January 2004 Similian Islands

Koh Similan National Park

We left Patong beach early for the 54 mile run north-west  to 'the Similans'. These islands are forty miles off the Thai coast  and run north - south.  The north-east wind blows hard most mornings and we left with a fully reefed main and quite a few turns on the headsail furler.  For the first few hours we charged along at 7.5 to 8 knots, but as the day went on the wind died away and after a short effort with the spinnaker we motored the last twenty miles to Koh Miang, the first island with anchorage possibilities.  A large pod of dolphins joined us for the last mile into Koh Miang - good stuff!

Every other shop in Phuket seemed to have ads for diving the Similans, so it was no surprise to see lots of dive boats. There are moorings at most of the dive sites and the two most protected anchorages. We picked up a mooring and jumped into the water for an late afternoon snorkel. The first thing was the water clarity - it was stunning. While the coral and fish life weren't spectacular, it was still very good.  On way back to the boat we watched in amazement as a marlin repeatedly shot out of the water and kicked it's tail wildly.

That night we rolled around terribly as the swells seemed to come from all directions.  A trip ashore in the morning found a beautiful beach and a campground  ashore. This would be an excellent holiday option - camping on this island or Koh Similan. Moving up the chain of islands we came to Koh Similan, the largest island. At the northern end there is a protected bay. Once again moorings are available and there is plenty of competition for a spot. We soon realised that patience pays off, as the dive boats move on to the next dive site every few hours, freeing up the mooring.

This anchorage became our base for the next week. This is also a ranger station and has a small restaurant, tents for hire and showers ashore. We were all very keen to try out our dive gear so the next day Liz wakes up with a head-cold. This ruled her out for a dive so Courtney and I prepared for the first dive off our boat.  We went around to the south eastern corner to a site known as Breakfast Bend. This was named as the dive boats do this as the first dive of the day. We picked up a mooring and with the boat tossing wildly Courtney & I stepped off the boat into a beautifully clear scene of coral and fish.  Swimming against the light current we made our way along sand banks that contained fields of small garden eels that sit up out of there holes and slowly descend as we approached. As we got toward our maximum depth of 18metres we found coral outcrops teeming with coral trout and gropers. A large Leopard shark was spotted and a good look in a darker hole found a two metre moray eel.  An excellent dive. On our return Liz and Anna we feeling pretty lousy on the madly tossing boat, so we quickly made our way  back.

That night the girls rented a tent ashore and had a great time 'camping out'. Liz progressively got sicker with a good dose of flu and over the week we all succumbed to the bug. But before Courtney and I did another dive, this time from the dinghy with the families on Uhane Kai and Brilliant II. The highlight of this dive was swimming with a turtle and making our way up, around and under large boulders.

The cycle of the day here was very consistent. A quiet start to the morning with a few of the dive boats moving out, followed by a steady influx of high speed powerboats (mostly with three 200hp outboards) carrying day trippers who would set up on the beach. With dive boats coming and going the day  trippers would leave and the evening would calm down with the sound of dive compressors filling the void till just after dark. The large boulder in the photo was a favourite vantage point for watching the sunset.

Not feeling well certainly put a damper on our stay in the Similans but it was still a very enjoyable stay. We left with little breeze but sailed most of the day to get us back to Patong Beach just before dark, then the next day heading around to Ao Chalong to do some 'town' things.

A short stay   in Ao Chalong saw Liz head off for several interviews for possible jobs. One at a large resort called Le Meridian sounded good but the interview turned out to be a bit of a farce.  Another a small college training people to teach English went well but the manager only needs some one if more enrolments come in. The third was at a private primary school teaching English to the predominately Chinese students. Once that was done we had just enough time to go up to see some of Phang Na bay before heading down to Langkawi to renew our visa

A short trip to Phang Na bay

January 2004 Phuket Thailand

So the year started in Langkawi, Malaysia and after a week or so we cleared Custom and Immigration and headed for Thailand. Most people spend a week or two making their way to Phuket to check into Thailand. We were keen for Courtney to have her birthday with some kids so did and overnight sailed straight from Rebak Marina to Nai Harn at the southern corner of the west coast of Phuket.  The north-east monsoon winds blew well and we flew across with twenty knots of wind on our beam (the wind at right angles to the boat).

We met "Dave the Cat" and they were able to supply four children for the birthday party, their own kids Shannon and Simon and two visitors Craig and Lisa. The bay was crowded with yachts and the beach was teeming with tourists, with whole beach lined with umbrellas and sun lounges for rent. Courtney wasn't well the day of her birthday so a party was held over til the next day and at the next beach up the coast, Kata Beach. Just as pretty with fewer boats anchored but just as many tourists on the beach.  

While at Kata beach we spent two days running around Phuket island to check out options for slipping Reflections. There are two main yards one at Ratanachai, close to Phuket town, which is very traditional slip and the other Boat Lagoon, a resort style place with a very clean open yard and units to rent. With charges very similar we decided on  Boat Lagoon.

A short move up from Kata beach brought us to Patong. This the 'night-life' capital with streets full of bars and girls and middle-aged western tourists. Definitely the place to go if you're in need of a bit of 'sleeze'.  That said Liz and I went in one night without the girls and had dinner and wandered round - got bored and went home to bed!

For a cruising yacht, Patong is not the bay of choice as there are heaps of jet skis buzzing around. Inexperienced riders going really fast, really close is not conducive to a relaxed afternoon at anchor!  We heard of several other boats with kids aboard and soon heard one of the yachts "Uhane Kai" on the VHF radio.  They told us that they and "Brilliant II" each had a twelve year old boy aboard with another boat "Raptor" having a twelve year old girl.

Also they told us about a dive shop selling off it's equipment.  With the thought of meeting more kids and possibly getting dive gear we ran the 12 miles back down to Kata beach to meet up with them.  We fulfilled all needs with the girls meeting up all the kids described above and we bought two sets of scuba diving  gear.

The two boys Dylan off Brilliant II and Kai off Uhane-Kai had recently completed dive course and were also heading to Koh Similan National Park. This is the main diving destination around Phuket and we were all now well equipped.

Next Page: Koh Similan National Park