Monday 31st January
Kuah - Royal Langkawi Yacht Club
We arrived back in Langkawi in the early afternoon and although having been reassured by the Yacht Club that Carillon had suffered no damage during the tsunami we were relieved to see for ourselves that she was just as we had left her. We returned with Mum Sheila, brother Dave and sister-in-law Sandra who would be spending a few weeks with us cruising around Langkawi. We will be spending a few days in the marina to do some land-based sightseeing and provision the boat for five. Dave would like to have a go at diving so we arrange for him to do a Discover Scuba Diving course the following day at Pulau Payer. Mum, Sandra and Lyn decide to do the tourist bit and organise a trip to Langkawi Coral at Pulau Payer.

Tuesday 1st February
Kuah - Royal Langkawi Yacht Club
Up at the crack of dawn (dawn comes around 7:30 in Langkawi because it's right on the edge of the time zone) so Dave can get to the dive centre and Sheila, Sandra and Lyn can get to the tourist boat. The tourist boat only takes half an hour or so to make the trip and lands us on the Langkawi Coral platform anchored just off the beach. The activities on offer include snorkelling over the coral, a trip in a glass-bottomed boat, an underwater viewing area, a brief tryout dive, a trip to the beach to watch some baby sharks being fed or just chill out. Sandra has a problem with her ear so is unable to swim in the sea but we had a solution. The platform has a wide grid suspended about 18 inches under the water attached to the side of the platform and we brought an inflatable underwater viewer so were able to stand on the platform and watch the fish through the viewer without actually swimming. Quite a few people were fascinated by the viewer and we had numerous requests to try it out. Sheila had a go with a mask and snorkel but decided it probably wasn't a hobby she'd like to take up. After lunch we were ferried ashore and the boat boys threw fish into the water from the jetty to encourage the baby sharks to come and feed. When the sharks were no longer feeding it was quite fun to snorkel amongst them. Dave spent the day on the dive boat and did a dive in the morning and another in the afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it although he did nearly drown the instructor by handing him his rather heavy weight belt before getting back on to the boat.

Wednesday 2nd February
Kuah - Royal Langkawi Yacht Club
We hired a space wagon for a couple of days to do the tourist bit and drove to Oriental Village at the NW side of Langkawi where there is a cable car to the top of Gunung Machinchang (708 metres) giving magnificent views over the islands of Langkawi and the Ko Tarutao marine park to the north in Thailand. It was well worth doing. We then drove to Telaga Harbour for lunch and to see for ourselves the damage in the marina and whether or not it was at all usable. We found most of the docks were gone but the support posts were still in place. The fuel dock was still in place but not in use and there were quite a few boats either tied to the remaining pontoon or anchored. The dinghy dock was still in place so it would certainly be possible to anchor outside and bring the dinghy in to get ashore.
Our guests wanted to visit the Snake Sanctuary but we simply couldn't find it. We spent ages driving around the road our map indicated but didn't see it anywhere so eventually gave up and drove to the top of the other high mountain on Langkawi, Gunung Raya (881 metres) to see the views on the other side. In the evening we spent an hour or so at the night market where we bought fruit and vegetables and one or two bits and pieces. The normal fruit and veg market in Langkawi is not particularly good so it seemed a good opportunity to stock up while we could. We then went on to have dinner in the Barn Thai which is a very attractive Thai restaurant located on the mangrove rivers on the east side of Langkawi. Access is by a 450 metre walkway through the mangroves.

Thursday 3rd February
Kuah - Royal Langkawi Yacht Club
Today is provisioning day so Sheila, Sandra and Lyn took the car to the market, supermarket and deli while Steve and Dave stayed on board to rewire the Navtex and the new GPS aerial. Langkawi isn't the most brilliant place for provisioning but we managed to find enough to keep us going.

Friday 4th February
Kuah to the Hole-in-the-Wall
The plan today is to sail round to an anchorage in the Kilim River on the east side of Langkawi known as the Hole-in-the-Wall presumably because the access is through a gap in some high cliffs. The first thing we needed to do was fill up the fuel tanks so we left the berth to take Carillon around to the fuel berth. It was ok reversing out of the berth but when we tried to motor forward we found that she had hardly any way on and the engine would not rev properly - there must be barnacles on the propeller. We managed to creep around to the fuel berth and Steve dived down to have a look to find the propeller just a ball of barnacles - no wonder we weren't moving. He scraped off the worst of them and we finally left at about 11:30. The wind was from the south and our course was south first then turning eastward to go around the south side of the island. We knew we'd have to motor to start with but thought we'd be able to sail once we got round the corner - not so - as we followed the land around the wind came with us and stayed on the nose pretty much the whole time. We anchored for lunch and a swim SE of Pulau Langgun. After Kuah it was unbelievably quiet, all you could hear were the waves and the eagles and kites calling to each other. Late in the afternoon we motored into the anchorage and found a spot where we hoped to get a cooling breeze. In the evening we took the dinghy to the local fish farm where there is a basic restaurant. The system is you pick out your fish while they're still swimming around then they're caught and cooked for you so you know they're fresh.

Saturday 5th February (06° 25.3'N 099° 52.04'E)
Hole-in-the-Wall
The cliffs around the Kilim and Kesap rivers are home to numerous White-Bellied Sea Eagles and Brahminy Kites. From the boat we could always see at least 2 or 3 pairs soaring above us. Steve needed to go back into Kuah to collect a parcel so we took the dinghy to the jetty a little way up the river where he could get a taxi. While we were there we organised a boat to come to Carillon about 4pm to take us on a tour of the mangroves. It turned up a few minutes after 4 and we transferred to it from Carillon. First they took us to an area in a small side river where they dropped a small amount of chicken into the river and moved back a little way. The next thing we knew we were surrounded by eagles and kites diving for the chicken, it was wonderful to see so many together. Next we were taken to the 'Bat Cave', there landing was by some wooden steps leading to a walkway which went through a cave and out the other side. Inside the cave we could see numerous bats hanging from the ceiling. The next stop was another fish farm with tanks containing some quite large specimens of local fish including two large Stingrays. After that it was a fast trip to another cave which spanned the river. The boat could get right through and inside were more bats. It was called Crocodile cave but I don't think there had been crocodiles there for quite some time. By now it was time to return to Carillon and the boat boys were enjoying themselves driving fast along the rivers but they were pretty good at it and the ride was pretty smooth. They delivered us back to Carillon just as the sun was setting.

Sunday 6th February (06° 25.3'N 099° 52.04'E)
Hole-in-the-Wall to Tanjung Rhu
Tanjung Rhu is a long white beach on the NE side of the island. It's not very far from Hole-in-the-Wall so we decided to sail out to a tiny uninhabited Thai island called Ko Koi Noi and anchor there for lunch. The wind was pretty light so we had a very gentle sail until it died altogether and we motored. The island was mostly beach and at first it seemed that we wouldn't be able to get out of the swell but then we spotted across the sand on the island a very sheltered bay on the far side. It was perfect. There was a reef for Dave to practice snorkelling from and a white beach to admire from the boat. I think tropical beaches are definitely to be admired from the shade of an anchored boat rather than for lying on in the tropical sun. Lyn swam out to join Dave but didn't realise quite how shallow some of the coral was and scratched herself on a sea urchin. Luckily the spines didn't go in very far and were easily removed.
We had a good breeze for part of the way back and anchored off the beach at Tanjung Rhu. Most of the bay is very shallow but there is a small patch deep enough and big enough for us to anchor just inside the bay at the mouth of the river. We watched another boat anchored just outside the bay rolling in the swell in a very sickmaking manner.

Monday 7th February (06° 27.7'N 099° 49.3'E)
Tanjung Rhu
We spent the day relaxing here. Lyn had to go into town to collect laundry, check the internet and do a bit of shopping so she hired a taxi for the morning then met up with the others at a beach restaurant at Tanjung Rhu. In the afternoon we went along to the hotel watersports centre for Dave to hire a windsurfer but discovered the facilities were for hotel guests only. We'd intended to have a meal at the hotel in the evening, they set out tables on the beach under small individual marquees but unfortunately they had a wedding party and were fully booked so we ate on board.

Tuesday 8th February (06° 27.7'N 099° 49.3'E)
Tanjung Rhu to Ko Lipe
A surge in the monsoon set in overnight so we had a good wind today. We sailed to Ko Lipe in the Bintang group just over the Thai border. The wind was pretty good and we had an excellent sail. As the chart plotter indicated we were crossing into Thai waters we noticed an interesting phenomena in that two tidal streams met and there was an obvious difference in the water colour almost as if it marked the border. We reached Ko Lipe late in the afternoon and discovered the island was a lot more developed than we had realised. There were quite a few moorings in the bay but all except one were occupied. We tied up to the one that was free but quickly discovered that it was so close to the coral that we were in danger of crashing on to it so we let it go again and anchored instead. The water was a minimum of 16 metres which is a lot deeper than we normally like to anchor but we found a spot that seemed to be ok. The beach was full of small resorts and the outer edge of the bay was full of fishing boats. There were numerous small boats buzzing around which were incredibly noisy. They were the typical Thai longtail boats (enormously long propeller shafts sticking out directly behind the boat) and the engines seemed to have had their housings removed so there was nothing whatsoever to dampen the noise. We decided to leave going ashore until the following day.

Wednesday 9th February (06° 29.1'N 099° 18.1'E)
Ko Lipe
Steve, Dave and Sandra went ashore while Sheila and Lyn stayed on board. Lyn had some bread rising so couldn't really leave the boat until it was cooked. It was very hot on the beach so Dave and Sandra found a shady resort to have a drink in. They tried to book an air-conditioned room for the night since it was quite hot sleeping on the boat but since it was Chinese New Year all the accommodation was booked. We did some snorkelling in the afternoon and Dave borrowed Lyn's camera with the underwater housing to try his hand at underwater photography. Digital cameras are so good for taking loads of photos and deleting the ones you don't want. The snorkelling was not bad. There were quite a few fish although the coral wasn't as good as we'd seen elsewhere but nice just for fishwatching. We went ashore in the evening to have dinner at a restaurant with tables on the beach. They had a selection of fish and other seafood on ice for BBQ. Most of the staff had very little English and we had even less Thai so communicating was interesting but we got there in the end. Going ashore at low tide was quite tricky as well. The water over the coral is very shallow and quite a lot of coral heads are either breaking the surface or worse a few inches underneath. We knew we had to go to the far end of the beach and we ended up following one of the local boats in. When we went back to the boat a few hours later the tide had come up quite a lot so it was a bit less traumatic.

Thursday 10th February (06° 29.1'N 099° 18.1'E)
Ko Lipe to Telaga
We lazed around doing not much most of the day. Dave did a bit more snorkelling and photographing, Steve and Lyn took the dinghy all the way around the island to see if the anchorage on the other side was any better. If anything it was more exposed as the wind was funnelling between the two islands Ko Lipe and Ko Adang. The wind had been quite strong since Tuesday. We'd originally decided to spend one more night at Ko Lipe and return to Langkawi the following day but on the spur of the moment decided to take advantage of the wind and do a night sail back to Langkawi. it was exhilarating sailing with the wind building to about 30 knots apparent on the beam. Carillon was racing along in the pitch dark with Dave having a quick lesson on how to read the radar to try to work out what the various fishing boats were doing and ensuring that we avoided them. We arrived  at Telaga just before midnight.

Friday 11th February (06° 21.7'N 099° 40.6'E)
Telaga
Just had a quiet day lazing around. Steve hired a car to do a few chores.

Saturday 12th February (06° 21.7'N 099° 40.6'E)
Telaga
Dave and Sandra decided to take the car today to do some sightseeing. They finally managed to find the Snake Sanctuary and Dave was brave enough to let one wind itself around his neck. They also visited a craft village and spent some time thoroughly exploring the island. Steve, Lyn and Sheila enjoyed a quiet day on the boat pottering about doing a few jobs and generally relaxing. In the evening we had dinner at Marc Bleu which is an Italian restaurant at Telaga.

Sunday 13th February (06° 21.7'N 099° 40.6'E)
Telaga to Pantai Cenang to Pulau Dayang Bunting
Dave fancied having a go at parasailing so we took carillon to Pantai Cenang which is the tourist beach and has lots of water sports centres on it. We went ashore around midday to find somewhere to do it but were told it was too windy at present. A bit disappointed we went to visit 'Underwater World' which is situated in the middle of the beach and houses numerous tanks containing various sea creatures. The main tank held amongst other things a turtle,nurse sharks, white and black tip reef sharks, stingrays, a very large garoupa, a small shoal of jackfish, some batfish and a few others I can't remember. I think the highlight for Sandra was a pair of otters playing in an open air tank and seeing them hand fed by the keepers. We left the aquarium about 4pm by which time the wind had died a little so we were able to book a parasailing experience for Dave. The take off was a bit nerve wracking with his feet skimming the water before he was lifted into the air. We watched as he disappeared into the distance towards the far end of the beach then returning. As he approached the landing there were loud shouts of pull!, pull! from the parasail operators to lower the parachute. He came in quite fast and plowed a furrow along the beach with his feet before coming to a halt and being disentangled from the parachute by the operators. We have the whole thing on video so he can enjoy it for years to come. We had already decided not to spend the night at Pantai Cenang. When we had been anchored there before Christmas we found there was a disco on the beach thumping out loud music until about 4am and was so loud it was impossible to sleep. We sailed very gently down to Pulau Dayang Bunting and anchored in calm quiet water under a high cliff.

Monday 14th February (06° 11.7'N 099° 46.9'E)
Pulau Dayang Bunting
The island of Pulau Dayang Bunting contains the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden. This is a large freshwater lake surrounded by limestone cliffs and dense jungle. One story goes that a childless couple after 19 years of unsuccessfully having a child had a baby girl after drinking from the lake. Since then local women wanting to have children have gone to the lake to drink the waters.
We went ashore and negotiated the rather tricky landing. At low tide the steps can't be reached so you come alongside a rather rickety bamboo grid to climb up onto the jetty. As we walked along the jetty we noticed numerous monkeys hoping for tidbits from the tourists. Access to the lake is by a flight of steps going over a small hill. At the lake itself a number of pontoons have been built and kayaks, pedallos and solar powered pedallos can be rented. Dave and Lyn took a solar powered pedallo which was ok except it wouldn't turn right unless you pedalled it as well. Later Dave and Sandra took out another one but this one had a problem in that the forward gears went in reverse and the reverse gears went forward.
After returning from the lake Steve had a play with his radio-controlled sailing boat and spent some time fine-tuning it.

Tuesday 15th February (06° 11.7'N 099° 46.9'E)
Pulau Dayang Bunting to Pulau Chupak to Pulau Gubang Laut
Pulau Chupak on the very south of the Langkawi Islands is reputed to have some ok snorkelling so we decided to have a look. It's a tiny island and only suitable for a picnic anchorage. On the east side it's possible to anchor in about 15 metres of water on mud but the west side although more sheltered is 30 metres deep so we anchored on the east side and put up with the little bit of swell. We explored the water around the island and discovered reasonable snorkelling over a small reef on the east side but the west side was very poor visibility so again we put up with the chop and snorkelled the east side. We sailed back towards Pulau Dayang Bunting and Sheila took the helm. In the past she had done a lot of sailing but none in recent years and enjoyed the experience of being behind the helm again. We anchored off a sandy beach on the south side of  Pulau Gubang Laut and were delighted to see a large group of dolphins fishing not too far away.

Wednesday 16th February (06° 10.7'N 099° 46.9'E)
Pulau Gubang Laut to Pantai Teluk Nibong to Pulau Gubang Laut
Dave and Sandra had decided to treat themselves to a couple of nights in a 5-star hotel to enjoy the delights of a resort for a couple of days. Air-conditioning, large beds with clean white sheets and access to the shore without negotiating a small dinghy beckoned so they booked themselves into the Sheraton for a couple of days. We sailed Carillon to Pantai Teluk Nibong where the Sheraton was situated and anchored just off it's beach in about 3 metres of water. Sandra thankfully negotiated the transfer from Carillon to the dinghy for the last time and Steve took them both ashore. We stayed anchored long enough to have a light lunch and see Dave and Sandra installed in a beach front cottage. We decided to leave under sail (very unusual, we normally motor off the anchor) and gratifyingly the whole process went like clockwork. It would have been highly embarrassing to have screwed up in front of the beach at the Sheraton with an audience. We had a long sail around the outside of Pulau Singa Besar, inspected one or two other possible anchorages but decided to return to Pulau Gubang Laut because it was sheltered from the sea, had a breeze blowing through it and was very beautiful.

Thursday 17th February (06° 10.7'N 099° 46.9'E)
Pulau Gubang Laut to Kuah
Sheila, Dave and Sandra are flying back to the UK tomorrow so today we must return to the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club at Kuah. We have decided to sail south around the southern side of the islands. We start with a gentle breeze but it drops away as the morning goes on and eventually we have to motor. An hour or so later the wind came in again and we were able to sail. As we were passing the tip of Pulau Tuba a group of dolphins came very close, not jumping but swimming lazily over the waves and down again. Once between the islands we had to motor again and as we approached the Yacht Club called them on Ch 69 to find out which berth we had been allocated. This time it was E13. We docked without any difficulty although leaving may be more challenging since we will have to reverse out to starboard and Carillon doesn't reverse to starboard. We took Sheila to the Tanjung Sanctuary for dinner and although the surroundings were lovely - the restaurant is on stilts over the sea - the food wasn't brilliant.

Friday 18th February
Kuah - Royal Langkawi Yacht Club
Spent the morning tidying and reorganising the boat and transferring all the photos on to a CD for Sheila as a memento. Dave and Sandra returned around midday having had an enjoyable couple of days and we had a late lunch at Charlie's Place just by the Yacht Club. We had hired a car for a few days so were able to transport them to the airport in plenty of time to catch their flight.

Saturday 19th February
Kuah - Royal Langkawi Yacht Club
We have quite a bit of shopping to do today. Steve had already ordered a spare small outboard as insurance against the main one either malfunctioning or being stolen. We wanted to buy some teak to make some boards to carry spare fuel canisters on in preparation for our tentative plan to go to Chagos next year. The Yacht Club had told us of a woodyard where we might buy teak but when we got there it didn't look very promising. Appearances can be deceptive, they had some burmese teak just the right size which only needed cutting so we could pick it up tomorrow. On the way back we pass the fruit shop so take the opportunity to stock up with pineapple, mango, oranges, bananas, jackfruit and guava. We needed some masking tape because Steve is re-caulking all the seams in the teak deck in an attempt to stop a deck leak. The cashier looked quite startled when Steve placed about a dozen rolls on the counter. We bought non-perishables in the supermarket and visited the only place on Langkawi that carries a stock of tinned tomatoes. This is a tiny shop in the centre of town that sells a few things that westerners would like that the other supermarkets don't stock. Lyn wanted to buy a sewing machine since on numerous occasions over the last couple of years it would have been very useful. We went to the Singer shop and found a basic machine that would suit us but the assistants didn't seem to be able to cope with actually selling it so decided to go back when the manager was actually in the store. Steve had a haircut then it was back to Carillon.

Sunday 20th February
Kuah - Royal Langkawi Yacht Club
Spent most of the day writing up the web page and washing the boat. We went to the chandlers to put in an order to West Marine - it should be here in a week or so. We have finally decided to buy 2 inflatable kayaks for the boat having dithered for some time over the decision. They would be good for exploring small islands and nooks and crannies and also useful in emergency should anything happen to the main dinghy. Steve went to collect the wood while Lyn went for a haircut and a massage at The Bayview Hotel. There is a salon and spa and it was a nice relaxing experience. She also went to try to replace a cap she'd bought for Steve with Carillon embroidered across the front which he'd unfortunately lost. The shop had some more caps but the embroidery machine was broken so maybe we'll try again tomorrow.

Monday 21st February
Kuah - Royal Langkawi Yacht Club
 Lyn took the car to do a few more errands. Finally managed to buy the sewing machine - all she wanted was a basic machine but the shops keep trying to sell you something with all the bells and whistles 90% of which never get used. Went to the chandlers to buy more deck caulk and the internet cafe to update the web page then the supermarket for one or two more essential items. By this time she'd run out of money but the ATMs weren't playing today so the last bits of shopping will have to wait until tomorrow. Had another go at replacing the hat but the machine was still broken. We'll give it one more try tomorrow.

Tuesday 22nd February
Kuah to Telaga
Did some last minute greengrocery shopping and tried once more to get Steve a replacement cap. No good - the machine is fixed but the backlog means they can't do it before tomorrow. Take the shopping back and return the car to the car hire people. The owner of the boat alongside offers to help with the lines for which we are grateful since getting out of this berth means reversing to starboard - something Carillon does not do easily. With the wind blowing Carillon off the dock it just needed our friend to hold the bow until the stern had swung away and we were off - perfect. We sailed up to Telaga with the intention of going back to the Butang group of islands in southern Thailand the next day for a few days before returning to Langkawi to collect the West Marine order. We put extra chain out again at Telaga since the holding seems to be very soft and a number of people including ourselves have dragged the anchor there.

Wednesday 23rd February (06° 21.7'N 099° 40.6'E)
Telaga to Ko Lipe (Butang Group)
We left Telaga around 9:00am in company with Yiu Kee and Esther on Little Star and Gunther and Beverly on SoJo. Little Star and SoJo would be carrying on to Phuket while we would be returning to Langkawi for a few days. We had a good wind most of the way with just a light patch in the middle. We arrived around 1:00pm local time (Thailand is GMT +7 while Malaysia is GMT +8) and picked up a free mooring. Little Star and SoJo also managed to pick up moorings. The water is about 18 metres deep so it's easier to pick up a mooring if there is one than to anchor. We were just having lunch when the local ferry roared in and since there were now no free moorings he decided to hang off our stern. We weren't too keen but it worked without too much of a problem. We went ashore in company with Yiu Kee, Esther, Gunther and Beverly to try out one of the numerous restaurants along the beach. As we returned to Carillon a disco started up and blared out loud music until about 7:00am which we weren't too impressed with since it meant we got virtually no sleep. Decided to cross Ko Lipe off our list of desirable overnight anchorages.

Thursday 24th February (06° 29.1'N 099° 18.1'E)
Ko Lipe to Ko Rawi
Tired and crabby after a sleepless night we went looking for another quieter anchorage. Our pilot book "Sail Thailand" suggested the channel between Ko Rawi and Ko Butang with an anchorage just off the beach south of Ko Rawi. It was a beautiful anchorage although quite deep. We were anchored in about 19 metres but as far as we could tell the anchor was holding firmly enough. The water was flat, the beaches white powder sand, blue green water over the sand and coral just off the beach. There was a gentle breeze from the SW in the day and the NE at night. When we arrived there was an impressive looking 4 masted square rigger anchored a little further along. She was called Star Flyer and flew a Luxembourg flag. There was also a small catamaran and a liveaboard tourist boat. The cat and the square-rigger both left in the late afternoon/early evening so we had the anchorage almost to ourselves. The only habitation on Ko Rawi is a ranger station so apart from the occasional fishing boat it was beautifully quiet and peaceful. Steve carried on replacing the deck caulking (a job he's been doing on and off for a while now) while Lyn carried on with the never-ending job of cleaning the salt and rust spots from all the stainless steel work on the boat. There was a deep rosy glow in the west as the sun set while a brilliant full moon rose in the east and didn't set until just before dawn.

Friday 25th February (06° 32.3'N 099° 10.7'E)
Ko Rawi
It was such a perfect anchorage we decided to spend another day here. We snorkelled along the coral at the edge of the beach. The water was quite clear and there were quite a few fish to be seen including sergeant fish, parrot fish and butterfly fish. We snorkelled until the current started to get too strong then returned to Carillon for a late breakfast. The rest of the day drifted by with Steve doing more of the deckcaulking and Lyn cleaning more stainless steel and making a fruit cake. (I admit it was from a packet mix labelled Fruit Cake Mix - I was a bit surprised to find that one of the things you had to add was the fruit but it tasted ok).

Saturday 26th February (06° 32.3'N 099° 10.7'E)
Ko Rawi
We'll spend one more day here then go back to Langkawi tomorrow for the usual chores of laundry and provisioning and waiting for the West Marine stuff to arrive. More of the same really - deck caulking and stainless steel cleaning plus a swim or two and watching the monkeys on the beach and the Brahminy Kites fishing.

Sunday 27th February (06° 32.3'N 099° 10.7'E)
Ko Rawi - Telaga
Had a leisurely start - the shore breeze doesn't come in until late morning and there's no point in leaving the anchorage early and having to motor for a few hours waiting for the wind. It was fairly light until we were clear of Ko Lipe then we had a steady 10 - 12 knots most of the way. As we were getting close to Langkawi we watched a Brahminy Kite swoop and catch quite a large fish. The bird struggled to stay in the air with it's prize and just skimmed the wave tops. Unfortunately it disappeared into the distance before we could determine whether or not it managed to hang on to the fish. We arrived at Telaga around 5:30 pm and anchored in much the same spot as before. Decided to eat on board rather than put the dinghy in the water and go ashore.

Monday 28th February to Sunday 6th March (06° 21.7'N 099° 40.6'E)
Telaga

We spent this week just marking time waiting for the West Marine order to arrive. We did a few jobs, read a few books and let the days drift by. Steve thinks he's finally tracked down the leak into one of the cupboards on the starboard side. We've been looking for this leak for some time and he thinks it's coming through a screw fitting under a repair to the cap rail. It feels loose from underneath and there's a definite trickle of water around it after last night's rain. He decides to expose the bolts, repack and tighten them up then seal them in. We now need another rainstorm to see if he was right. Other jobs we did were finally finishing the deck caulking, servicing the winches, giving the decks a good clean and one or two other jobs. We met Marion from Tenacity who was kind enough to give us loads of help and information on cruising in general based on her 28 years of experience.
We think the West Marine order will arrive on Monday so we've booked a hire car for the day to pick it up along with the spare outboard motor and shopping for the two weeks or so we'll take to get to Phuket. Once we've got everything we'll take the boat around to the Hole-in-the-Wall anchorage since it's 15 miles further east and therefore a better sailing angle to Phuket, spend a night there then get an early start hopefully on Tuesday or Wednesday. We've had very strong winds from the North for the past week and the Navtex reports tell us it's pretty wild on the east side of Malaysia with 50 knots in the South China Sea so it was probably not a good time to have started up the coast anyway. 20 knots from where you want to go isn't ideal for sailing.

Monday 7th March (06° 21.7'N 099° 40.6'E)
Telaga
The word is that the West Marine order might be here today. We have a long shopping list anyway so hire a car for the day. If the order arrives all well and good if not we'll pick it up tomorrow and use today to get everything else. We start at the supermarket warehouse at Matsurat recommended by Marion. It's good, they have pretty much everything we want in the way of dry goods (including canned tomatoes which the other supermarkets don't stock) and we note that there's a lot of stuff the other supermarkets don't have so a good start. We plan to spend about 2 weeks getting to Phuket so we need enough to last that long. This supermarket also has some frozen meat so we'll pick some up on the way back. We stopped at the fruit and veg market at Matsurat but as with most places in Langkawi it was poor quality and not very fresh. We picked the best and moved on. The next stop was a fruit and vegetable warehouse just outside Kuah. It was ok, some of the stuff was still not very fresh but there was a reasonable selection. The local chandlers Cinho proved to be a goldmine - we got everything on the list. They stock a good selection of basic useful marine grade items. Next stop the West Marine order - but it hadn't come, we'll have to get it tomorrow. It's probably just as well, what with the groceries, the Cinho stuff and the new spare outboard engine the car's pretty full. One last try in Langkawi Fair for Steve's hat - this time they can do it straightaway.

Tuesday 8th March (06° 21.7'N 099° 40.6'E)
Telaga to Hole-in-the-Wall
9:30 a.m. we got the call - the West Marine order has arrived so we'll rush into town to collect it, go to Port Clearance, Customs and Immigration to check out of Malaysia then take Carillon round to Hole-in-the-Wall this afternoon ready to leave in the morning. Probably just as well the West Marine order didn't come yesterday - after packing two inflatable kayaks plus paddles, two new life belts and a bag of bits into the car there wasn't much space left. As usual clearing out in Malaysia was straightforward. There were friendly and efficient staff in all departments.
We left Telaga with the wind still howling through the bay at 20 knots but found much less as we got outside. We had to motor all the way with the wind on the nose and reached the anchorage with about an hour of daylight to spare - just enough time to inflate one of the kayaks and try it out.

Wednesday 9th March (06° 25.14'N 099° 51.99'E)
Langkawi to Ko Bulon
At last we are leaving Langkawi. We start off on a beam reach with about 10 - 15 knots from the NE but this died away after a couple of hours. We motored until about midday when the shore breeze came in and we could sail again. The anchorage is a wide bay narrowing to a shallow channel between two islands. Outside the bay it's about 10 metres but inside it gets shallow very quickly and we anchor in about 3 - 4 metres just tucked inside the entrance. There are numerous fishing boats but the islands themselves seem to be uninhabited. The bottom is thick mud so there's not much chance of dragging the anchor.

Thursday 10th March (06° 48.83'N 099° 41.01'E)
Ko Bulon to Ko Phetra
The sea is full of tiny steep-to islands from small rocks to tall rocky pinnacles, some with inviting white beaches, others sheer rock faces with vegetation clinging to every nook and cranny. Ko Phetra is one of the more spectacular of them - it's a long narrow island maybe 1km long and about 400m high. It's weathered limestone and is a series of serrated humps going straight down into the sea. Surprisingly the depth around it is only 9-10m and the bottom is soft mud. It looks very exposed to the SW shore breeze but is completely sheltered from the prevailing NE wind. Unfortunately the swell from the shore breeze didn't really go down overnight and because the island is so steep it hit the rocks then came back to us from the opposite direction.

Friday 11th March (07° 02.45'N 099° 28.24'E)
Ko Phetra to Ko Muk
The NE is hardly blowing so by morning the sea is pretty calm. It's about 20 miles to Ko Muk so we didn't leave until lunchtime when the shore breeze came in. Had a fabulous sail to Ko Muk, 10 - 15 knots on the beam, flat seas, sunshine, it couldn't be better. The anchorage at Ko Muk was a tiny cove on the west side. There were already 3 boats there when we arrived so we anchored just outside. The attraction at Ko Muk is a beach only accessible by small boat or by swimming through a low tunnel for about 80 metres - the ideal opportunity for the kayaks so armed with waterproof torches and with the camera in it's waterproof housing we set off. The swell was about a metre so it took a bit of practice getting the kayaks to go in a reasonably straight line. The entrance to the cave was around 2 metres high and the passage about 3 - 4 metres wide. It was eerie paddling in the pitch dark and the roaring of the surf into the nooks and crannies inside the cave was quite deafening. After a few minutes of paddling we could see a dim light and hear surf on the beach, a sharp right turn and there was the exit. What we could see was a small beach with logs at the high water mark and trees and bushes at the top of the beach - the whole area was surrounded by sheer limestone cliffs reaching up to a patch of blue sky above with the only access being the tunnel we'd just paddled through. The area was about 150 metres across. Legend has it that pirates used to stash their booty here.

Saturday 12th March (07° 22.53'N 099° 17.16'E)
Ko Muk to Ko Talabeng
Only 20 miles again today so we had time to go back and have another look at the cave. The seas were a bit flatter so paddling was a bit easier. As we approached the cave a tourist boat was just arriving. With a large group of tourists to organise we reckoned we probably had about half an hour before they got inside. We paddled through and sat on the beach enjoying the peace and solitude while we could. The tourists swim through the tunnel. They're all given life jackets and the local guide has a mask, fins and snorkel and a life ring with a long line attached so I suspect he does a bit of towing. We could hear them coming through the cave making the most of the eerie echoes. When the 30 or so tourists arrived it was time to go.
Again we left the anchorage around lunchtime to catch the shore breeze and had another wonderful sail to Ko Talabeng. We'd had enough of being rolled around in the swell the last couple of nights so this anchorage was between a big island to the west (Ko Lanta Noi) and Ko Talabeng to the east so no swell from either direction.

Sunday 13th March (07° 37.43'N 099° 08.53'E)
Ko Talabeng to Ko Ha Hai to Ko Lanta
The islands are spectacular but the water less so. It's green and silty the same as Langkawi so this morning we motored out to some rocks about 20 miles to the west that promised clear water and good snorkelling. The guide has them down as day anchorages but the weather is very settled at the moment so we'll decide whether or not to stay overnight when we get there. It's very deep to anchor or too much in the coral but there are numerous mooring buoys so we find an empty one to tie up to. The water is crystal clear and we can see the sergeant fish swimming around the boat in the shade and the sand and coral on the bottom. The diving is reputed to be good and there are quite a few dive boats around. The sea is quite calm but the anchorage is too exposed for a safe overnight stop. We head back towards Ko Lanta in a light shore breeze and decide to anchor off the NW coast of Ko Lanta Yai. We should have known better, although sheltered from the NE it's exposed to the swell from the shore breeze so still pretty rolly. We did go ashore for an excellent Thai meal at a local resort but got pretty wet getting the dinghy back out through the surf.

Monday 14th March (07° 37.09'N 098° 45.03'E)
Ko Lanta to Ko Phi Phi Don
We went ashore again for breakfast and to have a look around. We thought we might be able to get Thai sim cards for our phones but that soon went on the too hard list. We had a long chat with one of the waiters about the Tsunami damage at Ko Lanta. The resort he worked in wasn't too badly damaged. A couple of huts closest to the beach needed some serious renovation and the restaurant gardens were washed away. The restaurant itself had about a metre of sand washed into it and it took them about a month to clear everything up and re-open. About 4 or 5 places on the beach at the northern end were damaged so badly they wouldn't re-open until next season but everywhere else was open for business - they just need the tourists to come back.
Late morning we set off for Phi Phi. We knew it had been badly damaged but it has a good sheltered anchorage about the right distance for a half day sail and we wanted to look at Phi Phi Le to the south. We arrived at Phi Phi Don around 5pm, there was a rainstorm threatening so we wanted to get into the anchorage in Ton Sai Bay. The beachfront at Ton Sai Bay was very sad. About 60% of the buildings that had been on the beach were gone and the rest were obviously unusable. There were piles of rubbish and debris all over the beach and the whole place had a derelict feel about it. We decided to leave early in the morning to check out Phi Phi Le.

Tuesday 15th March (07° 44.05'N 098° 46.16'E)
Phi Phi Don to Phi Phi Le
We left around 7am to motor the few miles to Phi Phi Le. This is the island where the controversial filming for the film The Beach took place. There's a sheltered place (Maya Bay) on the west side with numerous mooring buoys one of which we tied up to. It's a beautiful place - the bay is surrounded by steep limestone cliffs with a soft white sand beach at the back of the bay, We snorkelled to the shore and got mugged by all the sergeant fish expecting to be fed. All the tourist boats feed the fish so they are very tame and cluster around boats and snorkellers. About 10ish the tourist boats started arriving and it was bedlam for a few hours. The routine seemed to be roar into the bay, drop the tourists on the beach for half an hour, bring them further out into the bay to snorkel for half an hour then roar out again. By about 1pm most of the tourist boats had left and we had the bay almost to ourselves again. Another yacht came in around sunset but then about 8pm a liveaboard diveboat came in and spent about 2 hours with it's engines running and a spotlight on the back shining pretty much straight at us while their clients did a night dive in the bay. What we found really abhorrent was the boat boy fishing off the back of the diveboat. Since they are all reef fish he wouldn't be fishing for food and in a bay where the fish feed from your hand it could hardly be called sport.

Wednesday 16th March (07° 40.85'N 098° 45.83'E)
Phi Phi Le to Ko Racha Yai
We were heading west so left early in the morning to make the most of the NE wind. The course was dead downwind so we just put the headsail up and didn't bother with the main. It was blowing 15 - 20 knots so the swell was quite big and we rolled from side to side all the way. We arrived early afternoon and again found numerous moorings in the bay. We're not sure who lays them but the majority are red with a wide blue stripe around them with the words 'mooring buoy' printed on them and seem to be for general use. Most were occupied by day boats but by late afternoon most were empty and we could pick the best one to use. This beach had also been badly damaged by the Tsunami but it had a positive air of reconstruction about it. The water was very clear and again numerous fish gathered under and around the boat. There was a dive shop at the end of the beach so we booked some diving for tomorrow. There was only one restaurant open on the beach for dinner but the food was excellent. We discovered later that it was the beach restaurant for an upmarket hotel further along the beach that was still closed for repairs.

Thursday 17th March (07° 36.45'N 098° 21.92'E)
Ko Racha Yai
The dive shop was pretty laid back. It was run by a Scandinavian called Jhan assisted by a number of young European divemasters. Our dive boat, which was a local longtail, was a bit late turning up but we were quite happy to relax in the shade with a cold drink while we were waiting. We did two very pleasant easy dives with plenty of fish to see and large amounts of staghorn coral on the second one. We couldn't decide whether or not to dive the next day but then we were told they would try to get to a site called The Rock if the sea was calm enough that promised to be a bit more challenging so we agreed to turn up in the morning and see what was happening.

Friday 18th March (07° 36.45'N 098° 21.92'E)
Ko Racha Yai
Well the NE wind had been blowing strongly all night so the seas were too rough to go out to The Rock this morning. If the wind did die down and the seas flattened out a bit we could go this afternoon. We spent the morning walking around the island. There are no made roads but plenty of tracks. We found a number of small resorts inland and a fairly upmarket one - The Ban Raya - on the far side at the top of a steep slope down to the sea. That had saved them from Tsunami damage, they were too high up for the wave to reach them.
By lunchtime the seas had started calming down  so the plan was to go out to The Rock around 3pm. The top of The Rock is about 21metres deep and then it goes down. We went down the anchor line so that we all arrived on the bottom in the same place and found a leopard shark lying on the bottom right next to the anchor. We nearly landed on top of it but it moved away when Dave the Divemaster tried to tickle it. We next saw the biggest moray eel I've ever seen, the head must have been at least a foot across but the visibility wasn't good enough for a photo. It was an interesting dive with conditions constantly changing from poor to reasonable visibility, some slight currents and numerous very cold patches of water. Since it was a fairly deep dive we only had 20 minutes or so bottom time and soon had to come up. As we gently ascended a school of quite large chevron barracuda circled us. Altogether an interesting dive site which would certainly warrant further exploration.
On our return to Carillon we found a motor boat called Maramel on the adjacent mooring (about 2 boatlengths in front of us) which was apparently unable to function without it's air-conditioning and ran it's generator all night only switching it off with bad grace in the early evening because we asked it to. Unfortunately such lack of consideration seems all too prevalent amongst some motor boat owners.

Saturday 19th March (07° 36.45'N 098° 21.92'E)
Ko Racha Yai to Ko Yau Yai
We left late morning to go east to Ko Yau Yai. The fates were against us once more and the southwesterly shore breeze failed to materialise leaving us beating into a strong northeasterly. We couldn't make the course to our intended anchorage so we changed the plan and headed for Ao Labu on the NW side of Ko Yau Yai assuming that it would be sheltered from the northeasterly. The best laid plans!! The northeasterly was funnelling through the hills across the island and our supposedly sheltered anchorage had 20 knots blowing from the south straight into the bay - plan C. We headed down the coast southward hoping to find a sheltered spot on the way down or go to our original destination on the southern tip. We tucked in under a cliff about halfway down the western side. The sea was flat and apart from a few gusts coming over and around the cliff it was sheltered enough.

Sunday 20th March (07° 58.03'N 098° 33.99'E)
Ko Yau Yai to Krabi
We motored down to the bay at the south to check it out and decided we'd made the right decision to anchor where we did. The bay was quite shallow and very gusty with a swell working in from the east. Krabi is to the east and guess what - no shore breeze again so we're beating to windward. We hadn't made much progress by midday and the wind was now dying completely so we motored in. Krabi has some quite dramatic rocks close by many with caves and inlets. It seems to have a lot of potential for exploration. The beach area at Ao Nang is quite laid back and full of restaurants, dive shops, massage parlours and tailors. One of the local bars was showing an England v Scotland rugby match so Steve watched that while Lyn went for a nice relaxing massage.

Monday 21st March (08° 01.71'N 098° 49.04'E)
Krabi to Ko Chang Lat
A gentle sail today into the north part of Phang Nga Bay. We pass numerous rocky islets most with steep vertical sides, some with small isolated beaches. The very north of the bay is mangroves and mangrove rivers so too shallow for us but Ko Chong Lat has a deep enough channel leading to a well protected anchorage with steep limestone cliffs on each side and a small area of mangroves to the east. There were thunderstorms rumbling around us as we sailed and just before the channel to Ko Chong Lat the wind suddenly picked up and there was black cloud and lightning ahead. We dropped the sails quickly and motored to the anchorage hoping to get there before the rain did. We made it just - the first drops were falling as we dropped anchor.

Tuesday 22nd March (07° 16.40'N 098° 37.69'E)
Ko Chong Lat to Ko Hong Group (Phang Nga Bay)
There's a small island on the NW side of Phang Nga Bay that was used for the James Bond film 'The Man with the Golden Gun' which is now a tourist attraction so we decided to go and have a look. There was no wind so we had a long gentle motor over the shallows to reach an anchorage about a mile from the island. The water around the island is only a metre or so deep so we can't anchor there. We got out the kayaks and paddled across. The island is quite impressive however it is covered in souvenir stalls and tourist boats are coming and going every few minutes so we didn't stay long.

Wednesday 23rd March (08° 16.39'N 098° 29.19'E)
Ko Hong Group to Au Chalong
Another long boring motor down to Au Chalong at the southern tip of Phuket. The harbour is pretty crowded with more dive boats and tourist boats than I've ever seen in one place before. We'll be here for a few days picking up a few bits for the boat, getting the laundry done and re-provisioning for when Steve's daughter Louise and husband Terry come sailing with us over Easter. We organise the hire of a couple of motor bikes to explore sources and a car for Sunday to do the main provisioning and pick up Louise and Terry from the airport.

Thursday 24th March - Saturday 26th March  (07° 49.28'N 098° 29.19'E)
Au Chalong
We spend these few days picking up spares and finding the best places to provision. There are three big supermarket complexes here (including Tesco) so provisioning is easy. We rode along the west coast road to see the tsunami damage. In some places it's extensive and obvious with patches of rubble and patches of empty sand where buildings once stood, in other places the damage has been cleared and repairs made but everywhere the shopkeepers and resort owners are anxious for the tourists to return so they can rebuild their businesses.

Sunday 27th March (07° 49.28'N 098° 29.19'E)
Au Chalong
Provisioning day today so we hired a car. We needed enough stores to last four of us for 10 days. The first thing was to try to contact friends Paul and Alison from Hong Kong. We knew they were staying at the Dusit Laguna but despite leaving messages had so far failed to contact them. We decided to drive to the hotel and at least leave a written message in case the phone messages hadn't got through. Eventually got them and arranged to meet up for a drink before collecting Louise and Terry from the airport that evening. We spent a few hours trailing around the supermarkets tracking down everything we needed and got back to Carillon around 5 p.m. By the time we'd put everything away, showered changed and negotiated the impossible pier to get ashore we were running a bit late and got a call from Paul checking the time we were supposed to be meeting. It was great to see them again and hear their news and how things were in Hong Kong. Their boys seemed to have grown up enormously in 2 years. We finally got to the airport, picked up Louise and Terry and got back to Carillon about 9 p.m. (managing to negotiate the impossible pier and only getting a little bit of mud on their luggage).

Monday 28th March (07° 49.28'N 098° 29.19'E)
Au Chalong
Louise and Terry wanted to do a bit of sightseeing and shopping for holiday clothes while we were in Phuket so we hired 3 motorbikes (because they're more fun than a car) and toured the beaches on the west side. Patong beach had lots of shops so they were able to buy what they needed. We had an excellent lunch with another HK friend Deborah and her family who were staying at a villa over Easter. They were staying near the northern end of the west side of Phuket and the damage here was much more obvious than it had been further south. In the middle of the night we were woken by the sound of the phones with calls and text messages from friends and family asking if we were alright. It seems there had been another earthquake in Indonesia close to the one on December 26th and Tsunami warnings were being broadcast. We tried to get more information but at 2 a.m. it's hard to know who to contact. We spent an anxious night but reasoned that since the wave on December 26th only took an hour to reach Phuket if there had been another tsunami it would already have reached us.

Tuesday 29th March (07° 49.28'N 098° 29.19'E)
Au Chalong to Ko Racha
Left Au Chalong to sail to Ko Racha. The wind was very light so we only sailed about half way. Louise had completed an open water course some years before and had only done a little diving since. Steve did a Scuba Review with her to remind her of what she had learnt previously and then a dive along the reef inside the bay. Everything was fine so we arranged for Steve, Louise and Lyn to dive with Raya Divers the next day. The visibility here is excellent and there are always fish clustered under the boat in the shade.

Wednesday 30th March (07° 36.48'N 098° 21.42'E)
Ko Racha
Back to Raya Divers, we did a nice easy dive along Staghorn Reef for Louise to enjoy the fish and coral. Around lunchtime it was time for Terry's Discover Scuba Diving course. We were quite impressed by how thorough the instructor was. In the afternoon Steve and Lyn went out to dive The Rock again. Visibility was much improved this time and we could see the leopard shark quite clearly. On returning to Carillon we found 2 nice fat jackfish in a bag on the deck, we had no idea where they came from but they looked very tasty so we put them in the freezer anyway. The mystery was solved later, we had a call from Paul and Alison who had been fishing in the area, spotted the boat and left us some samples. Thanks Paul and Alison - the fish were delicious.

Thursday 31st March (07° 36.48'N 098° 21.92'E)
Ko Racha to Ko Phi Phi Le
No wind again so motored most of the way arriving about 3 p.m. We picked up the same mooring as we had previously but noticed the one a little further out had been dragged and was now very close to us. Louise and Terry took the kayaks and paddled to the beach. There were one or two other boats in the bay overnight but all in all it was pretty quiet.

Friday 1st April (07° 40.84'N 098° 45.85'E)
Ko Phi Phi Le
We got up early to snorkel while it was still quiet before the tourist boats started arriving. We snorkelled over the mooring that had moved and discovered it was only tied to a small rock - definitely not big enough to hold the large dive boats that normally tie up to it. The rock our mooring was tied to looked plenty big enough to hold us. There was the usual noise and chaos in the morning with long tails and speed boats coming and going, large cruise ships with their megaphone relayed instructions to their tourists coming in for the scheduled one hour before departing for the next place on the itinerary and dive boats pausing for a lunchtime stop. One large heavy dive boat with a full complement of divers tied up to the dodgy mooring and only moved after we had to fend it off when it almost drifted into us. They seemed surprised we wouldn't let them tie alongside but since they were twice our size and didn't seem to have any fenders we didn't think it was a particularly good idea.
In the afternoon Steve and Louise went for a dive along the edge of the bay and were pleasantly surprised to find it much better than they had expected.

Saturday 2nd April (07° 40.84'N 098° 45.85'E)
Ko Phi Phi Le to Laem Nang, Krabi
Motored all the way - flat calm and stiflingly hot. We stopped at Ko Poda (or Chicken Island as it is called by the tourist guides because of a rock formation on one side) for lunch and a swim. The water was like a warm bath. We only stopped for an hour or so because there were thunderstorms developing around Krabi and we wanted to be anchored before they got there. They were pretty noisy and full of thunder and lightening but went one each side of us so all we got was a little bit of rain from the trailing edges. Louise and Terry decided they'd like to do some kayaking in the mangroves in Phang Nga Bay so went ashore to organise a tour.

Sunday 3rd April (08° 00.21'N 098° 50.28'E)
Laem Nang, Krabi
Louise and Terry had to be ashore by 8:30 to catch their tour so we took them to the beach then had a leisurely breakfast. We needed to get some laundry done so we found somewhere advertising laundry by the kilo. There was no-one at the desk but the guy behind the bar next door took it to give them when they came. We walked along the beaches. There is no road access because the peninsula is all limestone cliffs so access from the town is by boat but there are walking tracks between some of the beaches. This area is a mecca for rock climbers - everywhere we went we saw tiny figures clinging to steep rock faces working their way slowly upwards. On Reiley Beach East a short way inland is Diamond Cave. There's a walkway into it and the ranger will turn the on lights on payment of an entry fee. Halfway in there is a waterfall of rock with quartz particles glistening in it and at the end of the walkway tall pillars hang in curtain folds around a large cave. It was well worth the visit.

Monday 4th April (08° 00.21'N 098° 50.28'E)
Laem Nang to Ko Hong to Laem Nang West
We took Carillon to Ko Hong about 10 miles north of Krabi. It's a limestone Island with a large hong on the middle. A hong is a lagoon inside the island with a narrow entrance through the limestone rocks. We picked up a mooring on the north side of Ko Hong and took the dinghy through the narrow entrance into a large shallow lagoon with many reef egrets paddling and flying looking for fish. We left the hong to take Carillon to the sheltered south side where again there were moorings to pick up. We could see another thunderstorm coming and headed for the only empty mooring we could see just as the wind rose and the rain started. There was only a very short line on the buoy and it was quite close to the coral so it took us a few goes to get to it. With the wind howling around us and the rain coming down in torrents we finally got the boat hook to it only to find the mooring line was too short to bring up on deck. After a few more goes we managed to get another line to it but trapped the boat hook between the two lines and broke it. (Have to get a new one in Phuket). By this time the storm had almost gone and we were able to sort out the line properly. We did some exploring in the kayaks and dinghy but decided to return to Krabi for the night rather than stay on the dodgy mooring. This would give Louise and Terry the opportunity to spend the next day shopping for gifts and souvenirs.

Tuesday 5th April (08° 00.54'N 098° 49.93'E)
Laem Nang West, Krabi
Louise and Terry took a longtail to Ao Nang Beach where all the shops were while we went to collect the laundry and check the emails. Again no-one was at the laundry counter but a girl who worked in the dive shop next door called round to find out what had happened to it. Eventually after 3 or 4 phone calls she told me to follow the path past the shops and keep going right until I found somewhere that looked like a laundry and it was probably there - she was right, it was.
We spent the afternoon kayaking around the islands and met up with Louise and Terry late in the afternoon in time to shower and change and go out for dinner.

Wednesday 6th April  (08° 00.54'N 098° 49.93'E))
Laem Nang West to Ko Yau Yai
The wind was blowing from behind so we just put up the headsail and ran gently before it. We stopped at Ko Khai Ngai for lunch and a swim. This a tiny isolated island consisting of a beach, a few trees and some rocks fringed by a small coral reef. The only things on it are some dilapidated shelters and about a hundred beach umbrellas and deck chairs. The reef was very small but had quite a few fish however the anchorage was exposed to all directions so a picnic stop only. We left late in the afternoon to motor the couple of miles to Ko Yau Yai and found a sheltered spot on the west side just off a long beach - a perfect spot to watch the sunset.

Thursday 7th April (07° 55.46'N 098° 34.44'E)
Ko Yau Yai to Au Chalong
Once again the wind was from behind so again we only put up the headsail. By the time we reached the mouth of the bay the wind was very light indeed and we dropped anchor about 1 p.m. not far from where we'd been anchored previously. Went back to Raoul to hire his car again to take Louise and Terry to the airport the following morning and to provision for us for the next 10 days or so.

Friday 8th April (07° 49.35'N 098° 21.30'E)
Au Chalong
Louise and Terry had a flight at 8:15 a.m. - a bit of an anti-social hour we thought since it meant leaving around 6 a.m. to get them there in time. We'd planned to go shopping after we'd dropped them at the airport but it was still too early so we took the opportunity to have a look at the Yacht Haven Marina which wasn't too far away. We'd booked ourselves on a liveaboard dive trip to the Similan Islands from 17th March and had originally planned to leave Carillon at anchor in Au Chalong while we were away but neither of us felt particularly happy with that. Yacht Haven Marina seemed the perfect solution. Even if there was no space on the pontoons there was plenty of space to anchor and we would still be able to leave the dinghy there safely and use the yacht club facilities. The disadvantage of this marina is that it is a long way from anywhere but since we didn't need to travel into the town and the dive shop would pick us up from the marina that didn't matter. Both feeling much happier we went shopping for the new boathook and provisions for a week or so.

Saturday 9th April (07° 49.35'N 098° 21.30'E)
Au Chalong to Ko Phi Phi Don
While we were in Krabi we'd seen notices outside diveshops asking for experienced divers and snorkellers to help clear some of the tsunami damage on the seabed in Tonsai Bay. Since we had a few days to spare we decided to go along and see if there was anything we could do. We arrived late afternoon and went ashore to find out what was happening. The operation is run by Andrew Hewett and his aim is to clear debris most likely to cause pollution such as corrugated iron sheets, paint cans, useful pieces of timber and if possible find items such as bags or wallets which could identify people. They want experienced divers who have done least 100 dives to work on the seabed and snorkellers to work on the surface. For more information check out www.projectaware.org/asiapac/english/hot-issue/032205-Volunteer . The next day was Sunday and their day off so we agreed to turn up on Monday. Since we now had a spare day we thought we might spend it at Phi Phi Le and motored around to Maya Bay but when we got there the wind was blowing straight into the bay from the west and it looked pretty uncomfortable so we returned to Tonsai Bay.

Sunday 10th April (07° 43.87'N 098° 46.24'E)
Ko Phi Phi Don
Spent today tidying the boat and completing one or two more jobs from the never ending list. Between us we made a collar for the mast to see if it would act as a rainwater catcher while we were sailing. The idea is that in a rainstorm a lot of water runs down the mast so if you could catch it and channel it into a bucket or the water tanks it would supplement the water supply. The other idea is to sew gutters near the bottom of the mainsail to channel the water that runs down the sail. If we go to Chagos next year we'll be looking for as many ways as possible to save fuel and catching rainwater would mean less running of the watermaker therefore less running of the generator to charge the batteries therefore less fuel. The idea came from Lin and Larry Pardey's book 'The Care and Feeding of the Sailing Crew' which although a little old now is still full of interesting and useful ideas.

Monday 11th April (07° 43.87'N 098° 46.24'E)
Ko Phi Phi Don
We arrive at the meeting place at 8 a.m. where names are being taken. There are about 10 divers and quite a lot of snorkellers and surface helpers. After a briefing we make our way to the Phi Phi Scuba diveboat on the end of the pier. The area we will be working in is on the west side of the bay in about 8 - 10 metres of water. Lyn is buddying with Kate and Steve with Mark both of whom are experienced at what we will be doing and will show us the ropes. The way it works is that one of the pair of divers is responsible for finding and freeing an item of debris while the other carries a net bag full of green plastic bags each with a line attached. Once the item is freed the 'bag lady' hands the bag to the first diver freeing the line and ensuring there are no knots in it. The first diver ties the line to the item then uses their regulator to put a little air in the green bag  which then shoots to the surface. On the surface the green bag is spotted by the snorkellers who the pull the item to the surface and take it to the rubbish platform moored not far away. Once the divers have used all their green bags they then fill the net with smaller items until they run out of air then surface taking the net to the rubbish platform. We thought our puny efforts would not make much difference but at the end of the day the rubbish platform was full so the combined efforts of all the teams makes quite a lot of impact. In the afternoon Steve and I were deemed to now know what we were doing and worked together with Steve doing the freeing and Lyn being 'bag lady'.

Tuesday 12th April (07° 43.87'N 098° 46.24'E)
Ko Phi Phi Don
Same again today but this time there were more divers. There were plenty of tanks on the boat today so most teams went down twice. We found two sun umbrellas which we marked to be sent up and found on surfacing that the helpers on the rubbish platform had managed to put one up and were using it as shade from the sun. The sea bed is uneven and odd corners of debris poke out of the sand. As you start to delve more items come to light - a kitchen pot, a shoe, a shower cap, a string of tinsel, an open book - the bric a brac of everyday life lying silent beneath a layer of silt.
In the afternoon the visibility had become very poor, we could only see half a metre at most but it was still possible to locate the sheets of corrugated iron that lie in heaps everywhere. Once all the teams were up we could see that the rubbish platform was completely full. It would later be towed out and emptied into a barge anchored at the mouth of the bay then returned ready to be filled again with the next days findings.

Wednesday 13th April (07° 43.87'N 098° 46.24'E)
Ko Phi Phi Don to Ko Hong (Phang Nga Bay)
We wanted to get to Yacht Haven on the 15th to give us a day to sort the boat before leaving it for a few days and also to spend one or two more days exploring Phang Nga Bay so we left Phi Phi Don deciding we would return for a few more days on our way back to Langkawi. We had originally decided to sail into Phang Nga Bay and anchor off the large island of Ko Yau Noi but it was only midday when we arrived there so decided to go on to the much prettier anchorage at Ko Hong in the north part of the bay. By early afternoon the shore breeze was blowing 10 - 15knots from the south and we had a great sail across to Ko Hong although a little nail biting at times with only 2 metres of water under the keel and the boat doing 6 knots. When we were almost there the wind died away and we could hear the early evening thunderstorms rumbling around. We anchored in about 11 metres of water and mud then watched the thunderstorms skirting us on each side with strong gusts of wind from all directions but no rain.

Thursday 14th April (08° 13.61'N 098° 30.17'E)
Ko Hong
Had a visit from a fisherman in a longtail first thing wanting to take us on a tour around the islands and sell us some prawns. We didn't need a tour since we'd got our own boat and we'd got more than enough food on board so we didn't really need the prawns either but maybe another time when we weren't leaving the boat in a day or two. We took the kayaks to explore the hong inside Ko Hong. It was probably the prettiest one we'd seen so far. There were caves you could take the kayaks into one of which went into a smaller hong with a narrow channel on the far side going into yet another. An archway under the rocks led out to the far side of the island so we completed the circumnavigation of the island to return to Carillon. We were going to visit another island but decided that since it was such a nice spot and the anchor was in firmly we'd stay where we were.

Friday 15th April (08° 13.61'N 098° 30.17'E)
Ko Hong to Yacht Haven Marina
We needed to get to Yacht Haven about 2:00 p.m. to make the most of the tide. We left around 10 a.m. hoping to sail but the wind became very light and when we got to the entrance to the channel we motored arriving about 1 p.m. We called the marina on ch 68 and they gave us a berth number but then said the tide was too strong to get in at the moment and to wait until slack tide around 4 p.m.  Anchored and took the dinghy in to find out where the berth was and to check in with the marina office. Everything seemed to be fine so we waited for 4 p.m. The berth was quite small with not much manoeuvring room but with the help of the marina staff we got Carillon safely tied up.

Saturday 16th April (08° 10.21'N 098° 20.45'E)
Yacht Haven Marina
Had one or two jobs to do in town so hired a car at Yacht Haven. It was the only one available and was a bit of a jalopy. It was actually a jeep, the steering was just about connected to the wheels and the clutch was extremely stiff but it got us around so it was OK. Lyn needed a new dive torch for the trip to the Similans since the old one had disintegrated. There's quite a well-equipped dive shop at Patong called Waterworld so that problem was solved. A little more shopping found some new swimmers (we tend to wear them most of the time so they wear out quickly) and some beach flipflops (that don't mind being soaked in seawater a lot of the time). While Lyn was shopping Steve took advantage of the unlimited water to give Carillon a good wash.

Sunday 17th April (08° 10.21'N 098° 20.45'E)
Yacht Haven Marina
We are being picked up at about 5:30 p.m. for the dive trip so have plenty of time to get Carillon spic and span, update the web site and check out the emails. The van arrived on time to pick us up. There were 3 other divers and two dive staff already in the van which then drove us up to the pier at Thap Lamu just south of Khao Lak. The tsunami wave was extremely destructive at Khao Lak. It travelled some 2 - 3 kilometres inland and there is evidence of the destruction it caused along the roadsides on the way to Thap Lamu.
When we reached the dive boat we were relieved of our shoes which we didn't see again until we returned and after an introduction to the boat facilities and dinner while we slept the boat crew took us to the Similan Islands.

Monday 18th April - Thursday 21st April
Similan Islands
The routine for the first 3 days was to get up around 6:15 and do the first dive about 7:00 a.m. After that it was breakfast then a second dive about 10:30 or so then lunch and the third dive about 2:15, an afternoon snack then the final dive just before sunset. There were  9 divers and 4 dive leaders so three groups had only 2 divers and the third 3. This was great, it meant that we could go into the water and descend almost immediately without having to wait for a large group to get ready and when there was something interesting to see we didn't have to wait for a whole group to see it. We thought the diving was well-organised, there were 4 or 5 local staff who helped us gear up, get in and out of the boat and dealt with changing tanks between dives. Most times they refilled the tank your gear was on between dives but sometimes had to move the gear to a new tank.
On the whole the visibility was good, we could see between 15 and 30 metres depending on the dive. In the islands it was mostly hard corals and enormous boulders some of which made tunnels you could swim through. There plenty of reef fish, more often than not you'd find yourself drifting through large shoals of two spot snappers, fusiliers, juveniles of one sort or another, sometimes barracuda and lots of pipefish, trumpet fish, blue spotted rays the usual angel and butterfly fish. A few times we saw leopard sharks and black or white tip reef sharks and one turtle. Unfortunately we didn't see any manta rays or whale sharks but maybe next time. There many large moray eels and an unfortunate incident on the first day reminds you to be respectful of anything you see under the water. On one of the dives in the middle of a large patch of sand is a table coral. Under this table coral lives a large (about 2 metres long) moray eel. Some divers have made a habit of feeding this moray so when you approach it swims out and around the divers. The videographer took some food down for it and was hovering close to the table coral while a friend was taking video shots when the moray bit his thumb and severed it completely. The videographer had to be rushed to hospital minus his thumb.
North of the Similans is a world class dive site called Richelieu Rock. This is an isolated rock that just breaks the surface of the sea and goes down to around 30 metres. It hasn't suffered from dynamite fishing so still has masses of soft corals, many many fish and numerous examples of macro life. We saw harlequin shrimps feeding on a starfish leg, a crevasse full of numerous different kinds of shrimp, some unusual pipefish, nudibranchs - such an enormous mass of underwater life it's hard to remember it all. We did 3 dives on the rock and could still have found something new.
The last day we did 2 dives in the morning then had to head back to Thap Lamu. We arrived back around 3 p.m. and were dropped off at Yacht Haven around 4:30 p.m. A most enjoyable trip made all the more so by friendly helpful staff and interesting diving. We booked the trip through Raya Divers but the boat and organisation was with Coral Grand Divers.

Friday 22nd April (08° 10.21'N 098° 20.45'E)
Yacht Haven Marina
We'll be leaving tomorrow because our visas will have expired so today we have to check out and provision for the next few weeks. We hire the jeep again and have to drive the length of Phuket to Au Chalong where immigration, customs and port clearance are. Checking out takes little while but eventually everything is in order. We'll try out the supermarket in Central Festival this time. It's good, we get everything on the list and the fruit and veg seem better quality although I think it was a little more expensive. Since we have the car we have dinner out in a charming little restaurant in the middle of Phuket called Kra Jok See. The service is excellent and the food delicious. It's Thai food with a foreign appeal and includes nice touches such as jasmine and ginger tea at the end of the meal.

Saturday 23rd April (08° 10.21'N 098° 20.45'E)
Yacht Haven Marina to Ko Phanak
We left the marina about 1:00 p.m. because that was slack tide. The tide runs very fast through the marina and there is not much manoeuvring space so leaving at slack tide is the smart thing to do. Even so there is always a boat boy in a dinghy with a big engine to help nudge the bow or stern if necessary. We motored to Ko Phanak in Phang Nga Bay with the intention of staying the next day to investigate the hongs on the island.

Sunday 24th April (08° 11.50'N 098° 29.12'E)
Ko Phanak
We took the kayaks in the morning to have a look at the hongs. The entrance to the first one is through a tunnel which was pitch dark inside. We had torches so followed the tunnel until we could go no further. At the end you could just about see into the hong but the tide was too high to get under the exit so we decided to go back in the afternoon when the tide was lower (but not too low because the entrance dries out). The second hong was also inaccessible by canoe because the tide was too high but there was a second cave entrance that you could walk through so we could at least see it. In the afternoon when the tide was lower we went back and this time were able to get into both hongs. They really are fascinating, completely enclosed lagoons with trees, wildlife and only open to the sky.

Monday 25th April (08° 11.50'N 098° 29.12'E)
Ko Phanak to Ko Yau Yai
Had a gentle motor and sail to Ko Yau Yai and anchored off a sheltered beach.

Tuesday 26th April (07° 54.13'N 098° 36.01'E)
Ko Yau Yai to Ko Phi Phi Don
Left for Phi Phi Don with the afternoon shore breeze and had a reach all the way.

Wednesday 27th April to Thursday 5th May (07° 43.87'N 098° 46.24'E)
Ko Phi Phi Don
We spent this time at Phi Phi Don helping out with the underwater cleanup. The first time we went to Phi Phi Don after the tsunami it looked as though not much was being done - we couldn't have been more wrong. There was so much devastation on Phi Phi that even with volunteers working flat out clearing the debris there is still a great deal to do. As far as we understand it the waves swept in to the north bay, scoured around the edge then out through the south bay destroying almost everything on the way and sweeping whole buildings into the sea in Ton Sai Bay. For those of you who know Phi Phi, in the photograph on the left the building on the left side is The Cabana, the building to the right is the Phi Phi Hotel and the structure in the centre is what's left of Hippo Divers. This area used to be filled with small resorts, souvenir shops, dive shops, restaurants, etc. All those are now gone.
One of the dive camp volunteers told us that when she arrived in February the whole area was knee deep in debris. The organisation which has done most of the clearing work on land is called Hi Phi Phi and has a constant stream of volunteers many of whom are young backpackers helping clear the debris. In May most of the superficial debris had gone but there are still many damaged buildings and debris buried or half buried in the sand.
The Phi Phi Dive Camp also has a constant stream of volunteers helping clear debris from the sea bed. When we left, the area to the west of the pier close to the beach was, on the surface of the sea bed at least, reasonably clear although if you could dig a small way under the silt there is still a large amount of rubbish. The dive camp needs experienced divers to work on the sea bed. The conditions are far from ideal and we were often working in zero visibility. The method we were using this time was to have four divers go down together with a large net with a dive weight on each corner to hold it down and two lift bags. Each diver then went in search of debris and when they found it wrestled it out of the silt and brought it back to the net. When the net was full a lift bag was attached to each end and the whole thing lifted to the surface. On the surface snorkellers were waiting with long lines running out from the beach which they would then attach to the filled net. Teams on the beach would then pull the net to the shore and move the debris from the net to the pile on shore. The snorkellers would then bring an empty net and two more lift bags to the waiting divers and the whole process would begin again. The photograph to the right shows some of the debris retrieved over two weeks or so.
The future of Phi Phi is, at present, uncertain. If a building has at least two walls standing the owners are allowed to rebuild, otherwise they are not. The Thai government has yet to make it's plans for the future of Phi Phi known. This would be an excellent opportunity to build the infrastructure previously lacking capable of supporting the level of tourism seen in the past but who knows. Only time will tell.
 

Friday 6th May (07° 43.87'N 098° 46.24'E)
Ko Phi Phi Don to Ko Lanta
Having taken our leave of the friends we had made on Phi Phi especially not forgetting Mark, Rachel and Maureen we left for Ko Lanta about midday. The winds were now blowing from the west and southwest so anchoring off the beaches on the west side was not an option. There was quite a large swell running so we tucked in by the village on the south east side just north of the southern tip. This was sheltered from the swell and reasonably sheltered from the thunderstorms passing over during the night.

Saturday 7th May (07° 32.03'N 099° 16.17'E)
Ko Lanta to Ko Rok Nok
We had been told that Ko Rok was a very pretty place so having missed it on the way to Phuket we decided to stop overnight there on the way back. we arrived in the early afternoon and were pleased to see lots of empty mooring buoys in the sheltered passage between the two islands. We tried approaching six of the buoys only to find that they were far too close to the coral and much too shallow for us to use. We were about to give up and anchor in a sandy patch just north of the southern island when we decided to have one more go at a buoy on the south side of the channel. This one had plenty of water around it although the rock the mooring line was tied to on the bottom looked a bit on the small side. We weren't expecting strong winds so we thought it would probably be OK. If anyone is going to Ko Rok the easternmost buoy just south of the north island looks ok and the three buoys along the coast of the south island on the south side of the channel seem to be ok although we didn't go close to the two westernmost ones. All the others are far too close to the coral to be safe.

Sunday 8th May (07° 12.86'N 099° 03.90'E)
Ko Rok Nok to Ko Tarutao
What a miserable days sailing!!!  We had between 3 and 38 knots of wind coming from all around the compass, rainstorms, thunderstorms, we even saw a waterspout form although thankfully it was a couple of miles away and dissipated before it got too close. We were originally heading for Ko Adang because it was the closest place with a reasonable anchorage but the wind wouldn't let us do that so then we were heading for Ko Tarutao but the wind became uncooperative about that as well. The next thing we knew we had a storm on the left, a storm on the right, the waves travelling in opposite directions, meeting in the middle and going straight up and the wind going round in circles at 5 knots one second and 20 the next. Discretion being the better part of valour we wound up the headsail, centred the main and motored through it until things had settled down a bit. By this time we had decided not to try and anchor off Ko Tarutao but to go straight on through to Langkawi even though it meant arriving after dark. We headed for the east side of Ko Tarutao hoping there would be less swell. As we were motoring down the coast the seas calmed down, the thunderstorms turned to drizzle then stopped and there looked to be a sheltered anchorage between some small islands and Ko Tarutao. That decided it, we found a nice sheltered spot, dropped the anchor and settled there for the night.

Monday 9th May (06° 38.96'N 099° 41.17'E)
Ko Tarutao to Langkawi
Grey, drizzly, windless, not quite the sundrenched sailing conditions we've been used to. We'll just motor to the Hole-in-the-Wall in Langkawi and hope the weather improves just a little (although since we're now into the SW monsoon this may not happen until November).