of next week. Incredible! And then there was the appearance of Mazrizal, the manager of Rebak Marina back in Langkawi. Mark was at the boat when Mazrizal stopped by. I was
back in the apartment but had headed over to the boat to get Mark to take him to lunch. When I saw them talking, all I could say is, “You are in the wrong place.” Mazrizal is here for a couple of days just scoping out the various marinas on Phuket Island. He was amazed at the services available here and we talked with him about why we chose to have the boat painted here instead of at Rebak. We will be returning there as soon as we are finished here and we also talked to him about that. He joked
that we will need a slip with a balloon fender all around to protect our new paint job. He was joking, but I thought it sounded like a splendid idea!
So things are moving fast here. In between all of the visits to the boat to approve what is happening, I continue to work on editing and posting photos on the website. I really thought I would have lots of down time to do this, but it is not looking like that will be the case. This is good, as it means we really might make it to New Mexico in time for Wee Gerbil’s birth, and that is the most important thing to us right now. So we aren’t having the down time we thought we would have, but we are finally feeling good enough about work progress to go ahead and book our tickets home. If the work schedule continues as it has, we will headed back to Rebak in Malaysia by the end of the first week in April and be New Mexico bound in mid-April.
by Judy Handley | Feb 15, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 116, Year 4: Hearts in the Pool
Date: Sunday, February 15, 2009
Weather: Sunny and Beautiful
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
What a wonderful Valentine’s dinner we had at Chandara Resort last evening. We have eaten there before and found their food to be unremarkable, but their special holiday dinners are spectacular. After doing our final inspection of Windbird’s first coat of primer, we drove north to Ao Po and met Jean and Ken of Renaissance 2000 at Chandara. The special Valentine’s dinner was being served by the pool, so we walked that way and were immediately in awe at how beautifully they had the pool deck decorated with tables and lights. The pool had beautiful hearts covered with flower petals floating all over. The food was wonderful, the service the best we’ve ever had anywhere, and everything was served in a heart shape. For starters we had seafood terrine with papaya salsa. Then came the lobster consume followed by a main of either pork tenderloin or poached salmon. Again everything was served in a heart shape and decorated with hearts. The sweetheart tiramisu was to die for and the chocolate truffles were decadently rich. It was a lovely meal with lovely friends. Jean and Ken will be leaving for Lankawi in a week or so and from there they will cross the Indian Ocean to South Africa. They are from Hamilton, near Toronto in Canada, so hopefully we will see them once we return home.
Today we worked on our computers in our apartment most of the day. I have hours of photo editing and naming to do and Mark is trying to organize the information on our three computers and the back-up hard drives. It is tedious work but we are enjoying the time to do this. This evening we went up to the rooftop deck and just enjoyed the breeze and the views. We are now sitting in our apartment with the air conditioning off for the first time since moving in and the sliding glass doors on both sides open to the outside. When the mosquitoes arrive, we’ll have to shut up, but for now it is delightful. We will be talking to Heather, Jed, and Sam tonight as well as my sister-in-law Sue and my neice Lynn. In the morning we will talk to Justin and Jo and my sister Patsy, so I’ll have to report on family news in tomorrow night’s log.
by Judy Handley | Feb 14, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 115, Year 4: Fantastic Valentine’s Day Gift
Date: Saturday, February 14, 2009
Weather: Perfect-85 degrees F; 65% Relative Humidity
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
Windbird got her first coat of primer today. She’s white again and looks great! Neither Mark nor I could think of a better Valentine’s Day gift, so we will celebrate our Valentine’s evening out with glee. I am posting photos of the progress from the day the mast was removed to today with this log. We were taken out of the water only seventeen days ago and every single day we feel like there has been phenomenal progress. So far, so good. And the weather today was fantastic for painting–low
humidity and temperatures in the 80’s.
