by Judy Handley | Jan 24, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand |
Day 94, Year 4: Windbird’s Getting a Face Lift
Date: Saturday, January 24, 2009
Weather: Sunny with Clouds; Late Afternoon Sprinkles
Location: Ao Po Grand Marina, Phuket Island, Thailand
Heather, Jed, and Sam made it back to Boston faster than I could get the sheets and towels washed and dried. Heather called on her cell phone to tell us they arrived. It was not a restful trip home as Sam chose not to sleep much of the time, but they did make it. They arrived late Friday night and were spending the night in Boston before driving down to the Cape. They said there was snow everywhere and that they desperately missed Thailand’s beautiful weather.
We have gotten ourselves into gear after our wonderful vacation with Heather, Jed, and Sam, and we have actually found that we can get Windbird painted here in Thailand cheaper than in Langkawi in Malaysia. The painter came this morning to give us an estimate and we liked what we heard. So we called the Boat Lagoon to see if we can come in there this week and get the work started. As far as we can tell from the phone conversation, the Boat Lagoon has room for us starting on this Thursday. We
will have to double check on this, but it sounds like we will leave here on Tuesday and sail down toward the Boat Lagoon. We will position ourselves to enter the lagoon at high tide on Thursday morning. The painter, whose name is Oh, will then build a tent around Windbird and start the work within a week after our arrival. Windbird is a twenty-seven year-old fiberglass boat that has never been painted, so she is in desperate need of this face lift. Judy and David of Freebird were out here looking
at the marina today, and they had all sorts of information for us. Evidently we can get an air-conditioned condo apartment at Boat Lagoon for under $300 per month, so we will probably do that rather than try to live on a boat that is being sanded and painted over and over. The boat will get two undercoats of epoxy and then be sanded, then two more coats of epoxy and sanded, and then three coats of Awlgrip with sanding between each coat. In order to keep the sanding dust out of the boat, everything
has to be taped shut, so living aboard would be really difficult. According to Judy and David, Eric of Scorpido has been renting an apartment and finding it to be a great arrangement while working on a boat. It is REALLY hot here, so an air conditioned apartment with a swimming pool sounds great for the short term. It can take up to two months to get the painting done, depending on the weather, so we might become land-bound for quite some time. Once our work here is done, we will return to Langkawi
in Malaysia where we will leave the boat while we return home, but it looks like mid-April is the earliest we will be able to leave. That will get us to Santa Fe just in time for the arrival of the New Mexico grand child, so the timing is good.
In the meantime, things are gearing up here at the Ao Po Marina for the Phang Nga Regatta. The boats should start arriving tomorrow, with the bulk of them coming in on Monday. Now that the laundry is done, I am spending my time working on getting photos ready to post on the website. So for those of you who are asking, “Where are the photos?”-They should be coming your way soon.
by Judy Handley | Jan 23, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand |
Day 93, Year 4: Windbird’s Empty Nest
Date: Friday, January 23, 2009
Weather: Sunshine and Blue Skies; Becalmed Winds
Location: Ao Po Grand Marina, Phuket Island, Thailand
Windbird feels so empty today and Oma and Granddad are having a very hard time getting used to life without an excited and bubbly two year-old sailor man. Heather, Jed, and Sam flew out of the Phuket International Airport at 2 am headed for Seoul, Korea. They had a seven hour lay-over there, but should now be on their way to San Francisco and then on to Boston. I know they will be exhausted when they get home, but I’m hoping the wonderful memories of sailing in warm and beautiful Thailand will make it all worth the effort. Our heads are certainly filled with beautiful moments that we all shared together. The cruising life is a good one, but it is so much better when you can share it with family and close friends. And we have certainly had three unbelievably fantastic visits in the past few months, first with our son Justin and our daughter (in-law) Jo in Indonesia, then with our friends Kevin and Claire for our first foray into Thailand, and then with H, J, and S. I know in my logs I have talked so much about Sam, but it was equally as wonderful to spend quality time with our children and their spouses. Our family is expanding. There used to be four of us, now there are seven, and soon there will be nine, but there is certainly enough love for all.
So this morning as sad as we were about the empty nest, we knew we must forge on. We went about the day a little like zombies–too sad to say much, but going on auto-pilot. We took advantage of the rental car and went to Boat Lagoon to check on the progress of the piece of toe rail we are having “fashioned” and to check on possibilities of getting Windbird painted here in Thailand. The folks at the Boat Lagoon are totally booked for the next two months, but they gave us the name of an independent painter who will come out to give us an estimate. While at Boat Lagoon we saw Kathy and Pete of Wave Runner, friends from New Zealand, who are getting ready to head to the Red Sea. We went food shopping and then back to Ao Po where I launched into a laundry frenzy. There is no laundry service or laundromat here, so sheets, mattress pads, and towels must all be done by hand. I got about half the load done and will finish that job tomorrow. But I need to hurry up as Ao Po Marina is gearing up for the 12th Annual Phang Nga Bay Regatta and we can’t have Windbird looking like a Chinese laundry when all the boats arrive this weekend. Through a friend we met on our website, we have been in touch with Fred and Judy Roswold of Wings. They left Seattle in 1996 and have made it this far around the world. They are currently working in Bangkok, but they keep their boat at the Yacht Haven in the Phang Nga Bay. I checked their website today and found out that they have been here in Phuket for the past couple of days. I’m hoping they are coming to Ao Po on Sunday or Monday before the race starts and that we will get to meet them. The race “opening ceremonies” and party coincide with Chinese New Year on Monday, so that should be a good time here at Ao Po.
One last note . . . We have heard from family and friends that the Obama Inauguration was truly moving. It sounds like there were tears of joy shed all over the United States as Obama gave a message of hope and determination that we can really change things. All we have to do is work together to do it. I tried to watch the inaugural address on YouTube but it took so long so load each segment that I think part of the feeling of the message was lost. But I got the basic idea and will try again tomorrow to listen to more of the speech. But from here it sounds like America is moving into a new era. Certainly people in this part of the world are excited about that.
by Judy Handley | Jan 22, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand |
Day 92, Year 4: Elephant Rides and Farewells
Date: Thursday, January 22, 2009
Weather: Another Beautiful Day with Very Little Wind
Latitude: 08 degrees 04.101 minutes N
Longitude: 098 degrees 26.680 minutes E
Location: Ao Po Grand Marina, Phuket Island, Thailand
After ten absolutely fantastic days of island hopping with Heather, Jed, and Sam, we are back in the Ao Po Grand Marina. In just a couple of hours we will be headed to the airport. I’m sitting in the cockpit writing this log and listening to Heather hum bedtime lullabies to Sam. I’m looking at his little pool on the back deck filled with water and beach toys. His little plastic tools are strewn on the cockpit cushions and his bucket of coral and shells that he collected yesterday is sitting beside the tools. We will head to the airport just before midnight and when Mark and I return to Windbird and wake up in the morning and see the pool, the tools, the bucket of shells . . . there will certainly be a huge emptiness in our hearts. Sam really has become a little sailor man and I know granddad will be just a little sad every time he starts the dinghy motor without Sam. Sam LOVES going fast in the dinghy with granddad. And Oma is probably just going to be sad for days. I’ll just have to keep remembering how absolutely wonderful our time together was and look forward to the next time we are together. Easier said than done.
Today was just fabulous. Our birthday present to Sam was an elephant ride. So when we arrived back in the marina early this morning, we got ready for our adventure. Sam loves reading about elephants, but none of us were sure he would really want to ride on a real one. But as soon as we arrived at the elephant reserve and Sam spotted an elephant, he just kept smiling and pointing to the elephant and then to himself. Mark and I got on our elephant first, and Sam had not one hesitation about mounting his elephant with mommy and daddy. In fact, Sam had no hesitation about getting out of the riding seat on the elephant’s back and actually riding with Heather on the elephant’s neck. Sam equally enjoyed feeding the elephants after the ride. So the elephant ride was a huge success.
We had lunch at the little Muslim restaurant at the end of the marina drive and then Mark worked on getting photos from our last ten days of adventure downloaded while I did the wash and Heather and Sam had a nap. Jed walked up to Chandara Resort for a swim and a little relax time. After nap, Sam played in his pool while Heather and Jed packed. We decided to go into Phuket Town for dinner and returned later than we had planned. So now it is time for a quick hour’s sleep before heading to the airport. So much to do and so little time.
by Judy Handley | Jan 21, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand |
Day 91, Year 4: Happy 2nd Birthday to Sam!
Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Weather: Another Beautiful Day; Very Little Wind-Until Now
Latitude: 08 degrees 03.331 minutes N
Longitude: 098 degrees 28.278 minutes E
Location: Ko Naka Yai, Thailand
We did it again. We aren’t where we said we would be. We are not back at Ao Po Grand Marina as we planned, but rather we are anchored off an island very close to the marina. The thought of going back to land was just a little too much for all of us, so we settled on an anchorage close by so we can still be in the marina early in the morning and ready for our elephant riding adventure.
We started our day on the James Bond island and had some nice explores in the overhangs and caves. We then moved on to Ko Hong in Phang Nga Bay and explored the hong and caves there-spectacular. We rested while Sam had his afternoon nap and were planning on heading slowly back to the marina once we got up. But then we found this alternative anchorage and away we went. As soon as we arrived we took Sam ashore for some beach time. He had a great time running the beach in his birthday suit and then we all headed back to Windbird for a birthday party. Sam opened presents and blew out the candles on his birthday cake. We ate dinner in the cockpit while watching The King and I. We only got part way through the movie tonight, but maybe we will get to watch some of it tomorrow. It was quite a busy day and we are all exhausted. We explored James Bond island, explored hongs and caves, enjoyed time on the beach, opened birthday presents and had birthday cake.. After all that, Sam had a bit of a rough time going to sleep, but he is down now and maybe he will sleep through the night and give his mommy and daddy and good night’s rest. Unfortunately this anchorage is a bit bumpy. The wind has picked up and we are rocking. Let’s just hope we keep rocking and not rolling. It would be a real bummer to have our last night out be a sleepless one.
by Judy Handley | Jan 20, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand |
Day 90, Year 4: 007 and Counting
Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Weather: Beautiful Day; Very Little Wind
Latitude: 08 degrees 16.630 minutes N
Longitude: 098 degrees 29.028 minutes E
Location: Ko Daeng Yai, Thailand
We made our way north to the anchorage closest to James Bond Island and we are sadly counting down the time we have left together with Heather, Jed, and Sam. But what a surprisingly wonderful day we had today. We took the dinghy to the beach on Ko Hong early in the morning to let Sam have his beach play time. He got a bit fussy at one point, so Mark and Jed took him out for a ride in the dinghy while Heather and I walked the Tsunami Evacuation path. When the tsunami hit this part of Thailand in 2004, a number of tourists were killed here as there were no clear paths for escape. There is just a beach and then steeply rising limestone cliffs, so no one would have known where to run to escape. When Heather and I reached the evacuation destination, we both wondered if it would really be a place of refuge as it was only a ledge a hundred feet or so above ground level. But evidently 200 people made it to this ledge and survived. Just walking on the ledge was humbling experience. But it is good to know that the government here has set out evacuation routes on the islands and they have an evacuation tower to signal in case of another disaster.
On the more uplifting side of things, we left the beach and headed around the headland to go snorkeling around a rock where Mark and I had seen people snorkeling when we were here with Kevin and Claire. I guess some of the best surprises come when you are not expecting much. We got in the water and found a wonderland of brightly colored soft corals all around this little rock. There were bright red and bright pink soft corals, some of the biggest clownfish I have ever seen, and a very nice variety of fish. I had told Heather and Jed that our snorkeling possibilities ended when we left Ao Nang, but I was obviously wrong. We have only hand one or two other snorkels in all our travels to equal this one, so we were all really happy that we had decided to stop at Ko Hong.
After our snorkel, we headed further north into the Phang Nga Bay. We passed James Bond island and anchored a bit north and west. The water is VERY shallow all around the James Bond Island, so you have to anchor a bit away and dinghy in. We will do that in the morning, but once we anchored, we decided to just have a laid back evening of fun. We filled Sam’s pool on the back deck with salt water and he had great fun playing in that. Heather, Jed, and Mark jumped in and swam around Windbird just to cool down. When Heather and Mark got out, we threw a beer to Jed so he could have his sundowner while floating in the water. We had and early dinner and just enjoyed life. I know we keep saying it, but it just doesn’t get much better than this.
Tomorrow is Sam’s second birthday, so part of our day will be dedicated to a birthday celebration, but early in the morning we will explore the territory of “The Man with the Golden Gun.” I have no idea how old this film is but it still draws tourists by the thousands here in Thailand on the site where the film was shot. We will visit the island early in the morning and then move on to a different Ko Hong in Phang Nga Bay as a day anchorage. We’ll have a birthday breakfast before visiting 007 and a birthday lunch at Ko Hong. At the end of the day we will return to Ao Po Grand Marina where we will have a birthday dinner. When we return to the marina, we will have been out here sailing from island to island for ten days. Everyday has just gotten better and better. But all good things must eventually come to an end. As Mark’s mother would say, “Sadness doeth prevail.”
by Judy Handley | Jan 19, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand |
Day 89, Year 4: Master and Commander
Date: Monday, January 19, 2009
Weather: Settling of the Northeast Monsoon
Latitude: 08 degrees 04.636 minutes N
Longitude: 098 degrees 40.805 minutes E
Location: Ko Hong, Krabi Province, Thailand
We had another incredible day. The weather has continued to be beautiful and the scenery is just beyond compare. And Windbird definitely has a new commander. The new commander is a two year-old named Sam. He still lets granddad be the master, but Sam is obviously charge. He gets in the dinghy and takes hold of motor handle and then points with this Napoleon-like look in the direction he would like to go. He helps launch the dinghy, steer Windbird when we are underway, and when he has had enough he simply commands, “Stop.” And he keeps us all smiling all day long with his antics on the beach. Today he ran in the water after schools of tiny little fish and would then just flop down on his tummy and crawl through the water. If the water is a little deep it doesn’t bother him. He’s not swimming on his own yet, but it won’t be long.
This morning we waited for the sun to warm the water and then took off in the dinghy for the beach at Ao Phra Nang, around the corner from Railay Beach. We arrived at the beach near low tide and decided to walk from the beach across to another small beach on a rock island that was accessible only by walking across the sandbar at low tide. There was no one else on the small island except us and a couple of rock climbers, so we enjoyed the solitude and the beauty. The small island we were on was really just a limestone cliff rising straight out of the sea with a little beach at low tide-very dramatic. As the tide started to rise, we took our things back across the narrow strait to the main island and Mark, Sam, and I took off for a beach explore while Heather and Jed headed out for a snorkel. Mark and I had a great time with Sam and Heather and Jed really enjoyed their snorkel. Sam played in the sand and in the water then we walked to the far end of the beach to Tham Phra Nang, also known as Princess Cave. This is where Buddist and Muslim fishermen have carved and left huge phalluses to assure their safe return from sea. Not sure I understand the concept, but it is certainly an “interesting” sight.
In the afternoon, Mark took Heather and Jed in the dinghy to Ao Nang to do their last bit of shopping while I stayed on the boat with a napping commander. When the shopping crew returned from town, we pulled up anchor and headed ten miles north to the island of Ko Hong, still in the Krabi Province. We arrived in the late afternoon and all got in the dinghy to visit the hong. “Hong” means “room” in Thai and they are just a little bay carved out of the island with a hidden entrance. The bay is completely surrounded by soaring cliffs. Sometimes there is only access by way of a cave. We enjoyed the solitude inside the hong and listened to the birds as the sun set behind the rock wall. Tomorrow we will have some beach, snorkel, and more hong time here and then we will move on to the Upper Phang Nga Bay. We only have two more days out here. Wednesday is Sam’s second birthday and we will spend that at another Ko Hong in the Phang Nga Province before returning to Ao Po Grand Marina on Wednesday evening. Sam’s birthday present from us is an elephant ride, so we will spend Thursday doing that before H, J, and S fly home. But let’s not think of that just yet.
