Year 2- 24th November 2025 – Visiting the Islands - Phuket-Thailand

It had been a quiet night with little swell which was good but there was a light drizzle, the type that is very wet. Andy decided to make some bread and we rested and chilled and read hoping that it would dry up at some point. We had Blackberry smoothies and then fruit and yoghurt which brightened up the morning.  

I did a bit of planning and charged the batteries and topped up the water tanks. We spent the morning just being. We had a light lunch and it was still spitting as it had been all morning. Well we could not wait any longer and took the dinghy down and headed ashore to the lovely sandy beach. We pulled the dinghy up and the sand was a lovely white sandy and spongy and we sank in a bit. There was no one on it but some old tree trunks. Just above the beach was a sort of farm track but in reality it was a quad bike track which went right round the island. In the centre of the island were reeds and palm trees and it looked very pretty.  

Koh Rang Yai is a beautiful little island about 5km off Phuket where there is a Pearl Farm which produces some of the best Thai Pearls. It has a I km long sandy beach and (unfortunately for us) it is a popular stop for the tourist boats. You can hire jet skis and quad bike here and there are some huts you can stay in.

We went on to the quad bike path and followed it round to the East where I had looked online and there were two hongs. The path was muddy from all the recent rain and it led us round to the North side of the island. All along the top of the beach there was unfortunately washed-up rubbish which just sat there and was an eyesore in such a lovely place. When we came round to the Hong -basically there are using it as a rubbish dump which is such a shame. We walked back on ourselves and went West where at the other end of the island there is a small resort with a restaurant, showers and toilets and from where you can hire jet skis and quad bikes.  We had a drink and the place looked a bit tired and it must have been hot badly by covid. It would have looked quite nice in the sun.

When we had enough we returned to the dinghy on the beach for a swim and snorkel. Due to the rain and weather the water was a little murky. However, the swim was nice and refreshing. The water seemed cooler somehow. We had had a relaxing day which was good as we head into the marina tomorrow. This is the last day at sea of Year 2 of my circumnavigation.

We returned to Stormbird and got the outboard motor on to the rail at the back and the dinghy back on the davits. After a shower we had a drink (no sunset so cannot be a sundowner) and then Ruth cooked a fish bake and I made the steady and tasty red cabbage which was good followed by a cheese board. We plan to eat out tomorrow for our last supper at the marina.

The picture of the day is the interior view of Koh Rang Yai which reminded me of the Killing Fields scenery.

 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