When Roy surfaced, he decided to continue his efforts on the Anchor Plus application before joining Elaine with his sundowner on the foredeck. A phone call from Richard on our “quarantine buddy yacht”, Charon, just before dinner wrapped up the day before we both headed to bed for an early night, unable to keep our eyes open for whatever reason. Fortunately there were no afternoon or evening storms to contend with, but there was plenty of lightning in the distance throughout the night.
Also, we received the results of our second COVID-19 tests. We definitely would be surprised to receive anything other than a negative result, but, nonetheless, reassuring, especially with Thailand being in the midst of a third wave, which has resulted in us receiving word from our agent of additional restrictions being implemented. This time it related to visits to Koh Phi Phi, essentially indicating that unless you’ve been fully vaccinated with official documentation as proof or have a COVID-free certificate of a negative PCR test taken no more 72 hours before arrival, you are not permitted to visit the island, effective from yesterday.
This morning we woke to another notification requesting our collaboration to please comply with a “curfew” being implemented from 2200 to 0400, effective today until further notice. It was the wording that caught our attention, though, given that it was more of an invitation rather than a directive. Very well worded in appealing to people’s psyche.
Elaine’s day started with her exercises on the foredeck before making breakfast, then she continued work on the latest video. The only thing that stopped her was the heat; not only was she perspiring profusely, but her laptop felt like it was going to self-combust. It was an absolutely sweltering day without a breath of wind and we were both tempted to jump in the water, although forbidden to do so as part of our quarantine conditions.
After breakfast Roy continued his efforts on the Anchor Plus application enhancement. His only yacht task for the day was to run the watermaker, but he had to wait for the rising tide at around 1300. He too had to work intermittently on his laptop, though, in order to give it a chance to cool down.
However, regardless of the fluctuating daily temperatures and wind speeds, there is one aspect of floating out in the quarantine anchorage that is a constant; the long-tail boats that putt-putt by all day. These colorful, iconic boats are known as the “gondolas of southern Thailand”, the “Ruea Hang Yao”, literally translating to “Long-Tail Boats”, and is a name given to them because of the contraption that steers and propels them. The majority of these vessels can be found in the Krabi and Phuket areas, where they would ordinarily be used to take thousands of tourists from island to island, thereby creating a source of income for the locals. We have, however, seen them used for various types of fishing, including net, pod, line and pole fishing. We’ve managed to work out that the line fishing is for squid, the pole fishing for jellyfish, but we have no idea what exactly is in the pods.
While the long-tails come in all different shapes and sizes, they have a single defining characteristic; a second-hand car, tractor or truck engine, mounted on a 2 metre, or slightly longer pole, secured to the stern of the boat with a propeller attached to it, allowing them to reach speeds of up to 15 Kts. To cool the engine, rubber hosepipes are placed beneath the stern of the boat to draw cooling water to the engine. Besides being highly economical, they are also eco-friendly, given that they are constructed from biodegradable bamboo and use a recycled engine, but manoeuvrability is a major factor in the design, because the propeller shaft can be swung around more than 180 degrees and it can be lifted out of the water with ease.
In the past, the long-tails were made from Merawan, a light to medium heavy hardwood, which is dense, seawater resistant, durable and believed to be guarded by a female guardian spirit known as “Nang Ta-Khian”. This belief meant that this wood would be exclusively used for making boats so as not to anger the guardian spirit, bringing death and bad luck to the offender. It was believed that after the boats were built, they became the residence of the spirit “Mae Ya Nang”, known as the “grandmother of boats” by the fishermen, who then decorated and adorned their boats to please and appease her. This practice is still evident today with the creative boat art painted on the sides and the boatmen who pay respect to her by burning a few incense sticks each morning and adorning the boat with flowers and coloured sashes.
