UK visit 1

21/22 March saw us travelling Phuket-Kuala Lumpur-Dubai-Gatwick, with an overnight stay in Dubai. The KL to Dubai leg was supposed to be an A380, but it had been replaced with a 777 and that was only about 1/3 full - signs of the economy? So we spread ourselves & slept.

Dubai Fort

In Dubai we had a morning free so we had a healthy brisk walk to a museum in the old Dubai Fort. 

The Dubai-Gatwick leg was however nearly full. Susan was seated next to an obese man who spread himself largely into her "territory" & was very rude.  One of the few empty seats was next to Richard so she was able to move, otherwise she would have contacted the stewardess.

In UK we touched base with Nik and Lou, had the annual sort out of wardrobe and moved on to Paul & Elizabeth, catching up on Fenland news.  Richard absented himself for a night, off to Cambridge for an old boys reunion. True to promise he didn't buy the photo of white haired men!

Dubai - Air conditioned bus shelter

Boat Lagoon, Phuket

Apologies to all our readers for the lack of updates. Life has been a bit hectic.

On 9 February Sea Bunny was lifted out at Phuket Boat Lagoon principally to have the topsides painted and for a few minor jobs, expected to take about 3 weeks. However, we planned to leave her on the hard for our UK trip commencing in late March.

Not well adhered - but it is 18 years!

This was very fortunate as we found a few blisters in the paintwork below the waterline. On investigation we discovered that the epoxy coating that a previous owner had applied in 1994 could be peeled off in sheets.  This was done, copious copies of work specs written and the hull left to dry out while we went to the UK.






 

Friends

Playtime came when  Susan had a major birthday, so we all saved our Baht to celebrate with friends at an Indigo Pearl buffet luncheon
It was good to have John and Judy (Kalypso) and Barry & Noote (Coco de Mer) from the 2001-3 Blue Water Rally join us as well the present crowd of fun makers.

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.

Some success - and moving. Posted from Nai Yang, Phuket

The repair on the gen set seems to have worked - hurrah! Now we can move again, clever Richard.
The inverter is a different matter & according to Xantrex is an expensive, in warranty, throw away item. Guess what our valentine day present will be?
With AC power partially restored yesterday we motored up to Nai Yang in a very rolly anchorage as there was a NW swell and an unseasonal westerly wind. In the evening our friends on Cankata organised a dinghy raft up for sundowners. 9 dinghies with 23 people drifted along enjoying the sunset and the camaraderie.
Today we will continue in day hops towards Ko Phayam, just south of the Myanmar border and then to the Surins and Similans.

Run up to Friday 13th - lost bikini top and electric BOAT* issues

Our genset had been becoming slower and slower to start, with smoke coming out on the inlet manifold.  Eventually, on the Tuesday after New Year it failed entirely to start.  Richard embarked on a "top end overhaul" to restore compression and get it running again.  This was successfully done over a period of about 3 days.  Lack of the genset is usually a minor annoyance as we can charge the batteries using the main engine for about an hour a day to supplement solar and wind power.  In this mode "mains" AC is produced by an inverter.  However, attempting to make bread on two successive days resulted in flat unrisen pieces of dough.  Investigation revealed that the inverter, which is only 2 years old,instead of producing 230 volts at 50 Hertz, was producing 225 volts (OK), but at 100Hz.

With the genset working again, and breadmaking restored, we returned to Nai Harn, where the laundry service produces better results than that on offer at Panwa Bali and we can hire a car to go shopping in preparation for a trip to the Surin and Similan islands.

In the windier conditions Susan lost the top of her best bikini from the guard rail.

Unfortunately, the genset had still not finished with us.

The lower hole shouldn't be there!

While running the genset to charge the batteries, the bilge pump suddenly came on. Investigating the source of the water showed a steady stream coming from inside its enclosure.  Further investigation showed a spray of water coming from around the cylinder block.  Immediate reaction was that R had used the wrong O rings on the water channels when rebuilding the engine.  Off came the cylinder head, the O rings were checked and supplemented with a liberal dose of gasket sealant, the head replaced and the genset restarted.  The leak was still there.  Closer examination revealed that it was coming out in a powerful jet from the bottom of the water jacket of the cylinder block.  The engine was stripped for the third time, the hole cleaned up and patched with steel extended epoxy and the engine put back together again.  The current situation is that the epoxy has been allowed to set overnight, the valve clearances need to be reset and we will then see if the temporary fix has worked.

Watch this space!

* BOAT = "Bring out another thousand"- expression borrowed from SV Crystal Blues' blog.  Unfortunately theirs are Aussie dollars, ours are pounds, although the two move ever closer!

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New Year celebrations

After a windy few days at Nai Harn, with swell making getting ashore difficult, Sea Bunny moved back to Panwa Bali for New Year,spent in the company of Neil & Ley. The New Year was seen in on Crystal Blues after dinner on Sea Bunny. We had views of at least three firework displays - fairly low key locally at Panwa Bali, across the bay at Ao Chalong and over the hills at Patong.  Earlier in the evening there was a bit of excitement as some idiot let off parachute flares, one of which appeared to land, still burning, on the deck of Daemon.  Neil & Richard set off in the dinghy with a fire extinguisher, but it seems that it had actually landed in the water behind the boat, giving the appearance of being on the deck. Jill and Bruce were woken to enjoy th fireworks.