Thursday, March 15, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Life in Sri Lanka
The city of Galle. The first thing we notice here is almost no tourists in area except a few in the fort area, which is nice after the hordes in Thailand. It is a much different culture here and generally people are poorer here than Thailand, more like Indonesia. They have 21 million people crammed onto a small island about the same size as Tasmania or Vancouver Island. Sri Lanka is more interesting than Malaysia we think and culturally much more interesting than Thailand.
Getting around is cheap, a Tuk Tuk (a small 3 wheeled vehicle ) will take you most places for 200 rupees, and for 400 will take you there and back and wait while to some errands. $1 is about 120 Rupees. Walking around is wild with the lack of good sidewalks like most places in Asia we have been. I got a sim card again for my trusty Indonesia Internet dongle for just a few dollars.
It is very cheap to eat out and cheap to buy local stuff in the grocery stores, but imported stuff is expensive. There is no large grocery stores in Galle. There is enough choice to provision the boat though not as good as Thailand and Malaysia. Good cheeses and rolled oats for my breakfast, cans of the good baked beans for rough passages and peanut butter are available. Their is almost nothing as far as marine chandlery goes. There is also a good veggy and fruit market about 30 minute walk away or take a tuk tuk.
Life at our mooring has been a bit hectic. The second day a big 55 ft steel ketch between us and a catamaran dragged its anchor a bit in a 12 knot wind. It leaned on the catamaran for an hour then the wind shifted and it almost hit us. The owner did not seem too concerned just pulled in a bit of chain when he got back to his boat. So we moved down to the other end of dock to get away from him as he was so big his topsides would hit our rigging rather than the side of boat. The next day a large swell came into our bay and the boats really started to surge and most anchors slowly dragged in the mud as the boat came up very hard on the anchor every surge and then surge forward aginst the shore lines hard and then back again. The bigger sailboats where pulling the mooring cleats out of the dock, which was really only designed as a dinghy dock. The boats should have had all their lines go ashore over the dock, which alot of us did. But it was still uncomfortable and we did not want to leave the boat for too long as we had to keep adjusting lines.
An Italian boat owner went to the harbor master and really complained and so they put another dock at other end of bay and then ourselves and few others moved over there and it was much better, we now feel it is safe to leave the boat. We are still med-moored and a line to the dock and ashore, but much less surge here. Also much closer to everything including the showers. It is almost a kilometer to walk from our original mooring place to the showers or front gate where you show your pass to leave port secured area.
Walking around the port area you see a lot of stray dogs and I even had a pack of them run at me snarling once. I often have to carry a few stones it my hand to hurl in their direction if they get too aggressive. Just the action of bending down to pick up a stone usually makes them back off.
After a week here we did a 5 day tour with a car and driver. Mojombo crew kept an eye on our boat while we where gone, thank you Gary. We stayed in nice hotels which is very rare for us as they were fairly cheap and dinner and breakfast was included as part of the deal worked out with our guide. You can also stay in guest houses which are cheaper, around $20 a night. I won't bother with all the details of our tour, just some of the highlites.
The guide showed up with a driver as well when he picked us up at 6am, so we had two people looking after us for the same price. The driving around Sri Lanka is slow, you are generally doing 30 to 60km an hour and constantly passing slow vehicles and tuk tuk's. The driver was excellent. The nature of everyone here seems to be to see how much money they can get from you, while still being friendly and smiling. Our tour guide tried hard to give us a good trip, while at same time pulling little stunts to get a few extra dollars from us. We let it go sometimes as often it was quit funny and they are poor.
We did a dusty jeep ride through Yala nature park, to see elephants in the wild and water buffalo and other animals. In Ella we did a great hike up Ella rock and also little Adam's peak and the highlight was a climb of the holy mountain, Big Adam on our last day. It is said every Sri Lankan should climb this 7200ft mountain once in his life as it is a pilgrimage for Buddhists. It took us a bit over 4 hours round trip. It has abut 5000 steps and about 11km round trip, and very steep last half. As you get higher the stairway is carved right into the steep cliffs with solid hand rails, and is about 10 feet wide.
There were thousands of people on trail, very few tourists. Young and old and fat and thin were climbing and sometimes chanting. They were in sandles or barefoot and sometimes two people would be half dragging an old person or very overweight person up the steps and going so slow they would be 12 hour up and down. The trail is lite the whole way for night climbing which thousands did and there were tiny shops all the way up selling water and refreshments. It was an incredible experience hiking up, it was not a nice quite nature hike but more a people and religious experience. We had to stop short of the top by 50ft as it was so jammed with people you could not move. The best time to do climb apparently is to start late afternoon and come down in the dark if you want to be on top with no crowds. We started just after 4am and most tourists and people start around 3am to catch the sunrise, also we were on a Saturday which is not good. It gets quit cool up on the mountain and good to have something warm with you. The last few days we have been up in the hills and it is much cooler than the coast, very pleasant.
We went to the guides home after our tour for a tea. It was a simple affair with a small wood stove for cooking and a gas hot plate he used sometimes as well.
See previous post " Sri Lanka a slow voyage" for much cruising info on Sri Lanka and Galle, under Info seciton.
Getting around is cheap, a Tuk Tuk (a small 3 wheeled vehicle ) will take you most places for 200 rupees, and for 400 will take you there and back and wait while to some errands. $1 is about 120 Rupees. Walking around is wild with the lack of good sidewalks like most places in Asia we have been. I got a sim card again for my trusty Indonesia Internet dongle for just a few dollars.
It is very cheap to eat out and cheap to buy local stuff in the grocery stores, but imported stuff is expensive. There is no large grocery stores in Galle. There is enough choice to provision the boat though not as good as Thailand and Malaysia. Good cheeses and rolled oats for my breakfast, cans of the good baked beans for rough passages and peanut butter are available. Their is almost nothing as far as marine chandlery goes. There is also a good veggy and fruit market about 30 minute walk away or take a tuk tuk.
Life at our mooring has been a bit hectic. The second day a big 55 ft steel ketch between us and a catamaran dragged its anchor a bit in a 12 knot wind. It leaned on the catamaran for an hour then the wind shifted and it almost hit us. The owner did not seem too concerned just pulled in a bit of chain when he got back to his boat. So we moved down to the other end of dock to get away from him as he was so big his topsides would hit our rigging rather than the side of boat. The next day a large swell came into our bay and the boats really started to surge and most anchors slowly dragged in the mud as the boat came up very hard on the anchor every surge and then surge forward aginst the shore lines hard and then back again. The bigger sailboats where pulling the mooring cleats out of the dock, which was really only designed as a dinghy dock. The boats should have had all their lines go ashore over the dock, which alot of us did. But it was still uncomfortable and we did not want to leave the boat for too long as we had to keep adjusting lines.
An Italian boat owner went to the harbor master and really complained and so they put another dock at other end of bay and then ourselves and few others moved over there and it was much better, we now feel it is safe to leave the boat. We are still med-moored and a line to the dock and ashore, but much less surge here. Also much closer to everything including the showers. It is almost a kilometer to walk from our original mooring place to the showers or front gate where you show your pass to leave port secured area.
Walking around the port area you see a lot of stray dogs and I even had a pack of them run at me snarling once. I often have to carry a few stones it my hand to hurl in their direction if they get too aggressive. Just the action of bending down to pick up a stone usually makes them back off.
After a week here we did a 5 day tour with a car and driver. Mojombo crew kept an eye on our boat while we where gone, thank you Gary. We stayed in nice hotels which is very rare for us as they were fairly cheap and dinner and breakfast was included as part of the deal worked out with our guide. You can also stay in guest houses which are cheaper, around $20 a night. I won't bother with all the details of our tour, just some of the highlites.
The guide showed up with a driver as well when he picked us up at 6am, so we had two people looking after us for the same price. The driving around Sri Lanka is slow, you are generally doing 30 to 60km an hour and constantly passing slow vehicles and tuk tuk's. The driver was excellent. The nature of everyone here seems to be to see how much money they can get from you, while still being friendly and smiling. Our tour guide tried hard to give us a good trip, while at same time pulling little stunts to get a few extra dollars from us. We let it go sometimes as often it was quit funny and they are poor.
We did a dusty jeep ride through Yala nature park, to see elephants in the wild and water buffalo and other animals. In Ella we did a great hike up Ella rock and also little Adam's peak and the highlight was a climb of the holy mountain, Big Adam on our last day. It is said every Sri Lankan should climb this 7200ft mountain once in his life as it is a pilgrimage for Buddhists. It took us a bit over 4 hours round trip. It has abut 5000 steps and about 11km round trip, and very steep last half. As you get higher the stairway is carved right into the steep cliffs with solid hand rails, and is about 10 feet wide.
There were thousands of people on trail, very few tourists. Young and old and fat and thin were climbing and sometimes chanting. They were in sandles or barefoot and sometimes two people would be half dragging an old person or very overweight person up the steps and going so slow they would be 12 hour up and down. The trail is lite the whole way for night climbing which thousands did and there were tiny shops all the way up selling water and refreshments. It was an incredible experience hiking up, it was not a nice quite nature hike but more a people and religious experience. We had to stop short of the top by 50ft as it was so jammed with people you could not move. The best time to do climb apparently is to start late afternoon and come down in the dark if you want to be on top with no crowds. We started just after 4am and most tourists and people start around 3am to catch the sunrise, also we were on a Saturday which is not good. It gets quit cool up on the mountain and good to have something warm with you. The last few days we have been up in the hills and it is much cooler than the coast, very pleasant.
We went to the guides home after our tour for a tea. It was a simple affair with a small wood stove for cooking and a gas hot plate he used sometimes as well.
See previous post " Sri Lanka a slow voyage" for much cruising info on Sri Lanka and Galle, under Info seciton.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Thailand to Sri Lanka, a slow voyage
After leaving Satun boatyard, we noticed a pull to starboard when motoring or sailing. I suspect something got bent on trim tab. We anchored for the night at North end of Kao Tautoro island for a last night near land and I jumped in water and removed trim tab to check it out but could see nothing wrong. It is not real serious so will leave it for now.
Early next morning, Feb 13, we started our 1100 mile passage to Sri Lanka. Talking to the old timers in the boatyard, they said we should be gone by end of January to get the best winds. So hope we are not going to have a windless passage.
We started off great sailing along at 5 knots but by noon the wind died and we were motoring. We wanted to keep going fast to get as far from land as possible before it got dark to get past all the fish boats and the fish traps that can foul propeller. By dark most off the fish traps had been left behind but there were still a few fish boats around during night.
Day four finds us drifting along very slowly and having done only 240 miles. I am sitting in cockpit thinking of the poem "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" by Coleridge. "Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink." Are we going to run out of supplies and fuel and water before we get there.
The last four days we have averaged 70 to 80 miles a day. Sometimes drifting and other times sailing along at 2 to 3 knots in about 8 knots of wind for hours and then occasionally we pick up to 4.5 knots, then motor a few hours. We cant motor all the way as do not have enough fuel, so are trying to conserve fuel in case it gets worse later. Often the wind is from the WNW and we can not quite make our coarse as is close to a head wind.
Day 7 and finally, the wind kicks in, blowing from the North. We are about 100 miles past Sombrerro Channel in the Nicobar islands. We saw no fish boats in this channel and only one ship. We are now sailing along at 5 and 6 knots and soon have 2 reefs in the main. The winds stay with us for the rest of the way to Sri Lanka, sometimes dropping a bit where we slow to 4 knots other times wind picks up to 25 knots from NE. We are now doing our 125 mile days which is normal for us. Fantastic sailing, enjoyed the last 6 days of sailing, and night watches were pleasant with the lack of squalls and ships.
We see no boats for the whole crossing after leaving Nicobars. The second last night before we arrive we see a few fish boat, lite by a single white light, but they are not enough to be a problem. But it makes us think of the aggressive encounters some people have had in this area with fish boats during day.
Sure enough just after sunrise a 50ft fish boat spots us and comes charging over. The men on board are shouting and waving, I have my weapons ready (no firearms). The fish boat turns and comes along side us about 10 meters off our port side. The men are all smiling and holding up a fish and shouting something that I assume is wanting to trade things. All very friendly. I wave no thanks and they sheer off and leave.
A half hour later another boat comes charging up everybody smiling and waving. They hold up some apples, so I throw them a couple of packs of cigarettes and they fire over a couple apples and oranges. A great trade as we are out of fresh fruit.
We now start to see a few ships and we stay above the shipping lane closer to the coast of Sri Lanka. The wind is still good, though it came around on the nose for a few hours and then light as we approached the island and had motor for a few hours before we could sail again. Our last night was busy with lots of fish boats around but they did not seem to have long nets out so it was easy to avoid them. We had to slow boat down in the 20 knot tail wind that last night as not want to arrive too early. It has taken us 12 days to get to Galle.
Do to the slow passage we arrived on a Saturday and we did not want to pay overtime charges to customs. So we anchored of Watering point at East side of outer harbor. ( see info section below) We decided we better call our agent, which you must have to enter Sri Lanka. We called up the Windsors on channel 69 and they immediately answered. We told them we would check in Monday and they said negative to that. We have to come in now and there would be no overtime charges, great.
We called up Galle port control and they sent out a navy boat to check us for explosives and then they left one guy on board as we motored into the inner harbor. They told us to med-moor which is dropping the anchor in front of where you want to go and then backing up to a dock and tying a stern line, so you can get many boats in a row along a dock. We have never done this before but knew the theory of it.
Only problem is our boat does not back up easily. So after dropping anchor we launched dinghy and rowed a stern line in and pulled ourselves in straight.
The Windsor Reef agents soon came by and we filled in a bunch of forms. They then suggested we hide any liquor on board. Then two customs and immigration guys came on board and filled a bunch more of the same forms. but they were polite and no problem and did not even go down below. I guess we got the good guys, or we did not look very rich. The Windsor agents then took us to the customs office on shore for another couple of forms and then we went to the Windsors office nearby and we paid them there $225 dollars. This included there fee and $100 one month port fee.
We were done and free to explore Galle.
INFO
-Anchorage at Kao Tautoro Island NW corner is in 28ft at 06 41.974N 99 38.363E Our last anchorage before leaving Thailand.
-Timing of sail to Sri Lanka. We used Jimmey Cornells World cruising routes which says Jan to March. But many people have said that Late Feb and March you may have no wind. A boat that left about beginning of March this year, motored out 250 miles and then with no wind still forecast, they turned around and returned to Thailand. But later in march several boats came in and they did ok but had generally slow passages, around 11 days, and had some head winds.
-We chose to go through Sombrero Channel as I thought the winds looked more steady a bit further North, after watching them on internet for a few weeks. Also had no shipping or fish boats to contend with. Inexperienced personal opinion only.
-Only saw ships and fish boats on last two days before Galle. We anchored behind Watering point South side of outer harbor in 31ft at 06 01.910N 80 13.660E. Looks like you could easily come in here at night as we saw no fish traps or other obstacles. The inner harbor of course cannot be entered at night as a net is dragged across it leaving a small opening at one end open and you can't use it.
-When in outer harbor call an agent, ours is Windsor reef on VHF 69 then Call Port Control on 16 and they sent out boat to check you out and then leave someone one your boat to escort you into inner harbour. Most yachts seem to use Windsor Reef, they are the cheapest I beleive and did a reasonable job.
-The med-mooring against the wall by the outer breakwater at 06 01.910N 80 13.660E can get unpleasant when the swell picks up, which it did for a few days. Most boats dragged anchor slowly in the poor holding and some boats were almost hitting each other and stern lines were chaffing and very unpleasnt motion on boat with big jerks. So us and 3 other boats were allowed to move to other side of bay at 06 01.984N 80 13.914 in 15ft. The navy also put another dock there for us to tie to. Room for maybe 6 boats at most. The other spot had room for maybe 12 boats. Note: see picture section after this that shows a picture of both mooring locations.
-There is a showers and washroom building we can use. There is a watertap in showers can use to fill jugs for laundry, they say ok to drink but I think it needs to be treated a bit first for us to drink. I buy drinking water just outside main gate where they sell the 20 litre bottles for 240Rupee, a bit expensive. Also a tap outside guard house half way up road from first mooring place. Can take a tuk tuk to a local gas station for gasoline and diesel with jerry cans. Had no problems bringing them through security gate.
-A grocery store called Food City is about 10 minute walk away and is about as good as any grocery store you will find in Galle, head to right at main road.
- Machinery is a problem to bring through secutity gate. One yacht tried to take a sewing machine out to get fixed and an outboard motor. They would not let him take it out until he got a letter from his agent and it had to be stamped be about 5 different departments which agent took care of, crazy.
- Over the month we were here we had no winds stronger than 20 knots and that was rare. Often 10 to 17 knot wind blew from a number of different directions. Had rain off and on and a couple of small T storms.
-Eka and Batu were two Tuk Tuk drivers we used who we trusted and were great to help us find things. They will also arrange tours and do Laundry for you at 40rp a piece. We did our own laundry with the available water and gave them the big things like sheets and towels to do.
-A good fruit and veggie market is a half hour walk away, though we did not buy much there as they tend to over charge us tourists. Prices in stores are all fixed so better to buy there.
Early next morning, Feb 13, we started our 1100 mile passage to Sri Lanka. Talking to the old timers in the boatyard, they said we should be gone by end of January to get the best winds. So hope we are not going to have a windless passage.
We started off great sailing along at 5 knots but by noon the wind died and we were motoring. We wanted to keep going fast to get as far from land as possible before it got dark to get past all the fish boats and the fish traps that can foul propeller. By dark most off the fish traps had been left behind but there were still a few fish boats around during night.
Day four finds us drifting along very slowly and having done only 240 miles. I am sitting in cockpit thinking of the poem "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" by Coleridge. "Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink." Are we going to run out of supplies and fuel and water before we get there.
The last four days we have averaged 70 to 80 miles a day. Sometimes drifting and other times sailing along at 2 to 3 knots in about 8 knots of wind for hours and then occasionally we pick up to 4.5 knots, then motor a few hours. We cant motor all the way as do not have enough fuel, so are trying to conserve fuel in case it gets worse later. Often the wind is from the WNW and we can not quite make our coarse as is close to a head wind.
Day 7 and finally, the wind kicks in, blowing from the North. We are about 100 miles past Sombrerro Channel in the Nicobar islands. We saw no fish boats in this channel and only one ship. We are now sailing along at 5 and 6 knots and soon have 2 reefs in the main. The winds stay with us for the rest of the way to Sri Lanka, sometimes dropping a bit where we slow to 4 knots other times wind picks up to 25 knots from NE. We are now doing our 125 mile days which is normal for us. Fantastic sailing, enjoyed the last 6 days of sailing, and night watches were pleasant with the lack of squalls and ships.
We see no boats for the whole crossing after leaving Nicobars. The second last night before we arrive we see a few fish boat, lite by a single white light, but they are not enough to be a problem. But it makes us think of the aggressive encounters some people have had in this area with fish boats during day.
Sure enough just after sunrise a 50ft fish boat spots us and comes charging over. The men on board are shouting and waving, I have my weapons ready (no firearms). The fish boat turns and comes along side us about 10 meters off our port side. The men are all smiling and holding up a fish and shouting something that I assume is wanting to trade things. All very friendly. I wave no thanks and they sheer off and leave.
A half hour later another boat comes charging up everybody smiling and waving. They hold up some apples, so I throw them a couple of packs of cigarettes and they fire over a couple apples and oranges. A great trade as we are out of fresh fruit.
We now start to see a few ships and we stay above the shipping lane closer to the coast of Sri Lanka. The wind is still good, though it came around on the nose for a few hours and then light as we approached the island and had motor for a few hours before we could sail again. Our last night was busy with lots of fish boats around but they did not seem to have long nets out so it was easy to avoid them. We had to slow boat down in the 20 knot tail wind that last night as not want to arrive too early. It has taken us 12 days to get to Galle.
Do to the slow passage we arrived on a Saturday and we did not want to pay overtime charges to customs. So we anchored of Watering point at East side of outer harbor. ( see info section below) We decided we better call our agent, which you must have to enter Sri Lanka. We called up the Windsors on channel 69 and they immediately answered. We told them we would check in Monday and they said negative to that. We have to come in now and there would be no overtime charges, great.
We called up Galle port control and they sent out a navy boat to check us for explosives and then they left one guy on board as we motored into the inner harbor. They told us to med-moor which is dropping the anchor in front of where you want to go and then backing up to a dock and tying a stern line, so you can get many boats in a row along a dock. We have never done this before but knew the theory of it.
Only problem is our boat does not back up easily. So after dropping anchor we launched dinghy and rowed a stern line in and pulled ourselves in straight.
The Windsor Reef agents soon came by and we filled in a bunch of forms. They then suggested we hide any liquor on board. Then two customs and immigration guys came on board and filled a bunch more of the same forms. but they were polite and no problem and did not even go down below. I guess we got the good guys, or we did not look very rich. The Windsor agents then took us to the customs office on shore for another couple of forms and then we went to the Windsors office nearby and we paid them there $225 dollars. This included there fee and $100 one month port fee.
We were done and free to explore Galle.
INFO
-Anchorage at Kao Tautoro Island NW corner is in 28ft at 06 41.974N 99 38.363E Our last anchorage before leaving Thailand.
-Timing of sail to Sri Lanka. We used Jimmey Cornells World cruising routes which says Jan to March. But many people have said that Late Feb and March you may have no wind. A boat that left about beginning of March this year, motored out 250 miles and then with no wind still forecast, they turned around and returned to Thailand. But later in march several boats came in and they did ok but had generally slow passages, around 11 days, and had some head winds.
-We chose to go through Sombrero Channel as I thought the winds looked more steady a bit further North, after watching them on internet for a few weeks. Also had no shipping or fish boats to contend with. Inexperienced personal opinion only.
-Only saw ships and fish boats on last two days before Galle. We anchored behind Watering point South side of outer harbor in 31ft at 06 01.910N 80 13.660E. Looks like you could easily come in here at night as we saw no fish traps or other obstacles. The inner harbor of course cannot be entered at night as a net is dragged across it leaving a small opening at one end open and you can't use it.
-When in outer harbor call an agent, ours is Windsor reef on VHF 69 then Call Port Control on 16 and they sent out boat to check you out and then leave someone one your boat to escort you into inner harbour. Most yachts seem to use Windsor Reef, they are the cheapest I beleive and did a reasonable job.
-The med-mooring against the wall by the outer breakwater at 06 01.910N 80 13.660E can get unpleasant when the swell picks up, which it did for a few days. Most boats dragged anchor slowly in the poor holding and some boats were almost hitting each other and stern lines were chaffing and very unpleasnt motion on boat with big jerks. So us and 3 other boats were allowed to move to other side of bay at 06 01.984N 80 13.914 in 15ft. The navy also put another dock there for us to tie to. Room for maybe 6 boats at most. The other spot had room for maybe 12 boats. Note: see picture section after this that shows a picture of both mooring locations.
-There is a showers and washroom building we can use. There is a watertap in showers can use to fill jugs for laundry, they say ok to drink but I think it needs to be treated a bit first for us to drink. I buy drinking water just outside main gate where they sell the 20 litre bottles for 240Rupee, a bit expensive. Also a tap outside guard house half way up road from first mooring place. Can take a tuk tuk to a local gas station for gasoline and diesel with jerry cans. Had no problems bringing them through security gate.
-A grocery store called Food City is about 10 minute walk away and is about as good as any grocery store you will find in Galle, head to right at main road.
- Machinery is a problem to bring through secutity gate. One yacht tried to take a sewing machine out to get fixed and an outboard motor. They would not let him take it out until he got a letter from his agent and it had to be stamped be about 5 different departments which agent took care of, crazy.
- Over the month we were here we had no winds stronger than 20 knots and that was rare. Often 10 to 17 knot wind blew from a number of different directions. Had rain off and on and a couple of small T storms.
-Eka and Batu were two Tuk Tuk drivers we used who we trusted and were great to help us find things. They will also arrange tours and do Laundry for you at 40rp a piece. We did our own laundry with the available water and gave them the big things like sheets and towels to do.
-A good fruit and veggie market is a half hour walk away, though we did not buy much there as they tend to over charge us tourists. Prices in stores are all fixed so better to buy there.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Into the Satun shipyard for Antifouling
We left Langkawi for Thailand late in the morning and had a slow easy sail up to the small islands of Ko Tika Yai Island about 8 miles away. We did this because to catch early tide next morning to go up the river, would have been a rush from Langkawi. The next morning we left early to catch the last of the rising tide to PSS boatyard near Satun. There were some anxious moments as the water slowly got shallower and at times we had only a foot of water under the keel. We dropped anchor about a mile from the boat yard and dinghed in to check it out and go for a walk as our haulout date was still a day away.
The morning we were scheduled to come out we moved the boat up to within sight of the slipway and watched them hauling out a large fish boat. Suddenly the fish boat rapidly slid back and splashed into the water. That did not look good! When our time came up and we heard nothing, we went in to the boatyard and found out the winch had broken and the slipway car had disappeared into the river. They spent that day and most of night fixing winch and early next morning I watched two guys free diving for the slipway car and had a crane trying to lift it back on the tracks. I figured they would never get us out today and we were getting a bit worried as time was getting short. The high tides would only last a week and then we would have to wait a couple of weeks for next big tides.
But they soon had everything fixed and got every one moved. One yacht put back in water and one fish boat out and us and another yacht out before tide got too low. It was a simple operation, we motored over the slipway and threw four lines we had ready, one at each corner, to the shore crew and they then manhandled yacht into place and put padded holding brackets in place. A diver in his long pants and t-shirt and a face mask with a air hose going into it dived and put blocks under keel. Then we were winched out of the water to our yard location.
There is always a lot of dust flying around, we have to wash the boat off every night. It is a busy working yard, where they mostly work on huge old wooden fish boats and other local craft. Excellent welder and machine shop here and carpenters. The yachts here say double any time quote they give you for a job as the skilled guys are all busy. We are not relying on any one else so hope to be finished on time.
The area around here is interesting as we are finally away from the tourists, and we just see the locals living and working. We rented a car one day from a yard manager for 400B to go into a huge tesco about 20km away
Labour is very cheap here, I got a guy to help sand down the hull before anti-fouling. The first time I have ever had help. It is a good yard to get things done if you have time. The yard seems to try hard to make us happy.
INFO
-Ko Tika Yai Island near river entrance for Phithak shipyard Satun (PSS) Is reasonably protected here. We anchored in 14ft near low tide at 06 32.714N 99 57.119E Had good night here.
-To go up river to Chebilang and Phithak shipyard probably want at least a 2.5meter tide to go up river, unless you are a catamaran. This is what we had and with our 6ft draft we had only a foot under keel for about a 1/4 mile. Bigger boats might want to wait for a 3meter tide. The entrance waypoints were taken off the Satun website just before we went up as they were inaccurate. We used a set of waypoints given to us by another yacht that had just gone in. Here they are:
1. 06 35.26N 99 54.54E
2. 06 36.56 99 55.63
3. 06 36.86 99 56.10
4. 06 37.27 99 57.60
5. 06 37.95 99 57.28
6. 06 38.24 99 57.69
7. 06 38.40 99 57.75
8. 06 38.72 99 57.69
9. 06 39.50 99 57.32
10. 06 39.60 99 57.33
11. 06 39.65 99 57.74
Shipyard slipway waypoint is 06 39.414 99 58.294
After waypoint 11 you just follow river. No problem, though it did get down to 10 feet for a bit and then deeper and okay all around shipyard area at high tide.
Around waypoint 2, depth got down to around 10 ft and then got deeper again, and then near bend in river by wp 6 and 7 it got shallow to about 7 or 8 feet for a way and then deeper again to 15 to 20 ft.
We anchored for the night, 1.25 miles from ship yard at 06 39.376 99 57.348 in 20ft It is less boat traffic here and deeper than near shipyard and can dinghy in to see shipyard and visit shops. We left dinghy on slipway as they were not hauling anyone.
Can anchor near shipyard and we did one night but nearly on bottom. Anchored at 06 39.528 99 58.120, bit deeper here. Can also anchor other side of slipway but may touch bottom if don't want to be out in river traffic and smelly here of fish. Website for shipyard is pss-satun.com
Customs checkin here is much more awkward than at Phuket. After you are hauled out, the yard will call immigration and he comes out and checks you in a takes 400B, 200 more than he is suppose to, you get a receipt for 200. He then usually gives you a ride in to the customs office for more of the checkin and then it is a 5 minute walk over to port captain office. by road it is over a mile, but if you walk across some lots parrallel to ocean and then along a small trail to a gap in a fence covered in green, and another lot then you will see a blue building which is port captain and immigration beside it.
The morning we were scheduled to come out we moved the boat up to within sight of the slipway and watched them hauling out a large fish boat. Suddenly the fish boat rapidly slid back and splashed into the water. That did not look good! When our time came up and we heard nothing, we went in to the boatyard and found out the winch had broken and the slipway car had disappeared into the river. They spent that day and most of night fixing winch and early next morning I watched two guys free diving for the slipway car and had a crane trying to lift it back on the tracks. I figured they would never get us out today and we were getting a bit worried as time was getting short. The high tides would only last a week and then we would have to wait a couple of weeks for next big tides.
But they soon had everything fixed and got every one moved. One yacht put back in water and one fish boat out and us and another yacht out before tide got too low. It was a simple operation, we motored over the slipway and threw four lines we had ready, one at each corner, to the shore crew and they then manhandled yacht into place and put padded holding brackets in place. A diver in his long pants and t-shirt and a face mask with a air hose going into it dived and put blocks under keel. Then we were winched out of the water to our yard location.
There is always a lot of dust flying around, we have to wash the boat off every night. It is a busy working yard, where they mostly work on huge old wooden fish boats and other local craft. Excellent welder and machine shop here and carpenters. The yachts here say double any time quote they give you for a job as the skilled guys are all busy. We are not relying on any one else so hope to be finished on time.
The area around here is interesting as we are finally away from the tourists, and we just see the locals living and working. We rented a car one day from a yard manager for 400B to go into a huge tesco about 20km away
Labour is very cheap here, I got a guy to help sand down the hull before anti-fouling. The first time I have ever had help. It is a good yard to get things done if you have time. The yard seems to try hard to make us happy.
INFO
-Ko Tika Yai Island near river entrance for Phithak shipyard Satun (PSS) Is reasonably protected here. We anchored in 14ft near low tide at 06 32.714N 99 57.119E Had good night here.
-To go up river to Chebilang and Phithak shipyard probably want at least a 2.5meter tide to go up river, unless you are a catamaran. This is what we had and with our 6ft draft we had only a foot under keel for about a 1/4 mile. Bigger boats might want to wait for a 3meter tide. The entrance waypoints were taken off the Satun website just before we went up as they were inaccurate. We used a set of waypoints given to us by another yacht that had just gone in. Here they are:
1. 06 35.26N 99 54.54E
2. 06 36.56 99 55.63
3. 06 36.86 99 56.10
4. 06 37.27 99 57.60
5. 06 37.95 99 57.28
6. 06 38.24 99 57.69
7. 06 38.40 99 57.75
8. 06 38.72 99 57.69
9. 06 39.50 99 57.32
10. 06 39.60 99 57.33
11. 06 39.65 99 57.74
Shipyard slipway waypoint is 06 39.414 99 58.294
After waypoint 11 you just follow river. No problem, though it did get down to 10 feet for a bit and then deeper and okay all around shipyard area at high tide.
Around waypoint 2, depth got down to around 10 ft and then got deeper again, and then near bend in river by wp 6 and 7 it got shallow to about 7 or 8 feet for a way and then deeper again to 15 to 20 ft.
We anchored for the night, 1.25 miles from ship yard at 06 39.376 99 57.348 in 20ft It is less boat traffic here and deeper than near shipyard and can dinghy in to see shipyard and visit shops. We left dinghy on slipway as they were not hauling anyone.
Can anchor near shipyard and we did one night but nearly on bottom. Anchored at 06 39.528 99 58.120, bit deeper here. Can also anchor other side of slipway but may touch bottom if don't want to be out in river traffic and smelly here of fish. Website for shipyard is pss-satun.com
Customs checkin here is much more awkward than at Phuket. After you are hauled out, the yard will call immigration and he comes out and checks you in a takes 400B, 200 more than he is suppose to, you get a receipt for 200. He then usually gives you a ride in to the customs office for more of the checkin and then it is a 5 minute walk over to port captain office. by road it is over a mile, but if you walk across some lots parrallel to ocean and then along a small trail to a gap in a fence covered in green, and another lot then you will see a blue building which is port captain and immigration beside it.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Krabi and back to Langkawi before haulout
After dropping anchor off Ao Nang beach by Krabi, we checked out the local scene which reminded me of Patong beach but much smaller. The town smelled of sewage, maybe because of the recent rains. Was not our favorite place. The next day we took a bus into Krabi town and walked the water front and the downtown streets. Also went to the Immigration building and a sign said they had moved miles away, great. (See bottom for cruising info)
The next morning we moved a mile over to an anchorage off Rai le beach with some smaller beaches here by big rock towers, very scenic. Found lots of good hiking here as well, which we took advantage of. There was one very steep hike up a rock tower to a great view point. They had ropes rigged to help haul yourself up.
There is a lot of long tails going back and forth here. Long Tails are a name for a large canoe type boat that uses a car engine mostly, mounted on a frame balanced such that they can pivot a long shaft with a propeller on the end in or out of the water. Good for shallow water and boat has no hole in it for a prop shaft. They are every where in Thailand and often go by your boat with an ear splitting roar as most have no muffler.
We moved to another nearby anchorage after a couple of days here and had thousands of flying fox bats go overhead just before dark. There was a seemingly endless stream of them for about 20 minutes as they heading to their hunting grounds for the night.
The next night was at another anchorage on our way back to Chalong. Here we had a young Muslim man visit us in his long tail. We had met him briefly on shore earlier where he showed us around a bit. He invited himself on board and we talked a bit about his home, he has never been out of the Phuket area. He eventually asked us what kind of beer we had on board, which I realized he had been thinking about the whole time. Muslims don't drink, but will when none of there neighbors are around. I gave him one and he chugged it down in a couple of minutes and then left shortly afterwards.
The next day we arrived back in Chalong bay for our third time here. We again got our fresh veggies here and some more gasoline and then went to customs and immigration and checked out of Thailand for Langkawi Malaysia. We are now going to start heading back South for the 120 miles to Langkawi and from there go back 15 miles to Satun back in Thailand and do a quick haulout for bottom paint and zincs replacement.
As we started South we did our first stop at Phi Phi Don, our second visit here. Just after dark a 100ft tour boat came up and grabbed a small mooring near by. He seemed far enough away. Then near midnight I woke up as a small rain squall came through with some contrary wind and hearing some water sloshing, looking out the port I saw this same tour boat coming rapidly for our side, I said hang on to Dorothy and he smacked us sideways with a big thump, before I got to the cockpit. No damage done, wood against steel, but it made me realize again to be careful about anchoring anywhere near a mooring as they often have very long lines on them as this one did. I then started the engine and we re-anchored further out in the dark.
We had a couple of different stops at the Island of Koh Lanta which is worth a visit. There is a huge number of fish traps through out this whole area. While sailing we finally snagged one when we let our attention wander once. The boat slowed down immediately. I rolled the head sail in and then tried to unhook the line from the cockpit with no luck. Then with the boat hook I managed to pull in some slack and then cut the line while Dorothy held one end and I pulled the other end through where ever it was snagged and then tied the two ends back together so the fisherman would not loose his trap. When he next hauls in his trap he is going to be wondering how a knot got in his rope. Many of the traps are very poorly marked.
Our next stop at Koh Muk is an island that had a hidden valley or Hong. You have to swim up a 300ft tunnel to enter a small valley surrounded by tall cliffs and there is a fantastic sand beach where you come out of the tunnel. At low tide you have 10 to 15 feet clearance over your head as you swim up the tunnel. Being a poor swimmer I wore a life jacket and fins on my feet to swim the tunnel and it was worth it to see this little paradise. Many tour boats come here with here with their customers. We watched one tour guide tow 4 Chinese girls that lay in water like a sack of potatoes with life jackets, the tour guide struggled manfully along towing all 4 customers who I don't think knew how to swim.
We then had a nice dinner that evening at a small restaurant on small hill above the beach. After one more anchorage we arrived in Langkawi our final destination before heading to our haulout location. We had a good sail most of the way on this last day in unusually strong winds of 18 often gusting up to 30 knots at times. In total we only managed to sail about half of the time for our trip from Phuket to Langkawi and alot of that at 2 to 3.5 knots boat speed. Cleared in with Customs and Immigration that afternoon at Telegra Harbor and were ready to start stocking the boat some more and do our favorite hike here.
We did our hike today with our friends from Just Magic. We hiked up to the waterfall and then continued on up at trail to some peak for another hour. By the time we got back we all felt we had had enough exercise for our out of shape legs. The next day we moved the boat over to Kuah for easier shopping. After a few days here it was time to check out of Malaysia which we did at Kuah, and then headed up to the NE corner of Langkawi to an anchorage called Hole in the Wall. A big squall with some Lightning came through just after we dropped the anchor. The first serious lightening we have seen for a while.
The next morning we took the dinghy up some of the mangrove channels to explore. We found a bunch of yachts and a floating restaurant in one channel and a small tourist town with a road in the other.
Off to Satun tomorrow to get ready for the boat haulout and antifouling painting.
INFO
Note on Waypoints. The waypoints I give for anchorages are where our boat comes to rest after setting the anchor, not where we dropped the anchor. Also the waypoints are often not the best spot in anchorage as often there are already other boats ahead of us who have taken the best spots. Also we tend to anchor a bit further out from the rocks than a lot of people. I like to have time to do something if we start to drag in a blow.
The waypoints are mainly to make it easy to find the next anchorage on your chart. Also use them with caution as I might make mistakes.
- Krabi or Ao Nang beach is close as you can get to Krabi. Anchored in 26ft at 08 01.475 98 49.050E
-Krabi immigration has moved over to where marine police are. Took a bus into Krabi town for 50 B each, lots of buses going.
Lots of shops at Ao Nang beach, is somewhat like Patong beach, but smaller.
-Moved 1 mile over to Rai le beach anchorage in 23ft at 08 00.534N 98 49.899E. Scenic anchorage, much smaller community over here and nice beaches and some good walking trails and a couple of steep hikes. Nice to spent a couple of days here. One of our favorite spots.
-Next anchorage 2 miles over. Koh Dam group. and anchored in 42 ft at 07 57.573 98 48.514. Some tiny beaches here and again busy with longtails. Probably not a great anchorage in alot of wind.
-Next anchorage about 15 miles away in center of Phuket bay, South Koh Yao. Anchored in 24ft at 07 53.391 98 35.500. Is a good protected spot with some swell coming in. Internet worked here. Jan 17 2012
-After a stop at Chalong bay and Phi Phi Don ( both described in other posts) We did about 15 miles from Phi Phi Don to the island of Koh Lanta and anchored in 17 ft at 07 38.188 99 01.378 Lots of shops here and fresh veggies and a gas station closeby as well. Nice beach to walk. Anchorage good.
-Next went about 10 miles South to S end of Koh Lanta and anchored 22ft at 07 29.641 99 04.342
- Then continuing South to 15 miles to Koh Muk where we anchored in two places, first near the Hong described above we anchored in 42 ft at 07 22.504 00 17 085 We waited until a bit later in afternoon when less tour boats to swim up the tunnel as can get crowded in there.
Then moved 1.5 miles South to anchor of beach in 26ft at 07 21.542 99 17.454 Found out holding is better a few hundred feet further South, this according to another cruiser whose anchor also skipped a bit.. Our anchor skipped a couple times before grabbing. Unusual as most of Thailand has been very good holding. Had a great dinner at far South end of beach in cafe up small hill overlooking beach.
-Continued South for another 22 miles to Koh Phetra and anchored in 36ft at 07 02.298 99 28.214 No where to go ashore here, we took dinghy along rock walls and caves and checked out the cliff house at North end. Ok anchorage.
-Last anchorage is 18 miles away at Telegra Harbour in West side of Langkawi. anchored in 17ft at 06 21.701 99 40.536 for Customs and immigration. see past posts for more info here.
-Feb 2 2012 We cleared out at Kuah which was fairly easy as all three offices are in one big building over by the big Eagle statue. Just have to look around a bit for each office, port captain, customs and immigration. It is a bit easier at Telegra but not a bid deal.
-The next night spent at Hole in The Wall anchorage and anchored in 18 ft at 06 25.332 99 52.035. Forest all around us and lots of small speed boats zipping by.
The next morning we moved a mile over to an anchorage off Rai le beach with some smaller beaches here by big rock towers, very scenic. Found lots of good hiking here as well, which we took advantage of. There was one very steep hike up a rock tower to a great view point. They had ropes rigged to help haul yourself up.
There is a lot of long tails going back and forth here. Long Tails are a name for a large canoe type boat that uses a car engine mostly, mounted on a frame balanced such that they can pivot a long shaft with a propeller on the end in or out of the water. Good for shallow water and boat has no hole in it for a prop shaft. They are every where in Thailand and often go by your boat with an ear splitting roar as most have no muffler.
We moved to another nearby anchorage after a couple of days here and had thousands of flying fox bats go overhead just before dark. There was a seemingly endless stream of them for about 20 minutes as they heading to their hunting grounds for the night.
The next night was at another anchorage on our way back to Chalong. Here we had a young Muslim man visit us in his long tail. We had met him briefly on shore earlier where he showed us around a bit. He invited himself on board and we talked a bit about his home, he has never been out of the Phuket area. He eventually asked us what kind of beer we had on board, which I realized he had been thinking about the whole time. Muslims don't drink, but will when none of there neighbors are around. I gave him one and he chugged it down in a couple of minutes and then left shortly afterwards.
The next day we arrived back in Chalong bay for our third time here. We again got our fresh veggies here and some more gasoline and then went to customs and immigration and checked out of Thailand for Langkawi Malaysia. We are now going to start heading back South for the 120 miles to Langkawi and from there go back 15 miles to Satun back in Thailand and do a quick haulout for bottom paint and zincs replacement.
As we started South we did our first stop at Phi Phi Don, our second visit here. Just after dark a 100ft tour boat came up and grabbed a small mooring near by. He seemed far enough away. Then near midnight I woke up as a small rain squall came through with some contrary wind and hearing some water sloshing, looking out the port I saw this same tour boat coming rapidly for our side, I said hang on to Dorothy and he smacked us sideways with a big thump, before I got to the cockpit. No damage done, wood against steel, but it made me realize again to be careful about anchoring anywhere near a mooring as they often have very long lines on them as this one did. I then started the engine and we re-anchored further out in the dark.
We had a couple of different stops at the Island of Koh Lanta which is worth a visit. There is a huge number of fish traps through out this whole area. While sailing we finally snagged one when we let our attention wander once. The boat slowed down immediately. I rolled the head sail in and then tried to unhook the line from the cockpit with no luck. Then with the boat hook I managed to pull in some slack and then cut the line while Dorothy held one end and I pulled the other end through where ever it was snagged and then tied the two ends back together so the fisherman would not loose his trap. When he next hauls in his trap he is going to be wondering how a knot got in his rope. Many of the traps are very poorly marked.
Our next stop at Koh Muk is an island that had a hidden valley or Hong. You have to swim up a 300ft tunnel to enter a small valley surrounded by tall cliffs and there is a fantastic sand beach where you come out of the tunnel. At low tide you have 10 to 15 feet clearance over your head as you swim up the tunnel. Being a poor swimmer I wore a life jacket and fins on my feet to swim the tunnel and it was worth it to see this little paradise. Many tour boats come here with here with their customers. We watched one tour guide tow 4 Chinese girls that lay in water like a sack of potatoes with life jackets, the tour guide struggled manfully along towing all 4 customers who I don't think knew how to swim.
We then had a nice dinner that evening at a small restaurant on small hill above the beach. After one more anchorage we arrived in Langkawi our final destination before heading to our haulout location. We had a good sail most of the way on this last day in unusually strong winds of 18 often gusting up to 30 knots at times. In total we only managed to sail about half of the time for our trip from Phuket to Langkawi and alot of that at 2 to 3.5 knots boat speed. Cleared in with Customs and Immigration that afternoon at Telegra Harbor and were ready to start stocking the boat some more and do our favorite hike here.
We did our hike today with our friends from Just Magic. We hiked up to the waterfall and then continued on up at trail to some peak for another hour. By the time we got back we all felt we had had enough exercise for our out of shape legs. The next day we moved the boat over to Kuah for easier shopping. After a few days here it was time to check out of Malaysia which we did at Kuah, and then headed up to the NE corner of Langkawi to an anchorage called Hole in the Wall. A big squall with some Lightning came through just after we dropped the anchor. The first serious lightening we have seen for a while.
The next morning we took the dinghy up some of the mangrove channels to explore. We found a bunch of yachts and a floating restaurant in one channel and a small tourist town with a road in the other.
Off to Satun tomorrow to get ready for the boat haulout and antifouling painting.
INFO
Note on Waypoints. The waypoints I give for anchorages are where our boat comes to rest after setting the anchor, not where we dropped the anchor. Also the waypoints are often not the best spot in anchorage as often there are already other boats ahead of us who have taken the best spots. Also we tend to anchor a bit further out from the rocks than a lot of people. I like to have time to do something if we start to drag in a blow.
The waypoints are mainly to make it easy to find the next anchorage on your chart. Also use them with caution as I might make mistakes.
- Krabi or Ao Nang beach is close as you can get to Krabi. Anchored in 26ft at 08 01.475 98 49.050E
-Krabi immigration has moved over to where marine police are. Took a bus into Krabi town for 50 B each, lots of buses going.
Lots of shops at Ao Nang beach, is somewhat like Patong beach, but smaller.
-Moved 1 mile over to Rai le beach anchorage in 23ft at 08 00.534N 98 49.899E. Scenic anchorage, much smaller community over here and nice beaches and some good walking trails and a couple of steep hikes. Nice to spent a couple of days here. One of our favorite spots.
-Next anchorage 2 miles over. Koh Dam group. and anchored in 42 ft at 07 57.573 98 48.514. Some tiny beaches here and again busy with longtails. Probably not a great anchorage in alot of wind.
-Next anchorage about 15 miles away in center of Phuket bay, South Koh Yao. Anchored in 24ft at 07 53.391 98 35.500. Is a good protected spot with some swell coming in. Internet worked here. Jan 17 2012
-After a stop at Chalong bay and Phi Phi Don ( both described in other posts) We did about 15 miles from Phi Phi Don to the island of Koh Lanta and anchored in 17 ft at 07 38.188 99 01.378 Lots of shops here and fresh veggies and a gas station closeby as well. Nice beach to walk. Anchorage good.
-Next went about 10 miles South to S end of Koh Lanta and anchored 22ft at 07 29.641 99 04.342
- Then continuing South to 15 miles to Koh Muk where we anchored in two places, first near the Hong described above we anchored in 42 ft at 07 22.504 00 17 085 We waited until a bit later in afternoon when less tour boats to swim up the tunnel as can get crowded in there.
Then moved 1.5 miles South to anchor of beach in 26ft at 07 21.542 99 17.454 Found out holding is better a few hundred feet further South, this according to another cruiser whose anchor also skipped a bit.. Our anchor skipped a couple times before grabbing. Unusual as most of Thailand has been very good holding. Had a great dinner at far South end of beach in cafe up small hill overlooking beach.
-Continued South for another 22 miles to Koh Phetra and anchored in 36ft at 07 02.298 99 28.214 No where to go ashore here, we took dinghy along rock walls and caves and checked out the cliff house at North end. Ok anchorage.
-Last anchorage is 18 miles away at Telegra Harbour in West side of Langkawi. anchored in 17ft at 06 21.701 99 40.536 for Customs and immigration. see past posts for more info here.
-Feb 2 2012 We cleared out at Kuah which was fairly easy as all three offices are in one big building over by the big Eagle statue. Just have to look around a bit for each office, port captain, customs and immigration. It is a bit easier at Telegra but not a bid deal.
-The next night spent at Hole in The Wall anchorage and anchored in 18 ft at 06 25.332 99 52.035. Forest all around us and lots of small speed boats zipping by.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
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