Thursday 5th January to Sunday 8th January
Royal Langkawi Yacht Club
   We got back to Carillon about mid-afternoon. The boat was fine, everything worked. We have to pick up the West Marine order we left with Peninsula Yachts before going back to the UK and do some provisioning for Chagos before leaving Langkawi. There are some things we can get in Langkawi but not in Phuket so we have to go shopping. For Chagos we need to stock up for about 4 months. We can keep fresh vegetables for some of that time but we need canned goods for when the fresh stuff either runs out or is no good any more and the variety of canned vegetables in Langkawi is better than in Phuket. We also managed to buy Sodium Silicate in Peninsula Yachts which can be used to keep eggs fresh for months. The method people seem to use is to dilute it with 10 parts water to 1 part sodium silicate then submerge the eggs in the solution in suitable quantities and seal the boxes with silicon sealant to prevent leakage. I'm told the eggs are still good after 6 months using this method so we'll give it a try. One of the other useful things we can buy here is chloroform. If you dip a cotton bud in it and put it in with the flour or rice it kills off any weevils that may be lurking in there.
     After the third attempt Dometic finally managed to send us the correct new controller for the aft air-conditioner so that problem is finally solved and by Monday morning we're ready to head back to Phuket to collect the new cockpit covers from Muzza at Canvas Creations.

Monday 9th January
Royal Langkawi Yacht Club to Ko Bulon
Made a quick trip to the market to buy fresh chicken and fish before heading off. The chicken comes very fresh with everything bar the head and feathers so needed a bit of extra butchering before going into the fridge. First stop was the fuel barge in Kuah Harbour. We hope to get as far as Ko Bulon tonight. After motoring out of the harbour and around to the east side of Langkawi we were able to sail. We were in the middle of a surge in the monsoon so had plenty of wind from the east to make a fast sail to Ko Bulon. This anchorage is very well protected from all but the south. The islands are uninhabited apart from the monkeys and birds. The occasional longtail comes through the channel but apart from that it's very peaceful.

Tuesday 10th January
Ko Bulon to Ko Lanta
The wind was still blowing strongly so we headed for Ko Rok about 45 miles to the north. We weren't sure how sheltered it would be but the anchorage is in a channel between the two islands. We got there about mid-afternoon after sailing with a reef in the main and the jib rolled up to a No 2 most of the way to find that the wind was blowing straight into the channel causing a good size swell so stopping there was not possible. Our options were to head north for another 45 miles to Ko Racha with the wind on the beam or east about 16 miles to Ko Lanta with the wind on the nose. Initially we chose Ko Racha but as we left Ko Rok the wind swung a little making it possible to sail to Ko Lanta instead. As we got closer to Ko Lanta the wind was gusting about 30 knots so we were quite relieved to reach the shore. It was still pretty windy but the water was flat so it was possible to anchor in reasonable comfort.

Wednesday 11th January to Thursday 12th January
Ko Lanta to Ko Racha
The wind had softened a little so the sail to Ko Racha was fairly uneventful apart from Steve catching another fish. This was a small tuna which was just about the right size to fit in the steamer and was very tasty. We stayed a day at Ko Racha because it's such a nice place. The structures on the beach had all been rebuilt after last years tsunami and everything was up and running. Went ashore for dinner and had a drink at a beach bar - but only one because they were playing really awful music.

Friday 13th January to Saturday 14th January 
Ko Racha to Au Chalong to Nai Harn Bay
It was still quite windy so we had a fast sail to Au Chalong arriving about midday. We planned to check in as quickly as possible then go round to Nai Harn Bay on the SW corner of Phuket because we don't really like Au Chalong. By 2 p.m. we were checked in, Steve's BC (for diving) had given up the ghost the day before when he was cleaning the bottom of the boat so we went to a dive shop to see if it could be repaired or if he would need a new one. The opinion was that he would need a new one so we came away with information on various BCs so he could decide which one he wanted.
Motored round the corner to Nai Harn Bay which was far more pleasant. About 20 yachts were anchored there but it's a big bay and there was plenty of space. Spent Saturday there too doing some tidying and cleaning.

Sunday 15th January to Monday 16th January
Nai Harn Bay to Yachthaven Marina
We had to be in Yachthaven by Monday to meet up with Muzza to fit the new dodger. We'd planned to sail about halfway, find a nice anchorage and be in Yachthaven by Monday midday but we had such a good wind and such an enjoyable sail we decided to go all the way on Sunday. Muzza came along Monday afternoon with the new dodger and bimini. The bimini was perfect and considerably easier to fit than the old one. The dodger was exactly the right shape but needed some minor alterations to the placement of one of the zips so he had to take it back with him. With the dodger and bimini in place Muzza was able to measure up for the other covers to fill in the gaps which should be ready by the time we leave for Chagos.

Tuesday 17th January to Friday 20th January
Yachthaven to Krabi to Yachthaven
With a few days in hand we decided to cruise over to Krabi  for a day or two. We anchored in the southernmost bay of the Krabi beaches. The longtails are slightly less noisy but the winds tend to gust around the cliffs so if the weather blows up it doesn't feel quite so secure as the next bay north. For some reason the longtails ferrying people to the beaches around Krabi are considerably noisier than longtails elsewhere. Mike and Elen were arriving Sunday evening so we sailed back to Yachthaven on Friday to give ourselves time to sort out the boat and do the provisioning before they arrived.

Saturday 21st January to Sunday 22nd January
Yachthaven
We tidied the boat and managed to clear everything off the bunks in the double cabin so that Mike and Elen had somewhere to sleep then Lyn started to repair the mainsail cover only to have the sewing machine break down a few inches into a seam. We hired the usual battered jeep then drove to Phuket in search of a Singer repair shop. After trying one or two electrical shops and being directed to likely places we eventually found the shop on Wichit Songkhram Rd. No-one in the shop spoke English but with a bit of mime and the help of a calendar they told us the machine would be ready on Monday.
Sunday morning was spent provisioning for the two weeks Mike and Elen would be with us then we collected them from the airport about 8 p.m.

Monday 23rd January
Phuket
Mike and Elen wanted to have a look around Phuket Island  before going off sailing so we all piled into the battered jeep and started with the Gorilla Rehabilitation Centre and a short walk to a small waterfall in the National Park. Next destination was Au Chalong for lunch at Jimmy's Lighthouse then a tour of the Buddhist monastery Wat Chalong. The serenity of the monastery was non-existent since there was a large market in the grounds but we couldn't find out what it was for. From Wat Chalong we headed for the lookout point overlooking Nai Harn Bay. Elen decided this would be a good spot to use her phone to send a photo back to her workmates - blue sea, palm trees, white sand beach, sun, blue sky - what more could you want. From Nai Harn we went to Patong where Mike and Elen supplemented their holiday wardrobes. We walked the length of the beach - probably about 3 km watching paragliders, swimmers and sunbathers (some of whom looked a bit lobsterish). We found a seafood restaurant on the beach for dinner where we chose prawns and white snapper.

Tuesday 24th January
Yachthaven to Ko Daeng
The sewing machine wasn't quite ready Monday so before leaving Lyn had to make a quick trip to Phuket Town to collect it. We finally left Yachthaven late morning and motored down the river to anchor at Ko Phanak. We thought Mike and Elen should see some hongs and the two on the west coast of Ko Phanak are quite good ones. We inflated the canoes and sent them off with a couple of torches. Mike neglected to give one to Elen to go through the dark tunnel (he said he thought we were probably exaggerating when we said it was pitch black inside but we weren't) so she found it a bit tricky.
After the hongs at Ko Phanak we motored to James Bond Island going as close as we could so that they could see it (it's very shallow around the island so you can't get too close) then anchored at Ko Daeng Yai for the night. It's a beautiful peaceful place where the water is calm and you are surrounded by high limestone islands.

Wednesday 25th January
Ko Daeng to Krabi
We thought we'd sail all the way to Krabi today so Lyn and Steve got up soon after dawn to catch the early morning breeze and get Carillon on the move. We went across the bay past what we'd called Bat Island (I think the proper name is Ko Sum but it's covered in fruit bats hence Bat island) and stopped at Ko Pak Bia for a swim. This is a small island that's mainly beach and a pleasant spot to spend an hour or two. About mid-afternoon we left Pak Bia to sail to Krabi. Initially we anchored at the southernmost beach but as it started to get dark the wind was gusting around the cliffs and an uncomfortable swell was working in from the south so we decided to move around the corner to Railey Beach which was much calmer. We went ashore to check out the restaurants and Mike and Elen booked a canoeing and elephant trip for the next day.

Thursday 26th January
Krabi
We had a restful day (apart from the noisy longtails) but Mike and Elen's canoeing trip was quite strenuous (so they told us) and they found the elephant ride very enjoyable. The canoeing trip takes place in the mangrove area at the north of the bay so not somewhere we could take Carillon.

Friday 27th January
Krabi to Phi Phi Don
Mike and Elen had arranged for some spa treatments about lunchtime and Elen needed to be at an Internet Cafe at 2 p.m. to get the results of some important exams. She startled the whole place by leaping up shouting "Oh my God I've passed them both" so many congratulations were in order.
We left for Phi Phi Don about mid-afternoon but there was no wind so we motored all the way arriving about 6:30 p.m. Went ashore for dinner and had a quick chat with Andrew who ran the Dive Camp after the tsunami. He said business was still pretty slow so I hope things pick up for him. Each time we go back to Phi Phi there is a little more development and a few more shops have opened up but there is still no decision from government about redevelopment on the main beach.

Saturday 28th January
Phi Phi Lei
We got up soon after dawn again to take Carillon across to Phi Phi Lei before all the tourist boats started arriving. There were some cruising boats already there who must have been there overnight and initially the only suitable mooring available was right at the mouth of the bay but after an hour or two one of the boats on an inside mooring left so we were able to move closer to the beach. Between about 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. was the usual pandemonium with big tour boats coming in announcing instructions to their passengers over their loudspeakers and small speedboats screaming through areas where people were snorkelling. When everything had quietened down and most of the tourist boats had left Mike and Elen were able to go ashore to enjoy the beach in peace. It looked like a promising sunset but the peace was shattered by a sunset tour boat entering the bay, leaving their engines running and playing loud music until twilight when they left again.

Sunday 29th January
Phi Phi Lei to Ko Racha
We left Phi Phi Lei early and set sail for Ko Racha but the wind was quite light so we ended up motorsailing. Steve set the fishing line and within a short space of time we'd caught a small tuna. It wasn't big enough for 4 so he set the line again hoping to catch another one. The second one came quite quickly too by which time we'd decided the fish were a bit small for two but quite generous for one so he set the line again and half an hour later caught another one about the same size as the first two. We only needed one more for the set so the line was set once more. Lo and behold there was another fish on the line but it was a bit more difficult to bring in so we thought maybe it was a bit bigger but no, the fish was the same size as the others, as was the fish on the next hook on the line and the fish on the hook after that. We'd managed to catch three fish all at the same time so now we had 6 - time to stop fishing.
We arrived at Ko Racha soon after lunchtime so there were still quite a few day boats on the moorings so we picked up an outside one and waited for the dayboats to leave so that we could move closer in. Went ashore for a look round and to touch base with the dive shop. We arranged to go diving the following day. The dive was classed as a deep dive since it was more than 18m so Mike was able to do a Deep Dive module to go towards his Advanced Openwater qualification.

Monday 30th January to Tuesday 31st January
Ko Racha
Raya Divers don't start particularly early so we didn't need to get to the beach until about 10 a.m. Elen had decided to stay on the boat and have a relaxing morning so the three of us went ashore just before 10. The dive was a small wreck about 40m long at about 25m deep. The visibility was superb, we could see easily from one end of the wreck to the other. There were some large garoupas and snappers swimming underneath it and a couple of lionfish on the bow. Schools of rabbitfish swam around and a small yellow pufferfish was nibbling the coral on the sides. A statue standing on deck had been tastefully fitted out with a Raya Divers t-shirt, mask and snorkel and a loo and some bath tubs were on display. An enjoyable dive. In the afternoon we dived a site called Hobbit Holes which was a series of large rocks with gaps under and between big enough to swim through. There were soft corals inside the swim thrus and shoals of fish around the rocks. Yahn classed this as a drift dive so Mike was able to chalk up the Drift Dive module towards his Advanced Openwater as well. Elen found herself a vacant sunlounger and umbrella and had a relaxing afternoon on the beach.

The next day Steve and Lyn went diving while Mike and Elen explored the island. The first dive started just outside the bay where we were anchored and was a very enjoyable relaxing dive with a gentle current going over rocks and hard corals with plenty of marine life to see. Not a challenging dive but one to drift over the sea bed taking in the views. The second dive was completely different. The site was a pinnacle of rock a mile or so off the island. There was a strong current when we anchored - so much so that the dive boat trailed lines to hang onto when you jumped into the water. On the surface we pulled ourselves along the trailing lines to the anchor line and pulled ourselves down it until we reached the bottom. The current wasn't quite so strong on the bottom but the visibility was dreadful - we couldn't see more than about 5m or so. We swum around for a bit but with the poor visibility there wasn't much to see so we drifted up slowly hoping to see some big fish on the way up. Not the best dive we've ever done. The divemaster was apologetic but said that the conditions for that dive were so variable and on a good day visibility was good and there was lots to see, that it was worth taking the chance of it being a bad day - maybe next time it'll be a good day.

Wednesday 1st February
Ko Racha to Nai Harn Bay
Mike and Elen have to fly back to Bangkok tomorrow so we'll sail to Nai Harn Bay this morning and where they can get a taxi to the airport. We leave early to catch the morning breeze, it's blowing about 15 knots outside the bay and we're hard on the wind. Mike and Elen were still sleeping when we left but luckily we were on starboard tack so they were rolled into the bunk not out. Nai Harn Bay is only a couple of hours sail from Ko Racha so we were there by 10 o'clock. Steve went ashore to hire a motorbike and go into town to pick up our passports from the travel agent. She'd sent them to Bangkok to get Indian visas for us to go to the Andamans and Cochin. Mike and Elen went for a last walk around Nai Harn Bay.

Thursday 2nd February
Nai Harn Bay to Yachthaven
Mike and Elen had to catch their taxi at 8 o'clock which meant leaving the boat by dinghy around 10 to 8. At about 7:30 they were still sleeping so we woke them up when Mike discovered his watch was about half an hour slow. Steve took them ashore where the taxi was waiting then we left for Yachthaven. The wind was right on the nose so we motored. It must have been blowing quite hard all night because the seas were quite choppy and uncomfortable until we got into Phang Nga Bay. The wind seemed to follow us round and was on the nose almost all the way although we did manage to sail for an hour or so until it died altogether. We had booked a berth in the marina for a few days to get Carillon ready for our trip to Chagos. Yachthaven prefers yachts to go into the marina at slack tide since the currents are very strong and manouvering space is very tight. We arrived about half an hour before slack tide and waited around outside with a couple of other boats until the current had slowed down. When we first arrived it was running at about 1.5 knots. With the help of the marina staff in a powerful dinghy nudging the stern into the right position we berthed without too much trauma although Steve swears his hair gets whiter every time we go in.

Friday 3rd February to Monday 6th February
Yachthaven Marina
 Before we leave for Chagos we need to get the engine, the generator and the outboard serviced, have the liferaft serviced, get the rest of the boat covers from Muzza and provision the boat for 4 months. We'll be able to buy fresh fruit and vegetables in the Andamans and Cochin but all the non-perishables we'll get here. The mechanics and the guy to pick up the liferaft were waiting on the dock when we arrived Thursday. Friday the mechanics were working all day so Steve worked on the outside of the boat while Lyn went to get the first batch of shopping. The first place to go was and enormous wholesale supermarket called Supercheap on the way into Phuket Town. It's a rambling place selling everything from foodstuffs to household goods to car stuff - the only problem is locating what you want. Lyn spent Saturday getting more shopping while Steve reinforced the retaining bars for the extra fuel cans, fixed the roof panels, moved sails so that the storm sails were accessible just in case we needed them, cleaned, deflated and stowed the dinghy and gave the outside of the boat a good clean. The mechanics had taken away various parts of the engine for servicing and the liferaft should be ready by the end of the week. Muzza will finish the covers this week so we expect to be able to leave around the 15th.

Wednesday 15th to Sunday 19th February
Phuket to the Andamans
The mechanics were still finishing the engine service on Wednesday morning but promise they will be finished by lunchtime. Slack tide is about 2:30 p.m. so we must leave then. The mechanics finish on time and the engine seems to be running ok so we cast off and motor to Nai Harn Bay for the night intending to make an early start in the morning.
   We leave Nai Harn at about 7:30 a.m. and head for the Andamans course 300° approx. For the first day the winds are very light and coming from strange directions so we do quite a lot of motoring. As we get further offshore the winds strengthen and swing around to the NE so by the afternoon of day 2 we have about 10 - 15 knots from just forward of the beam, blue skies, almost flat seas, the occasional pod of dolphins and not a ship in sight. Apart from one or two very small rainstorms this is how it stayed until we sighted the Andamans on day 4 (Sunday). Glorious sailing in near perfect conditions.
   The Andamans are governed by India so we'd already obtained Indian visas and contacted Andaman Holidays in Port Blair (capital city of the Andamans) to act as agents for us to help smooth check in procedures. We had been told they cold get complicated and if you were really unlucky could take up to 3 days to check in. We had been told we needed to provide lists of boat equipment, boat stores and personal equipment for customs but weren't sure exactly what was to be included and what wasn't so ended up listing pretty much everything on the boat.
   Entry into Indian ports is also more complicated than other countries we have visited. The first requirement is to radio into Port Control when you get to within 10 miles of the port. This we did and were directed to an anchorage just outside the main port, a bit rocky and exposed for our liking but we had no option. By the time we arrived it was dark so not a good time to try and find a better anchorage even if we'd been allowed to. Port Control told us to anchor there overnight and they would contact us first thing in the morning.

Monday 20th to Tuesday 21st February
Port Blair
People weren't kidding when they said check in was complicated/time-consuming. About 9:00 a.m. we had a call from Port Control telling us to expect customs some time after 9:00 a.m. About 10:00 a.m. 2 customs officers and our agent turned up on the sea wall and waved. We assumed we were intended to go and pick them up with our dinghy, luckily we'd just inflated it and put it in the water although we did have a bit of a problem getting the engine going so they had to wait for a bit. The seas were pretty choppy so picking them up from the concrete steps wasn't easy. Steve got soaked trying to get them into the dinghy dry. Up until a few days ago yachts could anchor in the inner port in much calmer water but there was an explosion on board a motor yacht caused either by a gas leak or a fuel leak - we got conflicting stories - so it was decided to make yachts anchor in the outer harbour until such times as they had been checked out by the Navy and then allow them to move to the inner harbour.
   We presented our many lists to the customs officers but all they seemed to be interested in was what alcohol we had on board and were disappointed to find we only carried Thai Whisky and not Johnny Walker or similar. It seems they expect a 'gift' of a bottle of whisky for their services.
   After we had returned the customs officers to the shore we had to inform Port Control we were cleared by customs and were told to wait where we were for Coastguard/Navy clearance. An hour or two later a coastguard boat turned up, By this time it was too rough for them to come alongside safely so once again Steve had to go and fetch them. Three representatives came on board and asked many questions about safety gear, sailing experience, how we run the boat, do we keep a log, how do we navigate then had a quick look through all the lockers before giving us a clearance.
   Another call to Port Control to inform them we now had Coastguard clearance and we were instructed to move to the inner harbour and call again when we were anchored. After informing them when we were anchored in the inner harbour we waited another half hour or so before being instructed to take our dinghy ashore to pick up the immigration officer and our agent. The immigration procedures were pretty straightforward and that done it was yet another call to Port Control to inform them we were cleared by immigration and were now coming ashore to present all our various bits of paper to the Harbour Master. The agent told us that the paperwork we had to show or give copies of to the Harbour Master varied from day to day so he took everything he could think of on the assumption that he may or may not need it. We had to stop on the way so that he could get photocopies of various documents.
   All in all it too from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. to check in although the agent told us that when yachts were allowed directly into the inner harbour it could be done in half a day rather than a whole day. We'll never complain about the hour or so it takes to check in to Thailand at Au Chalong again. Having cleared a detailed itinerary must be submitted and you must stick to it. The instructions are to call Port Control at 8:00 morning and evening to inform them of your whereabouts and confirm you are where you are supposed to be. They told us it was for safety reasons.
Having finally completed check in we had a quick wander around Port Blair. It was much bigger then we'd expected and apparently has a population of about 300,000 mainly Indians. There are still some indigenous tribes living in the interior of some of the islands but their numbers are declining.
   Tuesday morning we went to do the tourist bit in Port Blair. The main tourist site is the Cellular Jail. When the British first annexed the Andamans they used it as a penal colony. Initially convicts were sent there but later it was used for Indian dissidents in the years leading up to independence. It was finally closed in 1938 and the last inmates shipped back to India. The Cellular Jail could hold just under 700 prisoners many of whom died through maltreatment or hunger strikes. In it's heyday it must have been a pretty grim place.
   The other tourist attraction we visited was the aquarium and were quite surprised to find that most of the exhibits were preserved in formaldehyde.

Wednesday 22nd to Monday 27th February
The Andaman Islands
The first place on our itinerary was Havelock Island, Beach no. 7 - such a pretty place deserves a more romantic name. The course was directly into the wind but with about 15 knots of wind it shouldn't have been a problem to sail albeit slowly. What we hadn't bargained for was a short steep swell coming from both the N and the NE which was bigger than it should have been given the wind strength. We got to with 10 miles but were only making 1 or 2 knots so gave up and motored the rest of the way. The anchorage is quite open but sheltered from the prevailing winds. The beach is long with soft sand a few huts in the middle. There is a local bus service to the main areas on Havelock although the resorts are very low key - mostly tents. Once the day tourists have left there are one or two campers on the beach and a couple of other yachts but that's about all. We spent the day there on Thursday just checking out the beach and lazing around on the boat.  
   Friday we sailed NE again through the islands to the next spot on our itinerary Middle Button Island. Unfortunately when we got there the swell was rolling around the island and it looked a bit uncomfortable. We decided to move to the next island - North Button Island - which had a slightly more protected anchorage. North Button island is about 1 mile long and half at mile across at the widest place. It's inhabited by birds, lizards and insects and has a fringing reef. We found a spot that was more sand than reef to anchor in and settled down for a day or so. The reef is in quite good condition and there are plenty of fish to while away an hour or two snorkelling. The first night there was one other boat anchored at the other end of the island but the second night (Saturday) we had the island to ourselves.
Sunday we returned to Havelock Island. There was no wind so we motored all the way. We met some friends who were anchored there and they told us that if we were lucky we might see dugongs near the reef in the afternoon. Would you believe one swam past us where we were anchored. We got the snorkelling gear quick and jumped in the water. The dugong was just swimming slowly about, feeding on the bottom for a few minutes then up to the surface for a breath of air. It was magical, it didn't seem to mind us swimming around nearby and just carried on doing it's own thing.
   Monday we return to Port Blair to pick up diesel and a few more fresh vegetables before checking out on Tuesday. Hope check out doesn't take as long as check in.

Tuesday 28th February to Saturday 11th March
Port Blair to Cochin
Check out was easier than check in. The agent did pretty much everything but he'd started Monday morning with a request to customs for a clearance document - I'm not quite sure what it was - and had to wait until Monday evening for it. Steve went with him to the Harbour Master about 4:30 p.m. Monday then Tuesday morning we checked out the internet while the agent did the rest of the clearance. We left at midday to sail very gently down the east coast of South Andaman Island and then through the passage between South Andaman and Rutland Island to the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. The wind was pretty much on the nose to start with then shifted around to the NE and stayed there until we reached Sri Lanka on Tuesday 6th March. The winds were light all the way and we had one period of about 10 hours when we motored but the rest of the time we drifted along in the sunshine at about 4 or 5 knots with the sails goosewinged and the wind right behind. It was very pleasant relaxed sailing. At night we could see thunderstorms in the distance but we weren't bothered by any. For the first few days we saw quite a few dolphins but for the second half of the trip none at all.
   The first day out we had a fishing line set and just as we were having to take avoiding action for a big ship we got a bite - good timing. Steve went to try to reel in whatever was on the end of the line but it must have been quite a big fish because it took the sets of hooks and the teaser and broke the line so we lost the lot. (A teaser is a small fish shaped piece of wood which bounces along the surface in front of the hooks and helps to attract the fish).  Next day Steve made a new teaser and another set of hooks and was just putting it in the water to see how the teaser behaved when he got a bite. This time he played the fish much longer to try to tire it out and stop it from breaking the line again and eventually landed it on the back of the boat. It was a very solid Yellowfin Tuna about 50cm long with enough meat on it for 5 meals. Lyn banned him from fishing for the time being because after 4 days of fish meals she wanted a change.
     By the evening of Tuesday 6th we were fairly close to the southern coast of Sri Lanka and spent the night dodging fishing boats. We had planned a course well inside the shipping lanes so the big ships were no problem. We could see them passing by well to the south of us but the fishing boats seemed to pop up unexpectedly all over the place. At first we didn't realise how small they were since in the dark all you can see is a light but we suddenly realised they were an awful lot closer than we thought. By daylight we could see how small they were but they were very manoeuvrable and tended to buzz around at high speed when they weren't actually fishing. We passed the port of Galle on the southern tip of Sri Lanka. This is a stopping place for yachts especially those continuing on to the Red Sea but we didn't visit it this time - maybe another time.
   By early evening Wednesday we were heading across the Gulf of Mannar between Sri Lanka and the southern tip of India. We could see storms building up over Sri Lanka and by early evening they had developed into full blown thunderstorms full of lightning and rain. We could see where the rain was on the radar and spent most of the night trying to work out which way they were going and avoiding them. Rain and wind are uncomfortable but lightning can cause serious damage and is best avoided if possible. By 2:00 a.m. the last of the storms in our area was dissipating and with only 3 or 4 knots of wind we motored through the rest of the night and all the next day.
   By Friday morning we were off the southern tip of India and avoiding fishing boats again. One of the fishing methods they use here is longlining. They stream a long line behind the boat with hooks at intervals along it then head flat out towing it behind not deviating from their intended course regardless of what's in the way. We had to go in a circle for one of these since we couldn't get across his bow and didn't know how far behind his line stretched since there were no markers of any kind on it. Going up the coast in the dark there were numerous small fishing boats and quite a big swell from the south so it was a question of now you see them now you don't. We managed not to hit anything and arrived at the entrance to Cochin Harbour around 2:00 p.m.
   It's quite shallow for a long way out so there is a dredged channel leading into the harbour. We'd radioed in and had been told to anchor off the Hotel Taj Malabar at Willingdon Island and wait for Port Authority and Customs. After our experience in the Andamans we expected to have to wait some time but the Port Authority launch met us as we were going in to direct us to the anchorage and the Customs boat came alongside soon after. The officials were all very friendly although there were so many forms to fill in it took some time. By the time we'd finished it was about 5:00 p.m. and they don't deal with yachts on Sunday so we thought we were going to be stuck on the boat until Monday but the Customs guy arranged for us to do immigration and took us ashore so even though there are still formalities to be completed on Monday we can at least go ashore on Sunday.

Sunday 12th March to Sunday 19th March
Kochi (Cochin)
    Kochi, as we discovered it should be called, is set in a network of waterways in fact the whole coastal area is a network of waterways. Kochi consists of islands and peninsulas separated by waterways. The original settlement by the Portuguese was at the northern tip of the southern peninsula presumably to guard the entrance to the harbour. It's called Fort Kochi and still has a very Portuguese feel about it in the buildings and streets. Further into the harbour Willingdon Island where the government offices are is an artificial island built from materials dredged up when the harbour was deepened. Bolgatty Island where the yacht anchorage is, was the home of the British Residency. This now the Bolgatty Hotel. The main modern town of Ernakulam is opposite Bolgatty Island and is noisy, very crowded and full of traffic. It has many streets of small shops, market areas or shopping centres which remind us very much of Chungking Mansions in Hong Kong - many small shops crowded together on two or three floors.
   On Sunday we got the boatman based at Willingdon Island to take us to Fort Kochi to do some sightseeing. The boatman, Nazar, is a general fixer and will take on all sorts of yacht services such as finding mechanics, delivering diesel, ferrying you around and generally helping out when requested. We'd had a problem with one of the outboard motors and he found us a mechanic to at least make it run more smoothly.
   Monday morning saw us completing check-in formalities. This entailed visits to the General Foreman, Harbour Master, Shroff, Customs (again) then back to the General Foreman. You have to formally request in writing permission to move from the quarantine anchorage at the Taj Malabar to the Yacht anchorage at Bolgatty Island. By midday we were done and could then move to Bolgatty Island. The channel is very shallow and is better negotiated at high tide. By the time we left the tide had just turned but since low tide wasn't until about 5:00 p.m. we thought we'd be ok although as we motored through the channel the main echo sounder gave up altogether since it doesn't cope too well with depths of less than a metre under the keel and the FLS was reading 0.0 metres. We don't think we touched the bottom going in but it may be the mud was too soft to notice, anyway once inside there's enough water to anchor. 
   Our first job was to find the boatyard. A couple of days before arriving we were looking over the stern and found that the auxiliary rudder on the wind vane gear had snapped and was hanging by a thread. We wrapped a line around it, sawed through the thread and brought it on board. We have no idea how it happened but it needs to be fixed. The boatyard, Kyodo-Syokai looked at it and thought about it and decided the only solution was to make a new one in wood. The old one was made from some kind of injection moulded plastic with a stainless steel tube running through it. Trying to get anything to stick to the old one to repair it was a non-starter so hopefully we'll end up with a beautifully crafted wooden replacement.
   One of the tourist attractions of this area is a cruise through the backwaters. We decided to do an overnight trip to enjoy the full experience. We went by taxi to a place called Vaikkom about 25 km south of Kochi to pick up the boat. The boat had a seating area, a double cabin for us and a kitchen area. The crew consisted of the cook Samban (the man in charge)  and 2 boat boys. It was powered by a 2 stroke engine clamped to the side near the stern and steered by a horizontal steering wheel at the front. The driver seemed to communicate with the engine man by pulling on a piece of string that ran down the side of the boat. It was a delightful trip. The boat meandered gently through the waterways giving us a glimpse into the lifestyles of the people who lived alongside the water. We stopped to look around a spice garden and the cook identified various plants for us. We also watched the coconut fibres being spun into string and the local fishermen fishing for shellfish. The cook made us some delicious curries and showed us what spices he used. We saw a Hindu ceremony where a very large elephant in ceremonial regalia was having cymbals and drums played to him (the elephant didn't look too impressed). The trip was well worth doing and we very much enjoyed it.
   Kerala is well known for it's Kathakali performances. Kathakali is a type of dance drama performed in Hindu temples on special occasions. The performances usually start around 9 p.m. and go on until dawn but there are a number of places that give a demonstration for tourists. The demonstration shows how the make-up is applied then gives a brief history of Kathakali followed by a demonstration of eye movements, portrayal of emotions and movements to portray various words and actions. A short excerpt from one of the stories is performed to show how it all fits together. It was a most interesting evening.
   On Sunday Nazar had invited another couple and ourselves to his home for lunch. We met his mother, his wife and their four children all of whom were charming. Nazar works very hard to support his family and seems to have found a niche helping visiting yachts. We have certainly found him honest and helpful.

Monday 20th March to Monday 27th March
Kochi and Munnar
   On Monday we went to check on the progress on the wind vane rudder. They were about halfway through the job and had completed 3 layers of lamination and had 2 to go. Once the woodwork was completed the rudder would then be sheathed in a thin layer of fibreglass and finally given a coat of anti-fouling. If all went well it would be ready by Friday.
   Tuesday to Thursday we had booked a trip to Munnar which is a hill station about 100km from Kochi. We went by car to Munnar with a driver and a guide. The driving in India is frightening. Everyone drives with one hand on the horn and assumes anything coming the other way will move. We reached Munnar in one piece and were shown to our tree-house where we would be staying for the first night. This area is full of tea plantations and during the afternoon we were taken on a drive through the hills to see the plantations.
   We learnt quite a lot about tea growing. The plants last about 100 years but are 10 years old before they can be picked. Tea pickers earn about 80 rupees per day (about GBP1) but they are provided with accommodation and the children go to government schools. The TATA plantation we visited also had a facility for the physically and mentally handicapped children of the plantation workers. The children were educated as far as possible then given vocational training and work within the facility. The skills they could learn included producing batik cloth, hand-made paper and products, paintings to be used on greetings cards and strawberry jam making.
   The following day we were driven to Yellapatty then had a short trek into the hills where we would camp for the night. The campsite had a permanent large hut with a cooking facility and a few small rooms where the guides, cook and porters stayed but they erected a small tent for us in a secluded spot. They also built and tended a small fire overnight on the path to our tent to discourage dangerous animals such as wild elephants and bison. We didn't see any animals but there were plenty of hoof prints and elephant droppings in the area.
   On Friday we collected the rudder and refitted it - it looked fine. We spent the weekend provisioning for our trip south to Chagos and stocking up on Indian spices which are quite cheap here. All being well we plan to leave early on Tuesday morning so we'll do the final provisioning and check out on Monday.

Monday 27th March to Monday 3rd April
Kochi to Gan
   Checkout procedures were reasonably straightforward apart from immigration. Unfortunately the day we decided to checkout the QE2 came into Kochi so the immigration officers all went onboard to check in the passengers. Steve waited for some time before the assistant decided to take him and another couple checking out to the QE2 and take the passports onboard for the immigration officers to stamp them. Lyn was doing last minute vegetable shopping and the assistant was not happy to check her out in her absence but the officer on the QE2 didn't seem too bothered. We checked the emails before we left and discovered from some friends that Chagos was closed to yachts from April 2nd to April 6th to allow the island people to come back to honour the graves of their ancestors. We had to leave Kochi because we were already checked out so we decided to see how the time went and if necessary stop at Addu Atoll on the southern end of the Maldives.
   We left early Tuesday morning and motored out through the dredged channel until we were clear of the shallows then were able to sail. The propeller had picked up a lot of growth in Kochi but the water was too dirty to go in and clean it. We were hoping it would be calm enough outside once we got into cleaner water but there was too much wind and too much swell.
The wind was from the west at about 12 knots so we had a comfortable broad reach which took us pretty well down the length of the Maldives. The first night out we passed lots of fishing boats so there was quite a lot to do overnight to avoid them. By the next day we were too far from the coast for fishing boats so we just enjoyed the sail. There were some big ships going across between Sri Lanka and Suez but none came too close.
   A few days out the gas bottle unexpectedly ran out. They normally last us about 3 months and this one had only been in use for about a month. We thought it was possible it hadn't been filled completely but it made our decision about whether or not to go into Gan at Addu Atoll much easier. We now had one bottle of gas so without filling the empty one it would be touch and go as to whether we could last until we returned to Langkawi. We hadn't been able to get a courtesy flag for the Maldives so had to spend a morning making one.
   As we got further south the wind got lighter and headed us so we had to make long tacks. We crossed the equator on Sunday 2nd April at 13:42 and 38 seconds. The current was running at about 1.5 knots from the west washing us away from Gan and the wind had dropped to about 5 knots so we motored slowly with the fouled propeller for 35 miles. We arrived off the entrance to the atoll around midnight so hove-to until daylight to go inside the atoll.

Monday 3rd April to Friday 7th April
Gan
   The entrance proved to be straightforward and we anchored just outside the inner harbour along with the other yachts. The system here is that you wait for the authorities to come to you which they did about an hour or so after we dropped anchor. Checking in was very easy, all the authorities came together i.e. Port Authority, Customs, Health and Immigration. They were a very cheerful friendly bunch and all the paperwork was completed fairly quickly with no extras expected. If we wanted to we could take the yacht anywhere in Addu Atoll but to explore the rest of the Maldives you would have to check in at Malé to get a cruising permit.
   The islands of Addu Atoll were pretty sleepy. There's a string of islands connected by causeways on the south and west sides of the atoll and a few scattered along the east side. It's poorly protected from the North and East but quite well protected from the South and West. The island of Gan