Welcome to the blog of the sailing yacht Sea Bunny.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Visa run

One of the issues with being in foreign countries is that visas periodically run out.  With the type we have in Thailand this is every 90 days.
At such times we have to cross an international border, get checked into a another country and return to Thailand to have our passports stamped and earn another 90 days. The time in the foreign country can be as little as 5 minutes!
Having considered two main options - fly to Penang, Singapore or KL or take a trip to Myanmar we chose the latter.
We rejected the various one-day visa run options, involving 4-5 hours each way in a minibus to the border town of Ranong and either a longtail across the river  to Kawthoung or a more comfortable ferry to the Andaman Club Resort on Thahtay Khyun Island in the mouth of the river.  Instead we hired a car, drove to Ranong and stayed overnight in the resort.  The resort essentially takes care of everything and all payments are in Thai baht.

Andaman Club resort
Thus it was that we found ourselves taking a couple of days off from boat work and spending a night in Myanmar, a country we had not expected to return to after our trip last year.  In fact you wouldn't know you are in Myanmar if it weren't for the all-important stamps in the passport - it is to all intents a Thai hotel (except for the casino).

The next day we returned by the longer "scenic" route across the central mountains and back by the old road across to Phang Nga.  A side visit was to the Keereewong Nature Temple, a Buddhist temple set in a forest glade.  We were looking for a "geocache" hidden there, which we failed to find, but were glad we went as it is a really peaceful place which most drive past.  We then visited our friends Richard and Pauline (cousins of Susan's cousin Paul's wife Elizabeth) at Khok Kloi just north of the bridge onto Phuket for a late lunch.  It was however so late that we stayed the night and still managed to return the car in Phuket before it turned into a pumpkin at 0900.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Sea Bunny progress slow but sure



Test fit of the rudder
The weather has been unseasonally kind to us and the hull underwater has mostly been filled, faired and more epoxy applied..  Just the parts that were under props, now moved, remain to be finished.  Then we will be ready to antifoul.  We have decided to use Coppercoat which, although slightly more expensive, should be effective for several years - some boats achieve 10 years or more with just gentle rub downs.  The topsides are undercoated and being finally prepared for topcoat as we write.  We will not have access to the boat for a few days as she will be masked up and surrounded by clingfilm.







Seawater inlet manifold before fitting

R has modified the huge manifol, that controls most of the seawater flow intothe boat, under the floorboards outside the engine compartment. The area has also been painted white so will be able to see the crud in future.

S has repaired the 3 large awnings, made 5 new hatch covers (essential to keep the heat out) & new cockpit table cover (essential as it is knocked every time something is taken out of the cockpit locker). She also found time to make herself a new blouse but not from the same material!

The galley beautiful project is virtually complete.

Cutting times


Cutting the cake
Here is a some recent cutting experience -  R with his birthday cake at a local seafood restaurant and Susan getting rid of of a weight on her mind.


More cutting