On Thursday, we felt like we were back in school ourselves as we continued with our passage planning efforts, encountering other options which sent us into information overload. With more permutations than we had originally considered, we were now struggling with what was the better, achievable option. It has become a matter of “picking your poison” on whether or not we want to avoid the risk of piracy, unpleasant and potentially dangerous sailing conditions, crime, socio-economic issues, political instability and Islamic Jihadists, not to mention the possibility of unfavourable winds, currents and swell, violent squalls, southwest depressions, cyclones, lack of good anchorages for shelter, oh, and border closures due to the pandemic, while trying to replenish Elaine’s medication in only one of two places where it’s available en route. Sailing in Australia we felt like we were having to align the planets just to get out of an anchorage and head to our next destination. Now it feels like we’re trying to achieve the impossible with the sword of Damocles hanging over us, if we don’t get it right. These dilemmas had us plotting and planning together to figure out a strategy and a route that would best suit us and hopefully avoid all these pitfalls along the way.
Before this cerebral workout, though, Roy was up early to take advantage of the rain to wash the deck. Unfortunately, after absolutely pouring overnight, the rain stopped just as he’d managed to clean part of the starboard foredeck; we haven’t seen a drop since!
Regardless of the upsetting news yesterday morning, we still headed ashore for breakfast and enjoyed the company of Derek, the marina manager, while he was having his morning coffee. Afterwards we enjoyed a walk to stretch our legs then returned to Paw Paw for a lazy morning in the cockpit. With the sweltering heat, we had thought of returning ashore for a swim, but then we had a flurry of “social” activities; Elaine’s mom called from Ireland and was, thankfully, doing much better, Richard, off Charon, called having returned to the anchorage earlier in the day, as did Il Sogno, following which Craig popped over for a “dinghy visit”, given that we’re still shielding. Elaine then spent the rest of her afternoon finessing the passage planning activity, while Roy ran the watermaker and completed some administrative tasks.
This morning we decided a change of scenery was a good idea, given the forecast for benign weather over the next few days, so we weighed anchor around 0730 and headed south; destination, Chalong Bay. By 1030 we’d dropped the hook in Ao Yon, one of the many coves in this very large and shallow bay, stated as an all weather anchorage. Guess time will tell!
We were pleasantly surprised to find a number of yachts moored here as well as a “holiday atmosphere” with the surrounding buildings on the hilltops and the white sandy beach at the head of the bay. Seeing quite a few people either swimming, suntanning or enjoying a family day out on the beach was a first for us in Thailand; everywhere else we’ve been, the places have been deserted.
After we’d settled in and enjoyed our mid-morning coffee, then lunch, it was time for some fun in the sun. After landing the dinghy, we enjoyed a lovely long walk on the beach followed by a swim, our first swim in the sea in exactly two months; our last being the 4th July on Koh Racha Noi. Roy was, however, a tad disappointed to find the Playboy Beach establishment closed!
Once back onboard we enjoyed some light refreshments and had another swim; this time off the back of Paw Paw in much clearer water than off the beach. Sundowners, dinner and a movie wrapped up a wonderful day, one we both definitely needed and had the added benefit of drying out the sails, running the engines, cleaning the ground tackle and rinsing the antifouling on Paw Paw’s bottom, although we did uncover an issue with the v-belt on the port engine; something Roy replaced while underway without too much fuss.
