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