Day 83, Year 4: A Bit of a Romp
Date: Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Weather: Beautiful Weather, but WINDY; 15-20 Knots/1 Meter Seas
Latitude: 07 degrees 40.868 minutes N
Longitude: 098 degrees 45.728 minutes E
Location: Ao Maya Bay, Ko Phi Phi Le, Thailand
What a wonderful day we have had, even though our sail from Ko Yao Yai to Ko Phi Phi Le was a bit more of a romp than we had anticipated. We had a delightfully smooth sail at the beginning of the day and Sam seemed to really enjoy it. He loves to take hold of the wheel and try to steer us but we have to keep telling him that “Otto” has control. That, of course, is the auto pilot. We had a second breakfast of pancakes with maple syrup and then Heather and Sam went below for a nap. That is when the romp started. We came out from behind Ko Yao Yai and the seas and the wind picked up just as we had to adjust our course that put us on a beam reach. Heather was trying to sleep in the v-berth but every time we would hit a bit wave, she would levitate at bit. Sam, on the other hand, was in the main cabin, and was having a smooth ride. Once Heather was assured that I would sit and watch Sam to make sure he was fine, she was able to get a bit of sleep. Jed was trying to sleep in the cockpit, but we had to keep working with the sails which interrupted his nap. The reason Heather and Jed both needed to nap is that Sam has been up and wide awake VERY early the past couple of days. He sits up in his sea berth and serenades up with happy songs-if there is such a thing as a happy song at time of the morning.
We arrived at Ko Phi Phi Le around 2:30 in the afternoon, had lunch, and then hopped in the dinghy to go to the beach. “The Beach” is a 1999 movie filmed here on this incredibly beautiful beach surrounded by steep limestone cliffs. Mark, Sam, and I sat on that beach this afternoon and started building a sand castle with moat while Heather and Jed took a walk on the beach and went for a swim. When they returned, Jed helped us complete the moat and Sam had a delightful time running about in the moat and scooping sand. Tomorrow we will snorkel here and explore some of the many overhangs and caves. We’ll have a little beach time with Sam and just enjoy this absolutely beautiful place. We are on a mooring at the entrance to the bay at the base of a limestone cliff that looks to be reaching for the sky. You couldn’t ask for a more dramatic place to sit on your boat.
Mark and I are just thoroughly enjoying having Heather, Jed, and Sam aboard. Sam keeps us all constantly entertained and has adapted to sea life quite easily. He loves watching other boats and has been a fantastic second captain on Windbird. This morning when we were picking up anchor at Ko Yao Yai, Heather was at the helm as we left the anchorage. I told her to increase the speed a bit, and Sam just beamed. The faster the better for this little guy!
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| 090113 Day 83 Thailand–Ko Yao Yai to Ko Phi Phi Le |
