Year 2- 23rd November 2025 – Visiting the Islands - Phuket-Thailand

It was a rolly night due to the swell but relatively quiet as most of the dive boats and party boats had gone. It was grey but not raining which was good and there was no one on the beach. There was some wind which fanned us but it was not cold. We planned to explore the island and took our time having a leisurely cooked breakfast.

We then decided to have a snorkel before the day boats arrived and so Ruth and Andy went off toward the shore. I got changed and as I got in I noticed fishing line wrapped around the propeller. I could pull some of it but it would not come free. I would not have enough breath to dive down and cut it off. I therefore got out the boat hook and gradually began to unravel it by going from one side of the boat to the other and doing it bit by bit threading it round. This was not easy with the boat going up and down in the swell. However, I managed to finally unravel it and got to one long line and it was trapped by the rope cutter so I got the guys to start the engine and put it into forward which turned the propeller and the rope cutter and it sliced through the line and we were clear. It was rope from a fishing net so I am not sure how we picked that up but it was a good job I had spotted it.     

Whilst we were having our coffee the fast ferries arrived depositing their passengers on to the beach and then more dive boats and party boats arrived. One large dive boat took the buoy quite close to us and the bay really filled up and several boats rafting. The wind had come round more to the North and it had increased and so there was more swell. Other boats arrived and hung off others and it was chaos. Due to the way the dive boat and others were swinging I thought I cannot leave the boat so someone would have to stay on board and probably more than one person in case we had to move. In addition getting the dinghy down in the swell would be challenging and we would have this chaos all day until they left in the late afternoon. We discussed it and I decided we would leave and find a quieter anchorage. This was a shame in such a lovely place but there was a risk of a collision and damage and a disturbed day as the alternative.

We got ready quickly, slipped the mooring and headed out of the bay. There was some swell – 1-1.5m and quite strong wind -up to 22 kts in the gusts. We put up the sails but the angle we could sail at meant we were almost going at right angles. I therefore decided we would motor sail so we could use the mainsail a bit to give us some lift and speed.

The issue was that we needed to go North and that is where the swell and wind was coming from.  I therefore went about 20 degrees off so we were not right into the swell but just off it. We could make about 5 -5.5kts but when we hit the big waves not only did spray and water come over the deck and the Blue Baron but it would knock our speed back. This was, however, the best we could do and we made our way a little NNE toward the island Koh Mai Thon which was the island we anchored off when we first arrived at Phuket.

We did hourly shifts and we made progress gradually toward the island. We pondered whether we could anchor here but it was open to the NE and so it would not have been very good. I had identified a pretty and sheltered anchorage on the South side of Koh Rang Yai which was only a few miles from AOPO Marina where we will go to on the 25th. We therefore motor sailed on and once we got to Koh Mai Thon we had to take the main down. We carried on toward the East coast of Phuket as being a little closer would reduce the swell a bit as the island would give us some shelter. We carried on after a number of hours we eventually came to the bay where the island Koh Rang Yai was and saw a lovely white sandy beach. There were no yachts but one large motorboat anchored and so at about 5.00pm we anchored off the lovely beach which was lined with palm trees and in a sheltered position. The journey had taken 5.5 hours but we were here and without the chaos we had experienced. This really completed a circular tour of the area around Phuket from when we left the Phuket Yacht Haven on the 16th November 2025 and it has been a most interesting area to tour. There was a reef at the Southwest part of the island and an army of jet skiers who were walking on the sandspit. We had a beer, relaxed and watched the proceedings. It was not long before they got on the jet skis and bombed around for a while like busy bees. Luckly they cleared off and we settled down for a quiet and still night as there was no swell.

I cooked a whole load of fish and made a white wine sauce and we had this with broccoli and peas. This went down well with the motley crew and we could sit in the dry in the cockpit.

It had been a shame to leave but we were going to have to do the journey on one of the days so we can at least enjoy the beach and the island tomorrow before we go into the marina on the morning of the 25th.           

 The picture of the day is our view of the beach at Koh Rang Yai.

 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