BOAT LAGOON, PHUKET, THAILAND TO LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA

FEBRUARY 11-21, 2016

The morning of February 11^th, 2016 was special because it was the day we were to depart Boat Lagoon after having our boat there for a little over a year.  High Tide was predicted for 1200 hrs and the pilot arrived at 1130 hrs. The channel out of Boat Lagoon meanders through an ancient river bed that was never very deep and has been modified, in recent times, by dredging, tin mining and two marinas.  All this has taken water from the main riverbed channel and made it even shallower and subject to shoaling.  Dredging is a continuous process.  Most of the boats that have berths within the marina are sitting is soft mud at some time during the tidal cycle.  Nevertheless, many huge cabin cruisers call this home.

We departed our berth at 1130 hrs and made the three mile run to the entrance at 1215 hrs.  It was a great feeling to see the pilot away and know that we were free from Boat Lagoon at long last.  Looking back at the amount of work and money needed to get Solstice to this point seems distant and surreal.  It’s hard for me to believe the number of days and hours spent in confined areas with sauna like temperatures.  I welcome the fresh salt air that is lapping myself and the boat.

Plans had been made with our good friend, Gary, to sail from Phuket to Langkawi with some overnight stops along the way.  The actual sailing distance from Boat Lagoon to Langkawi is around 160 nm.  It usually involves some sailing and motoring.  The NE Monsoon is blowing at this time of year.  The wind picks up in the evening, blows through the night and into the late morning.  Then it starts to die out to an almost calm.  Nighttime is ideal for sailing in these waters but the number of fish traps, fishing boats and floating obstacles makes it less than ideal.  Most cruisers choose to find a sheltered quiet spot behind an island and wait for morning.

Gary’s boat is a 36’ Ted Brewer designed aluminum hull named “Starship”.  With a high aspect rig, she is fast but quite tender which requires carrying the right amount of sail so she won’t heel too far over.  Solstice is quite stiff in a breeze and can carry a lot more sail before reefing.  When sailing with “Starship”, I usually carry less sail so that we can be relatively close together at the end of the day.  The distance from Boat Lagoon to PHIPHI Don is 26nm.

Our first night was spent on one of the King’s Moorings at an island called PHIPHI DON.  We found a stunningly beautiful area between two outcroppings of rocks:  07-38.7’N; 098-29.5’E.  The King’s Moorings are put in place by the Thai government for use by the public.  One has to be careful that they are in good condition. The standard practice is to dive overboard and have a look at the condition of the line that is attached to a heavy concrete block.  Some are quite deep and difficult to see just what is happening on the bottom.  The King’s Moorings are red buoys with a yellow stripe.  Camel Rock is the name of this idyllic place.  Lots of current running through the relatively narrow gap between the two rock outcroppings.  A small sandy beach with coconut trees rounds out a really beautiful place.

The following morning, February 12^th, we motored over to PHIPHI LEI, which is where the movie “The Beach”, with Brad Pit, was filmed.  One still sees remnants of the movie staging and lots of ropes and lines dangling off the cliffs.  It amazes me that, wherever a movie is made, people will flock to that spot in droves to say they were there.  Since Thailand  is a place where many movies are made on remote islands, there are hordes of “Long Tail” boats and fast speed boats carrying tourists to these places.  At this time of year, most are Chinese.

No stops were made at PHIPHI LEI: just a cruise by for the crew that Gary had onboard.  Our target for this evening was Bamboo Cove on the island of KO LANTA.  It was another 27 nm run to get there and required intermittent motor sailing.  We droped anchor at 1612 hrs in 21’ water depth on a sandy bottom:  07-28.765’N; 099-05.261E.  There was a restaurant/bar on the far end of the beach so we had a very nice meal there.  The mountains are quite high in this area and, when the NE/E winds are blowing with strength, send down strong gusts of katabatic wind that hit the boat like a williwaw.  All night long we were hit with one gust after another:  no danger but it is disconcerting.

On Saturday, February 13^th, we heaved up anchor at 0743 hrs and got U/W at 0800 hrs.  Our goal today was the island of KO MUK which was 15nm distant from the southern end of KO LANTA.  The magic of this island is that it has one of the most spectacular underwater caves in all of Thailand.  Known as the Emerald Cave, the actual name is MARACOTE CAVE which is part of the islands that make up the Thai National Park.  The scenic beauty of this cave is that is has a small entrance, just above sea leve,l that can be entered by swimming, kayak or dinghy.  Once inside the entrance, the water is a beautiful emerald green with schools of small fish darting about.  Then the cave opens up and becomes pitch black for about 600 ft.  During this time, the only thing one can do is continue on into the blackness:  a headlamp helps.  While navigating on, one goes through several high chambers where bats can be seen, hanging from the ceilings, with a headlamp.  The wave action of the sea can be heard booming against dark distant places.  Just when it’s becoming rather spooky, a small patch of daylight is seen in the distance.  As one approaches this light another beautiful emerald pool is seen and then you enter an incredible pool of water with a white sandy beach completely surrounded by very high mountainous cliffs, with jungle growth, ascending all the way to the top.  I get the feeling that we are  standing in the basin of an ancient volcano.  It’s one of those places that you would like to spend a romantic  evening alone with a loved one.  Everything that one imagines about a secluded Pacific island paradise is here in this small jewel that is less that one half acre in its livable totality.

Naturally, this special place draws a lot of tourists.  When we first arrived at 1100 hrs, the place was frantic with activity so we motored over to a neighboring island called Ko Kradan and picked up a mooring:  07-18.300’N; 99-15.528E.  The idea was to wait until all the tourist boats had departed for other island with tourist facilities.  Accordingly, we departed Ko Kradan at 1512 hrs and motored back to the Emerald Cave.  Most of the tourist boats had left so we were able to get a mooring and enjoy the beauty of Emerald Cave with few others.  At 1730 hrs, we left Emerald Cave for the Eastern side of KO MUK.  The waters on the eastern side get shallow but make for a good anchorage with a sandy bottom.  Most boats anchor off the main town of KO MUK in coral but motoring around further north brings you into an open roadstead that is buffeted by the NE/E winds but has the mainland for protection so there is little wave action.  At 1830 hrs, we dropped anchor in 12’ water depth on a sandy bottom:  07-21.937’N; 99-18.788’E  The wind was out of the NE 15 kts.  We spent an enjoyable night here with the NE winds cooling the boat.  Not many cruisers have found this spot but it appears to be a great place under most circumstances.

February 14^th found us getting U/W at first light:  0618 hrs.  Our goal for today was KO LIPE, 49 nm from KO MUK, which is in the Thai BUTANG Islands.  These islands are legendary for their remoteness and beauty.  They are only 25 nm from Langkawi, Malaysia which makes them ideal for cruisers coming from Thailand and Malaysia.  It is possible to clear in and out of Thailand, with Immigration authorities, but Customs and Harbor Master have to be done at one of the full service ports.  This was mostly a calm day of winds so we motored the whole way to KO LIPE.  Our friend, Gary, cleared Immigration and we motored around to the north side of KO LIPE and picked up a mooring for the evening.   Ko Lipe is a very touristy place with lots of restaurants, hotels, bars and discos.  Perhaps, one of the more interesting places is a Rastra Bar with a 15’ penis, just inside the patio, with the words “ONE LOVE” written down the shaft.  Thais are conservative but don’t seem to have a lot of sexual inhibitions.  We were once at a place called “The Cave of Penises”.  It was filled with thousands of different size ones.  Evidently, Thai women, wishing to have children, would bring one and place it in the cave hoping that it would bring the desired result.

At 0630 hrs on February 15^th, we set out from Ko Lipe to Telaga Harbor, Malaysia:  25 nm.  The winds were NE’ly so we were able to sail the whole way with very little motoring.  I set a full mainsail and jib and averaged 5.5 kts.  At times we had wind gusts to 20kts but Solstice was sailing beautifully.  At 1300 hrs we entered Telaga Harbor, took on fuel and got a berth at Telaga Marina.  Telaga is a quaint harbor with few facilities but is a check in/out port with Immigration, Customs and Harbor Master.  Other than a fuel dock, restaurant, and service station/convenience store, there is little else.  The facilities at the marina are sub-standard.  This seems to be more of a management problem than anything else.  They just don’t care.  After the cleanliness of Thailand, Islamic Malaysia leaves much to be desired.  We decided to spend a few days here because it will be the last time we will see Gary for many years.  Also, one of his crew members was a Russian named, Vitally, who was a IT graduate from an Eastern Russian University.  He came over and solved several of my computer problems.

At 1024 on February 17^th, we departed  Telaga Harbor for Kuah, which is the capital of Langkawi:  20 nm.  The wind was fresh out of the NE 20+ kts and we sailed under reefed jib hitting 8 kts during gusts.  During the last two legs into Kuah, we had to motor because the wind angle was too close to sail and it wasn’t worthwhile to tack back and forth.  At 1442 we made fast to a berth (E-20) at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club.  This marina has undergone a major expansion and modernization program.  It boasts a hotel and modern bathroom facilities.  The staff is friendly, courteous and helpful:  management cares.  The Security is manned by Nepalese guards.  This seems to be popular in Malaysia where security is involved.

Kuah, Langkawi is a duty free port.  We came here to stock up on booze and western foods.  Outside of provisioning the boat with foreign goods, the place has very little to recommend it.  It is one vast depository of imported items.  All the veggies and fruit come in from somewhere else and are not as good as in Thailand.  Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile stop and gives a good wind angle for Port Blair, Andaman Is.: 500 nm.  Our plan is to leave tomorrow February 22^nd around 1000 hrs.  It will take us about 5 days to get there.  WX reports look good, the boat is ready and so are we.  We will update this when we get to the Andamans and have a look-see.