Regardless, Koh Taphao Yai was a rather quirky little anchorage. While not the most scenic, with some wrecks scattered around the various beaches, a defunct and a temporarily closed resort, as well as a few petroleum storage tanks to one side, it had life; there were other cruisers aboard versus the numerous unoccupied yachts we’ve seen everywhere else, even at anchor, there were dinghies moving between yachts, there was a constant stream of commercial squid fishing boats passing, there were “longtails” putting around and there was plenty of bird life, not to mention hearing crickets last night for the first time in forever. All of this was a welcome change from our solitary existence and being the only yacht in an anchorage. Additionally, bird-watching became an unintended pastime while we were there, revealing white-bellied sea eagles, oriental hornbills and a grey-headed fish eagle, prompting Elaine to do some research.
The siamese fireback is the national bird and, as of 2019, there were 1076 species of birds in Thailand. Of them, more than 100 are rare, 6 have been introduced by humans and 8 have been extirpated, with 72 species globally threatened.
In 1991, it was estimated that 159 resident and 23 migratory species were endangered or vulnerable due to forest clearance, illegal logging, hunting and habitat degradation. The species most affected were the large water birds, whose wetland habitat had been largely lost to agriculture, as well as various forest species, since deforestation for agriculture and logging had removed and degraded portions of the woodlands. Elaine was unable to find any evidence as to whether or not this trend was reversed or, indeed, if the pandemic and the associated lockdowns have had an impact on the bird life of Thailand, although in other countries, just the reduced noise of traffic had had significant impacts, as bird songs and mating rituals could be heard, resulting in bird populations flourishing again.
Elaine also thoroughly enjoyed her day painting, but had to sort out yet another medical insurance matter as well, where the insurer is, once again, asking for information they already have. Needless to say, with Elaine out of patience now, they certainly received more than what they had requested.
Roy had a slightly more energetic day replacing the impeller on the generator and checking the oil of both the engines and saildrives, although we both enjoyed a midday nap too. Scandalous!
Today we were up early to continue our adventures further south and, given that it was the first day of the “Phuket Sandbox” initiative, heading as far away from Phuket Island as possible could only be a good thing. However, with only local knowledge to go on, we actually had no idea how the day was going to pan out, but being early morn, we encountered many of the commercial squid fishing boats returning with their night’s catch. We were also fortunate enough to see a white-bellied sea eagle swoop down in front of Paw Paw and pick up its breakfast; brilliant!
Our first stop was Koh Hae (aka Coral Island), where we had hoped to stay, but a few circumstances prevented us from anchoring, although it looked absolutely lovely; the bottom was rocky which is never an ideal situation for our anchor, it wasn’t very well protected with the swell coming around the west end of the island and, more importantly, a huge swarm of bees decided to take a peek at Paw Paw, before continuing on, but, nevertheless, caused Roy to abandon dropping the anchor and Elaine rushing to close the saloon doors for our safety.
With that we lifted the anchor and continued south, passing Koh Racha Yai, heading for our destination of Koh Racha Noi, which far exceeded our expectations; it was the most idyllic, picturesque anchorage we’d seen in a very long time, with a small brilliant white sandy beach at the head of the bay, lapped by crystal clear blue water, so clear in fact, we could see the schools of fish by just peering over the sides of Paw Paw.
As soon as we’d picked up the mooring ball, we donned our swim wear and snorkelling gear and into the water we went. It was simply wonderful to be able to snorkel again, reminding us of Bonaire the minute we dipped our heads below the waterline, as the schools of fish came to greet us. A swim to the beach and back for a snoop around completed our water activities for the day.
Once back onboard, a tropical fruit lunch was enjoyed in the cockpit; there’s nothing like watermelon to remind you of summertime, before we each found our spot in the cockpit to while away the afternoon. Being completely secluded, Elaine also took the opportunity to enjoy a shower on the transom. Fortunately she was presentable by the time a few fishing boat anchored in the adjacent bay, then a small motorboat arrived, with a group of men who went spearfishing, following which another two fishing boats arrived; one picking up the adjacent mooring ball and the second anchoring in the adjacent bay too. As the sunset, the entire horizon lit up with green lights; the commercial squid fishing boats were back.
Our day was wrapped up on the trampoline after dinner to enjoy some stargazing, given that we were off the grid and, therefore, no ability to stream a movie, having lost connectivity shortly after leaving Koh Hae.
In a nutshell, though, today was the perfect reminder as to why we love this lifestyle as much as we do!
