Phuket, Thailand to Langkawi, Malaysia
Gaviota
Fri 24 Mar 2017 10:19
6:22.029N 99:41.043E
Friday,
17th March we checked out of Thailand at the amazing one-stop check
in/check out facility at Ao Chalong. It
was all handled very efficiently with no waiting and by midday we were back on
Gaviota and ready to leave. First stop
was to be The Racha Islands 14 miles South of Ao Chalong, we managed to sail
the first half of the trip then the wind died and the motor went on. We arrived at Racha Yai Bay late afternoon
and found a bay full of tripper boats.
There were mooring balls everywhere so we picked one up. Unfortunately the anchorage was not protected
from the South West swell and as the wind picked up became very
uncomfortable. Racha Yai Bay was a
pretty bay with a lovely white sand beach and clear water and a large very
expensive resort – it was also full of Chinese tourists! We dinghyed over to snorkel an area which
allegedly had coral and fish life to find it was full of concrete blocks (a
failed attempt to create an artificial reef) – we dutifully snorkelled all
around the concrete jungle and found it rather sad and vaguely amusing to see
people diving on the concrete blocks (ask for your money back!!!!). During the evening the wind picked up (this
seems a nasty common occurrence here) so by midnight we were rolling and
pitching as the wind howled spinning us round on the mooring ball (quick
prayer that it was attached???).
After a
night of this it was an early start to escape and after a battle with the ropes
which had tangled around each other during our night manoeuvres we got away and
there was still wind so up went the mainsail and increasingly fragile
spinnaker. Next stop was to be Koh Rok
Nok (56 miles from Ao Chalong). We
managed to sail the whole way and anchored in the deep channel between Koh Rok
Nok and Koh Rok Nai, now this was pretty close to paradise pure white sand
beaches and a crystal clear sea which housed the best coral and fish life we
have found. We had arrived after the
tourist boats had left and apart from a few other yachts had the anchorage to
ourselves. Of course paradise comes at a
price and soon we had a visit from the local park rangers, the stay was to cost
£20 but was valid for 1-4 nights – pretty good value and no objections to
paying for such a lovely spot. We ended
up 3 nights at Koh Rok Nok and spent most of the days enjoying the sea and fish
life. Syd had an interesting encounter
with a very persistent Remora (cleaner fish) which attached itself to him and
despite an interesting display of acrobatic underwater thrashing on Syd’s part
it would not leave. When he got out of
the water our over-diligent little friend attached itself to me then when I got
out it latched onto Gaviota. The fish
life was fascinating with sightings of a turtle, an eagle ray and a large
grouper. During the days the tourist
speedboats arrived packed full of people but soon left for their next
stop. After a perfect first day with the
wind picking up to do it’s nightly blow with thunderstorms and rain deluge
(lots of fresh water to collect) day 2 was cloudy but we still managed to
investigate the reef further and after the wind started blowing straight through
the channel we decided to move through to the Southern end of the Channel then
had fun watching the yachts further out rolling in the horrible Westerly swell
which was building up.
We left
lovely Koh Rok Nok for our last stop Koh Chuku, a tiny little perfect
uninhabited island 12 miles North of Langkawi.
After a slow spinnaker sail we arrived late afternoon and picked up a
national park mooring ball.
The wind
did it’s usual and started blowing hard as soon as it got dark so it was
another night of listening to the wind generator whizzing round and the boat
bouncing (a strange motion when you are attached to a mooring ball you hope is
attached to something???). By morning it
was back to perfect tranquillity and we swam ashore and swam/walked around the
beautiful little island of Koh Chuku before it was covered in tourists again.
We left
Koh Chuku and spinnaker sailed painfully slowly the last 12 miles into Langkawi
arriving with the sunset and anchored in Telaga Harbour.
23rd
March we checked back into Malaysia, another simple efficient process but this
time Gaviota can stay as long as she likes and we get 90 days which can be
extended. It was good not having the
language problems as most people in Malaysia speak some English. First stop after check in was internet which
involved a taxi ride to the nearest town.
Once sorted Syd contacted a boatyard nearby who immediately called and
is to give quotes for work – hopefully this time it will be sorted.
The heat
and humidity has gone up with our journey South and every night mother nature
puts on a pyrotechnic show complete with hefty downpours of rain (all our water
bottles and tanks are now full again).
