Pulay bay
06 December 2017
It was actually quite cool this morning with the cabin at 24 degrees – I had to put a tee shirt on at 6am. Cup of tea – the rain covers off and we were away by 7.30. Still a brisk wind that suddenly increased to over 20 knots. We had 2 reefs in the main and 15 rolls in the Genoa and still managing 7 knots, but while we had been caught out with the sudden increase in wind my plastic jar of ground coffee with screw lid bounced onto the cooker split open and from the cooker to my desk we had 3 sq metres of ground coffee onto our nice light brown carpet and mats. We hoovered scrubbed and beat the mats and carpets but I don’t think we got everything out and we don’t have enough fresh water to wash them. We need a water supply or heavy rain. We had a pleasant sail for several hour and anchored off Railey beach but it was so noisy with longtails speeding past us the crew opted for a quick lunch and up anchor to sail on.
In the afternoon the wind dropped to a gentle breeze and even with full sail up again we only made 2knts for several hours. Still no luck with the trawling. We passed a moored tanker and a loading bulk carrier which prompted hours of discussion from my crew despite passing some of the most spectacular views of Phang Nga bay and the outcrops of islands. We anchored at Pulay Bay at 3.15 and I went for a dive to check the anchor but it was so cloudy there was less than a metre visibility. The others had a swim at the stern and then a wash down at the back of the boat. The tide was going out and a group of school children on a holiday trip walked to within 20 metre of the boat so I was hoping I had not misjudged the depth. We went ashore at 4 to go for a walk but I was quickly told no one walks in Thailand so we only managed half a mile before returning and deciding on a massage while we waited for dinner. It was very pleasant and the meal was enjoyable too with another lovely sunset before returning to the boat for 8pm.