by Judy Handley | Apr 8, 2009 | Back to Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 4 |
Day 168, Year 4 Is No News Really Good News?
Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Weather: Sunny Day; Winds E 15; Rain in Late PM
Latitude: 07 degrees 12.944 minutes N
Longitude: 099 degrees 03.728 minutes E
Location: Anchored Between Ko Rok Nai and Ko Rok Nok, Thailand
We have heard nothing Justin or from Heather since late yesterday, so I’m afraid I have no update on what is happening in New Mexico. We have always heard that no news is good news, but we really don’t feel that way right now. We can’t wait to hear something soon. We have changed our sailing plan for tomorrow to take us to Ko Lipe. This is an island in the Butang Group where there are lots of little tourist backpackers. I’m sure that means there is internet and cell phone capacity there, so at least we can make a call by late tomorrow afternoon to see what is happening. We are obviously anxious but there’s not much we can do from here. I’ll post a log as soon as I hear anything.
We spend our sailing days continuing to organize the bits and pieces left over from the refit. We have hundreds of screws, bolts, nuts, washers, and miscellaneous parts that need to be stowed away. Tomorrow I hope to get much of the cleaning of the inside of the boat done. Ceilings, walls, cabinet doors, and floors should be washed and wiped down with vinegar to prevent mold and mildew while we are gone. So that’s tomorrow’s job.
The great thing about today is that we were able to use the headsail to assist our motoring south. If we had the mainsail up, it would have been a great sailing day, but we were happy with motor sailing. It is wonderful to be back in the water and traveling through the beautiful islands of Thailand. We had Gerry and Donna of Scot Free II over for dinner tonight and we saw Judy and David of Freebird when we arrived. It is also wonderful to be back out here with our cruising friends.
by Judy Handley | Apr 7, 2009 | Back to Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 4 |
Day 167, Year 4 Happy, Happy, Happy Wishes for Justin and Jo
Date: Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Weather: Another Sunny Day; Another Late Afternoon Downpour
Location: Ao Maya Bay, Ko Phi Phi Leh, Thailand
What a day! Somehow our life is not intended to be boring. We got up at 7 am and expected to leave the Boat Lagoon at 9:30. But then all hell broke loose. Mark took the computer up to cockpit so that he could get a wireless signal to post pictures. Before doing this, he checked email and we got an update from Justin and Jo explaining that Jo’s labor was beginning. Actually it began a couple of days ago with her water breaking with no contractions following, but somehow we didn’t receive those emails. We immediately tried to call J & J but got no answer, so we called our daughter Heather. She explained that there had been a sequence of emails that we did not receive and immediately forwarded them to us. We received them almost immediately and got ourselves up-to-date on the happenings in New Mexico. While all of this was transpiring in the cockpit, Muzza was finishing our canvas work and Luck was waiting to drop the lines and bid us farewell. I was very torn between leaving and staying so that I could have better communication, but in the end, I knew if we didn’t leave this morning we would never get to Malaysia in time to connect with our flight to the US. So we cast off with me in tears hoping that we would be able to keep in touch via HAM email.
We motored south to Ko Phi Phi Leh and arrived just before the late afternoon/evening rain. Donna and Gerry of Scot Free II were here waiting for us and we got together on Windbird and caught up on sailing news.
We are now checking our email and have heard from Justin. The birthing process has begun in earnest and it looks as though they are going to be able to have the home birth that they had planned with a mid-wife attending. This is wonderful news as they had thought they might have to go to the hospital. So please send your most positive thoughts their way. By this time tomorrow, I should have a report of a new grandchild. Justin and Jo, we are thinking of you. We love you and can’t wait to hear about the birth of our newest grandchild.
by Judy Handley | Apr 7, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 166, Year 4 Down to the Wire
Date: Monday, April 6, 2009
Weather: Another Sunny Day; Late Evening Downpour
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
Although we are cutting it close, we do believe we are almost ready to leave here in the AM. We have worked furiously getting the boat straightened inside enough to sail. Muzza will come in the morning at 8:30 to make the last adjustments to the new cockpit enclosure and Luck will come at 9:00 to rub out our first little gouge in the new paint. It is in the green stripe right below where the dinghy engine hangs, so we assume it happened when hoisting the engine. It is not big, but Luck wanted to fix it before we leave. I have to go to the office to pay our bill in the morning and then hopefully by 9:30 we will leave here with the tide. It takes about an hour to drive through the mangroves in shallow water to reach deeper water in the bay and then we head straight for Phi Phi Le. It is one of our favorite spots in Thailand and we hope to just sit back and enjoy the evening there before continuing on the next morning.
We ended the day by inviting a few of our boatyard friends over to Windbird for a farewell celebration. Richard and Susan of Sea Bunny, Ley of Crystal Blues, and Larry and Joe came and then we all went to dinner at the little Asia Café here in the Lagoon. It was a fun evening and a nice way to end our time here.
by Judy Handley | Apr 6, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 165, Year 4 Slooooowly Making Progress
Date: Sunday, April 5, 2009
Weather: Another Sunny Day; Late Evening Downpour
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
Oh soooo very slowly we are making progress. The inside of the boat is beginning to look livable and maybe one more day will do the trick. During the early part of the day, Larry came over to see if we needed help. Larry is from Michigan but lived in the lakes region of New Hampshire before starting his trip around the world. He crossed the Atlantic and spent time in the Mediterranean before crossing the Indian Ocean from west to east and has been here for almost a year working in the East Marine Chandlery here at the Boat Lagoon. He has been a source of constant information for us and has become a friend. So he tailed the line for Mark to climb the mast this morning which freed me up to work on the inside of the boat to try and put things away. In the small confines of a sailboat, each and every thing has its place and it seemed like everything we own was just piled in the main cabin. At the end of the day, there is still much to do, but we’ll go at it again the morning.
It was almost noon when Mark and Larry were finished with the mast work and we joined Ley of Crystal Blues for lunch. Then Ley took me food shopping for meat and fresh fruit and veggies. We just need enough for the next eight days, so the shopping trip was quick and it was back to work on the boat. At about 6 pm Larry called to have us come over to E Dock. He was moving his boat with the late evening high tide to a new location. We no sooner got the dock lines attached when a huge rain storm descended upon us. We hopped into Larry’s boat to wait out the storm with Larry and Joe, a young friend of his visiting from the US. We had a couple of beers and still the rain was pouring down, so we finally had to brave the storm and walk to dinner in the rain. Larry and Joe came back to Windbird after dinner and we talked until midnight. Larry is a pilot for Delta but due to tight financial times, they are giving their pilots leaves of absence if they choose. Joe is taking advantage of that and is spending a lot of time traveling the world. This is his second trip to Southeast Asia in the past six months and his next planned trip is an African Safari from Johannesburg to the Serengeti. Last year he traveled in New Zealand and we spent a lot of time talking about that.
Tomorrow Muzza comes with the final installments of canvas for the cockpit enclosure and David Samuelson, the rigger, is hopefully coming to help Mark adjust the rigging. I know the day will go quickly and then on Tuesday morning we will leave the Boat Lagoon with the morning high tide. I’m sure we will be working all the way to Langkawi getting bits and pieces stored away and then we get to start packing and getting the boat ready to leave. I think I’ll enjoy the long plane ride home with nothing to do but sleep and read. In fact, I know I’ll enjoy that.
by Judy Handley | Apr 4, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 164, Year 4 Happy Anniversary to Justin and Jo
Date: Saturday, April 4, 2009
Weather: Another Sunny Day with Late Afternoon Threats of Rain
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
This is a big month for our son Justin and his wife Jo. They were married two years ago and in the next couple of weeks they will become parents. Â Â So congratulations to you, Justin and Jo. We are so happy for you and can’t wait to arrive in New Mexico for the birth.
We are still juggling work crews and haven’t had a chance to straighten out the inside of Windbird. So we are still in the apartment tonight. We should be sleeping on Windbird by tomorrow night-at least that is our hope. Oh’s crew finished their work in the cockpit today, Nop’s crew added an extension bar for our grill, and Muzza installed the dodger. The remainder of the canvas will be installed on Monday and hopefully that will be end of the work crews. We really need to get ready to leave on Tuesday morning. Since tomorrow is Sunday and no one works, we should have Windbird to ourselves and be able to get things together. We have just been moving so fast that we can’t keep up with ourselves, but we’re hoping tomorrow will give us the time to get things in order.
by Judy Handley | Apr 3, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 163, Year 4 First Day in the Water
Date: Friday, April 3, 2009
Weather: Sunny Day with Late Afternoon Threats of Rain
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
This was our first full day in the water and it was a crazy, busy day. In the early morning I stayed in the apartment and worked on getting photos ready to upload to the website and at the same time, get photos ready to give to Oh. Mark went to the boat to organize the work crews. Oh’s crew was back to do some finishing work in the cockpit and Marine Electronics were there to work on our inverter/transformer problems that developed when we moved from land to water. At 9:30 am Mark and I headed to Ao Chalong to check out of Thailand. Unfortunately, we forgot that we were told that the rental jeep was absolutely empty of fuel and we left Boat Lagoon without getting fuel. We realized this just after leaving, but the fuel stations here are far apart and we ran out of gas before we reached a station. Fortunately, an older Thai gentleman on a motorbike saw our problem and came to drive Mark to the gas station and back. He wanted no money for his services, but I insisted on given him a token fee. We were only delayed about 20 minutes, so we still arrived in Ao Chalong well before noon to do the check-out process. That went smoothly and afterwards we had lunch with Gerry and Donna of Scot Free II. They are planning on leaving Ao Chalong tomorrow or Sunday and heading for Phi Phi Le where they will wait for us to arrive late on Tuesday afternoon.
Getting out of here by Tuesday morning seems more challenging that we had thought, but that is still our goal. The cockpit enclosure is still not on the boat and won’t be until Monday. The dodger will be put on tomorrow, but the side curtains just aren’t ready. We did get the inverter/transformer issue worked out today . . . we think. Oh’s crew will finish their work tomorrow, so if all goes as planned we should make our Tuesday morning deadline. We are hoping to move out of the apartment tomorrow morning, but it is possible that we won’t make that deadline. We could still be here until the next day just because it is so difficult to move things back to Windbird with work crews still there.
The greatest thing about today was our end-of-the-day celebration with Oh and his crew. We went up to a small café and had a great ‘happy hour’ celebration. We have grown so fond of Oh and his crew. They have done an incredible job and have taught us so much. Oh turned 34 in January, Luck (or Lux as we learned this evening) is the youngest member of team, Pong is actually a little older than Oh and has been painting longer than Oh, and Lok (Lot, as we learned tonight) is the newest member of the team. This is just one of Oh’s six teams. I don’t know if the other teams are as good, but this team ROCKS. Oh, Luck, and Pong are Buddhist but Lot is Muslim. We learned tonight that Oh’s partner, Beei, is also Muslim. She doesn’t always wear a head covering, but she is devout. Oh explained that there is always a bit of tension between the Buddhist way and the Muslim way, but he and Beei make a great couple and will work things out. The thing we are most impressed with is Oh’s Buddhist thinking about a job well done. Having a beautiful product is the most important thing for him. And we think we have one his most beautiful products. Windbird looks great and is ready to sail south.
