Squal on the way to Phuket

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Full Metal Jacket to Weather

Malacca Straits in white out squall conditions made us a bit nervous: What about ships?

But, funny as it sounds, we never saw any in these conditions.

We buddy boated with Full Metal Jacket and kept close together for three days.

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Great Crew

Brendon, Pierre and Judy

Tired of the Rain?

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Fred

After a night of squals and rain I got a bit pooped. Tired, wet, but I wasn't cold.

George of the Jungle

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George on Full Metal Jacket

We sailed together with Full Metal Jacket and George, the captain, was having a blast in the squall.

"What do you mean Come Up? we have a full yard to spare!

Enjoying the Shower

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Judy & Brendon

Brendon had to trim the jib and both he and Judy got a big laugh about the big run-off of rain water from the main which landed right on his head.

Fuzzy Logic

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Pierre
My recollection is a bit fuzzy about this but I think Pierre stayed below for a while during the storm.

Wings' Voyages-2007

Click on image to enlarge



We got a late start in 2007; it was Thanksgiving before we got on the move once again. Maybe that accounts for the short distance travelled.

On the other hand, in 2008 we might spend the whole year travelling and go nowhere.

Conversion

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Loaded

Compare this photo with the next one
Unloaded

Actually you can't see much difference in the unloaded waterline but that's because the boat is heeling slightly to starboard and burying the waterline. In the loaded photo above we have the boat better balanced. Believe me, the boat is much heavier and quite a bit lower in the water.

Ready to Go

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Wings in Cruising Mode

It took two days to convert Wings back into a cruiser, but two weeks to clean everything, fix all the stuff which needed fixing, and stow all the gear. Hope we can reverse the process faster in Phuket.

Reclamation Bay

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Wings

This quiet cove was built by the Singapore government during their land recalmation project to expand Singapore. We don't think they meant to make a harbor for pleasure boats and probably it will be filled in soon as their project contiues, but for now it serves as a great get-away.

One thing; it isn't on any chart! Here is the hot tip: 1 degree 13.86 N, 103 degree 36.25 E. Watch out of for shallows as the sand naturally shifts and fills the bay.

Party Time

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Charter Boats

Local charter boats like to bring their party-goers to Reclamation Bay for an afternoon of fun on the water and on the beach. By 9:00PM they were gone and we had the bay to ourselves again.

Andy's Handiwork

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Chairs

Andy Kung fashioned these chairs for us with stainless steel tubing instead of the steel frames which rust out immediately in the marine environment as a gift on our departure from Hong kong. They are great. We took them ashore for a beach party yesterday and they received lots of admiration.

At Anchor

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Relaxing with a good book

Cheers

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Whiskey

Congratulations, this is a great way to spend an afternoon.

Reclamation Bay

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Wings

Common Sight

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Lightning

A common sight around Singapore is the lightning. It is frequent and heavy in the squalls which come through often during the SW Monsoon season (April-November).

Notice that this strike originates above the cloud? Is it directly from God?

Another Strike

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More Lightning

Back Aboard

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Judy Checks Dinner

One of our favorite liveaboard activities on Wings is cooking outdoors using the BBQ on the stern railing.

What's Cooking?

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Kabob's on the new BBQ

Giving a woman a new cooker for her birthday doesn't seem politically correct, but Judy really wanted this shiney Magma BBQ. And anyhow I do most of the outdoor cooking; doesn't that make it OK?

Talking About the Passage

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Cruisers

In September and October the cruisers start to roll through Raffles on their way North from Australia and Indonesia.

New Goggles

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Fred

The guys in the office bought me some new goggles as a going away present, and I already tried them out; they work great and they look cool, don't you agree?

The Softness of a Bangkok Night

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Roof Top Pool

In the softness of a Bangkok night we went to the rooftop for a swim. We usually went to the pool on the roof of our building during the day for exercise: 66 2/3 laps is a kilometer, takes 20 mins, and it feels good. But on this night we just went for a refreshing dip.

Pool Fun

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Fred & Judy

We're going to be missing this pool since we moved out of the apartment on Soi 13; it's not big but it's enough and it is never crowded.

Motorbikes

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Ready Set Go

With the long traffic lights in Bangkok there is plenty of time for the motorbikes to work their way through the stopped cars up to the front of the pack. When the light finally changes they are the first off the line, and look out, the come with a rush!

Quintessential Bangkok

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Street Vendor

There must be hundreds of thousands of these food carts in Bangkok. These carts are in evidence on every street all day, but at dusk more of them seem to sprout up everywhere. It also seems like most Thais eat all their meals on the street, and why not, the food tastes great!

Standard Bangkok Scene

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Street Food on Soi Cowboy

Standard fare on the street: Thai food food of all kinds, what else?

Going to Work

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Motorbike taxi

Silk

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Soi 11

Balloons

Asok

All manner of cargo moves by motorbike in Bangkok

Merging into Traffic

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Soi 11

Notice that the passenger is riding side saddle? It seems a bit precarious to me but most of the girls riding on the backs of a motorbikes sit this way and they are not hanging onto the rider, so how do they stay on?

When Judy rides on a motorbike, even in a skirt, she rides with a leg on either side.

Sukhumvit

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Motobikes

Part of the traffic scene in Bangkok are the motobikes,

Roof Top Music at 08:00

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Seen on Soi 13

There is a building down the soi which is either being demolished or remodeled, we can't tell yet; so far they have just knocking pieces off. The workers seem to be living on the site, which is not uncommon in Bangkok.

One morning, at 08:00, when I was in the rooftop gym of our building doing my workout, and watching the neighboring rooftops while I jogged on the treadmill, I saw this group, maybe some of the workers, come onto the top floor of the building under demolishment and they sat down and proceeded to have a sing-along.

Family Transport

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Three people on a motorbike
Three people on a motorbike is fairly common, and the kids never have helmets or any protection. It scares me to see a family like this tearing along at speed in heavy traffic.

Waiting For His Turn

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Soi 11 Motorbike Driver

On Soi 11 there is another motorbike taxi stand, and here the riders have to wait for their turn to take a passenger. This guy found a way to take a nap on his motorbike while waiting.

Driving Mr. Fred

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Wan Chai & Fred

On Soi 13 there are four brothers who operate a motorbike taxi stand. This one is Wan Chai; we know them all and they are our friends. They call me "Boss" and Judy is "Madam". I love to ride through the back sois with the wind blowing in my hair on the back of Wan Chai's motorbike.

Another One Going Up

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Sukhumwit

There seems no end to the building going on in Bangkok. This is one of three or four on Sukhumwit in our neighborhood.

Judy Talks to Jet

Tokyo Joe's Bar

Judy chatted with the girl sitting next to her at the bar, her name was Jet, and tried to talk her into dancing, but she was too shy, or maybe her boyfriend didn't want to and she was being considerate of him. Didn't stop Judy though.

Bad Video

Don't click on this video unless you have a high pain threshold, it hurts.

Hey Joe...

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Soi Dog Blues Band

Shot a few videos with my phone, this is one frame. Gotta get a better phone I guess.

Phuket Town Banner

Phuket Town

On a sleepy Sunday afternoon we drove through Phuket's old town. Just a first impression, but I liked this town.

Looking Down River

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Boats

We went to a beach near the airport and in back of the beach was a small river with these moored wooden long tail fishing boats.

Yellow Bow

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River Scene

I thought the paint job on the bow of this boat was quite nice. Never figured out the meaning of the colored cloth wrapped on the stem though.

Sea Eagle

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Sea Eagle

A vendor at the view point has this Sea Eagle and two others trained to perch on your wrist while a snapshot was taken for THB100 ($3). This was a beautiful creature who should be in the wild, not posing with tourists for photos. But I couldn't resist getting close to it.

Judy gets a view of a lee shore

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Judy

From this viewpoint we could look onto Kata Bay where the race boats are going to anchor during King's Cup. That will be during the NE Monsoon. We sure wouldn't want to drop a hook in that bay right now while the SW is still going strong; it's a lee shore!

Windy

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Kata Beach

Down on Kata Beach the wind was blowing and it was not a day for sunbathing or swimming and it was not the quiet anchorage promised for King's Cup, but we have faith that the monsoon will switch around.

On The Beach

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Best Meal in Phuket

Maybe it was just the good French wine they served, but we thought the meal here was great, the best we had in Phuket.

JW Marriot Beach Club Resort

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View from the Balcony

A salesman named Rico showed us around the JW Marriot Beach Club Resort on Phuket Island. It was nice, but too ostentatious and the Villa they offered us for time share seemed a bit big. We did like the free hotel room they gave us for the weekend in return for listening to the pitch though; most luxury we've had in a hotel room ever.

We didn't buy anything.

Bangkok Memories

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Tea Set & Frangi Pangi Blossoms

Two iconic memories of our life in Bangkok are on our dining room table: The tea set Judy picked up at the floating market and the Frangi Pangi blossoms from the roof garden of our apartment. Each morning we go to the roof where the pool and gym are to have a workout or a swim. We always look around the garden for any blossoms which have dropped off the Frangi Pangi trees, and we bring the nice ones home.

Art

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Frangi Pangi

AC Boats, 1999

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Nippon & AM True

On a rough day in the Hauraki Gulf outside of Auckland harbor Nippon with Peter Gilmore driving and Dawn Riley's American True with John Cutler at the helm circle in the prestart in 1999.

Fred-Oct 2007

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