RIB rescue!

From Koh Phayam we went to the Surins for a few days.  Unfortunately the coral in both the Surins and the Similans has suffered from bleaching over the last couple of years.

The Koh Miang anchorage (taken in 2009)

At anchor off Koh Miang in the Similans we were in the cockpit playing cards, when Susan observed a very smart RIB heading out through the channel between the islands, with the tide and wind, but with no-one on board.  Was it was supporting a drift dive? Too fast to have divers attached.  We launched our RIB and collected the drifting boat.  There was a swimmer, complete with flotation vest, chasing the RIB.  He had swum at least 0.4nM (750 m) from the large motor yacht M/Y Amadeus from whence the RIB has escaped but he was losing the race. There were us and one fishing boat on a mooring between him and a 40 nM swim to the mainland!  We picked him up and reunited him with the RIB, which had apparently gone adrift during lunch.
 
In the picture we were on the second mooring from the left, the RIB was further E (right) when picked up and the fishing boat was on the last mooring (no tender) - then nothing till the mainland.

We can only assume and hope that the  skipper was not on board Amadeus at the time the boat became detached and that the crew member made the decision himself to try to rescue the RIB in such a potentially suicidal way.

Man cannot live by bread alone - Koh Phayam

We have been a bit busy planning for our maintenance period in Phuket and hence have not got round to blogging for a while.

We headed up from Nai Yang, via Ban Thap Lamu and the channels inside Koh Ra and Koh Phra Thong (don't try looking for Koh Ra on Maps on an iPad - it apparently doesn't exist but does on Google Earth) to Koh Phayam.

Ko Phayam - main road

Butterfly - Ko Phayam

Koh Phayam is like what Phuket probably was 30 years ago - low key backpacker resorts, good beaches, very relaxed -Lonely Planet says demure.

R had an arguement with a lawn mower at the hairdressers. We found fruit and veg and the cafe beside the library (book swap or loan) took an order for bread. 

2 kg loaf

Be warned however, a 2 kg wholemeal loaf cost us THB 600 (GBP 12) and was dense (like R's hot cross buns -have 2 for breakfast and you don't need to eat again all day). R suffered from severe indigestion after two slices of toast.  The loaf was quartered, frozen & lasted 2 weeks - so quite economical really!
With no inverter, this was an investment & kept the male of the species happily married to cracker girl!
The b...d word looms so large on Sea Bunny that it is now banned & has to be referred to as fermented wheat.