SAILING TO LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA AND BACK TO PHUKET, THAILAND WITH THE NEW BETA 50 MARINE DIESEL

On April 24^th, we received notification from the Beta Marine distributor, Eddie Tan in Langkawi that our engine had arrived in Penang and would be brought to his warehouse around April 26^th.  Actually, two Beta engines had been ordered – a Beta 50 and a Beta 60 – from Beta UK.  One was mine and the other belonged to an acquaintance, Bo Sundergard, who was a friend of Gary, the Beta representative, who had put the orders together.  I had made financial arrangements with Bo so that the two of us would sail to Langkawi to pick up the engines and bring them back to Boat Lagoon in Phuket.  Bo would provide the sailing vessel and I would crew on it.  Also, Bo had another friend that crewed with us.

The sailing distance from Phuket to Langkawi is about 160 nm.  It can be sailed in twenty-four hours and there are islands on the way to anchor.  Bo had made arrangements with the Danish owners of the 50’ steel hulled yacht “Navareen” to use her for the pickup and delivery of the Beta’s to Boat Lagoon.  He had been the former Captain of the sailboat and looked after her during the owners absence.  Also, the vessel needed to be taken out of Thailand, and brought back, for Custom’s regulations.  It worked out perfectly for all parties concerned.

“Navareen” is on a mooring (07-49.446 N x 098-21.196 E) at Ao Chalong bay in Phuket.  We checked out of Ao Chalong on April 28^th and set sail for Langkawi.  The Wx was good even though we were beginning the SW Monsoon.  “Navareen” had no working auto pilot or GPS so it was hand steering.  We arranged  ‘four-on four-off’ watches.  I had brought my Garmin hand-held GPS for positions but the Captain knew these waters well since he chartered out his own sailboat “Patrice” – a classic 47’ Swan.  We arrived in Kuah, Langkawi at 1200 hours on April 29^th and met Eddie Tan.  Arrangements were made to pick up the engines, at the main port, on the following day at 0800 hrs.

On April 29^th at 0800 hrs, we were secured at the loading dock in the main port of Langkawi.  The crane arrived and loaded the engines on the port and stbd. side of the vessel.  We secured the engines and set sail for Talega harbor to take on fuel.  Everything was working in our favor.  We got to the fuel dock just as a dark looking squall, packing 40 kts of wind, hit us.  The squall lasted about thirty minutes so we lost no time in taking on fuel and getting underway.

 A decision was made to anchor, for the night, at Koh Rawi in the Butang Islands: it was about forty nm from Langkawi.  This would leave us another 120 nm from there to Boat Lagoon.  The wind was W – NW at 15-20 kts and we found one of the King’s Moorings just off the Ranger station.  The King’s moorings are for general public usage and free.  They are laid down and inspected by the Thai authorities but caution has to be exercised to make sure the moorings are in good condition.  We spent a peaceful night on the mooring and got U/W the following morning.  The wind was still in the western quadrant so we had to make several tacks to fetch Phuket.  We sailed all night and arrived at Boat Lagoon on May 1^st with the new engines.  Once again, arrangements were made to have a fork lift truck take the engines off the sailboat and put one alongside “Solstice” and the other on a pickup truck that was taking it back to Ao Chalong.  We had the tide with us so we set sail from Boat Lagoon back to Ao Chalong.  This took about five hours.  Once we were back on “Navareen’s” mooring, we got everything shipshape and stowed and then took Bo’s dinghy back to his home where I spent the night.

On May 2^nd, I woke up early, had breakfast at Bo’s, and took a bus to Phuket Town and another to Boat Lagoon.  My wife, Phyllis, had arrived that morning from the States.  I met her at one of the bistros called “The Pantry and Pastry Shop”.  It was a joyful reunion.

The reason that the engines were not shipped directly to Bangkok, Thailand from Southampton, UK was due to excessive Thai Customs duties and transportation difficulties.  Langkawi, Malaysia is a “duty free” port and easy to access with a boat.  Since the engines would be installed in a foreign boat and taken out of Thailand, it makes no sense to pay import duties.  Although, technically illegal, it is something that is done by most foreign boat owners and many Thais.  This is one of the big problems with having repairs done in Thailand:  Customs will tax everything that is shipped from abroad at about 17% of invoice value.  The common curtesy of allowing a “Yacht In Transit” to receive spares and parts does not exist at this time.  It is a future consideration that the Thai Government is considering but nothing happens quickly in this part of the world.