Thailand revisited

"Year's end, all corners of this floating world, swept" Matsuo Basho

The last two months have seen us end the year back in Thailand where we started in January and, of course, at the same bar.

Our normal Chang beer and a Margarita

One of our favourite anchorages is Patwa and of course the famous Beach Bar.  It is also a favourite yachtie hang out to watch the sunsets over a cold libation. 

The evening sunsets are spectacular

Mr Pi and his doppelganger

Another yachties hang out

From this anchorage we can clear in/out, shop and do all the touristy stuff without having to endure Ao Chalong and all the fast boats!

We finally got to see the Big Buddha!

Tientos is down there somewhere

It was time for visiting old haunts and finding new anchorages and we actually managed to have a sail occasionally. Remembering our previous visits from 2006 the quality of both the water and the coral has deteriorated and the tourist numbers seem overwhelming. 

Swimming is now all limited by nets 

The boat food is still just as good 

Hey we actually managed a sail or two

The Chicken Islands where we pay to go ashore

There were strong NE winds which made the West Coast a little uncomfortable before the change of the Monsoon so we didn’t get to see this area…oh well next time. Having said that, we are quite over this area with hoon boats, dirty water, and tourists,so it may be time for a sea change and head east.  However yachtie plans are always written in the sand at high tide...
We did see the tail end of the King’s Cup at Kata Noi and some yachts like very big courtesy flags!

Now that is a courtesy flag!

Forget the endless days of sunshine, palm trees and cocktails….on a boat, there is continually maintenance in exotic locations and Keith managed to paint another section of the navigation area.  Sadly it also looks like our 3rd haul out in 12 months coming up as the anti-foul we used in February is sheeting off. 

Part of the navigation area painted...slowly getting there

Always checking the terminals and leads

The yacht cats still enjoy their cruising life afloat with ever-changing views and undivided attention. Sinh of course is always supervising something.

Sinh supervising the sail set

Bennett is always more interested in cuddles

With Xmas coming, the freezer was stocked, the tree put up and we headed for a quiet anchorage to enjoy.

The tree is up...more for the catz pleasure we think 

May all your bars be wooden and well-stocked!

The preparation continues...

'Life begins at retirement' - Author Unknown

On the countdown to the last days of our working life, the myriad of jobs required to prepare Tientos seems to rise exponentially.
The gas guy came aboard and confirmed our system all good and fixed a little problem; I was having problems with stir fries and not enough heat. Apparently the regulator needed a little adjustment.  
The propeller was sent off for testing and returned all calibrated and shiny.

Propeller all balanced

All of the standing rigging, 3 stainless steel forestays, 2 backstays, 4 cap stays, 4 shrouds, was replaced. Nobles manufactured the galvanised rigging and Keith was a busy bee up and down the mast. The turnbuckles and shackles were also replaced.

Keith replacing rigging

Old and new

Whilst he was hanging around up there, he discovered the spreader lights were full of water; new sealed units replaced these and a new block for the main halyard was installed. 

Old spreader lights a little wet

No water coming in on these beauties

The porthole in the forward cabin was a fixed plastic job and needed to be replaced. After bashing it out, a nice new opening porthole is now in place.

The old fixed porthole

Looking messy

Like new

Can't tell the difference

I designed 'passports' for the catz and had them printed; they are now ready to leave the country after their Rabies shots which are scheduled for May. Because Timmy was Mum's rescue cat, we had to make up a birthday, so based on his 'years' calculated by the vet, we gave him Sinh and Bennett's birthday; cakes all on the same day!

Cat Passport (three of them)

The greatest news for our preparation is we will now have a water maker! Our friends Grant and Mary Forbes saw our wish list on the last blog and offered (at a fantastic price) the one they had purchased for their boat 'Endurance of the South'. They never used this as they went on to buy El Gato, a cat the size of a third world nation, which has its own water maker. Many thanks guys and look forward to seeing you up north!
More jobs still to do but hopefully leaving the Marina in the next week or two and haul out planned for the 6th June. Lea will be in Bali for the three weeks the yard nightmare occurs.
Congratulations to Geoff Birch from Miranda I who is taking over from Keith as Lockmaster.

May all your bars be wooden and well-stocked!