7th Jan 2010 7deg52.38' 96deg16.87'

100 miles west of Phuket in the Andaman sea, I woke up to a grey rainy morning. A scene reminiscent of leaving NZ not Thailand. Alan was listening to the morning SSB sked, the IO Net, yachts reporting rain all the way back to Phuket. There is just enough wind to keep us going at 3 to 4 knots, but not enough to chase the rain away. Cloud out to the horizon with flashes of lightening and thunder, thought we had finished with all that for a while any way. The lightening is moving away so now electronics can be switched on again, computers, VHF radio and GPS retrieved from out of the oven. I am not sure if having those things in the oven will completely protect them but it makes me feel better. We don't have a microwave which is the best protection so the oven with foil over the front will have to do. We do have a biscuit tin but the biscuits aren't finished yet and besides its not big enough for the laptops.

Yesterday when we left Phuket after our three weeks in Thailand the sun was hot and the wind great for a pleasant start to our sail to Sri Lanka. This time in Phuket most of our time was getting last minute provisioning and bits for the boat. We also installed an AIS which shows us what ships are near us, their direction and speed. Thanks to Silver Fern coming back from NZ with a newer more sophisticated AIS we were able to give a good home to their older set which is all we need. We,ve managed with just radar and the binoculars until now but it is great to see the ships popping up on the computer screen with all their details, direction speed and importantly time and distance to collision if our courses are likely to cross.

We did manage to squeeze in a bit of socializing , Christmas was enjoyed at Nai Harn. Christmas morning spent visiting various friends in the bay then evening dinner with Bryce and Martha on Silver Fern. They had a guest on board, they had met Dan Dan on their recent trip to China. This was her first trip outside of her homeland, first Christmas celebration, first swim in the sea, first snorkel, first time on a yacht well just about everything was a first including the rum custard on the Christmas pies. A tiny spoon full of custard to try was followed by spoons full and scrapping the bowl as we cleared away the dishes. Dan Dan is a teacher of Chinese at an International school in Chengdu and her English is excellent so it was interesting talking to her about her experiences in and out of China. I have a feeling this won't be her last taste of new experiences.

A Patong New Year is a must do, so we moved anchorage to Patong Bay to have another party on Silver Fern

they have a big boat! Patong is the anything goes capital of Phuket. At New Year the town is extra busy and the fireworks blast away all night. Streams of paper lanterns taking wishes for the New Year floated across the bay and fireworks coloured the sky all night. Every resort, restaurant and bar around the bay trying to out do each other with their displays, with the special ones saved for midnight. The best place to watch all this is from the deck of a yacht anchored out in the bay. Also we could keep an eye on our boats to make sure no lit lanterns landed on our decks. The wind was kind and sent most away from us.

Socializing and partying over it was back to Nai Harn and then a few days at Panwa Bali, clear out Immigration at Ao Chalong, last phone calls home then next stop Sri Lanka. We left yesterday at 2pm and by dark we were nearly out of sight of land, next land we may see will be the Andaman Islands as we go through the Sombrero Channel although that could be in the dark tomorrow night. The wind has just died again, the motor is back on.