Hanging in Phuket, Thailand

Redwings Round the World

Hanging in Phuket, Thailand

15 December 1997 to 23 January 1998

Aaron, Kerry, Colleen, Stacy, Raffi, Chris, and Laura at Dinner

15 December, Ao Chalong, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - We woke at 0630 to take a crack at getting to / getting a space at the Boat Lagoon. The plan is to start heading that way so if they do have a space, we can take it, and if they don't, we'll go in to get fuel and try to tie up at a dock "between tides" (i.e. overnight) to pick up our stuff that we left with the time share brokers. Perhaps then we can muscle in.

I am grumpy. Apart from Jimmy's, Ao Chalong sucks (I'm sorry but no other word can describe). A tough draggy anchorage, lots of winds and waves, drenching dingy rides, and a mucky beach than can only be reasonably taken at high tide. My mood further deteriorates when the engine, which I had run for several hours the previous evening, shut down after thirty seconds. Now I'm pissed and am already getting surly with the crew. As I go down to try to get the beast running, Colleen asks if it is worth still trying to take the dingy on board and what do I rate my chances of getting the motor working? "Yes." "Good." Monosyllables spoken in a curt / irritated you-better-not-ask-me-anything-else-or-try-to-say-something-funny sort of way. Silence as the dingy crew gets to work. Apparently the three of them held council on whether to ask about the dingy / engine prospects and although no one wanted to ask, there was no way in hell Laura or Kerry were going to tackle it - thus Colleen's polite inquiry.

Align the lift pump, bleed the fuel, check the tanks - it still won't start. 0800 and no way are we going to make the tide. "Put the dingy back in". No commentary from the crew - we are all numb. "Boat Lagoon, Boat Lagoon, this is Redwings, Redwings do you copy over". Yes they copy and no there is still no room. What if we come by in person and put a deposit on the next available slip? Yes it would be a very good idea to contact us in person or on the phone to check available space (read "I can't say anything on the radio, but we can deal"). Lets try to bleed that engine one last time. Varoom... it starts right up.

Then the low point. The cat box stinks. We have no water. I need a bucket of sea water. Colleen give me a bucket. I chuck bucket number five of the trip (and the only one left) over the side on its nice leash to get some cleansing water on deck. As I apply tension to the line, the knot slips and the bucket descends into the murky depths of Ao Chalong Bay. This is the third bucket we have lost due to granny knots (or more likely inappropriate clove hitches) being tied to the handle! I snap and rant and rave and chuck the rope back in the cockpit - unfortunately and (I promise not on purpose) into Colleen's face. She called me a nasty name I deserved and we'll leave it at that.

Kerry and Laura later commented that knots have in general the biggest source of tension on the boat among all current and past parties. There was no pun intended I believe. It's true. While racing different coiling techniques were a big source of excitement. Some coiled loosely and lines dragged in the water. Other tightly lashed various lines (including the mainsheet on one occasion!) making it impossible to let them go when required. Everybody got in on the act in one way or another. Cruising knot tensions have tended to revolve around lashing technique (or lack thereof). Dingy lashing has proved to be a particularly tense operation.

Things then started to improve. On arrival at the Boat Lagoon, the harbormaster indicated that there was in fact a space that had just become available and it was reserved for us. A stroll down to visit Mario the condo time share broker was also fruitful and he said not to worry about leaving the stuff there for a couple more day if necessary. A relaxing afternoon playing pool and getting whipped in foosball at Jimmy's Lighthouse. An easing in the wind, and good timing on the tide, resulted in a dry dingy ride back. To bed and lets hope the engine gets us to the Boat Lagoon tomorrow.

16 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - A much needed uneventful day. We left for the Boat Lagoon at around 0700 and were off the entrance at 1000 thanks to a favorable current. We were still two hours early for the high tide, but there should be enough water. At least its a rising tide and it is daylight! We made it in easily and somehow managed a flawless docking after making a three point turn in close quarters.

Lunch and then the afternoon was spent washing off the salt, sand, and grime of the past week. By 1500, we are all dog tired. I think the stress and continual running of the past several weeks has caught up to us all. Poolside. Dinner. Bed.

17 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - Not a good day. The plan is to finish getting the boat cleaned and all of the off-loaded stuff back on, as well as start on the various repair jobs. By the end of the day, I felt as though we had moved backwards.

One of my grand schemes is to get the spinnakers washed, dried, and folded and packed away like handkerchiefs. Washing them on the deck was easy. My plan was then to connect one clew to the end of the spinnaker pole, and hoist the sail to the top of the mast, and then pull the pole out perpendicular to the mast. It would then flap-dry parallel to the boat. What a disaster. Although the wind seemed relatively calm (compared to the 20 knots of the past two days) it was still probably gusting up to 10 - and always when the spinnaker was half hoisted. Of course, it got blown straight back on the boat getting caught around the radar, shrouds, and everything else. On dropping it, we noticed a small hole in the middle of the sail as a result of this misadventure. The worst of it was that Colleen had warned me that she thought it was too windy.....

I checked out the forward dorade vents - one of which Colleen indicated was broken (I said no way - the mechanical parts are totally enclosed and not susceptible to bangs and as they are new, I'm sure its fine). Sure enough the mushroom cap top had been snapped off from its adjustment handle - someone must have tried to overtighten it. A look at the other forward vent revealed that it won't screw shut or open further. More things to fix.

Alright, lets get those solar panels back on so we can keep the batteries topped without turning on the batteries. Yeah Laura crank right up on that nut no problem - CRACK and then snap, crackle, pop as small white capillaries marble the surface of the panel radiating from the point of the initial break. Great. Down a US$375 solar panel.

So by the end of the day, rather than having a whole bunch of things checked off the list, the list has grown longer!

18 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - Yesterday evening I rented a jeep for 24 hours and gave Kerry and Laura a ride to the bus station in Phuket Town in the morning. They are heading off to explore the heartland and Bangkok metropolis for the next two weeks or so.

Colleen and I then took off for a day of checking out the various marine supply locations around the island and general exploring. How relaxing and what a feeling of freedom to just drive around by ourselves doing whatever we wanted! And the rental, a Suzuki Caribbean which is exactly like the one we owned when we lived in Thailand, costs only $25 per day!

Our first stop was Rolly Tasker's sail loft as we wanted to check prices on getting some minor sail repairs made and also to see what hardware they had in their chandlery. Rolly Takser's makes a new sail every 11 minuets and seems to be a booming business well utilizing Thailand's relatively low cost, but skilled workforce. We were able to get the spinnaker patched, a reinforcement strip sewn on the foot of the 130% genoa where it was chafing on the pulpit, and patches on the main where it chafes on the shrouds for US$40! It would of cost a multiple of this anywhere else in the world and as Rolly makes sails on a wholesale basis for lofts like North, UK, and Neil Pryde, the quality is as good as anywhere. Hardware prices, on the other hand, were not cheap. Although they had a great selection of blocks, cleats, and all other manner of marine fittings, prices were about two times West Marine prices. But then again, if one imports these things directly to Thailand, it will cost you three times West Marine prices due to duties.

We then went to check out the Friendship Marine second hand shop we had heard about. What a (potential) find! They have belts, filters, anchors, lights, blocks - almost a full selection of used and new (bought from bankrupt suppliers etc) for sale. I say potential find as you still have to pick through the rubble to find the gems and while there is a of stuff, they may not have exactly what you need. The big score for us I believe was a new block for $12 which we can put at the top of the mast to change the genoa halyard angle and hopefully solve our furling problems. West Marine prices on a similar Harken block were running at $80 - it would have been well over $100 after shipping even if I got it by customs somehow. We also picked up a new cabin light identical to the one that got broken during King's Cup, an assortment of light bulbs, two squid jigs (yes for catching squid - not fancy nautical terminology for some random fitting) as well as other odds and ends.

We rounded out our errand run by picking up out plane tickets for Bangkok and stopping by immigration so Colleen could extend her visa (I, as the "captain" of a vessel, need to extend separately - all of our entry permits expire on 31 December). "Ohh, you come on yacht. Cannot extend for one month na. Onlee ten days. But, I can help you. How many other crew on your boat? How long you really want to stay?" (the only question not directly asked is how much money do you have and how much of it are you willing to give to me to give you the time you want). "Ah ok ten days more is fine" said Colleen. "Are you sure? Call me on my mobile if you need any further extensions and tell your crew to call as well. I can help make special arrangements".

19 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - Net net I think we made positive progress on the boat. Lets see, the only new things that don't work after today are the water pump (which is sick with the same disease I thought I cured in Malaysia) and our amp / voltage meter. What got done? Mick the electrician installed the remaining B&G instruments (Nav - so we can get GPS readouts in the cockpit and Data so we can see speed, wind, etc down at the nav station). Stu finished his engine work which included installing a new non-return valve. Hopefully, if we are careful, our water ingression problems will be over. We also replaced about 50% of the hoses and generally replaced any small cheap things that looked at all dodgy. I got the wind generator re-installed and removed the broken solar panel and re-installed the old ones. They work. Question is, when and how can I get a replacement for the broken one? We can live without it, but it would be nice to have. Trouble is import duties on things like this are about 300% and no way in hell am I paying US$1,000 for a solar panel!

Colleen had a fun time cleaning out low storage areas amidships that seem to have been contaminated with bilge water during some of our rail-burying tacks. I had noticed water trickling across the floorboards during some of the racing and collecting in puddles on the leeward side - either under the nav station or in the galley. It seems like the bilges in these areas are not draining properly as there was not a lot of water in the bilge in general. Really messy. Another thing to try to do / problem to solve. At a minimum, we've got to make sure the bilges are almost bone dry if we expect to do a lot of heeling.

The cats remain exceptionally well-behaved. Perhaps they think that if they are good, we will let them stay in the Boat Lagoon and won't go out racing again. Basil really seemed possessed last time we were here (and yes he is "fixed" so that should not have been a big factor), but he seems his regular self this time. Although he enjoys his evening strolls, he is always back by 0600 to wake us up for his breakfast.

I brought Colleen off to the airport for her 1500 flight to Bangkok in the Jeep. Due to road construction, we were detoured and missed the small sign in Thai indicating where we needed to turn to head to the airport and substantially overshot it. We finally made our way back and she made it with five minuets to spare with the intercom paging a - "Miss Chlorine Duck-in" your flight is ready for departure - as I walked back to the jeep. I'll be rejoining her at our friends Eric and Ruby's house on the 23rd (with cats in tow - should be interesting). I'll miss her, but frankly am glad to have a few days to myself.

20 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - Notwithstanding a "watermaker shock" today was a productive work day and it feels like I am regaining my sanity. Mick came and brought a young Thai helper along named "A". Mick pays him Bt500 per day which is about US$12 - four times minimum wage! Mick indicated that if I paid half his wages, I could get him to help out doing whatever. I agreed and it turned out to be a great deal. "A" used to work in a local engineering shop and is a very logical / lateral thinker when it comes to fixing and making things. Best of all, he knows all of various shops around Phuket and can find a fitting, get a stainless steel plate made, or have something molded out of fiberglass quickly, properly, and very cheaply. For US$2, he got a fitting for the water pump drilled and tapped for me at the machine shop - one job done that would have taken me an hour by hand. He designed and had fabricated an awesome new release handle for the windlass, the original having going missing during the Hong Kong refit - US$8 (this is a real beaut with a reinforced stainless sleeve and BMX bike handle). Both jobs before lunch! In the afternoon he designed a stainless steel bracket for the new B&G Data read out at the nav station and was out and back with it in less than two hours - another US$2 outlay. Phuket is the place to get a lot of things done! These three things probably would have taken two days and cost about US$200 at the Hong Kong Yacht Club. If not for the difficulty of ordering in parts given the high duties, it would be ideal.

While Mick was plugging on finishing off the B&G installation, he mentioned to me that one of Thai guys working on a nearby boat was a carpenter and a good one at that. I walked over to the boat and had a word with "Khun Tossaporn" and he came over to Redwings to check out the job. We need some teak replaced in the cockpit and decks that we did not get done in Hong Kong, I'd like to level the cabin sole and reinforce some of the supports for the floorboards (now its very difficult to get a lot of the floorboards out and many creek and wiggle when you walk over them), as well as many minor fixits / improvements. He says they can start Monday and charges out at Bt700 (US$15) per day per worker plus materials - teak does not get cheaper anywhere else! Sounds good.

Now the bad news. While grubbing around with the water pump I noticed that the seawater intake indicator on the watermaker was black. What's this? It can't be good. Inspection of the primary filters confirms my worst fears: the system is chock full of bilge water! Even a bit of oil in a watermaker membrane (which in the case of our system run at about US$600 per pop) can sharply reduce production and any buildup will wreck it. Bilge water would completely and utterly destroy the membrane immediately. Following the various hoses I can't see how this happened. I did mount (actually hung with a bit of string) the primary pump low in bilge when I fixed it during the HK/Klang leg, but even if it was submerged in bilge water (which is probably what happened) it should only pump out what comes in - fresh seawater. There are no holes in any of the hoses I can find. This is now my priority. We must get this going which will probably mean replacing all of hoses, filters, and the membrane. With only 40% of the original water storage capacity installed in the boat, we really do "need" (read or we can't take showers) the watermaker operating.

Stuart came around lunchtime and after grabbing a bite for me and a Carlsberg for him, we took the boat out to "sea trial" the engine and to see if by adding another cutlass bearing to support the propeller shaft we could cut down on the noise in the aft cabin. He also brought "Tony" along - the guy he had lined up to help me with odd jobs. He is an Aussi and lives in Ao Chalong with his Thai wife who owns a noodle shop there. Stuart indicated he could do just about anything and would work for Bt1,500 per day (US$35). I have a big list of various things to do so I asked Tony what he was good at. "Nothing really," was the reply, "just give me a list and point me at the jobs". I'm not that confident... especially as know I can use "A" and as I've found a carpenter. However, I asked Stuart to help me find somebody and this guy has come all the way here so I better give him a try. I agreed for him to come tomorrow and that I'd make up a list of jobs for him.

The sea trial went well and Stu confirmed that the shaft is true and not vibrating at all. He felt the overall vibration and noise level was better than average. Perhaps we were hearing things / don't have much of a basis for comparison. At least it does not seem like there is any sort of damaging vibration or misalignment problem, so I guess we can / will have to live with the noise.

Off to town in the afternoon to buy parts we'll need for tomorrow - nothing will be open as it will be Sunday (seems like any other day to me). A stop at Rolly Taskers to buy a new piece of genoa track. US$216 for 2.1 meters?!?!? Is Harken a listed company? Sign me up when they go public. Various replacement blocks and other small and insignificant fittings round out a gut crunching bill. A trip to Phuket Town and a hardware story called CG Huat that everyone had been talking about made me fell a bit better. Wow!! They have everything!! Filters for the water maker, a new belt for the Par water pump, a huge selection of hose... I never thought I'd see the day when I got real excited over the sight of marine grade stainless bolts.

I've been thinking I better stay on in Phuket rather that go up to Bangkok. I think that a rush up there with the cats would be pretty stressful and I really want to at least for once try to get things under control (on a relative basis) on the boat. The only people I really will miss seeing are Eric and Ruby. Getting things done here is proving very therapeutic and the time away from the "crew" is probably good for all of us. I am also afraid that if I leave now, the momentum will slow, we'll get back on the 26th, John and Caroline will show up, we will be scrambling to work on the boat, it will be New Years, nothing will get done, the girls will come back, it will be time to leave... another frantic departure and half of the jobs not done!.... Which will result in more things breaking down along the way and creating more stress for me and putting me in a bad and "unreasonable" mood which is not good for crew harmony! But it might not be good for marriage harmony if I don't go to Bangkok... Well I've go to risk it I think for my own sanity. I'll try to call Colleen tonight.

21 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - Good solid day of progress and no new discoveries of broken things or worn out systems. I spent the early morning organizing tools, stuffing cushions and locker covers in the forepeak, and clearing a path through the wreckage. I also made and revised to do and to buy lists putting them all in a single notebook for a change (rather than on the back of random pieces of paper) so hopefully I won't lose them for once.

Tony showed up around 1000 and we hit it hard. Tony removed the rest of the port Genoa track and serviced the four main winches (boy did they need it), while I continued disassembling and cleaning all components and hoses of the watermaker. I am a bit heartened by the fact that the high pressure membrane (the heart of the water maker where the water is actually "made") was full of clean salt water and did not smell like bilgy water. Perhaps we got lucky. We won't know if it still works till I put it all back together and we motor out to some clean water for a test run. This is one of the difficulties of working on watermakers - you can't test them in port due to the contaminants in the water.

In the afternoon, Tony ripped apart the head (toilet) in the aft cabin and replaced as many gaskets and valves as we had spares for. Its been leaking a bit and is becoming increasingly hard to pump. It was pretty gunked up and most of the seals were worn. What a difference after the service!!! Like a new head! We pretty much blew our only spare kit on the operation. I'm going to order three more and do the other head as well as keep the remaining ones as spares / for next time. I had not really thought of heads needing regular service and planned on ignoring the other one till it started having troubles. However, I think after seeing the wear, tear, and build up of normal use, I'll do it annually. Hopefully we can avoid the dreaded "head hemorrhage" someday (of course after the pipe and unit have been completely blocked by U know what).

Its great to have Tony to work with as "preventive medicine" jobs like head and which servicing can be tackled. My fears of yesterday were erased. He is a good worker, good value, and good company. Alone, even if I worked constantly till early January, I think I could only get the already-completely-broken-and-must-be-repaired jobs done. When we left Hong Kong, I'd estimate the boat was about 85% ready. I'd really like to be 95%-99% when we leave for Galle. I think that if we can get to that level, things will swing to a more normal maintenance level and I'll actually have some time to relax!

As we go through the boat I keep thinking of more and more spares / replacement parts I would like to have. We've already got to order an expensive solar panel and possibly an even more expensive watermaker membrane. Perhaps it makes sense to go to Langkawi ourselves? Not only could we get the stuff duty free, we could to a smuggling run for others and cover the cost of a lot of our equipment. This would also solve my/the boat's visa extension issue. I wonder if John, Caroline, and the kids would be up for such a trip (previous owners of Redwings who will be visiting us around the 27th for a few days)? The more I think about it, lets do it!

22 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - Another day in paradise during the holiday season. Up early trying to make sense of the mess, organize the day's jobs, buy stuff to do the jobs, and then actually try to find time to get something done! We did get a bit done, although it was not a huge day. Lets see, two more mast steps installed, the new genoa track edge bent to fit the toe rail, inner forestay re-attached, engine gauges working again. Could be worse. But of course, after taking two steps forward, we must take one back. Can't just walk a straight line. Tony glanced at the gooseneck (where the boom meets the mast) and noticed a severe crack. Sure enough, the weld on our (once again) "new" in HK aluminum gooseneck is cracking and the metal is starting to bend. We have done a few snappy gybes, but nothing that should have resulted in a crack like that. At least we found out now and not in the middle of the Indian Ocean! "A" will bring it into a shop in town and get a new one fabricated out of stainless steel. I am afraid that just re-welding the aluminum is probably asking for trouble down the road and a recurring problem. Stainless will be easier to weld and stronger, the only problem is is may react corrosively with our aluminum boom. We will have to try to insulate it well. At least I'll also be able to keep the old one as a spare.

Mick got the amp meter working again, but it continued to give strange readings indicating there was a power drain somewhere. There was. For some reason the alternator is draining about 3-4 amps from the batteries when the engine is off. This is like leaving on four cabin lights all of the time. Seems to be some sort of a regulator problem. Mick disconnected the regulator (which regulates the charge from the alternator to the batteries) so at least we are not draining. He'll try to fix it tomorrow. A pain, but again, glad to find out now while I've got a marine electrician gainfully employed.

23 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - The morning was again spent vainly trying to hook into the IBM "Global" dialer number in Bangkok. I ended up again dialing directly to Hong Kong which resulted in a US$50 bill for the privilege of sending and receiving e-mails and updating the website.

When I got back to the boat, Tony was strapping "A" in to my rock climbing harness and getting ready to haul him up the mast. Apparently "A" asked to be given a shot at installing the new block for the genoa halyard (which hopefully will prevent the halyard from getting wrapped around the forestay). I am a bit nervous as although he is bright and probably has more experience than any of us in drilling and tapping, he does not know much about boats and I'm not sure if he understands the concept of what we are trying to do. Tony assures me they have been through the plan in detail. Lets give him a shot. If he does it properly, it will be for 5% of what it would have cost if I had hired someone to do in Hong Kong (at this point I could do it myself, but for US$3, assuming it takes him two hours, better him at the top of the mast then me!).

With "A" and Tony on the case (Tony is plugging away {literally as he is filling the old holes with epoxy} on the genoa track while "A" dangles up above), I can take a trip in to town to refund my air ticket and stop by Rolly Taskers to pick up the "mended" windscoop and the hardware shop for a few more supplies.

But disaster strikes in Town. As I was walking to the travel agent, my final destination, I realized I was without my wallet. A quick search of the jeep turned up nothing. Perhaps I left it in the hardware shop, although I am pretty sure I remembered putting it back in my pocket. No I did not leave it there and they seem pretty honest. It must have a) fallen out of my pocket between the hardware store and the jeep (about a 100 meter walk) or b) been picked from my pocket by a thief.

What can I do but report it to the police in case it turns up and cancel my visa card and and ATM card. The police were surprisingly helpful and I was able to fill out a report and get out of there in 20 minuets. They were not hopeful, but at least if it does turn up or get turned in, I've got a chance of recovering it. Luckily, I still had my plane ticket to turn in - which was worth Bt3,800 or about US$80. I was able to cash this in and put some of the proceeds towards a call to Hong Kong at the travel agents to cancel my cards.

I had all of my cash (about US$150) and my only sources of cash in that wallet. I'll have to get by on what's left of the ticket money till Colleen gets back and hope Hong Kong Bank can soon send me down some new cards. This could be a problem as the only Hong Kong Bank branch in Thailand is in Bangkok and it does not seem to be policy to send cards to other locations.

Well, got to get rid of the car today as I can no longer afford it (I am supposed to pay up through today and in advance for additional days) and start eating cans of soup on the boat. Its a big pain, but I'm not overly stressed about it. I guess that shows that I have wound down a bit as a few days ago losing a bucket was enough to send me into a fit of insanity.

24 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas....." is piping in through the ceiling as I am penning these words in the lobby of the Boat Lagoon Resort (a few hotel rooms overlooking the marina). It's 90 degrees Farenhight out and green.

I called Colleen today and she said was able to get a flight back tonight. Yea! She was able to go to Bangkok, I got a lot of work done on the boat and had some time to myself, and we will still be able to spend Christmas together.

Without a car and only a few hundred Baht in my pocket, I actually stayed on the boat most of the day and got a lot done. The explosion of tools, spares, and supplies that has been choking the main cabin are now reasonably organized. Good progress was also made on replacing electrical and plumbing system cable ties and plastic hose holder thingies throughout the boat. I'm trying to get all of the key systems streamlined and securely attached to reduce wear.

The carpenter started today and rebolted /re-inforced the lose spring line cleat on the starboard side which had worked lose in the awful Penang Yacht Club marina as a result the huge amount of current there. He also started removing various teak planks from the deck and cockpit for rebedding. Hopefully this will not only preserve the teak, but it also may solve our leakage problem in the aft cabin.

Rumors, which increasingly look to be substantially based on fact, are rife that Sri Lanka is a terrible place to go for yachties as a result of the Civil War. Apparently, the Sri Lankan navy is setting off anti-personal mines all night long in Galle Harbor (the only place yachts are allowed to enter and stay) which makes it impossible to sleep. It has also reportedly become extremely expensive due a rise in corruption and the general level of tourist/yachtie scamming. We may decide to skip Sri Lanka and head straight to the Maldives. This would still be only a 1,300 mile trip which is less than our first leg.

I walked out alone to the end to the end of the road to the Baan Sapan (bridge house) restaurant, our regular feeding spot when at the Boat Lagoon, for my Christmas Eve Dinner. "Merry Christmas" smiled the pregnant and flip-flopped waitress. I do love Thailand. Hong Kong was a great place to work, but Thailand is a great place to be. We lived here for 4 1/2 years before we moved to Hong Kong and I always feel like I am home when I am here. The people.... the food.... Tom Kha Gai (chicken coconut soup), two servings of rice, and a lemon shake for the equivalent of $1.75!! After paying my check, "Lurch" (the deferential and always smiling busboy - he did not get the brains in the family though) came up to me and said: "honey superman". Ahh sorry, say again? "Many crusty men". Oh yes! Merry Christmas to you too!! See you tomorrow!

25 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand - Colleen Does Bangkok

Colleen -Back from Bangkok last night. Had a lovely trip, if tiring, go, go, go...I arrived in Bangkok Friday, Dec 19th. My friend Veena's driver picked me up then we went to collect Veena, and over to my other friend Lan's house for dinner. We had great Thai/Indian vegetarian food. It was fun to catch up and get all the broking/life gossip of Bangkok. Next day we wandered around the food/flower section of the Chatuchak market. Everything looked so wonderful after my deprivation from fresh produce! Veena and I went home to pick up her kids, two wild but very loveable boys, Arthit and Arin to attend a barbecue being thrown at the home of my ex colleague, and Veena's current colleague, Rich Markarian. The barbecue was in the honor of all departing WICO staff - a mass layoff the previous week meant the staff was reduced by nearly 40% in one day! Kind of weird to be smiling and celebrating, when you thought of the theme of the event - all the poor folks now out of jobs. Some particularly sad cases, one woman had worked at the company for about 10 years, ever since she left school.

Actually this was a big focus for the whole trip, all anyone talked about was who just got sacked, who was about to be sacked, which companies were closed down, etc... Even the few left with jobs, are preparing to possibly be cut in what they consider the inevitable next round of firings by March. At minimum, they're bracing for huge pay cuts, not that the effective 50% paycut from devaluation wasn't enough.

The country is pretty much at its knees economically, and the horror hasn't even begun really. The following day Lan, Veena and I went to a special market called, "Talat Nad Khon Kheuy Ruay"- translation, "Market for the Formerly Rich". The market was set up at the largest Mercedes dealership - Mercedes was trying to move repossessed cars on the quick, and the market mushroomed around it for anyone trying to raise cash by selling their assets- Rolexes, etc.

I'm afraid by the time we arrived, their was much more hype than bargains. The majority of the transactions I saw were food related ( the food venders were out in storm - Thai's can't seem to go too long without snacks around).

That evening we went to see Doug and Marissa Clayton for dinner. Lucky Doug manages to land on his feet- while Thailand collapses he's secured a job running Latin American/South American equity sales effort for Credit Lyonais in New York -the timing couldn't be better. They were both excited about the upcoming adventure of moving to New York. Nice to see not everyone is suffering.

Following day I tried to go shopping for Christmas gifts, but I just ended up getting very tired wandering around on my feet for so long. I arranged to meet friends Ruby, Eric, and Chongrak for dinner. Again, another nice evening catching up.

Aaron called to say that he was pickpocketed, and out of cash. Or was he? We all know his habit of losing wallets... Crisis was just narrowly averted. I had been relying on Aaron for cash up until now, as the #$%%%@&!!!!! Bank of Boston morons had invalidated my ATM card and visa card simultaneously. The short end of a long and frustrating saga is that the Bank of Boston without informing their service staff nor customers has put a security fraud block on usage of their visa card in what they consider high fraud zones - EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY IN ASIA including JAPAN, HONG KONG and SINGAPORE! Talk about parochial. So one is literally unable to use the card anywhere. My ATM card from them no longer worked either because they took the liberty of canceling the one I possessed to generously upgrade me to a snazzier new bells and whistles version (?) that they kindly sent to my house in Milton. I pleaded that I was abroad and this should be documented clearly on my account could they send it on to Phuket, they claimed it only bank policy to send it by slowass slowboat to China mail, so of course it still hasn't arrived a month later.

Could be dire with Aaron now having no access to cash. Luckily I called Amex in the states again that evening to see if there was anyway I could get a new card sent to me in Thailand, despite the run around I had gotten from them before about it not being possible. There is a god because the woman on the phone apologized for every single person I had ever dealt with at Amex not knowing what the hell they were talking about and said I could pick up a new card in the Bangkok office first thing in the morning!! I have to say, I felt like kissing the teller at Amex upon finally taking possession of that card. I clutched my new ticket to freedom and felt warm inside as I skipped out of the office.

After that on to Delany's Irish Pub. Exboss and "bon vivant" Mark Greenwood had invited me along to the annual broker Christmas "piss up" lunch. Twenty or so brokers representing all the foreign broking companies in Bangkok meet to get trashed and put in predictions for the market index the following year and best performing/worst performing stocks to come. This year two new categories were added; 1) guess the year-end baht dollar rate and 2) predict if you'll be employed as a stockbroker or not same time next year..

Of course only four of us answered that last question with any degree of honesty. Only myself, Mark Greenwood, Graham Caterwell, and Andrew Stotz acknowledged publicly that we didn't think we'd actually have jobs as brokers in a year. Admittedly, it wasn't too much of a stretch for me to do so..

I had thought I could make an appearance at the luncheon and slip out after a couple hours with only a polite drink or two. How's that for fantasy land? I managed to drag myself away only at 6:15pm for a 6:30 dinner engagement. At least 10 drinks later for me there is no doubt I was still by far the most sober of the group I left behind.

I had to hop on a motorcycle taxi to make it to Veena's house on time for dinner. Traffic as usual prevented cars from moving in the area. Final dinner with Lan and Veena, and excollegue Chariya. It was a treat to see Laura and Kerry again who also joined. They seemed happy and relayed their adventures of travelling in Thailand since leaving the boat.

Next morning I set out to finish my errands. I managed to see Veena one more time for lunch. Afterwards, I had to race back across Bangkok again on the back of a motorcycle to Lan's house to collect my bag for the airport. The furious ride seemed certainly more dangerous than sailing across the world!

I was sitting on the plane back to Phuket and a video came across the screen of a country singer whining " Its Christmas Eve...." And suddenly it occurred to me that it was indeed Christmas Eve.

I have to admit it was a bit disappointing to have rushed back to spend Christmas with Aaron after he had bailed out at the last minute on our six month standing plan to spend Xmas with friends in Bangkok and he had forgotten that I was returning. I arrived at the boat around 10pm, no one in site, the place a mess, had to reassemble the bed even if I wanted to go to sleep as it was torn apart. Aaron only arrived home an hour later claiming he "forgot" when I was returning. To add to the injury he was pleased with himself for finally having what he thought a legitimate excuse for not getting me an Xmas present - no wallet.

Somehow all was forgiven by Christmas day. I rented a jeep and we had our first genuine day of holiday- we drove alone the northwest shore of Phuket to find a lovely hidden-away pristine beach and just relaxed in the shade for a few hours. That evening we tried a new Thai restraint in Phuket Town.

26 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - Back to work for both Colleen and I on the boat. We made good progress. I replaced and secured most of the hoses, filters, and and valves for the freshwater system (not to be confused with the watermaker) while Colleen was able to generally get things much more livable and under control on the boat.

But of course, something had to go. I started the engine to charge the batteries a bit and smelled something burning. A look inside the engine room revealed a smoking regulator (which I had re-connected before starting the engine). On inspection, it is apparent that one of the silicon chips inside had literally blown up. This is probably a result of the fact that one of the wires to the regulator had previously chafed through on the alternator fan. I had "fixed" it, but it appears that the damage had already been done as evidenced by the fact that the system has been draining power from the batteries. Good regulators are not cheap and not easy to come by. The one we had costs US$150 in the US - it will cost double that to get one in Thailand. In the meantime, we will just have to make sure we go easy on the electricity and pray for sun and wind (for our solar and wind generating systems).

Basil the cat and a Finnish couple in the boat berthed behind us had a big adventure last night. Apparently, Basil was walking around on the deck of their boat Maria V when he mistaked their mosquito-net-covered-hatch for solid ground, tried to walk across it, and instantaneously found himself transported to a strange cabin and in between / on top of the unsuspecting couple. Wrapped in mosquito netting and frantically thrashing around the cabin, both Basil and the couple were understandably frightened and confused. Basil, having the advantage of already being awake when the excitement started, was able to make a dash for the cabin door and a quick escape out the main hatch and off into the night.

Hanging in Phuket Part II

Confession time: from here till the end of this section, updates have been very intermittent. Only about half of the entries through 3 January are "live" and some of them not finished while the remainder are just notes we banged in in hopes of fleshing them out later - perhaps not in this lifetime though. We have simply summarized boat life from Jan 3 till our departure for the Maldives on 20 January. Hopefully we will be able to maintain a better pace over the next few months. Uploads could be few and far between however.

27 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand - Aaron

Day of slavery on boat. Aaron working on watermaker and water pump system. Also replacing ground wires to bilge pump and other through hulls in cockpit locker. Colleen painting in cockpit locker. John and Caroline (the previous owners of Redwings) arrive with kids down dock - Colleen bedraggled and exhausted, did not at first recognize the strange new (to the dock) family walking towards her. Expected them around the 28th - not even 100% sure if coming. We are mess / boat is wreck. At least they see it as it is and as they know it (cruising life) often is. Put down our jobs, shower, install them in "Phuket Country Lodge" (only one employee, no hot water, typical cash strapped place). Off to dinner at Rawai Beach in their little car. Lots of good info / stories. During their first trip, so many huge problems makes ours seem small. Engine had to be rebuilt in the cockpit in Carta Hena (Columbia?) due to blown freeze plugs. Water tanks rebuilt in Barbados. Both were two to three week jobs. We set a plan to try to leave for a couple days of sailing on the 29th.

28 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - After several days of cleaning up and replacing various bits of the watermaker, we left the Boat Lagoon on the high tide at 0830 to go outside of the entrance (a couple of miles) to test the system (running it in dirty water is what kills these things). I am actually much more confident than I have been that it will work. John says we probably did not suck in any bilge water (which still seems strange to me too) but that for some reason we just had a big build up of "biologics" in the system. He said that he had seen the filters and hoses full of black water before as well and had been able to clean the system out no problem. Sure enough, it works perfectly. Well a lot of grief and probably a lot more work done to the system than necessary, but at least I know a lot more about the system now and with all of the new parts and pieces, it is unlikely to give me any trouble for a while.

Mick came along and fitted a local US$8 regulator before we left. It actually works! We were charging the batteries at a steady 40 amps! It probably won't last long, and also will not assist in particularly efficient battery charging, but the fact that it does the basic job is impressive and I think it is worth having one or two along for spares in case our new fancy one (which is on order) again blows up.

Mick suggested that rather than try to get a new solar panel, why don't we just take the one we have on the coachouse roor off and use it instead? Such an obvious solution. The solar panel on the deck is not particularly efficient as it is often shaded by the main sail and or the liferaft. In addition, its hot to walk on, will likely get broken at some point, and also probably heats up the cabin ceiling. This will save us the hassle and expense of ordering a new panel and will not result in a big drop in overall power generation.

Over dinner with the Potters in Phuket Town (where we plumbed new lows in restaurant service quality), we firmed plans to leave for a quick cruise tomorrow evening on the 2300 high tide. Hopefully, the new 8 mn bolts will arrive so we can finish installing the new genoa track (we need 30 bolts - they only had 20 in Phuket). I must admit I am a bit stressed about heading out. So many jobs seem half done - the teak in the cockpit has not yet been re-sealed, I am having trouble with the water pump, we still have no fridge, the woodworkers have our engine room door in their shop, etc. etc. Eric and Ruby (our friends from Bangkok we were supposed to spend Christmas with) will then be coming down on the 31st through the 5th - how are we ever going to get everything done and organized before we need to leave on the 10th?

29 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - Monday. Big push to get ready to go. Genoa track on. Water pump problems. Motor out at 2300 to Ko Rang Yai. No probs navigating the channel in the dark.

30 December, Ko Rang Yai, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - Tuesday. First day of real cruising. Leisurely bfast. Leave for Krabi around 1000, but wind from there and end up too far away with not enough time. Explore Ko Sup (two big jutting islands). Current. Off towards Prangna Bay. Back to Ko Rang Yai for dinner. "Yuats Parking". Glad John and Caroline came and forced us to relax and go sailing!!! We needed to do this to get some perspective back. Really a nice day....

We took some excellent photos on this day and to minimize the amount of space they would take up here, have put them on a separate "Photo Gallery" page.

31 December, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - Wednesday. Up and in for walk on Ko Rang Yai. Back to BL. Rush to lunch, spare for water pump, back to get ready for Eric and Ruby. They arrive. Rain. Dinner and out to Ko Rang Yai. Fireworks in distance. Raffi to pick up spares etc.

1 January, Laem Nang, Krabi, Thailand

Aaron - So this is 1998. Only a big effort by Basil and Sybil mewing their heads off got me out of bed at 0900 for a feeding. With the dissonance stopped, I flopped back into my bunk not to emerge until 1030 joining the growing congregation in the cockpit for coffee and croissants. When we were sufficiently awake, we all dingied in to Ko Rang Yai for food and a bit more relaxation. After another round of coffee, Eric, Mark and I tackled the 9-hole "chip 'n put" golf course located beneath the palms near the beach. Eric pipped me by one stroke with a 30 and Mark shot a few strokes more than me while the "girls" relaxed in the sand. Lunch back at the restaurant and we are finally ready to dingy back to the boat and make a move. We set sail towards the limestone cliffs of Krabi, some 20 miles away, and let out the fishing lines. Our guests, who are obsessed with Mah Jong (a Chinese bridge-like game), retired to the relatively cool main cabin for an afternoon of tile-clacking fun.

Serious Golf with Redwings in the Background

We pulled into Rawai Beach at sunset. How beautiful! I've been here before, but it remains one of the most impressive combinations of geology I know. Towering limestone cliffs, white sand palm-fringed beaches, and crystal clear water which magnifies the colorful coral reefs below. But the anchoring operation was not as smooth as it might have been. I forgot to pull in the dingy painter (line) and as I reversed to dig in the anchor, it got caught around the prop. I jumped over with a mask on and luckily was able to simply unwind it. Into the beach and the Dusit Thani Rayvadee luxury resort for dinner. Overate once again. Back to bed for Colleen and I and more Mah Jong for the others.

2 January, Dam Islands, Krabi, Thailand

Aaron - Wow, we are really on "vacation". Even though I don't have a "job", I have not really felt like I have been on holiday till the last several days. We all again minimized strenuous activity today and maximized relaxation and feeding times. After sufficient coffee injections, we weighed anchor and motored to the Dam Islands just a couple of miles away. These islands rise several hundred feet straight out of the sea for the most part, but also offer several excellent beaches which we visited. Played hearts, ate, gossiped, slept......

Bikini and Cat Shots are the Key Draws to Our Site:

Colleen Fords the Sandbar Between Two of the Dam Islands

Soooo Cute........

Boat Lagoon Kitties Sport Their New X-Mass Collars

21 January, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Laura- Well, we are still here in Boat Lagoon. I think it might be time to teach our dear readers, if anyone is still patiently hanging in there, how to say Boat Lagoon properly. If you are an American reader, for example, forget about just saying Boat Lagoon as you normally would. None of the Thais here would understand you. Erase it from your tongue and get ready for a new linguistic experience.

First, prepare to lower your voice a bit. Then, get ready to say a B, but hold it. You can't let those lips be lazy. Suck them in a bit and go light on the B and straight into a long steady OOOOOO as one would say Crow or Snow, but with the upper lip slightly stuck out and lips pursed to elongate the O. Then just dab the T on succinctly, without softening it with a small breath out at the end. Okay, try with me. It sounds like "b-OOOO-t." Now, did I hear "boot?" That's wrong! Remember, upper lip out and pursed! It doesn't sound like any English word with an American accent that I know of so make it different.

Now, let's move onto Lagoon. Again, forget what you might be tempted to say. For the L, make it count. It's more than a normal L. Open your mouth wide and really curl that tongue back on the roof of your mouth and then push it forward steady, adding on the "ahh" noise as you go. The trick to the "ahh" is not really breathing out so the A comes out clear. Then, de-emphasize the G. After a quiet G, roll into the O. This O, unlike the O in the "boat" part, sounds like "boot" in English only a bit nasal and drawn out. Also, drag the N out a bit.

There, now you have Boat Lagoon in English so Thai bus drivers will drop you in the right place and not take you to the other side of the island by accident. Practice makes perfect!

22 January, Boat Lagoon, Phuket, Thailand

Aaron - Obviously Laura is pretty bored and if she is representative of the crew, it is definitely time to get the hey out of here. I fought the fridge and the fridge won. We are sending it back to Sweden where it belongs (they don't need fridges there anyway - of course they don't know how to make them) and we will do the ice thing to the Maldives. We are really I promise leaving day after tomorrow. Apart from the fridge, we are 99.9% functional which is about as good as it gets. The plan is to do final provisioning tomorrow, and leave on the early high tide Saturday morning for the Maldives. It should take us about 10 days to get there. We will then cruise and dive the Maldives for a few weeks before heading to Oman, Yemen, and the Red Sea. We hope to get to the Oman by the first week in March and to be through the Red Sea and in a comfortable marina in Israel by 15 April to prepare for the rigorous of the spring Turkish / Greek cruising season.

Well what can I say? The last few weeks have been a blur of water pumps, watermakers, fridges, and all manner of things mechanical and out to drive me insane. The learning curve remains steep, but we will survive and hopefully will even find some time to relax and enjoy ourselves. On a relative basis (relative to Hong Kong and then race mode) we are more in cruising mode now. We have met about 10 other boats and crews in the boat lagoon (and about 5 from New England USA) over the past few weeks that are basically on the same track as us and we will probably see a lot more of them. The social calendar has been reasonable full. The most interesting character is Raffi on Malkat Singapore. Its a long story, but our friend Stacy from the US is flying out tomorrow to crew for him to Oman where we will all meet up.

There is a lot that has happened and a lot of funny stories, but there is just not enough time to catch up before we leave so... this is it! I hope we will be able to get on line from the Maldives. Otherwise, it could be awhile before we update these pages.

Laura -- Oh, come on! There is always time for just one more story. I agree it is hard to select from among the many. Should it be about Sybil's mysterious wart? (Which turned out to be a mammary gland.) Or should it be about the houses our friends on yacht Runaway bought in Braintree, Mass. (The FBI showed up a few days later and said the houses had belonged to the men who pulled the Brinks robbery in Boston years ago and where's the money?) Ah, how about a story that is unravelling as I write. Raffi, who is Isreali, left for the airport an hour ago to get Stacy, who is arriving from San Francisco. Raffi has been everywhere and done everything (except meet Stacy face to face). He seems to know the military secrets of several nations. After debating in what way to welcome Stacy to Thailand -- should it be with flowers or in a Speedo bikini or with a cigar and plum scarf -- the ever-inventive Raffi settled on a plan that tickled him greatly. Just for kicks, he has decided to don a Pakistani military outfit and give Stacy a big salute when she walks off the plane.

Colleen-- Before we go on further I think we should explain the Raffi/Stacy situation as these two characters are likely to continue reappearing in the Redwings diatribes. And for all you who know Stacy Loucks, you certainly desrerve an explaination anyway...

Raffi, as Laura described is a 54 year old, been everywhere, done everything, holds several doctorate degrees, larger than life,Isreali boat owner. His boat was pitched up next to ours in the Boat Lagoon; we were stuck there in search of the evercoming spare part, he was purely hanging out on a mission to find crew to help in sailing his ketch back to Isreal. A "friendship" soon developed, as Raffi loves to tell stories, and always so weary from work, we enjoyed sitting back and indulging him. He provided very good senior sailor advice and encouragement, particularly in the area of water pumps...

One evening he invited us over to his cockpit for "Mediteranean Night" (I had been bugging him to teach us how to prepare the likes of hummus and babaganosh). As we sipped the predinner cocktails we all mused over the fact that he still hadn't found any crew. Racking our brains assuming we must know someone who'd like to come with him, someone came up with Stacy Loucks. In enthusiasm, the other agreed she'd be perfect, but for the fact she's in San Francisco. Raffi slyly brought out his mobile phone and said, lets give her a try.. So there and then we called, it was 3:00am San Fran time. I, somewhat inebriated, insisted she couldn't let this opportunity pass up (Stacy had originally considered joining Redwings but she's hopelessly allergic to cats.) The short end of the story is that she called back in the morning, and by a week later she packed up her life, sublet her apartment, and arrived to join Raffi!

Raffi is heading for Cochin, India, us the Maldives. But by first week of March we hope to meet up in Salalah, Oman, and if all goes well travel in tandem up the Red Sea together. Disappointing for us we only shared one day with Stacy before leaving. She helped us rush around Phuket Town and provision right before the trip. We barely had time to catch up on all the news. It was sad to then wave good bye to her again the following morning as we pulled away from the dock.

Back to Redwings Homepage