Well what surprises January held!Apart from otters which came to dinner at one of the local restaurants!
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| not my feet- cant be they have nailpolish on the toes! |
The haul out was excellent and professionally and safely done. A very narrow shallow (literally dries at LW) channel , clearly marked by some bamboo poles, leads into a small swing basin, which is pretty well protected from any wind and there is no discernible tide run. Just as well, as we of course were doing it on a day that it was gusting to 18kts! If you need it, and I did, as I had never been there before, the yard runs out a guy in a dinghy who jumps on board and using hand signals guides you firstly under the high voltage power lines with clearance height of 24m (if you pass under the correct part of the span- in the middle there is only 18m clearance, which is a no go for even me!)
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| bamboo channel at LW |
Then up the bamboo channel, round the corner and he indicated where I needed to stop and then 4 lines appear from the shore, one on each bow and stern , the boat is held in position, the lifting trailer backed down towards the boat.
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| the basin- also at LW! |
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| https://youtu.be/D9dEADx2YVI |
The boat is guided onto the lifting device, by the shore men walking it forward on the lines. Once in position a couple of chaps hop in the water check out the positioning , using a tape measure and tapping on the hull to find the strong points. When they are happy, and amidst a whole lot of directions coming from the head serang, we are hauled out. The whole exercise taking about ten minutes from the time the first line comes on board.
At the top of the ramp, K'Gari was water cleaned , and then driven further through the yard to its position. The keels were supported and a couple of props at the bow and just forward of the rudders and the yard's job is done, until its time to launch again.
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| https://youtu.be/aosYPwuFXMU |
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| https://youtu.be/fDyg2AyiaNs |
The yard provides only the facility and the haul out , plus water and electricity , props etc. I either do the work myself or engage someone to do it for me.
Guess which option I took?
Apart from dealing with anodes on the saildrive legs ( the propeller parts) and re anti fouling them ourselves, I had on the recommendation of a couple of people I had met at the marina , engaged a chap called Pae to do the anti fouling work.
Pae had done a small gelcoat repair for me, after an incident way back in Vietnam , before the boat was actually mine. He sat on the wharf and mixed the gelcoat by eye until happy that he had the perfect match. When he had finished, despite me knowing where it was- I couldn't see any sign of it. Figuring that if he could paint as well as he gelcoated, he would be an excellent choice.
I was not disappointed with Pae and his work at all. In fact I was so happy with his work , that I basically doubled the original quote by getting him to polish the boat as well. ( that took 3-4 people two and a half days). K'Gari looked like new when he and his team were finished. A beautiful and professionally carried out job, which I am really pleased with.
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| port side half way to shiny |
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| To quote George W , "mission accomplished"-altho in this case no one died! |
The five day anticipated timetable, blew out to 13 days, due to a series of other issues, with which I am not going to bore anybody with – yet!
Suffice to say, that I know my way around all the chandleries at Boat Lagoon (an hours round trip by car) quite well now ,and the staff at AME marine supplies, will probably be missing me and my visits, as their gross profit will have taken a plunge since we left!
Back in the water on the 17th, just one day before we would have been neaped (stuck without enough tide) until the 26th, only to find that there was “no room at the inn”. The marina was full, with rally boats and other cruisers who have arrived after the New Year festivities. The place was heaving, so we anchored off for a couple of days awaiting a rigging inspection. This completed we were free to go, however there was a 'social soiree' at the marina on the evening of the 24th, where it may have been possible to glean a bit of information about the rally, Sail to the East, for 2017. The rally is the safest way to traverse the east coast of Borneo- about 60 miles of it is a known “pirate” hotspot where the aggrieved have decided that the odd kidnapping is relatively lucrative, (or not in which case they just behead the kidnapped, which is probably cheaper than feeding them I guess...). So the rally gets an escort from the Malaysian and perhaps the Philippines security forces. The anchorages at night are specified and a secure as they can be and radio contact etc maintained. So if I choose to go that way back to Oz, I will only do it as part of the rally group.
Did I also mention that at the 'soiree' there would be tea and tab-nabs, which is actually free food and drinks. The place was heaving, like moths to a candle do yachties go, for free food and drinks!
I did speak to Sasli, the rally organizer, before the volume of the music got pumped up to levels which made speech impossible, and yes ,he appeared very relaxed with my intention to possibly only participate in two parts of the rally. He just needs to know in advance for the paperwork.
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| https://youtu.be/zYFVSDrOdhM |
So betwixt and between, with not much to do for a few days, we went for a shake down sail to test the rigging. Three nights around unexplored parts of lower Phang Nga Bay, across over towards Krabi on the mainland and Steve even managed a kite surf one afternoon, when the wind had been a steady 15kts + all day. Of course by the time he got into it and possibly as we moored between a couple of rather imposing bits of granite, it was a bit gusty, occasionally dropping below the 15kts he needs. However he gave it a red hot go for a while.
Back to the marina to anchor off again and Steve being unable to sit still for more than three minutes finished off a fairly major repair to the anchor winch which we had discovered, amongst many other things, whilst out of the water, needed some attention! He is a very talented chap, and can turn his hand to many many things. In this instance it was finding the stainless steel we needed and a hunting around the local workshops, he found not only that, but a lathe he was 'free' to play with. Next day after the 'soiree', he was back there to use the bench press drill as well and after only a few more hours mucking around a major issue resolved!
So we departed late in the afternoon of the 25th to sail to Ao Chalong to clear out with the authorities on the 26th.
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| Flying on the way to Ao Chalong- all shiny and clean and we hit 9kts . |
Clearing out is easy it just entails going from room to room in the same building ,collecting a multitude of papers and stamps paying 100 baht to the harbour master office, 200 baht to the Immigration department and finally 200 baht- and I note the only department to give a receipt- to the customs department in exchange for me 're-exporting' my boat from Thailand. Yes this time I actually had my glasses on- it helps!
Hey ho and away we go. Our visas both expire on 1st Feb, so I assume I have until then to clear Thai waters.
Thailand has been great. The best sailing K'Gari has done. Even got the MPS a couple of times. Met more really great ,friendly, cruisers, and caught up with some old friends from earlier in 2016. The Thai people are gentle and friendly and very forgiving of my appalling attempts at their language, which after 3 months I can still only manage 'hello', 'thank you' ( and I'm still not sure I’ve got the Ka (kaaarr) part right yet, and 'bill please.' I find it really hard. I guess I need a phonetically written language guide, but of course hanging around the marina, everyone speaks English which doesn’t really help you to learn.
The snorkelling has been spectacular, as has the scenery. It's not quite finished yet, a couple more nights and we will be back in Malaysia.
Couldn't have done it without my “crew” - thanks to Lynne for helping me to get there,(sorry there was no wind). Jo , Chris and Steve for coming on a fabulous trip to truly beautiful locations, even though I know it's not Chris' idea of the best holiday- being computer-less a for a month, and Steve for staying and being 'pressed ganged' into the slipping- without you , I would have had a major meltdown , instead of the series of minor consecutive ones!
Three months and some 850 odd miles in Thai waters, more sailing than motoring for a change, fabulous snorkelling in crystal clear water with great company, and K'Gari looking brilliant again. Thanks Thailand, it's been fun
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