First was the crystal clear water, revealing healthy coral leading up to the shoreline, where we beached the dinghy at the Dinghy Sailing School and watched the very enthusiastic children take to the water for a day of racing. Next we found a lovely promenade leading to the Aquarium and then, hidden behind a lush garden, was the Kantary Café, where we enjoyed a morning coffee and a delicious baked delight; a fruit tartlet for Elaine and sweet cherry cheesecake for Roy. Clearly our waistlines are paying the price, but cutting down on other meals will hopefully not be a fruitless exercise to stave off the battle of the bulge.
Back on Paw Paw and with the swell persisting, we weighed anchor and moved to the Panwa Bali anchorage, where the forecast afternoon thunderstorms passed in the distance, allowing Elaine to get the laundry done. This move, while reducing the swell, also afforded us the opportunity to enjoy sundowners on the foredeck while watching a magnificent sunset, the first in a very long time.
All through the South Pacific we’d missed the opportunity to visit a Pearl Farm for a variety of reasons, but we were delighted today to eventually learn about this fascinating natural wonder.
Our tour started with an explanation of the “seeds” made from mother of pearl shells, the type of which ultimately defines the colour of pearl produced. These “seeds” are first cut into small squares, then the edges are removed before being rounded, the shape and size of which correlates to the shape and size of the pearl that is eventually cultivated, a process that takes approximately two years.
A “seed” is then placed into a live oyster, following which it is returned to the ocean that evening in a net. In the interim, the oysters are briefly kept in oxygenated tanks until they are seeded.
Every three months the oysters are cleaned and checked, since 30% of them actually “spit out” the seed and have to be reseeded. These cultured pearls follows the same process as a natural pearl, except that a natural pearl is not artificially seeded, making them extremely rare.
This farm was also forced to breed oysters due to the trawling practices of Thailand, which destroyed the natural breeding grounds, before this type of fishing was banned. Today, breeding is carried out once or twice a year at the farm, which starts during the spawning season. From the eggs, the baby oysters are kept in tanks for two months before being put into smaller nets and placed in the ocean to grow.
There are currently around 3000 oysters in this Oyster Farm. Our tour guide and owner has spent 46 years running his farm and shop, the latter of which houses all the beautiful creations made by his wife. Unfortunately the 2004 tsunami destroyed everything and they were forced to start over.
His firsthand account of that fateful day sent chills down our spines and certainly brought home the terror that was experienced as people started to run for their lives when each wave that crashed onto the beach grew bigger. It was actually the fifth wave that the world witnessed, destroying property and taking lives; another world event where we knew exactly where we were and can instantly recall the horrific images we watched on television that Boxing Day morning with Justine and Paul, who were visiting us from the UK and who were spending Christmas with us at our log cabin in the White Mountains of Arizona.
Back in the dinghy, it was time to explore further afield; across Chalong Bay to the town of Chalong. Fortunately our reconnaissance proved fruitful, finding the dinghy dock and then a car hire in quick succession.
While neither of us cared much for the area, though, finding it very tacky and rundown, although the very long pier was beautifully decorated, Elaine got her first ride in a Songthaew and there were special “tourist accesses” set up, it was another option to get provisions and to get to the hospital during the NE Monsoon season.
Back on Paw Paw, we both desperately needed to cool off, so down went the swim platform, the first time since March 2020 when Justine and Paul were visiting us in Malaysia and into the clear, cool water we went. After lunch and an afternoon nap, we were both back in the water; this time Roy taking the opportunity to clean Paw Paw’s bottom again, while Elaine paddled around.
For dinner we decided on “build a burger” night which, although requires time-consuming preparations, they were, nonetheless, delicious.
Our day ended on a good note; Elaine received a beautiful gift for our upcoming anniversary and our Chagos permit for 2022 had been approved; permit number one.
However, nothing was going to dampen our cheery disposition and not wanting to spend another hot, humid, soggy day on Paw Paw, we collected all our electronic devices, Elaine’s almond milk for her coffee and headed ashore to enjoy the day in the coolness of the Port of Call restaurant. With not a single other soul around, our “private” chef also prepared a lunchtime feast for us. Delicious and beautifully presented as always!
On our return to Paw Paw in the late afternoon we happened to bump into a Dutch cruising couple off one of the other yachts that has been in the anchorage with us for weeks. After introductions and a nice chat to them on the dock, we were back onboard just in time for Elaine to enjoy a good “chinwag” with her sister in Ireland. It was long after dark before the video call ended, so a light dinner and a documentary on the most successful Formula One driver in history, Michael Schumacher, completed the day.
While we have both always been Schumacher fans, we were very upset at the news of his freak accident in December 2013, just as we were getting ready to start our chapter as full-time cruisers and commence our circumnavigation. While his accident illustrated how a single event can change one’s life and that of one’s loved ones forever, listening to the accounts of his determination, tenacity, commitment and will to succeed, certainly resonated with us in our attempts to complete what we started in 2014, given our own turn of events. That said, what he invested in order to achieve his goals, was not only astonishing, but a tremendous testament to the human spirit.
Today it was all the fishermen in their very noisy longtails which woke us early; they were all clearly out and about, given that the good weather had eventually returned. That was our cue to weigh anchor and set sail for the beaches in the south while exploring a few more anchorages along the way which would be suitable for the NE Monsoon season.
It was mid-morning by the time we dropped the hook in Ao Yon anchorage. After a coffee aboard, we beached the dinghy, enjoyed a walk on the beach, then found the side road that took us to street level on the hill.
Our reconnaissance revealed a number of unexpected establishments, including a lovely resort, restaurants and various services like laundry, a convenience store and car hire. Getting back down the hill to the beach, we settled for a light lunch at the Rim Lay restaurant. Sitting inside to be separated from the other guests, we enjoyed another delicious gastronomic experience, although Roy’s mouth was on fire after his spicy tuna salad.
However, before we dinghied ashore, we had a rather strange visitor off our stern, who arrived on a paddleboard; a tour guide wanting to know if we were prepared to charter Paw Paw because he had: “a lot of customers, but no one will let me use their boat”. Umm, let’s see; we’re in the middle of a relentless pandemic and cruisers are being asked to have their homes filled with potentially covid-infected strangers, all in the name of fun! How Roy remained so polite was beyond Elaine, but the paddleboard tour operator was soon on his way!
Roy got up early on Saturday to bake his baguettes during the cooler part of the day, then we popped ashore for a morning coffee and a swim to stave off the heat of the day that had already set in.
Back onboard Elaine became a woman possessed for some weird and wonderful reason; scrubbing the cockpit and transom soles, reorganising the navigation station and putting away numerous cables and plugs that had been hauled out over the months, but were no longer being used nor ever returned to their rightful place, along with a dozen smaller tasks that had started to irritate her. While she ran around like a headless chicken, Roy decided it was safer to remove himself from harms way and do a dinghy run to fill up the diesel jerry cans to commence the re-polishing efforts on the port fuel tank, as well as purchase dinghy fuel.
Sunday was Elaine’s specialist appointment which didn’t require an early start this time, since she didn’t have to fast. That meant we had a slightly less frantic start to our day and enjoyed a brunch at Dean and Deluca after Elaine had completed her blood work at the hospital, although we were both drenched in perspiration initially from the short walk in the heat and humidity to collect the hired car. Our entertainment for the day, though, which had us in stitches, was seeing a poodle having a ponytail and bow arranged on its little head by the owners, while at Dean and Deluca, especially since the wife was clearly not happy with the husband’s assistance and enthusiasm, or rather, lack thereof.
It was, however, our return visit to the hospital to see the specialist that put Elaine into a tailspin after receiving very unexpected news; news that could put a halt to our circumnavigation if things don’t improve / change over the next two months. Unfortunately, the additional new medication, which was supposed to be an alternative to the cocktail of medications she’s been on since seeing the specialist in Singapore, had caused a serious Catch 22 medical situation.
Completely floored by the news, she wasn’t giving up that easily and by yesterday, once Elaine was able to compose herself and think straight again, she was able to work out a possible backup treatment plan. If required, in the event of the current situation remaining unresolved, this alternative approach will require buy-in from the specialist, but persuasion and assertion have always been Elaine’s strengths; it is her body after all, but not forgetting that the specialist is the one writing the prescriptions, so we’ll see. In the meantime, we remain hopeful that the new medication will pan out as expected, we’re saying our prayers and progressing with everything needed for a January departure.
Regardless, it was a very long day and late in the afternoon by the time we returned to Paw Paw, having completed our provisioning after leaving the hospital. Thankfully it didn’t rain while we were transferring our purchases to Paw Paw, but we made it back just before the heavens opened.
After sanitising everything, stowing the fridge and freezer items, having a light dinner, a shower and bed followed in quick succession.
Yesterday was not a good day at all for both of us; worry and concern for Roy, achy, discomfort and heartache for Elaine, the latter at the prospect of having to call it a day after everything we’ve been through, when this circumnavigation is the only thing that has been keeping her going. A video call to Keenan and the grandchildren certainly helped brighten up the day somewhat, but Elaine eventually went back to bed.
When she awoke, Roy was nowhere to be found; he’d taken the opportunity to collect a few parcels at the marina office and do another jerry can run for diesel, this time to start the re-polishing exercise on the starboard fuel tank.
Feeling rested and after a lot of discussion, philosophical debate, a long chat to Elaine’s folks in Ireland, who ironically had experienced the end of their original retirement plans after a catastrophic medical incident, we were able to articulate and rationalise our thoughts and put together a plan for each of the scenarios that could materialise.
Today, although it was another rainy, miserable day which allowed Roy to wash the rest of the deck, we both had a much cheerier disposition and dinghied ashore for a coffee to review our plans and cement our thoughts.
Happy that we’d covered all the options and had a sensible plan of attack, Elaine continued with her notes for the Maldives Yacht Rally, while Roy enjoyed a phone call from Richard, off Charon, giving us the latest scoop on our Thai visa options, which continue to take twists and turns as well, then had an afternoon nap, before he headed ashore again to dispose of our garbage and collect a FedEx delivery package we’ve been expecting.
Receiving photographs from Charon of a rainbow visible over Paw Paw for the past two consecutive days was the sign we needed that all was going to be okay.
Elaine spent her time continuing her efforts in sorting out our insurance option for our backup route, if, for whatever reason, we are unable to take the southern route around South Africa. She also attended a Zoom meeting set up by the organisers of the Maldives Yacht Rally, something we are definitely keen to participate in, although we’re awaiting written confirmation that we can obtain a Maldivian tourist visa for longer than 90 days to coincide with the dates we wish to visit Chagos. A chat to her sister in Ireland wrapped up a wet, stormy day.
Roy, on the other hand, took advantage of a break in the weather at one point to clean the hook and the top section of the bridle and to let out more chain, since gusts in excess of 40 Kts were expected per the forecast, as well as to clean and re-seat the terminals on the starboard engine starter battery, since it was struggling to start the engine, although the load test indicated it was charged.
All this rain meant we were also back to collecting water, but fortunately the storms held off overnight and long enough in the mort, allowing us to get a decent night’s sleep and to allow Roy to squeeze in his exercise walk ashore yesterday morning. However, it wasn’t long thereafter that the wind and rain was back with a vengeance, so we settled down to an afternoon matinee. A further break in the weather late afternoon allowed Roy to dinghy ashore to collect our new radar reflector, while Elaine enjoyed a chat to her folks in Ireland, following which another movie sealed the day; what would we do without Netflix during this pandemic!
The highlight of the day, though, was some fun time with the grandchildren as they enjoyed their cousin’s birthday party at the Elevate Trampoline Park. The twins were fearless on the zip line and William was like a monkey on the climbing wall, while Capri showed us her flips and cartwheels on the trampoline. It was wonderful to hear that they had all settled back into their school year after all the upheaval. The twins were delighted to be back with Miss April and Capri had tested negative allowing her back into class. It was William who summed up his day with: “ Grandma, I had an aaamaaazing day!” with all the facial expressions to go with his statement. Brooke, however, was unwell and isolating at home, while she awaited her COVID-19 test result.
This morning we were both up early; Roy to enjoy his morning exercise walk and Elaine to do her exercises on the foredeck. Afterwards we decided to dinghy ashore for a coffee and bumped into Yim and Richard, off Charon, who were having breakfast at the Port of Call restaurant. It was lovely to have some company for a change, although masks and social distancing were inevitably required.
On our return to Paw Paw we happen to stumble upon a Lagoon 56 being hauled using the tractor method vs the travel lift and slings; something we wanted to see as a possible option for hauling Paw Paw again, since we may have no choice, given the possible issue that may have materialised with the “antifouling” on the saildrives and propellers.
Back onboard, Elaine continued with her “paperwork” tasks, while Roy baked muffins and started the Poolish for his baguettes.
When we returned to Paw Paw, we noticed our AIS (Automatic Identification System) had decided to stop working for no apparent reason. However, running diagnostics revealed that it was still transmitting and receiving, although nothing was showing on the chartplotter. After cleaning a few contacts, voila, it was working again.
This is an ongoing challenge that we’re facing on Paw Paw in trying to keep all the systems in working order as we hang around for months on end; in fact, it’s now coming up to two years since we left Indonesia and have barely sailed 1000NM since, spending endless months in marinas or at anchor under various lockdowns, none of which have actually served the purpose because stupid decisions were subsequently made, setting everything back to square one.
After fixing the AIS, we then spent the afternoon enjoying a swim off the back of Paw Paw before Roy dinghied ashore to plot the cut in the reef on Navionics which provides access to the beach at low tide and to get us a takeaway dinner from one of the local restaurants, On the Beach, continuing our culinary adventure.
Having both slept straight through the night, we were up early yesterday morning to continue our reconnaissance around the southwest end of Chalong Bay and around the southern tip of Phuket Island to Nai Harn Bay, enjoying some hidden treasures along the way, before choosing Koh Lon as our overnight stop and where we enjoyed another local lunch at the Cruiser Island Resort. Throughout our stay in Chalong Bay, it was somehow always comforting, no matter where we were in the bay, to see the Big Buddha perched on the hilltop, watching over the proceedings.
However, with all the early morning starts, by then Elaine needed an afternoon nap and actually slept all afternoon, waking just in time for sundowners.
Given that the wind picked up overnight last night and the weather forecast this morning indicated that the next round of bad weather was approaching, we weighed anchor to return to the Ao Po anchorage, stopping at Ao Yon for breakfast. En route, though, Roy notice something rather strange; fireworks being set off from one of the large commercial fishing vessels.
While we’ve seen this practice on land, taking place around the shrines at the various marinas, we’ve never seen it occur on a boat.
Research revealed that many local ceremonies and traditions are “water-based”, be they intimate family rituals or nationwide celebrations. This stems from the fact that, as a nation, Thailand grew along the banks of its mighty rivers, which, for centuries, have provided the Thai people with their staple foods of rice and fish, fuelled by the fertile lands and monsoon rains.
Many of the national festivals continue this theme, including the Thai New Year celebration of “Songkran”, known as the world’s largest water festival, followed by “Loi Krathong”, held under the full moon of the 12th lunar month, when banana stalk floats, holding incense and orchids are released onto the kingdom’s waterways, a celebrations aimed at giving back to the water gods, to thank them for their bounty over the year. As these beautiful floats are taken away with the currents, they take with them wishes for love, fortune and success.
We can only assume, then, that the lighting of fireworks on a fishing vessel is a tradition paying homage to possibly the safety of the fishermen and showing gratitude for a bountiful catch.
Bu lunchtime we were back in our regular anchoring spot, bracing ourselves for the unsettled weather, but looking forward to the turn of the season and more sailing adventures, albeit that they are still somewhat curtailed.
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.
