First up was the “chicken chute” and although there was very little wind, we at least ensured it wasn’t twisted before re-socking it. Next was the gennaker. Being a little nervous because it had been years since we’d flown it, it too went up perfectly and, since a lovely light breeze had developed by now, we enjoyed a sail on it before bringing it down. We’d barely stowed it, though, when the wind speeds increased significantly after getting out of the shadow of Koh Yao Yai, providing us with the opportunity to sail the rest of the way on our new genoa on a fabulous broad to beam reach, enjoying a SOG (Speed Over Ground) in excess of 6.5 Kts in a 12 to 15 Kts breeze. Considering how loaded Paw Paw is for our departure, we were definitely pleasantly surprised.
Once anchored back in the Panwa Bali anchorage, which had certainly emptied out since our previous visit, it was time to continue with our never-ending To Dos; Elaine got started on completing all the paperwork for our entry into the Maldives, as well as completing our Float Plan and a few other miscellaneous tasks like stencilling Paw Paw’s name on the dinghy and the new lifering, while Roy reorganised the sails for easy deployment and ensured all the rigging was secured. A quick refresher on how to deploy the EPIRB and all the safety equipment on the lifelines, something we hope will never be required, completed another very productive day.
Too tired to cook, Roy collected a delicious dinner from At the Beach restaurant whilst doing a garbage run; multitasking was taking on a whole new meaning as our departure date looms.
Although we thought we were well prepared and ready for our departure, everyday something has happened that needs resolving or fixing; today was no exception, with a gremlin creeping into our chartplotter, which stopped the display of AIS data for no apparent reason. We knew the AIS equipment was transmitting and receiving because we could see our own position coming up on Marine Traffic and AIS data was being received and displayed on our laptop, so, in true Raymarine fashion, a reboot sorted out the problem.
The next issue to raise its ugly head was Roy’s older iPad bulging all of a sudden. Some investigation indicated that it was the battery expanding and needed to be replaced as a matter of urgency. The problem was twofold; we didn’t want the risk of a potential fire resulting from an electronic device exploding and this device held all our Ovital satellite images and tracks through all the reef areas we’d be encountering on our way across the Indian Ocean, whichever route we ended up taking. We absolutely needed to preserve that information! That, of course, resulted in a few frantic activities to backup the tablet, which could then be reloaded onto Elaine’s tablet, if need be, and phone calls to see if there was somewhere on Phuket Island that could replace the battery.
Satisfied that the situation was in hand and after a good night’s sleep, for Elaine anyway, we were both awake before the alarm to dinghy across the bay to Chalong Pier, collect the hired car and complete our final provisioning; our frozen and fresh produce, as well as to drop off the tablet at a recommended repairs facility. What we weren’t expecting was to find in the various shops we visited, resulting in trips to eight different grocery stores just to get our meat, fruit, vegetables, yoghurt, cheese and some prosciutto ham and then two trips to a repair facility since the recommended iPhone repair shop was completely useless and just wasted our time with a drive all the way into Phuket Town, only to return to a repair shop in the complex of the Lotus grocery store we’d just left. Very frustrating, but we were relieved to get it returned in working order, nonetheless.
By 1300 we were back onboard, delighted that we’d managed to get our own “Songthaew” along Chalong Pier, without a tourist insight, but it took awhile to wake up the security guard, the ticket attendant and the bus driver from their slumber!
By 1530, our purchases had been sanitised and stowed. The freezer was now bulging too, but fortunately we’d managed to get deep-frozen items too, which would assist the freezer in freezing the fresh items. Exhausted and delighted that we were eventually finished with all our provisioning activities, we both needed a nap.
Our day ended with a nice long chat to Elaine’s sister in Ireland and receiving the news that Keenan had completed his first flight as a Captain for Delta Airlines into Miami International airport from JFK, unfortunately rerouted due to bad weather, but, regardless, successfully completing his first of three IOE flights. Brilliant news indeed!
