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.

 

RETURN TO BOAT LAGOON, PHUKET, THAILAND

JANUARY 28, 2016

Phyllis and I returned to our yacht “Solstice” on January 15^th, 2016.  We had left Thailand on September 24^th and flew back to the States to visit family and friends.  The SW Monsoon and consequent rainy season was not favorable for starting the Northern Route to South Africa via Andaman Islands > Sri Lanka > Maldives > Chagos > Seychelles > Comorros? > Madagascar > Richards Bay, SA > Cape Town for Christmas.

We left the boat needing only anti-fouling paint to be applied before launching.  This was done and the boat launched at 0900 hrs on January 21^st.  There were no problems encountered and we moved into Berth A-14 at Boat Lagoon.  Once we were safely tied up in the wet berth, we started to prepare the boat for Sea Trials.  The remaining items to be addressed were: 1)  Change the Seafrost Engine Driven Refrigeration from R-12 freon to the newer 134A freon.

2) Install three new 200 Ahr 8D Ritar Batteries.

3)  Have Canvas Creations put on the new Dodger & Bimini which had been made before we left.

4)  Trouble shoot an oil leak which was coming from the Raw Water Pump.  This turned out to be a Beta UK factory issue:  they forgot to plug a hole that had been occupied by a threaded stud.  This was easily solved by removing the Raw Water Pump and  threading in a stainless steel Allen head bolt with Locktite 242 to hold it in place.

Sea Trials took place on January 28^th from 1212-1342 hrs.  We had a pilot onboard and the general contractor, Wiwat Tachagulpongkon, along with the Beta Representative, Gary Gilbert.  It is rare that a Sea Trial is conducted without a few problems but that is exactly what happened.  The Beta 50 diesel was run out according to Beta’s recommendations: 15 minutes at one third throttle; 15 minutes at two thirds throttle; 15 minutes “full out” at 2800 rpms.  The MaxProp pitch and blade angle settings had been calculated by Fred Hutchins, the CEO of MaxProp, and were perfect:  12-1/2 degrees pitch with a 20 degree  blade  angle.  Kudos go to him and his expertise in calculating the pitch for various engines and their gearboxes.  We ran the engine at the max 2800 rpms and never saw a hint of exhaust smoke.  The throttle maxed out at 2890 and still no smoke.  No undue vibrations were felt in the drive train.  It doesn’t get any better than that.

So after being  on-the-hard for almost a year, the difficulties encountered in modifying the engine beds and installing a new engine, the end result is a most satisfactory job overall.  Now we can get ready to move back aboard and resume the cruising life.   

Out with the old.

No matter how hard I try to put pictures in there right order it doesn't happen.  As you can see it was not an easy job and I was spared.

Carpenter starting to cut out panels for getting old engine out.

#1

Up and away. Good bye old friend.

#13

The crane has arrived.

#12

Success.

#14

Ready to be taken away.

#15

It served us right for many years, but!!!

#6

Not a pretty sight.

#11

Cabinetry taken out of our bedroom. That is looking into the engine room.

#3

Protecting the soles(floors).

#4

The engine is now exposed. 

#5

That's what was left.

#9

As Don said "good bye old friend".

#7

What a mess. A lot of cleaning up!

#8

Still cutting out  the woodwork.

#2

BACK TO THE STATES

On September 24^th, Phyllis and I will fly back to the States to spend the holidays with our family and friends.  We will return to Boat Lagoon on January 14^th, 2016.  “Solstice” will then be launched, Sea Trials and some leisure sailing around Thailand with a trip to Langkawi, Malaysia for provisioning.  Sometime in early February 2016, we will set sail for South Africa via the Northern Route:  Phuket > Andaman Is. > Sri Lanka > Maldives > Chagos > Seychelles > Comorros? > Madagascar > Richards Bay, South Africa > Cape Town, SA for Christmas.  This is the historical and logical way to go from Thailand.  It has been sailed by Arab, Chinese, and East African traders for centuries.  It became the preferred route for the English and Dutch East India companies. Depending on their geographical location, they would use one Monsoon (SW or NE) to make their destination and the other Monsoon to return.

Until we return and get the boat ready for this voyage, I will make no more posts but Phyllis will continue to post pictures.

BETA 50 INSTALLATION, MODIFICATIONS, ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS

On August 24^th, 2015, the Beta 50 was successfully started without any problems.  All systems installed were working and no leaks were observed.  It gives one a tremendous amount of relief to see so much work culminate in a successful startup.  We should have many years of trouble free motoring with the new engine.  However, with any boat, “trouble free” doesn’t exist!

The following is a list of what has been done on “Solstice” at Boat Lagoon in Phuket, Thailand.

11)    New Beta Marine 50 diesel engine and ZF 15 MIV gearbox

22)    Remove and install new engine room installation

33)   Engine compartment access expanded and made removable.

44)   Add new 1” Groco Thru-Hull and Strainer for Beta 50

55)   Balmar 614 Smart Regulator for Beta Alternator

66)    New Magnum 2000 W Inverter/Charger

77)    New Furuno 33 GPS Color and antenna wiring

88)    Beta special Sea Frost bracket for engine driven compressor installed.  The Freon 12 compressor was replaced in Annapolis, MD, in October 2011, by Nathan Horton.

99)   Edson Pedestal steering system rebuilt

110)                     New Rudder shaft packing

111)                     Topsides stripped, faired and Awlgripped in Royal Blue

Below the waterline, stripped, faired and barrier coated with International two part INTERGUARD.

112)                     Anchor Chair inspected and hot dipped galvanized

113)                     New Dodger and Bimini in Oyster colored Sunbrella

114)                     New drive shaft in 316L stainless steel to accommodate the new R & D Flex Coupling

115)                     New PYI dripless Shaft Seal       

116)                     New custom made teak garbage basket

117)                     New teak spice racks

118)                     Modify Port, Stbd. and Galley lockers with shelves

119)                     Add Oil Cooler for ZF 15 MIV gearbox

220)                     New Teleflex Extreme Control cables

221)                     New custom built teak engine control display box

222)                     All teak on deck stripped and revarnished

223)                     Teak covers resewn with UV thread

224)                     Setee salon cushions covered with new material

225)                     Outside cockpit cushions modified w/Sunbrella

226)                     New Engine Starting Battery in September 2015.  The other three house batteries will be replaced in January 2016,

That’s quite an extensive list.  The longer the boat is in the shipyard, the more projects and upgrades that are undertaken.

ENGINE BED MODIFICATION

May 7, 2015 began the most difficult part of this particular engine installation:  modifying the engine beds.  The original Volvo Penta 2003T engine had been coupled a MS2V V-drive gearbox that had a 20 degree down shaft angle.  Not such a bad idea on Valiant’s part as it kept the propeller at an adequate angle so that it would have thrust even in pitching seas.  Throughout the many years from 1990, the engineering and obsolescence of the 20 degree down shaft angle gearbox took place: no one was manufacturing them.  The steepest down shaft angle available was a ZF 15 degree MIV gearbox that had been made by Hurth before they were bought out by the Italian company.  This meant that the engine beds would have to be reduced by 5 degrees.  I had prepared for this and had the “Gold Mine” from David:  almost 200 pictures with mechanical drawings showing the whole operation from start to finish.  Using David’s experience and mechanical drawings, my plan was to fabricate a template, in plywood, using the new Beta 50 footprint.  This would be laid over the existing 20 degree angle engine beds and new reference lines drawn to 15 degrees.  Compensation would then be made for the right angle aluminum capping rail  that would go on top of the fiberglass beds.  The engine beds would then be at their approximate correct angle.  I put in endless hours and sleepless nights fretting over how to get it done correctly.

On Gary’s advice, I contracted Wiwat Tachagulpongkon, a local businessman and former Chief Engineer in the Merchant Service.  He was bright, knowledgeable and had a good chandlery with a workshop nearby.  He would provide the mechanics and any other workers I needed.  I would supervise and direct the work being done.  The problem that I encountered right away was that no Thai general contractor had the experience to read mechanical drawings.  They are at their finest when they are using an angle grinder, hammer, chisel and screwdriver.  The job was going to be done by trial and error.  They were going to use the new engine as the ultimate template:  560 lbs of metal;  haul it on the beds, take measurements, haul it off.  This went on for weeks while they cut the engine beds smaller than  they had to be and then built them up with wood and fiberglass.

         The project was a comedy of errors with everything having to be done several times.  Supervision was absolutely necessary all the time:  leave them alone for a minute and mistakes were made.  It was the most difficult and frustrating part of the whole process.  Thais want to please but the mechanical side of their nature is one of general ineptitude.  Also, one must accept the fact that you cannot cause them to “lose face”.  It’s a delicate balancing act that I managed to pull off in spite of being demanding and meticulous.  Deng, the Thai worker that did all the cutting of the engine beds was a very hard worker.   It’s no easy task to sit inside a confined space cutting fiberglass, adding wood and then reglassing.

         The end result had to be that the engine would align with the shaft.  Some adjustment could be made by the engine mounting bolts but all that hauling on – hauling off had to produce results that were within Beta’s specifications.  As an additional safety factor and increased flexibility in the final alignment, I had ordered an R & D Flex coupling to be installed forward of  the engine  shaft coupling.  The final results of this will not be known until Sea Trials take place in January 2016.  Overseeing the installation, from beginning to end, has given me a complete understanding of the Beta 50.  After the the initial shaft alignment was taken and approved,  I made all the other engine connections.   I don’t ever want to go through that experience again on this planet with only one moon.

        On August 24^th, the Beta 50 was successfully started and all systems and connections working.  There will be some dynamic adjustments

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.