28 – 29 November Ao Chalong, Ph uket
Rex1
Tue 3 Dec 2013 09:30
We got up early and motor sailed 25 miles to Ao Chalong. Ao Chalong is the only year round anchorage at the southern end of Phuket and is a big shallow bay facing south (lots of shallow sand banks that aren’t marked on the charts). This is a very crowded anchorage as it is the first port of call for the majority of visiting yachts and it was also a few days before the start of the King’s Cup Regatta in Phuket. We went ashore and checked in to Thailand at the convenient one stop port control centre (Immigration/Harbour Master and Customs) at the end of the long pier.
The weather turned quite messy and uncomfortable with easterly winds of up to 40kts in the bay and on local advice we decided to stay on the boat until the winds abated. It was in this bay only a week ago that several boats were written off due to the unseasonal weather and strong winds. The north east monsoon wind traditionally blows from November to April bringing with it clear sunny skies and an average temperature of 30-32degrees. However this year the NE Monsoon has not yet arrived or settled into its normal pattern and we have had very average weather. Monsoon is an Arabic word that means season and not storm!
Phuket Island is 50km long and connected to the mainland by Sarasin Bridge at the northern tip. Phuket’s tropical coastline consists primarily of sandy bays divided by rocky peninsulas, with some more sheltered areas featuring large expanses of mud flats and mangroves.
Now for the bad stuff - there are about 50 Australian deaths in Phuket each year and the Australian Consul General in Phuket managed to get jet skis and motorcycle hire on the Australian travel warnings for Thailand – but of course Aussies ignore them. In 2005 there were 3,000 Australians in Phuket on any one day and today there are 27,000 including about 3,000 expats either working here or retired.