Thus Far!
I found yachting paradise in Thailand! Oh hang on, I already declared that in an earlier blog!
It started out as a joke with a close friend in Dubai; adding “thus far” to declarations to protect against future, better discoveries or experiences. It might be something as frivolous as “this is the best Cornish pasty I’ve had… thus far!”, to something more serious. Like ranking Thai islands! I’m pleased that I used this proviso in my previous blog.
Paradise Found! – Ripening Nicely
Mu Koh Rok (the Rok island group) has been on our radar for a few seasons, but it’s a little bit off “the usual route” up and down the Thai island chain and known for being a bit exposed to the weather. It wasn’t just the stars that would have to align to make this visit possible, but also the tidal effects of the sun and moon!
The sail to Mu Koh Rok was wonderful. It’s unusual to have just the right conditions – as free as we aim to be, we normally have some itinerary or some plan of where we want to be that means “the wind is coming from the wrong direction”. But the wind cooperated as forecasted and allowed an amazing sail on a beam reach – with the wind on the beam (side), resulting in a relaxing, steady boat movement with good consistent speed.
I arrived in good time, dropping the sail in the lee (downwind) of the islands, sheltered from the breeze by surprisingly high limestone cliffs.
The charts for this area are notoriously inaccurate – in fact, the line of national park mooring buoys are all located on what is shown as ‘drying’ (above water at low tide) on the Navionics charts. We’ve got used to cross-checking the marine charts against satellite images, which in this case quite clearly shows the channel between the islands. Satellite images aside, it feels unnatural taking Aroha onto the green (drying) part of the chart. It’s like driving on the wrong side of the motorwary, even if the road works signs say it’s OK to do so!
At least the reef along the side of the channel closest to the row of mooring buoys is quite visible – corresponding to the satellite imagery on my phone. It reminded me of when we sailed in The Maldives – the charts were even worse, and without satellite imagery to assist us – we relied a lot more on having the sun high and behind us so we could avoid the dangers of the murky brown reef.
Helen flew home about a week ago, so I’ve been taking it easy, solo sailing. I’d timed my arrival for slack water – when the current is the weakest at the bottom of the tide. I lined Aroha up with the buoy, slowing her down by clicking from tick-over forward to neutral… I let the remaining speed wash off until the pointy end of the boat was close to the buoy, walking forward calmly and picking up the mooring buoy with the boat hook.
Although I didn’t. I missed it three times! Having the edge of the reef about two boat lengths to my side, and an occasional tourist boat whizzing past didn’t help my composure. Each time I missed, I had to make sure I stayed in the safety of the channel, before turning to reset my approach.
The fact that I’m an RYA (Royal Yachting Association) Power Boat instructor in my spare time made it all the worse that I messed it up so royally. I think in the back of my mind, I was also thinking of a Kiwi couple we met – very experienced sailors – who hit the reef here pretty hard two seasons ago.
On attempt four, I finally secured to the buoy with two lines (always redundancy…), did the usual checks (depth, swinging circle…) and sat in the shade of the cockpit with a cool drink to regain my composure. I had to remind myself not to be quite so hard on myself – there are enough critics in this world, I don’t need a self-sabotaging one.
Southern Thailand is very touristy, but as Mu Koh Muk is a fair distance from the tourist ghettos of Phuket and Koh Phi Phi, it finds itself a midday, lunch, and snorkelling kind of destination. It’s nice that there are just cruisers and national park staff between about 3pm and 10am. It’s when places like this really shine.
There’s a nice nature trail, taking you on a loop up and around one of the cliff top headlands, giving dramatic, almost drone-quality shots from the cliff tops.
But the real gem is underwater. I’ve never experienced such great visibility in Thailand. The coral is pretty and the small fish are colourful – it’s hard to not be impressed. I found it quite easy spending a couple of hours per day in the water – taking George (our dinghy) to a different area depending on the current and tidal depth.
It’s not just the ‘exposed’ part that can make life at anchor here challenging. The tidal current whizzes through the channel, catching our keel and holding us in line with the tidal current flow. Sometimes this can put the swell on our aft (back) or worse, beam (side), normally resulting in a very unnatural, jerky boat movement at anchor.
So, with strong easterlies forecasted on a full moon (spring tides create the strongest currents) it was clear that the conditions were going to become untenable, and after a few days in paradise, it was time to move on.
Thank you, Mu Koh Rok, you’re my new favourite Thai island. Thus far.
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