The End of the Year is Nigh... sigh...

We are starting to feel that we could sail the route between Langkawi and Phuket blindfolded!! After several weeks back in Phuket we suddenly discovered that doing a visa run to the Thai/Burmese border by road would no longer give us another 30 days to enjoy Thailand as well as haul out for necessary boat work. Instead we would receive only 15 days. We usually arrive in Thailand with a 60-day visa which may be extended to 90 days. However, this time we didn’t deem it necessary as we proposed to do one visa run and then leave for the Andaman Islands. Oh, well, the best laid plans...

The good news though is that during our short stay in Thailand, most of the varnishing has been redone on Tweed’s teakwork and she is looking a bit spiffier than when we left in August. As well as spending time anchored off Yacht Haven Marina, where we were able to catch up with cruising buddies, we also anchored for a few nights at Panwa Bali in Chalong Bay where we had good protection from the prevailing constant gusty north easterly winds. We were able to swim and go ashore for a meal if we wanted where there are several local style restaurants serving great Thai food.

Large Thai Fishing Vessel

So here we are back in Langkawi once more. This seemed to be the simplest solution – sail to Langkawi and check in to Malaysia, have a day of shopping and refuelling, then check out and sail back to Phuket in time for Christmas (we hope). Our passage this time took in Ko Phi Phi Don (caught one bonito on the way), Ko Muk (caught another bonito) and Ko Tarutao (caught another 80cm mackerel, so the average is improving), arriving in Telaga on Thursday 18 December.

In the waters between Ko Muk and Ko Tarutao there are literally thousands of fish traps marked with a float and a coloured flag. A constant watch has to be maintained to avoid the possibility of getting the rope caught in the propeller or, worse still, catching the fishing lure on one. We have done this twice and each time have been able to turn the boat round and unhook it before losing our gear.

Steering clear of another fishing float

With one week to Christmas Day we have our time cut out as Friday in Langkawi is their ‘weekend’ and the shops we need to get to are closed. The plan is to refuel on Friday, hire a car on Saturday and leave on Sunday which should see us back in Thailand by the 24 December.

Long Stay in a Marina, Short Trip to Burma

Last weekend we had to do a visa run as our Thai visas expired on Monday. One option for doing this was to take a minibus 300 km up to Ranong, then a ferry in and out of Burma, and return to Phuket in the same day – a trip of about 10-12 hours. Ranong is the most northern town on the west coast of Thailand where it meets Burma. We decided to do it at a more leisurely pace so we hired a car to drive ourselves instead. We made an internet booking at the Andaman Club Resort on Thahtay Kyun Island, just inside the Burmese border which allowed us to travel on their private fast ferry and pass through the Thai immigration and customs on their jetty – much easier. Plus, it was the low season so the cost of the night in the resort was fairly minimal. The drive up was probably more interesting than the stay on the island – there was a lot more to see and we are not really ‘resort’ people and found that part a bit boring. Wouldn’t you rather be checking batteries, planning your day around getting the laundry done or worrying about mooring lines?? Still, it was a nice break away from all the boat work and the scenery along the way made it all worthwhile.

Rainy afternoon in Yacht Haven from the condo

We moved off the boat in mid-June and rented a condo owned by the marina for six weeks. Originally we thought a couple of weeks would see the end of all the grinding, sanding, dust and dirt plus fibreglass smells but with the weather and other hiccups we finally moved back aboard a week ago before going to Ranong. It was a lot nicer to have a big air-conditioned room to escape to which included a large bathroom and a BATH.

So now, another week has gone by and still the work continues on Tweed in Yacht Haven. We are seeing some real progress though and the final layer of Gelcoat was sprayed on the non-skid sections of the deck yesterday, 12^th July. It is always assumed that boat work will take longer than originally anticipated but now we can see that the job is in the final stages and are almost thinking that soon we will be able to leave for Langkawi before our 30-day Thai visa expires. The boys from Boat Biz have been doing a great job and for us softies it is hard to believe that they can work away all day in the heat and humidity. They took the covers down when they started to spray which has taken longer than expected but we should be able to get them back up in a day or two. Their work now is concentrating on cleaning things up, re-fitting all the equipment that has been removed and generally getting things ship shape again.

In the meantime, apart from boat jobs, we have been enjoying meals at the local restaurants, getting to town occasionally, walking for an hour each morning about daybreak and socialising with other marina-bound yachties. Jon has finished re-jigging the nav station and it looks much better but most of all the spaghetti mess of wires behind it is all sorted out.

Decks really looking good now!!


Click here to see a slide show of work in progress
(Click "Slideshow above first slide)
(right click to open in new tab or window)