Battery dilemma and politics

Rex1
Mon 16 Dec 2013 11:05
We returned to the marina on Sunday after we dragged our emergency anchor in the strong currents off Ko Phanak. Dadang woke Greg and I at about 4am to alert us to a nearby yacht that was drifting close to us after dragging their anchor (at this stage we were quite pleased with ourselves that our emergency rope anchor had held fast). I returned to bed and Greg and Dadang stayed on deck – I was awoken about 1.5 hours later to find that we had drifted about 200 metres away and that we couldn’t start the dinghy (and were being pushed by the currents into shallow water). We tried to bring up the anchor but with no luck as it appeared to be caught around the keel. Dadang got in the water to see where the line was wrapped, but it was too dark and the current too strong, so we waited until daylight when Greg used the pro-dive to dive under the boat. He unwrapped the line and anchor that was caught under the keel and we swiftly bought it up. Dadang also got the dinghy going again but there is some problem with the fuel line. With no battery power to the windlass, anchor and bow thruster, we decided the best option was to make for the marina and contact Mick on Monday to see if he could assist with new batteries before Christmas.
We watched a wonderful movie on the movie box called Crossing Over with Harrison Ford and Ashley Judd – worth seeing and gives an insight into illegals in America – definitely food for thought regarding Australia’s situation.
Mick and his team were fantastic – Greg had contacted him first thing and by 11.30am they had installed two new batteries, the only blip was that the bow thruster did not work, so they installed a new bow thruster panel (Greg had ordered last year in Oz), but the wiring did not match our current system. The boys managed to re-wire the old one and get it working. The service was really amazing and the best I have seen in the marine industry.
Now for a quick update on Thai politics (following the recent protests in Bangkok and Phuket) Thailand currently has no government and no parliament. Last Monday Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called a snap election when 160,000 protestors besieged her office. She remains caretaker prime minister but the protestors want her to go now with political reforms pushed through before any election. The country’s military can make or break any attempt to remove the prime minster, but has declined to take sides. The army has staged or attempted 18 coups in the past 80 years including one against Ms Yingluck’s brother, Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006. The protests gained momentum in November after Ms Yingluck’s government tried to push through a political amnesty bill that would have allowed Mr Thaksin to return home a free man.

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