Just yer average life at anchor next to a tropical island: boat work, beach walking, beer drinking… using a hookah (that’s hookah, not hooker!) for boat maintenance.
How to use a hookah (not a hooker!) at anchor Read Post »
Apart from the deep joy of discovering that our engine has seized, it feels like some kind of nautical episode of ‘Back to the Future’ here on SY Esper
Our regular Sailing Log Diary on YouTube–which out of necessity runs a few months behind real time–shows Jamie sailing alone in Thailand with Liz back in the UK looking after her ailing mum. And yet, right now, Liz has just returned from her >second visit home to tend to Dottie while Jamie has been solo-sailing in Thailand.
In the words of Shirley Bassey and the Propellerheads , “…it’s all just a little bit of history repeating…”
Engine seized! Sailing in paradise… Read Post »
Jamie didn’t like the darkening skies, so he took a look at the forecast to discover some big weather coming in from the west. Fishing vessels, large and small, arrived from deeper water, dropping noisy anchor chain and crowding into the anchorage behind Ko Tarutao’s high hills. He told the others to prepare themselves for some potential big winds.
Crash repairs, gales, fuel leaks… and some fishing Read Post »
We made our run down the east side of imposing Tarutao, one of Thailand’s largest islands and the country’s first national marine park. Once a penal colony, it was the perfect place to cast away undesirables. With its unforgiving tropical rainforest, strong tidal currents and fierce salt-water crocodiles escape would have been impossible.
Groundhog Day: Back to PSS Ship yard for repairs Read Post »
We arrived back at beautiful Ko Rok, the same point where we had broken the passage on our way north from Langkawi. It was as serene and scenic as we remembered and this time we were able to quickly find our old mooring buoy and get settled for the night. Within minutes Liz had the fishing line over the side…
Big Fish Little Fish–fishing in Thailand Read Post »
While the boys played in 15 metres of water for 45 minutes, following fish, admiring the coral, playing with an eel and finding their lost equipment, Alicia and Liz stayed on the beach. The silk-smooth white sand only appears at low tide and they wanted to make the most of it.
Beach life in paradise–diving Koh Ha Read Post »
…we received an unexpected call from the officer in charge, who invited Jamie to meet the skipper of the barge that rammed us. So he went back with Alica, leaving Liz and Millie-the-cat to guard Esper. After five cups of coffee Wat the translator arrived…
The Accident Part 2 Read Post »
Next time you turn the tap on for a glass of water, to have a bath or make a coffee, enjoy the ease of that simple act. In our latest episode we explain why it can take us over two hours to do the same.
Checking in is easy in Ao Chalong, with harbour master, customs and immigration in three rooms next to each other. The whole process took 15 minutes, considerably faster than finding water.
Water, Water Everywhere Read Post »
If you would like to know which is Liz’s favourite anchorage, what superpower she has always wanted to have and where she would like to be right now, you’ll need to catch the video…
Sailors Interviews #07 | Liz Cleere Read Post »
We came across a number of restaurants and bars, but for once had to pass them by because we needed to shoot as much footage as possible before driving back to Essex. There were marquees packed with everything you never thought you needed in the galley, alongside fantastic bits of gleaming machinery for engines and decks. The atmosphere was buzzy. Exhibitors shiny with anticipation and visitors wide-eyed with the intent to buy.
FTB Extra #07 | FTB’s take on the Southampton Boat Show Read Post »
We make it to the southern entrance of Phiphi and are horrified to find this once peaceful anchorage packed with dive boats, long tails, day trippers, super yachts, hundreds of private mooring buoys and not forgetting mini booze cruises (cut to bob’s booze cruise).
FTB Sailing Log #09 | Culture shocks and sliced fishing lines – Ko Rok to Phi Phi Read Post »
This is a new one for us, a sailing interview with a non-sailor! In actual fact Jia, manager of PSS Shipyard, does own his own (motor) boat but he rarely gets the chance to go out in it.
FTB Sailing Interview #06 | Jia of PSS Shipyard | Thailand Read Post »
The archipelago of Ko Rok Nai and Ko Rok Yai is the mother of all those deserted-white-sand-palm-fringed beaches you see in travel brochures and on postcards. The place is a cliché, except that it isn’t. It’s real and golden and joyous and quiet and infused with peace.
Sailing from the Butangs to Ko Rok Read Post »
We catch up with Lorraine and Marco Hoff of s/y Pension Games on a bright, blustery afternoon in Brighton Marina, UK. They live aboard their Oyster 406 and we chat to them about Marco’s stature, Bora Bora, not being able to see live music, the eighties…and cats.
FTB Sailing Interview #05 | Lorraine and Marco Hoff | s/y Pension Games Read Post »
Having decided roughly in which direction to head in order to get to Phuket, we weigh anchor from Ko Lipe on a hot morning. Since the boat is pointing into the wind whilst tied to the mooring we get the mizzen and the mainsail out and, before we know it, we’re sailing for the first time in what seems like an age and a half.
FTB Sailing Log #07 | Sailing from Ko Lipe to Butang Thailand Read Post »
