Still here, sort of...

Despite having left Phuket and officially having checked out of Thailand, we managed to extend our stay by virtue of island hopping on our way back southwards.  On the way up, we had stopped at different islands each night to avoid the minefields of fishing paraphernalia which proved to be very successful so we decided to do the same thing on our return voyage.  

Our first night was spent anchored at Koh Phi Phi again which is a great overnight spot.  We had spent all our Baht so didn't venture ashore to any of the plethora of restaurants.  This bay is very active with tour, dive and fishing boats but settles down to a nice quiet bay once evening descends.

Early the following morning, we set off to return to the Koh Rok group of islands but plans changed midway.  Halfway through the trip, we could see a group of rocks sticking up out of the sea on our starboard side so we read up about them.  They sounded really quite nice so even though we were already a good few miles past them, we turned around to have a look.  The wind and current, both against us, caused it to be an hour long leg but, once there, we were so glad we did.  What a beautiful spot!





















 

 

The group is Koh Ha Yai and is made up of five islands, or rather rocks, with a shallow area between four of them which has created a lovely coral garden for snorkelling and a small white sandy beach.  Just off the rocks, the depth is 30 metres, too deep for anchoring, so we were thrilled to find a few mooring buoys which appeared to be in good condition.  The water was crystal clear and the coral, although not outstanding, was full of a great variety of tropical fish.

Again, it was a popular location for divers during the day which meant that, at times, it was quite busy but a nice peaceful and thoroughly beautiful anchorage all the same.

This brief stopover turned into a two day relaxing stay, something all the boat maintenance has prevented us from enjoying of late.  No such thing as boredom.

Back on track, we motored (no wind to speak of) down to Koh Rok thinking we'd try the west side as the east had been a very difficult anchorage on our way up.  However, it was far too rolly so we motored around to the east.  We could see a handful of yachts in the distance and one in particular looked very familiar.  As we got closer, we could see it was indeed Troutbridge!  Anyone following our blog over the years will know why this was so familiar to us; she had been a constant companion and source of interest for many years.  Sadly, our old friend Peter is no longer the owner having returned to England to start afresh.  We met the new owners and were happy to see how much work they've been putting into the old girl.  I sent photos to Peter who admitted that he succumbed to a slight lump in his throat. 

In between our visits, the Parks Board had installed a dozen or more new mooring balls, what a pleasure for us and a savior for the beautiful coral.

While pulling into the next anchorage, Koh Lipe, our engine suddenly sounded horrific while idling.  After a quick search, Paul discovered that the culprit was the water maker pump which had broken it's securing bolts thereby damaging the threads.  He managed to secure it again but may have to rebore, tap and screw for a final fix at a later stage. There's always something that needs fixing!  An extra day to do this temporary solution and then it's off to Langkawi.