We are back in the Talaga Marina on the main island of Langkawi, Malaysia. We have spent the last three months cruising southern Thailand. We visited the Thai islands south of Phuket, working our way up into Phang Nga Bay. There we stopped off in the Krabi area before rounding the bottom of Phuket Island and enjoying the west coast and getting out to the amazing Similan Islands. The Similan Islands have the clearest water in South East Asia. The children swam with turtles in amongst coral and tropical fish.

My niece Rebecca's friend Rachel was in Thailand with her friend Russ. They were considering working as dive masters but the political situation and economy have ruined the 2008/2009 tourist season here. The numbers to date have been cut in half from last year.

Rachel & Russ decided to hitch a ride from Thailand to Langkawi, Malaysia. We showed them as much as possible of the southern islands. We took three weeks traveling from Phuket to Langkawi. In that time Rachel and Russ taught Emma, Phoebe & Drake how to scuba dive. Emma's un-schooling approach seems to be working. The children both studied and passed. Drake is too young to actually apply for his diver card but both Phoebe & Emma have theirs. Drake had a great time doing "fun dives" with Russ.

We spent Christmas having a beach BBQ on the island of Koh Kraden with several other crusing kid boats. For New Years we went to the busy island of Koh Lipe. It's just 24 miles from Langkawi but the water is 3rd in clarity after the similans. Fireworks, Glowing Sky Lanterns, Fire twirling and music til dawn! January 1st was a very quiet day as the island emptied out and it was just Blue Sky and the locals.

More later...

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Emma, Phoebe & Drake had a world circumnavigation by air. They left Malaysia in July for a 6 week holiday. They first flew to the US, landing at LAX. They were met for the transfer from International terminal to the domestic by the entire Morgan family, Peterdog & Pam! They had a couple of hours together before Emma and the children boarded a flight to Tucson. There they relaxed with Grandma and Grandpa Byrne-Quinn. My family including all three sisters then made the trip from their home to Tucson for a few days of BBQ's, Mexican food, site seeing and golf. Emma and the children then flew back to Redondo Beach and had four days of fun visiting friends and neighbors. The Port Royal Yacht Club hosted one evening where friends from all over Southern California could converge for an evening of fun! After a fantastic few days, they boarded another flight for London. There they were joined again with Emma's parents. They spent a few days in London site seeing and staying with Emma's sister Sarah. They then boarded another flight up to Inverness, Scotland. There they headed to Emma's cousin, Ted's wedding. They had a plenty of time to enjoy the scenery and it reminded them of our time in New Zealand. Once back to London they boarded a direct flight from London to Kuala Lumpur. One more quick flight from there to Langkawi and a ferry ride out to our island marina and they had completed their first circumnavigation.

Where was I? Well it was haul out time and I prefer to not have Phoebe and Drake exposed to the hazzards that are boat yards. I was able to have the two polyurethane blue boot and top stripes re-done. I pulled and replaced the cutlass bearing for the propeller shaft and re-antifouled the bottom of Blue Sky. It really does not sound like much but this is SEA! More later.

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Feliz cinco de Mayo todos! We will be sharing the joy of Mexican food & Margaritas tonight with our friends from the Southern Hemisphere. Emma & I are enjoying staying put for a little while after nearly three years of constant travel. Blue Sky is also enjoying the attention that we can give her. Phoebe & Drake as well as all the "boat" children are really grinding through their "formal" schooling. We are playing a little catch up as the distances we have had to cover plus the unique opportunities that have been our focus are now not keeping us so busy. Emma & the children are looking forward to flying back to the US to visit friends & family. They will then fly to Scotland for cousin Ted's wedding and then complete their circumnavigation via air back here by way of Hong Kong. I can't believe the children are circumnavigating the globe before me! I'll try to keep this better updated and thanks for all your replies. xxoo Jim

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