Koh Dam Khwan
Jackamy
Paul & Derry Harper
Tue 28 Dec 2010 08:09
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07:57.630N 098:48.470E
Tuesday 28th December
Monday morning we all set off in different
directions, Blue Magic went to the Racha Islands, Fai Tira went to Coral
Island, just south of Phuket and we made our way to the Koh Dam group of
islands, not far from Krabi. There are so many different groups of islands, all
with something different to offer, that you can see how yachts arrive here only
planning to stay for a month or two and it extends to a year or two and more. I
may have said it before but this part of the world is spectacular, the scenery
is beautiful. The only problem is that tourism has well and truely ruined the
beauty. During the day, wherever you are, all you hear is very loud roaring
engines on the dozens of longtails that fly past, sometimes with only a few feet
between us. The speedboats are even worse, wherever we anchor you can guarantee
that between 8 am and 7 pm Jackamy will be incredibly rocky and rolly
thanks to the wake from the boats as they fly past at ridiculous
speeds. It's a real shame!
As we were sailing, yes sailing with our
genoa, along the west coast of Phi Phi Don we noticed a stationary longtail with
people waving up ahead. At first Paul waved back as he thought they were just
waving prematurely. Amy raised from her sunbathing position to have a glimpse
and decided it was nothing of interest and so lay back down. It was only when we
got a little closer that Jack and Paul realised a man onboard was making a X
with his arms above his head - they needed help. The sail came in and we motored
closer to find 3 Italians and a young Thai lad who didn't speak a word of
English. The Italians suggested coming onboard Jackamy, going to find help and
send someone back for the longtail driver. We didn't fancy that idea and so
offfered them a tow instead. Once around the headland we located the beach where
they had come from on the North of the island and motored as close as we could.
It was only when Amy ran up to the bow to spot for reefs we realised we had
already arrived at the edge of the reef. The depth dropped so Paul turned out to
sea, only for the depth to drop even more, 5 metres, 4 metres, 3 metres and the
lowest we saw was 2.5 metres. We draw 2.2 so we were almost on another reef
whilst rescuing a longtail!
  Towing the
longtail
After the excitement we continued with the
journey to Koh Dam Khwan, a beautiful island, where at low tide a white sand
beach stretches right out from the island to two smaller islands with crystal
clear turqoise water lapping up on the shore.
  Chicken head on the south of
Koh Dam Khwan......A small island rising up from the sea
  You can see the blue water
stretching between the islands, where a sandbank will be at low tide........The
busy beach
  First thing in the morning Jack,
Amy and myself went exploring on the beach. The tide was low so the beach was
fully exposed but that meant we struggled to reach the shore as the water
was less than a foot deep. It was just after 8 am and the first longtails of the
day were arriving - there is just no peace and quiet! Another drawback was the
400 Bhat that we were required to pay to the National Park. We pretended we
hadn't seen the sign, finished taking our pictures and made a swift
exit.
  The first of many......Walking
between the islands
 Jackamy behind the
longtails
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