Hello everyone.
WE'RE BACK ON THE SATPHONE FOR EMAIL AS OF WED. OR SO, SO PLEASE DO NOT JUST RESPOND TO THIS OR SEND ANY LARGE GRAPHICS FILES.
Well, first things first. Rose's new medication seems to be working extremely well. She's pretty much back to her old self and the pain is very manageable. In fact, my assessment is that most of her pain is now from the bone spur they found in her shoulder and nothing to do with the rheumatism. Rose disagrees and says she still has aches and pains all over--they just aren't nearly as bad. Guess she knows. So, instead of Rose worrying about handling things on the passage, she's actually looking forward to leaving on a 10 day sail. Boy, does this make our lives easier!!!!
Second, I thought I had written after we arrived in Phuket, but can find no evidence of that, so there is a bit to bring you up to date. Starting with damages from lightning: all new radar (fortunately, I had purchased a used system--as they don't make spares for mine anymore--and we smuggled that in from Langkawi. Thailand requires a license to import radar which is impossible to get and the local guy here sold a replacement out from under me), new wind instrument, new stereo, new inverter, new batteries (the good news there is there is not a 6 volt gel cell to be had in SE Asia and nothing else will fit in my battery box. As a result we had to get 6 volt wet cells but that saved me about $2,000. In return for the savings, I have to watch them and top up the electrolyte every so often--no free lunch), 3 new regulators for the alternators, all new nav light bulbs ($50 a pop!!!), repair (Yea!!!!) fairly cheaply the SSB radio, freezer repairs, Iridium repairs (non-lightning related, I think) and, finally, a new GPS receiver. There were also a myriad of smaller things we had done prior to leaving like reconditioning the autopilot motor as it was the only part of my instrumentation not to fail over the last few years, a new heating element for the hot water heater, etc., etc. We are now in pretty good shape and the guys are coming to install the radar and wind tomorrow. We expect to depart for Cochin, India on Tues or, more likely, Wed. for the 1500 mile passage. Should be at sea for about 10 days. The downside of all the repairs is we have to skip the Andaman islands on the way. While beautiful, we're hearing from friends it is an administrative bureaucratic nightmare so we're not too upset.
So, after our last letter, we hung around Langkawi a bit longer than we wanted to get parts brought in. While we weren't doing most of our repairs there, it is a duty free island so we avoided larges duties and taxes and radar prohibitions, etc. in Thailand. After fueling up at Telaga Marina in Langkawi (fuel is about 2/3 of the cost in Thailand, and we loaded up all the jugs, too, as fuel the rest of the way to the Red Sea is expensive until you arrive in the Middle East), the trip up to Ao Po Marina in Phuket was reasonably uneventful, but we were a bit worried as 1. we were hand steering all the way and 2. the batteries were cooked and 3. we had no instruments. Fortunately, the winds were favorable. Our biggest concern was taking a mooring at an overnight stop on the way and the wind and tide made it a "lee shore" i.e. the winds would have blown us on the beach if the anchor dragged. With no radar or GPS for ranging our distance off the beach it was a nervous night. We ran the generator 24/7 on the way up to insure we had power if the batteries completely failed. Oh, I forgot to mention, somewhere along the way up from Penang, we picked up a fishing net on the starboard prop. While we didn't find this out 'til Joey dove on it in Phuket, it created all sorts of problems maneuvering the boat at the Langkawi fuel dock and at Ao Po. Surprisingly, it didn't affect us motoring much, but we knew something wasn't right. We arrived in Thailand on Dec. 19th, checked in the following Monday. Pleasantly, the marina has added a bar/restaurant. While it has a long way to go service wise, the prices and the food are great. We also got a car from our old friend Mr. Morn as Ao Po is in the middle of nowhere. We had hoped to depart by the 7th of Jan., but it was not in the cards with all the work that needed to be done. Joey moved on board at the end of the year when his lease at Boat Lagoon was up and has been doing odds jobs like buffing the hull, changing light bulbs, fixing minor problems generally. Congratulations to him on completing his RYA Yachtmaster on January 2nd. He's picked up a delivery to Singapore that leaves this week which may develop into a permanent job and has a prospect with another boat here. If nothing pans out, he'll head back to Fort Lauderdale for the season there. At least in the states, he doesn't have to worry about work permits, etc. and can flip burgers if nothing else. He's in love--AGAIN--but this one seems normal. Unfortunately she lives in Sydney. He's managed to wreck 2 scooters and roll a car while here, seriously depleting his funds. One of the scooters wasn't his fault. He claims none of them were his fault.
Our holidays were mixed results. Christmas was great. We opened presents and took a leisurely drive down to Royal Phuket Marina to meet Freebird at about noon. After a drink or two on board, we segued to Les Anges, one of the restaurants there, for a really good Christmas dinner with eggnog, a bottle of wine and turkey with all the trimmings. We didn't finish 'til 4:30!!! New Year's was a different story. We decided to go over to Patong Beach for the festivities and were meeting up with Scot Free II and Shirena. Being New Year's eve and it's a long way, we hired a car and driver for the night. The other guys were over there in their boats. Unfortunately, against my better judgment we agreed to meet those guys to see the Simon Cabaret. Now I think there is a conspiracy. Several cruisers have told us what a great show it is, but I believe it's "misery loves company". The captain does not like Las Vegas style revues nor is he fond of lady boy shows. Well this was even worse than I thought. The dancers couldn't dance; half the show was screeching Chinese stuff and it was all lipsinked. They got a zero for six vote from our party--nobody liked it. Post show we walked over to the actual beach and had a pretty good dinner. Only time for one drink. Then to the beach to light these really cool hot air balloon lanterns--there were thousands sent up. By this time it was eleven and the old fart cheapskate cruisers we were with decided to go home. So Rose and I said screw it, called our driver and hoped to be back at the marina for their midnight festivities. It was not to be. We spent midnight in a traffic jam and it took 3 hours for the 45 minute trip back to Ao Po. We did get to see the extensive fireworks out the back window of the cab. I had one drink all night!!!
Or last couple of weeks have been pretty tame. We met a nice English couple at the Marina bar who are in a nearby condo and have gone out with them a few times. They found a killer Italian/Thai place with great food and even better prices. I had a full beef tenderloin dinner--cooked properly rare-- for 90 baht, less than $3. Um, I think I'll be missing Asia when we hit the Med. Freebird took off right after New Year's but Scot Free II is staying another season so we've met up with them a few times. We've loaded up the boat with provisions, especially pork products and Rose has done every possible superstitious thing she could to assure a safe journey--Buddha statues, Monk blessings, etc. Just covering all the bases.
So, Happy New Year to you all; wish us smooth sailing. You'll next hear from us in India or the Maldives, then it's on to Oman, Yemen and the dreaded pirate alley. Our take on that is if we are hijacked, we'll lose a lot of weight which is good and get a seven figure book deal which is even better!!
Cheers
Tim & Rose
