Follow our Track @ After thirty years in commercial dry-bulk shipping, I was satisfied I’d stared down the presumptive doyen of jargon—those adopted acronyms and abbreviations that walled the trade, and myself, off from outsiders.
But five years of boat ownership and the requisite interactions with other boat owners, literature, YouTube channels, et al, and I quickly discovered I was now on another level altogether.
Show me a subject matter fossilized by the ancient past, diamonds, elderly parents and the clergy excluded, and I’ll raise you the maritime industry. It’s quite extraordinary, the nomenclature! Lee (leeward), tack (not the nail variety) gollywobbler (I’m serious now), poop deck (getting silly), futtock (I beg your pardon), clew (what will he do next?), and the list goes on and on, and on! Then you have a term associated with the return of the boat into the water after having been “on the hard”!
Splashing
I don’t know about you, but having spent a good portion of life savings to buy this lump of glass and steel and having just spent nearly 3 full months making her clean and pretty, I’m not remotely at ease with the term “splashing” being associated with the returning of Luna Blu to the water. The re-entry really shouldn’t cause a splash at all, otherwise you’d be having stern words with the crane operator on a job poorly executed! I hope there’s at least a tacit appreciate for another nautical term I’ve dropped just then! Gently lower, descend gradually, go down slowly, anything but that which would cause a splash.
Nonetheless, she was splashed and with no small part of stress and concern that all the hull openings were satisfactorily closed and watertight before we went back into the water. A quick scrummage about the innards of the boat to ensure she remained dry, after which a thumbs up to the tractor operator and we were soon unburdened from all things unnatural to a boat, and thus afloat!
Ko Phayam
Until now the entirety of our cruising experiences aboard Luna Blu had been limited to the east and west coasts of the island of Phuket, Phang Nga Bay and most of the Andaman Sea Islands extending south from Phuket, as far down as the Malaysian island of Langkawi. In itself a stunning part of the world to enjoy life on the water. However, after 5 years of the same, we were beginning to feel restless and with the prospect of sailing across great oceans only one year hence, it was high time to stretch our legs, so to speak, and to discover new parts and, importantly, test systems on the boat and iron out the inevitable problems.
Ko Phayam is a stunning and tranquil island sitting off the coast of Ranong Province well north of Phuket and spitting distance from the border with Myanmar. Known for its unspoiled nature, long, uncrowded beaches, and a relaxed atmosphere that has largely bypassed the over-development that is the scourge of many other Thai islands. A short 150nm hop and broken neatly into three comfortable days with two safe overnight anchorages.
The first sits inside a natural small harbor offering excellent protection from all angles that, not surprisingly, the Thai Navy have decided to commandeer for one of their bases. Thap Lamu, as i understand the area is called, is also home to a large fleet of fishing vessel’s that on the stroke of 8am in the morning all leave port, and on the stroke of 6pm in the evening, all return. Best to avoid entry, or exit at times corresponding with their movements! With the fishing fleet of course comes access to a many number of seafood restaurants ashore, the pick of which must be Krachang Khao Lak. We tied our dinghy alongside the pier on which the restaurant sits and ate well!
The second anchorage is equally as well protected. On the lee of Ko Phra Thong, which is really no more than a very large mangrove, and offering excellent protection from all angles. There is scarcely little else here other than an occasional fishing boat returning from a days toil. We enjoyed the solitude and serenity!
Ko Phayam is better known to the author not for the long sandy beaches, pristine turquoise waters and the untouched natural beauty, but by the bar on a beach that as been fashioned using all manner of flotsam and jetsam into an impressively accurate replica of a ships hull, bursting through the trees and shrubs and headed out to sea. Behind this inviting facade is a warren of dark little nooks and coves where you can sit or lay down, feet up and replenish fluids. Judging by the aroma in the air, it’s not a stretch to imagine transactions involving cash and Mary Jane were abundant. They don’t call it The Hippy Bar for nothing!
Whatever your vice, It’s a wonderfully interesting place to convalesce after a long days toil. And if you enjoy some of Bob Marley’s work, well, you are in for some treat!
1st mate overboard
Having used the dinghy to ferry us ashore in the daylight, and feeling not just a little excited, scant attention had been paid to any obstacles that lurked in the water that ought be avoided for our eventual transfer back to Luna Blu under the cloak of darkness. Drinks were subsequently taken though not in great abundance, but enough to quench a thirst, and perhaps just one more.
A 15hp 2-stroke outboard engine wont excite too many deep sea fisherman, there’s barely enough umph in it to get much by way of water conveyance moving in a particularly enthralling canter. But 15 horses, is 15 horses, and for our purposes it’s perfect. Just sufficient enough power to lift the dinghy, with the two of us and some accessories, out of the water and onto a plain. Add a 3rd passenger and it starts to complain, but for the two of us, perfect. And so it was, having settled the bar tab with a red-eyed Thai Rastafarian, we immediately set to putting the dingy to sea, climbing aboard, exciting the motor and making a direct heading for the mother ship, Luna Blu.
Zippy was sat forward to help with weight distribution, compensating in some part for the lump of ballast that was sitting aft operating acceleration and steerage. Wallet, my phone and a torch had been put into a dry bag, but for reasons that remain unanswered the dry back was not closed tight. Zippy had her phone in a small handbag that was looped over her shoulder.
The throttle was opened sufficiently enough such that the dinghy was now up out of the water and plaining. And then we abruptly stopped, and i don’t mean a loss of power type stop followed by a steady drift to a halt. No, this was instant. With momentum working on the 2 unfixed objects in the dinghy, Zippy found herself immediately launched at a speed the dinghy was doing, head first forward and clear of the bow. In an instant she was gone. In the meantime, I had hold of the throttle of the engine and had feet wedged in place as some form of restraint. My head swing forward and levered downward, my mouth impacted the bench seat in front of me upon which Zippy had been resting, but had since been relocated. A few short seconds passed after which we took stock of what had happened. By this time Zippy had come alongside the dinghy and was seeking assistance aboard. I immediately cut the the idling engine, still in forward gear but pushing us nowhere, reaching over the side and with one tug lifted a sodden Zippy back into the boat, minus the handbag that had been over her shoulder, but with the open dry bag still on her back. Soaking wet, but otherwise unharmed.
It turns out that when we took the dinghy ashore we had to skirt around a roped off area that was protecting a reef from marine traffic. Boaters were made aware of this rope thanks to small buoys some 30m apart with the rope otherwise sitting at, or just below the surface of the water, making it all but impossible to see. The dingy had gone over the top of the floating rope, but the leg of outboard wasn’t so lucky. How the outboard hadn’t been torn off its mount is a testament to the manufacturers.
Zippy’s phone was lost for good, and the contents within the dry-bag were sodden. We dried Zippy off, tended to a fat lip, and tried to dry wet equipment.
The next few days were spent recuperating from the incident, discovering the island of Ko Phayam, and enjoying the company and dinners with friends on a neighboring buddy boat. After which it was soon time to leave. Replacement mobile phones had to be procured, and guests were arriving shortly back in Phuket.
We will return to Phayam, a lovely place. Next time though, note to self, enjoy the cool crisp beers, but for heavens sake, be careful of the rope in place to separate a drying reef from marine traffic!
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