Ao Chalong

Hi everyone,
We had a good sail today from Phi Phi Don to Ao Chalong on Phuket Island. The 27nm passage took 5 hours. The boat is anchored at 07 49.304N 098 21.424E in 4m over mud.

Zen Again Track

The wind during the passage was ENE 10-15 knots with a clear sky - much like the previous three days. Today we were heading west so it was a broad reach instead of a beam reach. We gybed twice to keep the apparent wind far enough off the stern to allow the jib to work. We arrived in Ao Chalong at just after high tide which gave us plenty of water through the northern passage into the bay. It took two attempts to anchor due to finding a half-sunk mooring alongside the first time. A good workout since I'm hauling up the chain and anchor manually.

After tidying up I took the dinghy ashore to clear in. There's an uncharted marina SW of the long jetty where dinghies can be left. Clearing in took a while but we're now officially in Thailand. While I was ashore the weather worsened, with high clouds, a little rain and 20-25 knot winds. Happily the rain had stopped by the time I was ready to return to the boat.

Ao Chalong sunset

We'll see what the weather does tomorrow. If it stays unpleasant I'll stay here since we don't need to be at Boat Lagoon until Thursday. It's a short 17nm passage to get there. With luck I'll be able to get a Thai SIM card arranged for my phone.

Trust all's well where you are!