Sailing North

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Judy

Nice reach up the coast. Who says the weather is not so good during the Southwest Monsoon? This is supposed to be the wet season but in fact this is sailing in Phuket at it's very best.

Tacking aganst the tide

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Track

In this shot of our track you can see how we tacked up the channel. The tide was against us and this made our tacking angles a little bigger than the 80 degrees we like to brag about, but even 90 degrees isn't bad.

Bottom Job

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Ready

When we returned to Phuket we found that the workers had finished the repair and painting on Wings' bottom and moved the boat nearer to the railway for relaunching. The work looked good and the price was excellent. We're happy.

Calm Day

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Yacht Haven

We're definately in the low season in Phuket. Normally this sidewalk at Yacht Haven would be busy with sailors and tourists but today it is a quiet as a ghost town. Even the bay, except for some anchored craft, looks pretty empty.

Under Cover

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Wings

Still snug under the cover as a nice morning turns into a great day Wings awaits our orders in Yacht Haven Marina, Phuket, Thailand

Heading Out

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At 10:00 we got the sails up and headed out towards the shipyard 29 miles away.

Steering

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Garth

Garth takes the helm so I can do some photos.

The Day Just Gets Better

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Three sailors

The SW Monsoon is supposed to be the bad time of year, but this is a great sailing day and it's getting better.

15 Knots of Wind

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Nice Breeze

We ate up the 29 miles in no time with a good wind and favorable tide. While Garth steered, Judy watched ahead, and Wendy found some shade, I scrambled around with the Nikon looking for a good shot.

Ratanachai Ship Yard, Thailand

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Arrival
After spending the night anchored off a resort nearby, we pulled into the holding area at Ratanachai exactly at 08:00 the next morning, right on time.

Ratanachai Shipyard, Phuket Thailand

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Workers

The red shirts ready the car for Wings' haulout

Marine Railway Car

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Wheels

These are the types of cars which the Ratanchai Yard workers place under your boat to lift you our of the water. The wheels can turn to allow them to shunt you off onto a siding.

Yard Forman

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Boss

All professional, and never smiling, the boss is in command.

Hauled Out, 2008 style

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On The Rails

After 22 years of haulouts on various travel-lifts around the Pacific here we are on a marine railway. After they got us up on dry land in the shipyard they shunted us off on a siding so they could bring the next ship up past us. For being the first time we tried a marine railway it went rather well I think.

Wings in Ratanachai Boatyard

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Wings

After they got the boat out of the water and ready to work on we started collecting our tools.

Working on the Keel

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Fred Grinding

Fred used some strong epoxy filler to repair the damage. The first batch went on the same day we hauled and the next morning, and after it set, he ground it smooth with his trusty old Milwalkee right angle grinder.

Phuket Boats

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On the SE Side of Phuket there are a lot of boats anchored in the lee of the island during SW Monsoon

Golden Serpent, Phuket

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Phuket Town

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Thai

Phuket is a typical Thai town. However, most of the island is not like this; in most places you will see tourist hotels and flashy bars.

We prefer Phuket Town to the hotels and bars.

Phuket Turtle

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Wendy Hinman in Phuket

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Wendy
Unable to stay away from the cruising scene, Wendy and husband Garth traveled back to SE Asia from Seattle (on an airplane!) to visit sailing friends. They visited Hong Kong and then us in Bangkok and together we came to Phuket, where they toured the whole island, or as much as they could until the rain and floods made the roads impassable.

Garth and the Long Tail

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Long Tail boats amused us

The engines are turned around when stored so the long tail shaft is no longer sticking out the back.

Phuket Beach

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Karon

In the NE Monsoon season this beach has gentle waves and the ocean here is calm. Cruisers like to anchor here then. Now however the SW Monsoon is in full swing and Karon is a mean lee shore. Swimmers are cautioned against going into the waves.

Phuket, Statue

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Chayo Phrai River, Bangkok

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Palace across the River

The busy Chayo Phrai River in old central Bangkok. The wat is across the river from town. We are looking from the wat back to the town.

Wat Buildings, Bangkok

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Wat Arun, Bangkok

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Wendy Hinman, Bangkok

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Palace Buildings and Wat, Bangkok

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Goofing in Bangkok

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Wendy Hinman (center)

Flower at Palace

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Palace Guard-Bangkok

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