Things are trying to delay our departure

Yesterday afternoon we consulted the calendar and realized that we should check out of this marina on Sunday 26 December and depart from Patong on 27 December.  Then Bill read something on the Amel Owners Group online about boats the same age as BeBe having rusting problems with the mixing elbow on the main engine.  After all, this boat is almost 8 years old now and it is time for routine things to start needing repair and/or replacement.  And with the difficult Red Sea and Gulf of Aden passages coming soon, the engine MUST be reliable.

This information sent Bill down inside the engine room, where he quickly removed the mixing elbow and brought it topsides for closer inspection.  In a crevice there appeared to be some rust; not too much.  Bill cleaned the rust off and we could not see any holes.  But there must be some very tiny holes or the rust should not have formed there.  Actually, it was more like a crusty salt build-up than rust.  Moisture vapor must have leaked through holes too tiny for us to see even with our highest-power magnifying glass.  The photo shows what it looked like after Bill wire brushed it.

Yanmar Mixing Elbow       

First thing this morning Bill walked to Boat Lagoon in search of a TIG welder and a Yanmar parts shop.  He found both.  The welder was not in yet, so Bill left the elbow.  We will know tomorrow whether or not the TIG welding is possible.  The Yanmar parts shop was a bonanza!  It is just a small satellite shop.  They did not have the part, but the main shop had one and couriered it right over to the satellite location while Bill waited.  Unfortunately, it was missing a washer and the drain plug.  Not a problem.  They will fabricate those 2 missing pieces and it will be ready tomorrow.   We are delighted because we thought the part would have to be shipped in from Singapore and that would delay our departure next week.  Hopefully tomorrow we will have both the new elbow and the welded elbow to use as a spare.  BTW, these elbows are not cheap -- $1,000 USD plus taxes.   Ouch!!   Wasn't expecting that!

The Ka-Ka-Girls shop owner emailed a price quote for the 2 additional shade awnings we wanted to have made.  He wanted roughly $1200 USD and we felt that was a couple hundred dollars too much.  So instead of new shade awnings, we will be the proud owners of a new mixing elbow.  As Bill pointed out, we really won't be using shade awnings until we get back to the Caribbean and we can have them made there.  Might cost a little more, but maybe not.  Then again, there is always Turkey next year.  We hear great things about available boat-related work in Turkey.  Possibly shade awnings can be manufactured there at a reasonable cost.

This afternoon we decided to do a couple loads of laundry aboard BeBe.  The marina rules state no gray water discharge and I was hesitant to run the washing machine.  But what the heck!  They don't mind people washing boats and all those cleaning products drain directly into the water.  My laundry detergent can't be as detrimental to the environment as those boat cleaners.  An hour later I was dragging soaked clothes out of the washing machine because it would not pump out the water and spin dry.  Oh crap!!!  When it rains it pours sometimes.  First the $1,000 for the mixing elbow and now we might have to buy a new washing machine?

Bill wasn't ready to give up quite so easily.  He was sure it could be repaired.  After all, a washing machine is a pretty basic appliance.  It probably just needed a new water pump.  I was a bit more negative and figured we were going to end up buying a new machine.  Again, this boat is now almost 8 years old.  I'm sort of surprised we haven't had a problem with the washing machine before now.  What I was really dreading was trying to figure out how to get the washing machine out of the mahogany cabinetry.  Turns out I was worrying about nothing.

Henri Amel thought of everything.  It was so, so, so simple to remove the washing machine from the cabinetry.  Bill unscrewed the 2 ultra-long bolts that hold the machine stationary and the tongue-in-groove cabinet fell apart like a finely machined clam shell.  One L-shaped side was easily removed from the other fixed L-shaped side.  The "Ls" joined together with fine cabinetry tongue-in-groove.  Putting it back together was just as easy.  Except we then learned that there were built in guides for the 25-inch or so long bolts.  Just guide in the bolt and it aligned perfectly.

The machine slid out easily.  We tilted it so Bill could access the pump-out water pump.  He found the clean-out access for that pump and cleaned it out with the shop vac.  It looked like a large hair ball had been blocking the outflowing water and causing the pump not to work.  Because the water was not pumping out, the machine would not spin dry.  While everything was apart, Bill took this opportunity to coat all contacts with Corrosion X.  (Truly cannot recommend this product more highly!!)


We put it all back together and ran another load of laundry.  All worked just as it should.  What a relief!  And to look on the bright side -- I was finally able to clean the floor inside that cabinet.

This morning while Bill was on the mixing elbow quest, I cleaned the carpets.  And they look fabulous!  This is a chore best done while docked and one has shore power for the shop vac.  I brought all the carpets into the cockpit.  I stood beneath the shade awning with the big fan blowing right on me as I worked.  The cockpit table is the perfect height for this type work.  The process involved first vacuuming each carpet piece; then using the water hose to thoroughly soak one carpet piece at a time.  Next I scrubbed each piece with a stiff brush and finished by vacuuming very well with the shop vac.  The resulting muddy water inside the shop vac was disgusting, so I know this method cleaned the carpets very well.  The last time the carpets were cleaned was in New Zealand when we rented a steam-cleaning machine.  Ever since then I have felt that there was still cleanser residue left in the carpets.  So today I used just plain water and the results speak volumes.  The carpets haven't looked this good since we have owned the boat.

Photos and Observations

Deadwood in Phuket    

 When in Patong last Friday we found Deadwood in Phuket.  Only Americans will understand that comment.   This sign was in the bar off the sidewalk at the entrance to the Tiger Hotel.  Lots of pretty girls sitting around to join you as you enjoy that "Fucking Cold Beer."  All for a fee, of course.  Patong has all the most sought-after entertainment of Phuket Island.  Tourists crowd the place day and night.  There are lots of specialty bars, such as the lady boys.  Why tourists want to see bars filled with transvestites is beyond my understanding.  So these men like to dress as women.  So what!  Who cares.  The Tiger Hotel is right next to the Bangla Boxing Center, and their girls are quite definitely not lady boys.

Yesterday we rented a car, not sharing with other friends this time.  That is because our friends have cleared out of Thailand and moved on to the Similan Islands to await increasing winds to send them on their way to Sri Lanka.  The Similan Islands are a national park of Thailand about 65 miles away from Phuket.  We also probably will head there soon.  Other friends are currently en route from Langkawi to Phuket but likely will not arrive until after Christmas.  So we had a rent car all to ourselves yesterday.  And what was the first thing we did?  Well, of course, pick up another cruising couple walking in the heat on the very long entrance road from the marina.

I have already forgotten their names, but they are Brits from Guernsey who are participating in the Blue Water Rally round-the-world.   Turned out we had planned to go to several of the same places they wanted to go, so they rode along with us for a couple of hours as we visited various chandleries in search of certain brands and models of oil filters and impellers and other such boat candy.  And during this process Bill and I learned a bit about Guernsey and Jersey.  Guernsey is actually separate from the UK, with their own government and currency and not members of the EU.  Enjoyed talking with these folks.  They related several problems that members of the BWR encountered in Kupang and Bali.  Indonesia turned out to be very expensive for the rally members, well more than $1,000 more than we paid in various Indonesian fees.  I think this world renown rally was ripped off royally while in Indonesia.

We dropped them back at Royal Phuket Marina and then visited the Central Festival mall, where we found the nicest and most expensive supermarket on Phuket Island.  We went to this mall in search of a replacement battery for my watch.  But apparently Rado watches are not sold anywhere on Phuket Island; so when my watch stops I will do without.  The nice supermarket had the best-looking cuts of "organic" meats and chicken.  We loaded up on as many chicken breast tenders as I thought might fit in our fridge and freezer, plus wonderful thick steaks that we will grill for Christmas dinner.  It is too hot to even think about roasting or baking anything normal for Christmas dinner.  We will do a tropical yuletide celebration.

Rolly Tasker was not finished cleaning our fore ballooner sail.  Somehow the sail bag had been mistakenly placed in the completed section and the work was overlooked.  They said they would do it immediately and we could pick it up at closing time at 17:00, which we did.  The sail loft could not believe that our sails are almost 8 years old and used for more than half a circumnavigation.  Our sails were manufactured by Demi Voile in France and are really good sails.  They cost more, but worth the additional cost.   Rolly Tasker told us that most sails only last 4 -5 years and that ours look like they should last another 4 or 5 years from now.   That was very good news to our ears!   All sails are now inspected and in very good condition and back in place on the boat.

Then we dropped off one of our shade awning panels with the Ka-Ka Girls for a zipper replacement.  I had noticed that one of the zippers was getting very brittle and teeth are about ready to break off.  It must have gotten more direct sun than the other zippers.  Figured there was no better time or place than getting it replaced here and now.  I also talked with the shop owner about making 2 more shade awnings.  He said if we could draw out the specs and email to him that they should be able to finish within only a few days.  BTW, almost all the businesses here are open on Christmas Day; but they close for 4 days for New Years.

This morning we measured and sketched diagrams for the proposed fore and aft shade awnings.  Bill is emailing the specs to the Ka-Ka Girls shop as I type this blog.  If their price quote is anywhere near reasonable then we should have new awnings next week.  Then we should be on our way to the Similans and then the Andaman Islands.  We learned from the guy in charge of the marina in Cochin that it is possible to visit the Andamans and then go directly to mainland India without waiting the mandatory 2 months between entries.  He said the trick is to request a "Domestic Exit" stamp to our visas when we depart the Andaman Islands; and to request a "Domestic Entry" stamp to our visas when we arrive in Cochin.  This supposedly allows us to visit both places without being forced to adhere to the 2 month limit between entries.  The catch is that one cannot stop anywhere else between the Andaman Islands and mainland India -- that would constitute an International Entry when arriving in Cochin and THAT invalidates the Domestic Exit from the Andaman Islands.  Are you confused yet?  We did not plan to stop in Sri Lanka or the Maldives before arriving at Cochin, so this is not a problem for us at all.  We are delighted to now have the opportunity to visit the Andaman Islands.  Given a choice between Sri Lanka or Maldives or Andamans, we would chose the more exotic and less frequented Andaman Islands.

Yesterday we visited the dentist who had been highly recommended by other friends.  But to do any of the elective work we were thinking about would take longer than we want to stay here.  Phuket is an excellent place for any dental work (and also for other medical needs).  Many Australians fly here for dental work because the quality is excellent and the prices superb.  Prices are about one-fourth those in the USA.  Average price for a crown (cap) for a molar is $200-$225 USD.   In Houston last month a dentist quoted $1200-$1400 for the same work.  Bill has some fillings that are literally 50 years old, and we thought those should be replaced.  Unfortunately, there just isn't time because the dentist said it would take 2 to 3 weeks and we are not willing to be tied down here that long.  Sure wish we had known about this dentist when we first arrived in Phuket.  BTW, it is within walking distance of Ao Chalong Bay so it is very convenient for boats at anchor.  After clearing in with Immigration and Customs, walk down the nearest perpendicular street to the roundabout; turn right and the 32 Dental Clinic is about 1000 meters on the right hand side of the road.  Directly across the street is a bank and an inflatable dinghy repair shop.  All newly arriving cruisers need to know about this place.  There are dental facilities all over the place, but this convenient one comes highly recommended by other cruisers.

This morning we noticed that a newly arrived boat docked 2 slips down from our boat is someone we met way back in Queensland area of Australia.  Their son Jaime entertained our grandson Zachary for several days during our sail from Mackay to Cairns.  What a surprise to run into them again!  They are also headed to the Red Sea and we will talk further with them about our respective sailing plans for the pirate areas.

Now for a few observations.

When shopping around the island we have seen colored eggs that always get my attention.  Several stores have had pink eggs for sale.  But one shop had green eggs.  (Should insert a Doctor Seuss joke here, if I knew one).  These appear to be regular chicken eggs except they are colored.  The eggs do not appear to be dyed.  Something different that I do not understand.  We have seen black eggs in Malaysia and are familiar with the speckled eggs found locally.  But these pink and green eggs elude me.

Security guards around the island stand at attention and salute people as they drive or walk by their duty stations.  Some of them click their heels as they salute, and it always makes me want to say "Achtung" to them as we pass by.  Bill, on the other hand, always want to return their salute.  He says an un-returned salute is an empty salute.  In Patong even the Burger King advertisement shows a guy saluting.  We have not seen a Burger King here yet.  Maybe they have a guard at the door who salutes customers as they arrive

Recently we utilized the marina laundry service.  Every single garment and item was returned to us with twisted colored yarn attached.  Apparently this is how they mark which items belong to a particular customer when large loads are washed together from several customers.  Our colors were orange, blue and green.  And every single item had been ironed -- sheets, bath towels, tee-shirts, cotton knit tank tops, shorts -- everything except socks.  All for the "hefty" price of about $8 USD per load.  To be fair, that is a very high price locally for laundry.  But it seemed cheap to us.  It has been a long time since we have slept on ironed sheets.  I reminded Bill not to get spoiled because he won't be getting that again anytime soon.

Final observation is about the fuel stations for motorcycles.  All through Indonesia and in some parts of Malaysia we have seen roadside stands holding glass containers of gasoline intended for purchase for motorcycles.  This is really convenient -- and very dangerous to our western ideas.  In fact, we saw the same throughout SE Asia during our travels over the past year.  But Phuket has something better.  They have very tiny gas stations (petrol stations for our Brit friends).  These stations are all over the place and are set just back from the sidewalks.  You insert cash and pump the gas.

One day we walked over to Boat Lagoon (the best marina and books up a year in advance).  While walking back past the corner 7-Eleven store and gas station, we walked within a few feet of a policeman in the process of arresting a young man on a motorcycle.   It was obvious that this young man had attempted to drive away from the gas pump without paying.  An undercover cop jumped out of his pick-up truck and yelled at the uniformed cop near the corner.  They instantly pulled the young man off that motorcycle and had him spread-eagle on the sidewalk with 2 large guns pointed to the back of his head.  Stealing gasoline is obviously taken very seriously here. 

Driving around Phuket is interesting and keeps you alert.  The outside lane on all busy roads and streets are meant to be used by motorcycles.  These lanes are narrower than normal car lanes.  These lanes are also often used for parked cars.  All this seems very logical.  Except for the fact that the motorcycles sometimes go in both directions in the narrow outside lanes.  It is obvious that traffic is supposed to flow only in one direction, but the motorcycle drivers just go the wrong way when that is more convenient to them.  Every time one parks a car on the side of a road or street, one must look both directions before opening the car door.  You expect the traffic to be approaching from the rear of the car, but you might just get hit by the motorcycle coming from the other direction.

When uploading photos from Bill's cell phone I found these 2 from our recent trip to Houston.  This first one is what we called a nanny cab.  The nannies working in West University (the town within the city of Houston where our eldest son lives and almost everyone has a nanny, even the stay-at-home moms) are provided these bicycles with enclosed trailers attached.  These are used to deliver and pick up the kids from the local elementary school.  I felt sorry for those nannies having to pedal in the cold rain while the precious darlings were zipped up warm inside.  Why can't they just walk?  It is only a few blocks and would be safer that this contraption in city traffic.

And this final photo was taken on Thanksgiving at Theo's house.  Our grandson Damien discovered the decorative wooden rocking horse near the fireplace and climbed on.

We had hoped to leave the marina day after tomorrow (Thursday 23 Dec)  to anchor somewhere.  Bill said he wanted to spend Christmas at "Ko" Somewhere, at a picturesque beach anchorage---not in a marina.  The marina office changed our minds.  Due to pro-rata rates of daily vs. monthly, it does not make sense for us to leave the marina until Sunday 26 December.  So that is what we will do. 

Unless someone invites us to join them for Christmas at anchor, and then plans change yet again. 

"The Pearl of the Andaman Sea"

Phuket is the largest island belonging to Thailand.  The island has an area of 540 square kilometers, or 208.5 square miles, roughly the size of Singapore.   To give friends and family back home a basis for comparison, the city of Houston is 601.7 square miles; and the Houston city statistical area is 12,476 square miles.  We all know how far out those suburbs go.  Surely everyone knows how to pronounce Phuket.  The "ph" has the hard "p" sound.  And the "u" has the "oo" sound.  Poo-KET is the correct pronunciation.

This island has all the attributes one might want in a tropical vacation destination:  rocky mountains, limestone cliffs, more than 10 gorgeous white powdery beaches on the main island and many more on the dozens of surrounding tiny islands, tranquil broad bays, and tropical in-land forests.  Plus monkeys, tropical birds and even a few elephants at a few resorts just to remind tourists that they are indeed in Thailand.

Most geologists believe that the area known today as Phuket was once a cape on mainland Thailand that extended into the Andaman Sea.  Geographical formations gradually changed the cape's location, finally detaching it from the mainland.  Call it global warming over the past couple thousand years that has caused very shallow waters to separate Phuket into the island that it is today.  The water depth on the northern end of this island is not navigable 99% of the time because it is so shallow.  Even small motor boats have difficulty in those shallow areas.

Claudius Ptolemy, the famous Greek philosopher with the Roman and Egyptian name, mentioned the cape in a book he authored in the year 157 A.D.  The cape was locally referred to as Jung Ceylon, located between latitudes 6 North and 8 North (the present site of Phuket Island).   Natives called the place "Cha Lang," which evolved to "Tha Lang."  Thalang is now the name of the main town at the north end of the island.  This area was first mentioned in Malaysian literature in 1200 A.D.  Phuket has had an interesting history with influences from both East and West. 

Jung Ceylon was the perfect stopover, sheltering trader ships from monsoons on either side depending on which monsoon was in effect at any given time of the year.  The monsoon blows from the southwest from May through September and from the northeast from December through March.  Traditionally, the months of April/May and October/November are considered transitional weather.  However, the northeast monsoon usually does not become fully established these days until early-to-mid January.  That is why we are waiting here in Thailand for the northeast monsoon to become reliable----to help blow us westward towards India.  Each week the winds become more stable from the northeast, but the monsoon is still not fully established yet this year.   We don't want to head off too soon and then be caught with winds on our nose before we complete the 1460 miles to our destination.

Jung Ceylon welcomed merchants from India, Persia, Arabia, Burma, China and Siam.  During the 16th century, the island was also a popular trading port for tin with the Portuguese, Dutch, English and French.  These traders contributed to the development of mining in the area.  Chinese businessmen and miners later migrated to Phuket to enjoy the thriving tin mining business.  During the past hundred years, Phuket has also established its economic importance with both the tin mining and also the growing of rubber.  The trees with the little pots attached to their trunks are visible as one drives around the island.  One of the tour companies takes you out to collect your own rubber, but we will pass on that experience; or "give it a miss" as our British friends say.

In 1785 a five-week invasion by the Burmese was repulsed thanks to the ingenuity of two sisters, Chan and Mook.  Realizing the population of Phuket capable of fighting was outnumbered by the invading Burmese, the two sisters persuaded all the island's women to dress up as men, thus fooling the Burmese into believing that the island was too well defended.  In fact, the island's governor had just died and the local Thai's were leaderless.   The ploy worked; the Burmese left; and the two sisters were celebrated.  Today there is a monument  in the center of a traffic round-about on the northeast side of Phuket island that honors the heroines.  

Today it is obvious that tourism is the biggest business going.  The number of tourists is astounding.  Wonder when Americans are going to catch onto this great place.  Phuket is one of those places where we truly could get lost, as it appears so many Brits have already.  Everything we might want can be found here.  The climate is very much to our liking -- humid, warm-to-hot (but never cold), beautiful white sand beaches, beautiful rock islands, green/blue waters, very friendly people and great food.  We easily could enjoy living here for many years.

Yesterday we shared a rent car with friends for the day.  The major accomplishment of the day was to get new foam for our cockpit cushions.  The shop in New Zealand was supposed to recover the old foam in these cushions with our new fabric.  But they did us a favor and gave us new foam instead.  And I have hated those cushions every since.  The NZ foam was awful stuff.  The foam we bought yesterday is still not exactly what we want.  I figure we will have new cushions made when we get to France if we can find another fabric we like.  The original cockpit cushions were made in France and were great.  I want those duplicated again.  We looked at fabrics when we were in Houston, but the only fabric I liked was $82 per yard; and that is out of the question.  What we have now (with the new heavier foam) will work until we get to the Amel service yard in France in a couple of years.

We were supposed to go to the kick boxing tournament last night; but Bill had a short-lived Crohn's attack, so we had to cancel at the last minute.   Bill had a lot of pain off and on all afternoon yesterday, but today is back to feeling just fine.  Our friends drove all the way across the island to drop us off at our marina, and then had to drive all the way back across the island so they could watch the boxing starting at 21:00 last night.  Hope they enjoyed their evening.  Sorry we missed it.   Here are a couple of photos they took during the 10 fights last evening.

The Ka-Ka Girls

 Females in Thailand end many sentences with "ka" and males end sentences with "krup" or "krap."  They also intersperse these sounds within sentences.  Some people do this a lot; others who deal with foreigners in more formal business relationships do not say ka or krup as often.  We have no idea of the meanings of ka or krup.

Our friend Bill on S/V ESTRELLITA shared his story of visiting a local shop in Ao Chalong.  He had some canvas work done the previous week and wanted some adjustments made to a few items.  The English-speaking shop manager, a woman called Dum (pronounced just like dumb in English, but she certainly isn't), was not in; so Bill had to deal directly with a couple of female shop workers who spoke not a word of English.  This is about how the conversation went:

Bill:  See these seams?
Girls:  Ka

Bill:  I want these seams to be this way.
Girls:  Ka-a-a

Bill:  Can you do?
Girls: Ka

Bill:  And these turnbuckles on the end are too hard to work (as he screwed his face into a grimace and motioned twisting with difficulty).
Girls:  Ka-a-a

Bill:  Want these with grommets so can tie like the other piece.
Girls:  Ka-a-a-a (giggle; giggle with hands over mouths) Ka-a-a-a

Bill:  Can you do?
Girls: Ka

Bill:  This piece is too long.
Girls: Ka-a-a

Bill:  Can you make the same length as this other piece?
Girls:  Ka. Ka

Bill:  Can be ready tomorrow?
Girls:  Ka-a-a-a-a

Bill:  Everything all be ready tomorrow?
Girls:  Ka-a. Ka-a

Here was a fairly technical conversation involving several alterations on multiple sections of canvas awning.  And the girls understood everything he wanted done without understanding a word of his language.  And the only sounds the girls uttered was "ka" with various tonal inflections.  And, guess what!  They did all the work correctly and it was ready the following morning.  Gotta love it!

Then this week we called the same shop to see if our awning was repaired and ready for pick-up.  We did not want to waste a drive to Ao Chalong from our isolated marina unless the work was completed. 

Me:  This is Judy on boat BeBe.
Girl:  Ka

Me:  Are you finished working on our awning?
Girl:  Ka

Me:  Can we pick it up in an hour?  Will you be there in the shop?
Girl:  Ka.  Ka.

Me:  How much do we owe you?
Girl:  4,250 Baht-ka.

Me:  Thank you.  We will be there within an hour.  Goodbye.
Girl:  Bye-bye-ka.

And this was Dum, English-speaking shop manager, with whom I was conversing.

We now refer to this shop as the Ka-Ka Girls.  That is a lot shorter than the real name of the shop, which is 4 words we can never remember.

Our first few days in Phuket

Big Buddha on top of hill.

After finishing the officialdom dance and being properly cleared in, we spent our first full day in Phuket sharing a rental car with Bill & Amy on S/V ESTRELLITA. That is when we learned that Phuket is much larger, more heavily populated and more built up than we had imagined. The population of this island is around 660,000. Boats arrive and clear in at Ao Chalong Bay on the southeastern tip of the island.  Visible on the hillside nearby is a large Buddha.  We have seen enough Buddhas and are not likely to drive up there.

Ao Chalong is a huge bay, much of it shoal or too shallow for keel boats. The large section of the bay adjacent to the town of Ao Chalong is filled with moorings so we anchored well away from shore. It was quite a long dinghy ride to shore. Dinghies can be tied up at the very long and very high pier, but that is really a long walk to shore. Plus there is the 3 meter tide to consider when tying off a dinghy to a pier that does not float. Tie it too short during high tide and it will be dangling in the air later. Tie it too short during low tide and it will be perpendicular in the water later. A hassle that is easily avoided by instead landing on the beach and dragging the dinghy up the beach. There is a nice sturdy fence along the sidewalk to tie off the dinghy and lock a cable for security.

On the island of Phuket boaters can find just about anything their little hearts desire. We have not seen so many marine related shops and services since New Zealand. In fact, I think there is more here than in NZ. And supermarkets are far better stocked here than anywhere in Malaysia. The prices are higher, but not exorbitant by any means. We will rent a car just before leaving for India and stock up again. In the Carrefour we found the French Bolognese pasta sauce that we like so much. Haven't seen that brand since the island of Guadaloupe in the French West Indies of the Caribbean.

The best stop of the day was Rolly Tasker Sails. What an enormous sail loft!!! We have never seen a sail loft so huge. Rolly Tasker specializes in sailmaking, masts & rigging, rope making, marine hardware and general chandlery. The assortment of stainless steel gidgets and gadgets is amazing. What a delight to see so much of things we have missed for so long! We didn't need anything right now since we had just returned from the visit back to the States. Had we known about Rolly Tasker and what awaited us in Phuket then we would have delayed purchasing things until we arrived here.

Forget what I wrote earlier about buying courtesy flags in Langkawi. Rolly Tasker makes very heavy-duty courtesy flags out of sailcloth. These flags are larger and will last just about forever. These are much higher quality than what is sold in Langkawi. And Rolly Tasker charges only 300 baht per flag -- less than $10 USD. What a bargain!! We already have all the flags we should need all the way through the Red Sea and Mediterranean to Morocco.  But we bought another flag for France since we have gone through 3 French flags over the past 4 1/2 years.  Hopefully this one will last a long time.  And we bought a flag for Israel.  We have no plans to visit Israel, but people keep telling us that we simply must go there.  So now we have a flag in case someone convinces us that we really should visit this trouble-ridden country.

Bill and I had recently talked about wanting to have our mizzen asymmetrical sail (Amel calls this a mizzen ballooner) installed into a sock like our fore asymmetrical sail.  We think having it inside a sock would make hoisting and dousing this sail much simpler.  The easier it is, the more likely we will use the sail more frequently.  I really love the mizzen asymmetrical but we rarely fly it because it is such a hassle to fold it back up for storage.  A sock will simply both usage and storage.  Rolly Tasker to the rescue.  We talked to the men in charge and made arrangements for them to pick up this sail once we were berthed at Royal Phuket Marina.  Later we decided it would be a good idea to have all our sails checked out.  After all, the Red Sea is supposed to be the hardest weather we should encounter on the entire circumnavigation.  Best to have sails in perfect condition.

Tuesday we met with folks from another 2 boats who have similar ideas, similar speed boats and similar schedules for transiting the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden (Somali pirate territory).   I don't want to post anything specific on any website regarding our passage plans for this dangerous area.  But it looks like we might have the makings of a small group of like-minded individuals who can travel somewhat loosely together.  Participating in a tight-formation convoy of 25 boats and sailing right along the Yemeni coast does not appeal to any of us.  Neither does sailing alone.  Hopefully, our little group will work out.

Tuesday was also my 62nd birthday.  Guess I should file the application and get those little monthly social security checks started.

Anchored all alone, our private beach on Ko Rang Yai

Wednesday we dropped off our sun shade awning for a zipper repair.  Couldn't believe it when they called and it was ready to be picked up first thing the next day.  As soon as we picked up the repaired shade awning, we weighed anchor and motored northward up the eastern side of Phuket to anchor behind the small island of Ko Rang Yai.  BTW, in Thailand the work "Ko" means island, just like the word "Pulau" means island in Malaysia or Indonesia.  Ko Rang Yai is a convenient spot to anchor before entering either Royal Phuket Marina or the Boat Lagoon Marina.  The entrance to these 2 marinas dries to mud during low tide, and is only navigable during high tide.  So all egress happens during the 1 hour of daylight high tide each day.  We were staging at Ko Rang Yai Thursday night so that we would be ready at high tide on Friday to enter the marina.

Leave concrete posts close to port upon entry

At 11:30 Friday morning we weighed anchor and called the marina.  High tide was noon to 13:00 this particular day.  The pilot was to meet us at 12:05 at the entrance waypoint.  At precisely 12:05 he met us at the assigned spot and jumped aboard.  The pilot took the helm and drove us to the marina entrance.  There are unlighted tall concrete posts marking the long twisting entrance channel.  This is definitely not a place to enter after dark.  I was nervously watching the depth gauge.  Most of the channel was .3 meters depth beneath our 2.1 meter keel; but once the pilot had to move ever-so-slightly to the right to pas an outbound boat and the depth dropped to 0 meters beneath our keel.  I switched the gauge to feet and watched it drop from 3 to 1 to 0.  But we were still moving forward at 4 knots.  The gauge then began to register .8 feet.   That meant there was only about 7 inches of water beneath our boat!!!!  And I get nervous when it is anything less than 20 feet!  What a relief when the gauge quickly began to register higher numbers and we were soon back to .6 meters.  I really do not like such shallow water.

Leave concrete posts to port upon entry to marina

We arrived without incident and docked easily.  The pilot jumped off and went on his way.  We were met at the slip by 3 men to tie off our dock lines, plus a woman holding a tray with chilled fragrant ice-cold face cloths.  She handed us a welcome packet and asked us to visit the marina office at our leisure to register.  This was by far the nicest welcome we have ever received at any marina.  The day was so hot and humid that those ice-cold face cloths were like heaven.

Later we dropped the genoa, mainsail and mizzen.  Got them all flaked and rolled into their sail bags.  Then dug the mizzen asymmetrical and the fore ballooner out of the forward deck sail locker.  We stacked all 5 sail bags on the finger pier beside our boat and covered all with our dinghy cover in an effort to keep them as dry as possible.  It was a very hot and humid afternoon and this activity wore us out.  We were really appreciating being in a marina with air-conditioning to cool off afterward.

The first thing this morning Bill removed the lower line on our life rail.  There is a vinyl coated lifeline beneath the stainless life rail.  There are several nicks in the vinyl coating and Bill wants it all replaced.  We figure it must be cheaper here in Thailand than it will be anywhere in the Med or the Caribbean, so now is the time to do it.  Around noon the truck for Rolly Tasker arrived and picked up the 5 sails and the vinyl coated lifeline.  They will install a sock on the mizzen asymmetrical and inspect and repair anything found on the other 4 sails.  We are so thankful to Bill & Amy for bringing us to this wonderful sail loft.

It is rainy, hot and humid.  Royal Phuket Marina is pretty isolated.  So we will be spending a lot of time sitting inside the boat for at least the next 10 days.  To do anything from here will require renting a car.