I was going to kill the blog site after we left Singapore, but have decided to keep it going as a way of staying in touch with everyone and sharing our experiences with you. I don’t now how regular these postings will be, but will try to update you as and when I can.
The story so far….
We left Singapore in May, did our IYT sailing course in June and bought Pelangi, our 37ft yacht in Thailand in July. Since then our lives have changed completely for better and worse, the good life, and the hard life, some successes, and some heartache, but always with a dream in our hearts.
To date we’ve participated in a 2 day sail with the Thai Royal Navy in honour of the King, watched a spectacular 2 hour fireworks display from the deck of Pelangi in honour of the Queen’s birthday, did a 6 day sail around some pretty nice islands with hardly anyone else there and competed in our first weekend racing event with a rather poor D.N.F. result - oops! We’ve also made some fantastic friends and discovered that a lot of what people say about sailing is actually true!
Saying number 1
They say that sailing is a bit like flying – the take off and landing are the hard bit, the rest is easy. They were right! Getting a 37ft (small boat by today’s standards) 10.5 tonne boat with no brakes and no steerage when the engine is in neutral into a small reserved parking space in a marina with a large audience to boot is quite scary the first few times! Luckily Capt. G has become a dab hand at reverse parking our lovely boat without destroying everything else around us while I jump on deck with lines (ropes) in hand ready to get that first tie on a cleat (sort of human brakes). This has taken much practice and bad language to perfect!
Saying number 2
They say that you don’t buy a boat, rather a hole in the water that you pour money into. They were right! Since purchasing Pelangi she has been spoilt with: numerous engine bits and parts, a new fuel gauge, new temperature gauge, new diesel pump thingy, new toilet parts, repairs to the head sail, new main sail (on order) a bosons chair, hand held GPS, 2 way walkie talkies (so we can swear at each other from either end of the boat!), numerous tools, shackles and a host of other bits and bobs that are frequently sold at 3 times the normal price because they have the word “marina” in front of them! Fortunately the beer fridge hasn’t crapped out on us yet!!
Saying Number 3
They say you can be sure that whatever the trip and whenever you want to take it, the wind will not be in favour. They where right! On the days when you’re in the marina working on the boat getting ready for a passage, the wind will howl and you will spend sleepless nights worrying about whether you’ve tied her up tight enough, and if the fenders are in the right place, and if the dinghy is properly secured. The morning you get up at 5.00am to start your journey there won’t be a breath of bloody wind to be had and you’ll spend hours (and large amounts of money) burning fuel as you motor half way to your destination! Or, the wind will be blowing in EXACTLY the direction you want to go, which means you have to sail in the opposite direction to where you want to go (in order to fill your sails with wind), and go miles out of your way to get to your destination!
Saying Number 4
Unfortunately, no one reminded us of this one – most Thai people are robbing bastards! We recently did a return trip to Singapore to see G’s parents who where working there at the time and catch up with some friends. Oh yeh, and go shopping lah (for Pleangi of course!). On our return we found our boat had been broken into (hatch broken) and almost $5,000 worth of gear stolen – cameras, camcorder, brand new iPod – the lot! Obviously an inside job involving the so-called “security guards”. Of course, the Thai’s closed ranks, the police only wanted to investigate for a rather large back hander and our stuff will never be seen by us again. We’ve travelled to many countries, many times - we’ve been to Thailand 3 times, and been robbed twice. Make your own deductions and choices of holiday destination from that!
The best saying of all:
This comes from our newfound, very good friend Ed (from Hull) who also bought a boat and whom we have been sailing with a couple of times. “People think sailing is like those pictures in cruising magazines – all nice, clean, white clothes, suppin pina coladas at sunset, but all it is really is, is campin on water.”
He’s right! You have limited fresh water, so (cold) showers are limited to 1 a day, you wash your dishes in minimal (cold) water, you’re always hot, sticky and sweating, you’re hair’s a mess and you cant remember where you put anything, but you know it’s in a cubby hole somewhere that even a double-jointed dwarf would have trouble getting to!
So, why do it?
In spite of all of the above (apart from the break in which is unforgivable), it’s exciting, it’s challenging and it’s exhilarating! When the wind is blowing at a steady 5 knots and you have your sails trimmed to the right “point of sail”, when Pelangi is pushing through the water with ease with nothing but nature around you, when you finally anchor at a beautiful, white-sand beach with no other bugger there, when you sit on your deck with a drink in hand and watch a beautiful sunset (knowing what it took to get there to see that sunset!) it’s amazing!! Who cares what you’re hair looks like – you did something! You went somewhere un-spoilt, you made genuine friends along the way, you achieved something without the help of technology (we don’t rely on GPS, we use charts to navigate), or air con (apart from the breeze that mother nature provides) and you did by yourselves!
So, what next?
No doubt more expense (she’s an old boat and salt water is very destructive), but on the bright side, this is just the start of our adventures. We’re still based at the marina in Pattaya, but are getting ready for our next passage to some un-spoilt islands East of the Gulf of Thailand, then possibly into Cambodia with some friends. In November, when the monsoon winds change, we hope to head South to Koh Samui, then leave Thailand for East Malaysia and possibly sail back into Singapore, before heading off for Borneo, Brunei and The Philippines in the new year.
We’ve argued and fought, I’ve been scared out of my wits at times, we’ve been robbed, our engine hasn’t started at important times, our gears have failed when we’ve been trying to park in the dark at night, our sails have started to shred while we’ve been in high winds, but….
We have big plans, big dreams, and have learnt to work as a team to make it happen, and we’ve met some great (if alcoholic!) friends who have looked after us and supported us in our dream, and we’ll be well be used to this camping on water lark by the time we’re done!
Fairwinds
Capt. G and Capt J XXX
