Since arriving in Phuket at the end of January, it has been boat chore, after boat chore, after boat chore.......

Once the decision had been made to not take the risk of sailing past Somalia, through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea (surrounded by Yemen, Saudia Arabia and all the other problem areas in the Middle East), new chores were added to the list: preparations necessary for getting Mooonbeam ready for shipping. These include taking down all the canvas, securing everything below deck, and sealing all air vents (the Red Sea sand and dust can be brutal). Many of these preparations have to wait until the last minute, as the boat must stay vented while living aboard.

We have been advised by the shipping company that the freighter will arrive in Phuket on 7 March, and begin loading shortly thereafter. They do advise strongly (and repeatedly) not to purchase airline tickets until the boat is physically on the freighter, so my travel plans to meet the boat in Turkey are still "up in the air".

There are at least eleven other boats from this marina that are going on the same freighter, so there is a lot of camaraderie among the cruisers who are all making the same preparations. I have also been able to recruit some other local cruisers to assist me with moving Moonbeam down to where the freighter will be loading.

More to come as we get closer to the actual shipping date.

The picture is looking over the marina at dusk from the local restaurant.