Year 2- 22nd November 2025 – Visiting the Islands - Phuket-Thailand

It was raining again when we woke but not hard and it had been quite rolly in the night as the swell had come round into the bay a little. It did not look inviting to go ashore and the forecast was for some wind so we decided we would move on and sail to Ko Racha Yai, an Island some 25nm away and about 15nm South of Phuket. However, we had pineapple smoothies for breakfast which were very good.

We thought when we moved that we look round the next bay Ao Lohdalum and so we upped the anchor and headed round the headland into the next bay. This was a deeper, longer bay with a beach at the far end which had a number of yachts anchored or moored off it. It did look quite built up and touristy. Once we had looked around enough we turned around and upped the sails and headed for Ko Racha Yai.

Koh Racha Yai lies 10 miles to the south of Phuket, with Koh Racha Noi a few miles further. The waters between the southern tip of Phuket and Racha Yai are often confused in both seasons, particularly when you have wind against the tide. Local dialect often writes and pronounces these islands as ‘Raya’; don’t allow this to confuse you. Racha (or Raya) means ‘king’, yai is ‘big’, and noi means ‘small’. The Racha is a 5-star resort in the northwest bay of Racha Yai, which is the first development of its kind on the island. There are also some budget bungalows and restaurants here, concentrated near the north of the island.

Day trip longtail and speed boats make the journey to these islands from Phuket. The resort sets up umbrellas in anticipation. You’ll find excellent diving, snorkelling and fishing all around this group. Racha Yai Bay is one of the real tropical paradises of the area. A fine white sand beach is framed by a bay fringed on both sides with coral. The clear waters are a vivid aquamarine tending to turquoise. Most of the shallower part of the bay now has moorings and the only anchorage opportunity is in 15-25 metres on sand and calcified coral in the outer bay.

You can see from this description why we wanted to come here and it sort of completes a circle of the area since we left the Phuket Yacht Haven. We had a pleasant sail for a few hours and it was nice to listen to the swish of the water rather than an engine. In addition it pretty well stopped raining although there was moisture in the air. The new mainsail looked good and we managed 5 kts or so for some hours but then the wind started to die and we wanted to get into the anchorage in reasonable time. When the wind died to 5-7 kts we took the sails down and motored for 2 hours which brought us round to the Racha Yai Bay on Koh Racha Yai.

The first impression was that others must have read the pilot book as we saw 8 masts as we came round the corner and some large motorboats. I hoped we would find some space otherwise we would have to move on to Phuket. As we got closer we realised most of them were day/party catamarans with their toys and guests in the water. They had used up all of the moorings so we found a spot in the middle of the bay where we anchored in about 15 m of water. The anchor dug in on slow tick over but was moving a little at a 1,000 revs. I think this is because the bottom is sand and coral. We thought we would pick up a mooring when the party boats left so we stayed where we were and monitored the situation. We did not move and the anchor and chain held us well.

We had a beer and marvelled at what a beautiful bay this was. There was a lovely white sandy beach with the resort quite tastefully situated with the palm trees around it and up the hill which mingled with the jungle type trees. The bay was a sort of small horseshoe shape with foliage all around. The water, despite the light was clear and blue and if we had sun would I am sure look stunning.

The party boats started to leave and gradually the bay cleared and we had our eyes on a buoy which a catamaran called Hype occupied. She began to gather her passengers and the toys and before long she slipped the buoy and headed away. We upped the anchor and picked up the buoy which looked in good condition. It had had a big boat on it and so I hoped it would be ok and so it proved to be. We did not move although with the wind and little swell we swung around a little.   

We plan to spend the day here tomorrow and then we will move on to an anchorage outside AOPO Marina (which is on the Northeast coast of Phuket) as we will go into the marina on the morning of the 26th November 2025.

After a beer or two Andy and Ruth cooked a Thai Chicken curry with cabbage using one of the Thai sources we had bought which was very good. We were into films now on these damp evenings so we watched another classic by Clint Eastwood “Dirty Harry” in which he portrays a character called Harry Callaghan. It is a great film.

We hope to explore the island tomorrow and relax before we head into Phuket. Let’s hope the weather will be kind.   

The picture of the day is the lovely bay at Koh Racha Yai. It would be better in the sun.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Chagos, Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK.  I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town and from Cape Town to the UK. If of any interest do email me.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com