Yesterday was a better day on the race course. We were only about 45 seconds late for the start, but had the boat moving well. When Dave wanted the jib in against the shrouds, I told him to drive the boat, and I’ll trim the jib. We ended up mid-fleet at the end of a twenty seven mile race. I’m pretty sure that we are the only boat in our class that is not using a spinnaker, and I don’t think that our rating is correct. I’m having fun racing anyway; I’ve been spoiled by all of the winning racing programs that I have been in the last few years. The weather has been nice for sailing, and the scenery that we are sailing around sure is beautiful.
Yesterday was the King’s birthday, so before the start of racing, there was a boat parade past a navy warship which had the whole crew on deck saluting as all of the race boats passed by. Dave got everybody on the crew a yellow shirt. Yellow is the official royal color. We all lined up on the side of the boat and returned the navy’s salute as we passed by. It was a pretty impressive sight.
At the party last night, the food was really good again. This time they had pizza, lasagna, sausage, and a pork loin, as well as a few of my Thai favorites. The desserts were scrumptious as usual. They even had blueberry cheesecake! I must admit that I blew my healthy diet last night, as I had several of those sweet
treats.
On Sunday night, they had the opening skipper’s meeting and a great party. After the party, the rest of the crew went to Dave Rucker’s bungalow, and I got in the dingy to return to Pipe Dream. When we had left the boat, it was in the afternoon and the sun was shining. Going back, the wind had shifted ninety degrees, and it was dark, and I had had a few glasses of wine. I wasn’t driving when we left the boat; I was chatting and looking around at all of the different sights. Well, after the party I was driving around the anchorage for an hour, and could not find the boat. The dingy started running poorly from all of the low speed running, so I decided to give up.
The Kata Beach Hotel was full, but the five star Mom’s Boathouse had a room available. At that point, if the room had been a thousand dollars, I probably would have taken it. The fellow behind the desk took pity on me and discounted the room by 350baht, so my mistake only cost me 12,000baht, around $400USD. The room was gorgeous though. The shower had one of those huge rain shower type of shower heads with a stone floor, a seat, and enough hot water to supply the navy. I think I sat in the shower relaxing for about a half an hour. The bellman had also lit a candle under a scented oil burner, so the aroma was kind of spicy and relaxing too. After my shower the doorbell rang, and another bellman brought a plate of chilled fresh fruit. I enjoyed that little snack while watching TV for the second time since leaving home. It sure was worth the price to sleep in a comfortable bed with the air conditioning turned very cold, without the motion of the ocean for a change.
In the morning, I got up and took another nice, long shower and then went to the restaurant for my free breakfast which was included with the room. They had everything imaginable out to eat. I had some smoked salmon and caviar, along with a lot of fruit, and an extra large espresso. Then I went out to the dingy, and put in the water and quickly found Pipe Dream and began preparing the boat for the day. I did not tell the other guys about losing the boat, so if any of them reads this, hopefully they’ll be gone and I won’t have to deal with the embarrassment, even though it turned into a pleasant experience, costly, but pleasant.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Jeff's Log Tuesday, December 4th contiued
7 48.890N 98 17.603E , Kata Bay, Kata Beach, Thailand
We had kind of a rough day today. At the start of our race, things went sour and just kind of stayed that way. Dave is a good sailor, but sure doesn’t know how to time a start. We were in the perfect starting position, we just got there 15 seconds too early and had to bail out and come around a second time so we would not be over early. That put us in last place, and it’s pretty rough to dig out from there when the competition is as good as the boats we are sailing against. The boat was faster today than we were yesterday. Towards the end of what would have been the first race, we punched a big hole in the jib on a tack, and retired from racing for the day so that the sail could be repaired. Oh well, tomorrow we’ll give ‘er hell again.
The after race parties are really fine affairs with lots of food, wine and beer. There’s a stage show every night with a band and singers. Tonight, I’m skipping the party to rest, as I had a hard day working the jib winch and loading the sail in the dink. After the rest of the crew left, I was left with a trashed boat inside and out, so I had to do a lot of scrubbing. Going to the party is a lot of work too, because I have to beach the dink, and pull it all the way up to the dry sand line. Then after the party, I have to drag it through the sand again and launch it, making sure that I push it to deep enough water to run the engine safely. I just don’t feel like working that hard tonight, or getting wet and full of sand. Tomorrow is the big party. It’s His Majesty the King’s birthday, and a special party is planned for that. I don’t want to miss that one. I guess I’ll have to carry my clothes in and change on the beach, because it’s long pants and collared shirt night.
We had kind of a rough day today. At the start of our race, things went sour and just kind of stayed that way. Dave is a good sailor, but sure doesn’t know how to time a start. We were in the perfect starting position, we just got there 15 seconds too early and had to bail out and come around a second time so we would not be over early. That put us in last place, and it’s pretty rough to dig out from there when the competition is as good as the boats we are sailing against. The boat was faster today than we were yesterday. Towards the end of what would have been the first race, we punched a big hole in the jib on a tack, and retired from racing for the day so that the sail could be repaired. Oh well, tomorrow we’ll give ‘er hell again.
The after race parties are really fine affairs with lots of food, wine and beer. There’s a stage show every night with a band and singers. Tonight, I’m skipping the party to rest, as I had a hard day working the jib winch and loading the sail in the dink. After the rest of the crew left, I was left with a trashed boat inside and out, so I had to do a lot of scrubbing. Going to the party is a lot of work too, because I have to beach the dink, and pull it all the way up to the dry sand line. Then after the party, I have to drag it through the sand again and launch it, making sure that I push it to deep enough water to run the engine safely. I just don’t feel like working that hard tonight, or getting wet and full of sand. Tomorrow is the big party. It’s His Majesty the King’s birthday, and a special party is planned for that. I don’t want to miss that one. I guess I’ll have to carry my clothes in and change on the beach, because it’s long pants and collared shirt night.
Tuesday, 12/4/07, Kata Bay, Thailand
Sunday, we moved Pipe Dream over to Kata Beach for the King’s Cup Regatta. Yesterday, we sailed the first race which was a cruising race from just off Kata beach, around the corner, and between two islands, around the safe water buoy for Ao Chalong, and back to the finish. The race distance was said to be thirty-one miles, as the crow flies. During the race, we broke a jib sheet, and lost a crewman overboard, who was recovered without any drastic maneuvers.
He had been out at the end of the whisker pole repairing a tangle. After completing what was necessary, he started correcting another minor issue that could have waited until the pole was back on deck, when his arms got tired, and…. SPLASH! He did catch a line, however and managed to hang on until I got a good hold of his wrist and dragged him up onto the transom platform and helped him back into the boat. There was a press boat right next to us during the swim and recovery, so maybe some pictures will show up in magazines or something. I must say that when he dropped to the water, he was ten or twelve feet in the air, and I would have to give him high marks for style. It did look really cool. He did lose his red Mount Gay hat from Key West race week though, and sailors hate when that happens.
The racing crew consists of Skipper Dave Brennan aka Grabber, his lovely wife Kendra, Cindy Suanders from Miami, who I have raced with before, Sean Brown, a yacht designer from Miami (and an excellent swimmer) Keith, who lives here in Chalong, Jerry who lives on the north end of Phuket Island, and myself.
Sunday, we moved Pipe Dream over to Kata Beach for the King’s Cup Regatta. Yesterday, we sailed the first race which was a cruising race from just off Kata beach, around the corner, and between two islands, around the safe water buoy for Ao Chalong, and back to the finish. The race distance was said to be thirty-one miles, as the crow flies. During the race, we broke a jib sheet, and lost a crewman overboard, who was recovered without any drastic maneuvers.
He had been out at the end of the whisker pole repairing a tangle. After completing what was necessary, he started correcting another minor issue that could have waited until the pole was back on deck, when his arms got tired, and…. SPLASH! He did catch a line, however and managed to hang on until I got a good hold of his wrist and dragged him up onto the transom platform and helped him back into the boat. There was a press boat right next to us during the swim and recovery, so maybe some pictures will show up in magazines or something. I must say that when he dropped to the water, he was ten or twelve feet in the air, and I would have to give him high marks for style. It did look really cool. He did lose his red Mount Gay hat from Key West race week though, and sailors hate when that happens.
The racing crew consists of Skipper Dave Brennan aka Grabber, his lovely wife Kendra, Cindy Suanders from Miami, who I have raced with before, Sean Brown, a yacht designer from Miami (and an excellent swimmer) Keith, who lives here in Chalong, Jerry who lives on the north end of Phuket Island, and myself.
Monday, December 3, 2007
The 2007 Phuket Kings Cup Regatta
The Thailand's Royal Navy are planning a spectacular sail past in honor of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 80th birthday at the 2007 Phuket Kings Cup regatta. King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the Patron of the annual regatta, which runs from December 1-8.
Over 1,000 sailors will take part in Phuket King's Cup Regatta and on Wednesday morning (December 5th) the record fleet of more than 100 yachts will sail past Royal Navy vessels to mark the King's birthday.
In the evening there will be a toast to the King on the Kata beach front, with everyone wearing their yellow shirts and with many holding yellow candles. The evening function will be co-coordinated, as in past years, with many similar tributes held throughout Thailand.
Over 1,000 sailors will take part in Phuket King's Cup Regatta and on Wednesday morning (December 5th) the record fleet of more than 100 yachts will sail past Royal Navy vessels to mark the King's birthday.
In the evening there will be a toast to the King on the Kata beach front, with everyone wearing their yellow shirts and with many holding yellow candles. The evening function will be co-coordinated, as in past years, with many similar tributes held throughout Thailand.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Jeff's log ~ Tuesday, 11/27/07, 7:00AM
Yesterday was another busy day. I was woken up early with a phone call from Rukker. He had some things to take care of in Phuket town, so our leaving time got moved way up. I rushed to get the dink launched and in to Coconuts to meet him. We picked up some of the supplies that arrived for me over there, and by that time it was lunchtime. His girlfriend had lunch prepared at their “bungalow” at noon sharp. They have a real nice home with a small jungle in the backyard, complete with a waterfall, fountains, and coy ponds. In the morning, they had been visited by a monitor lizard, which has a very poisonous bite.
After lunch we were off again. We went to a shopping mall so that I could get a couple tools to make my work a little easier. I also got some business cards, because people have a tendency to lose info when it’s written on pieces of paper. The print shop was very organized, and the cards were ready in twenty minutes. While we were waiting, I picked up some Christmas trimmings for the boat from a selection in the middle of the mall. I’ll wait until after the regatta before I put them up.
I really got a bad case of homesick today. I really need to shake it off, and focus. Talking to Clara helps, but I am still halfway around the world, no matter how you look at it. I found myself beginning to lose patience with the language barrier.
The money is pretty neat here. The bills change in size with the denomination. A twenty baht note is the smallest, and so far the largest is a thousand baht note. The different denominations are also different colors. The coins I haven’t quite got figured out yet, but everywhere I’ve gone, I just pull the change from my pocket and they take the proper ones, while counting it out loud in Thai. The people seem very honest and good Karma is always important. After our shopping trip, I went up to internet store and Dave went home when he came back he had a prepared dinner in a picnic basket. My stomach was a little upset, so I didn’t eat that much, but it was good. Roasted pork with mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans. I had a glass of red wine, too. Then it was time to load up all of my stuff and return home to Pipe Dream.
After lunch we were off again. We went to a shopping mall so that I could get a couple tools to make my work a little easier. I also got some business cards, because people have a tendency to lose info when it’s written on pieces of paper. The print shop was very organized, and the cards were ready in twenty minutes. While we were waiting, I picked up some Christmas trimmings for the boat from a selection in the middle of the mall. I’ll wait until after the regatta before I put them up.
I really got a bad case of homesick today. I really need to shake it off, and focus. Talking to Clara helps, but I am still halfway around the world, no matter how you look at it. I found myself beginning to lose patience with the language barrier.
The money is pretty neat here. The bills change in size with the denomination. A twenty baht note is the smallest, and so far the largest is a thousand baht note. The different denominations are also different colors. The coins I haven’t quite got figured out yet, but everywhere I’ve gone, I just pull the change from my pocket and they take the proper ones, while counting it out loud in Thai. The people seem very honest and good Karma is always important. After our shopping trip, I went up to internet store and Dave went home when he came back he had a prepared dinner in a picnic basket. My stomach was a little upset, so I didn’t eat that much, but it was good. Roasted pork with mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans. I had a glass of red wine, too. Then it was time to load up all of my stuff and return home to Pipe Dream.
Jeff's log ~ Thursday, 11/22/07, Thanksgiving in U.S.A.
Seeing as how today is a holiday, I took it easy. I polished a few of the stainless stantions and did the floors inside and then Rukker and I took off to the boatyard again. I ordered some things I need, and then we had lunch at the food court of the shopping mall. It’s pretty cool, Thai fast food. You give the cashier a hundred baht, and she gives a card that all of the food booths are tied to the computer through. You get what you want, and they take it off your card, and then when finished, you get the balance refunded.
I had roasted duck with dumplings and spinach with gravy. The lunch was very tasty, and then I topped it with a capucinno. Downstairs is the coolest grocery store that I have ever seen. It makes the nicest Publix look barren. Right outside the food store was a little dessert place, so I finally got my piece of cheese cake.
We then went to refuel Dave’s boat and proceeded to run aground about 30 feet from the fuel dock on a falling tide. We ended up sitting there and chatting for about 3 hours while we waited for the tide to change and come up a bit. After fueling and putting his boat back in its slip, we went back to Coconuts, and guess what time it was. Tiger!!!!! Some friends of his were there and we all jumped in the truck and went for Thanksgiving dinner. That’s right; we had an American Thanksgiving Dinner in Chalong, Thailand. Turkey, ham, mash, gravy, cranberry sauce (canned) stuffing, various vegetables, and even pumpkin pie ala mode was served buffet style. The cost was 320 baht, which is just about ten dollars US. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and I even snuck back for seconds on the turkey, mash and gravy. The Thai people were happy too. As they even had a turkey curry that they enjoyed. I tried it, but it just wasn’t appealing to me on Thanksgiving. Maybe some other time, although I’m not sure that turkey and curry really belong together at all.
We all rolled our way out and went back to Coconuts for a night cap. I had left my clear glasses on Dave’s boat, so going back to the boat in the dingy was a slow adventure. Pipe Dream seemed to be hiding in the shadows, and when I took sunglasses off, I had no clue where I was, let alone finding the boat. I knew that I was close, naturally, but the boats moored around us continually change, and the trip from the dock was made at a much slower pace than usual, due to the darkness. I found her though, and I do have an extra pair that I switched to before lifting the dink from the water.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!!!!
I had roasted duck with dumplings and spinach with gravy. The lunch was very tasty, and then I topped it with a capucinno. Downstairs is the coolest grocery store that I have ever seen. It makes the nicest Publix look barren. Right outside the food store was a little dessert place, so I finally got my piece of cheese cake.
We then went to refuel Dave’s boat and proceeded to run aground about 30 feet from the fuel dock on a falling tide. We ended up sitting there and chatting for about 3 hours while we waited for the tide to change and come up a bit. After fueling and putting his boat back in its slip, we went back to Coconuts, and guess what time it was. Tiger!!!!! Some friends of his were there and we all jumped in the truck and went for Thanksgiving dinner. That’s right; we had an American Thanksgiving Dinner in Chalong, Thailand. Turkey, ham, mash, gravy, cranberry sauce (canned) stuffing, various vegetables, and even pumpkin pie ala mode was served buffet style. The cost was 320 baht, which is just about ten dollars US. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and I even snuck back for seconds on the turkey, mash and gravy. The Thai people were happy too. As they even had a turkey curry that they enjoyed. I tried it, but it just wasn’t appealing to me on Thanksgiving. Maybe some other time, although I’m not sure that turkey and curry really belong together at all.
We all rolled our way out and went back to Coconuts for a night cap. I had left my clear glasses on Dave’s boat, so going back to the boat in the dingy was a slow adventure. Pipe Dream seemed to be hiding in the shadows, and when I took sunglasses off, I had no clue where I was, let alone finding the boat. I knew that I was close, naturally, but the boats moored around us continually change, and the trip from the dock was made at a much slower pace than usual, due to the darkness. I found her though, and I do have an extra pair that I switched to before lifting the dink from the water.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!!!!
Jeff's log ~ Wednesday, 11/21/07, 7 49.209N 98 21.272E Ao Chalong, Thailand
Today is the day before Thanksgiving at home, but here it’s just another Wednesday. Yesterday was a very successful day. Actually, the last couple of days have been good. I hired two young lads for the afternoon the day before yesterday. We started at 12:30 in the afternoon and by 4:00 had the mainsail and the #2 jib to the sail loft a few miles away to be measured for the King’s Cup Regatta, which starts on the 2nd of December. The boys worked pretty hard, and we had to use a halyard and a winch to get the #2 out of the sail locker because it was pretty jammed in there between the hull and a stainless pipe that retains the sails as well as reinforces the chain locker bulkhead.
The mainsail we removed from the boom and folded on deck. I found the upper batten broken and some seems beginning to come apart, so it’s a good thing we are doing this. The mainsail is extremely heavy. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s probably around 375 to 400 lbs.. We got it all bricked up and one of the tropical squalls came ripping through. We managed to get the sail mostly under the cockpit dodger, so It didn’t get too wet. The little squall dumped so much rain in a half hour that the dingy had about six inches of water filling it. Instead of the usual little dingy bailer that I use, I grabbed a regular full size bucket to bail it out, and it still took a little while. We then loaded the main and ourselves in the dink and took off for the beach. I’m starting to get the hang of beaching the dink to load and unload cargo. Look out Jaques Custaue. (I’m sure that’s not spelled right, but you know what I mean!!!)
We dropped the main off on the launching ramp and went back for jib and main cover. Those both fit nicely, and one of my helpers laid on top of them on the way in so that the cover would not blow out. Dave Rukker picked us up and took us to Rolly Tasker’s sail loft which has to be seen to be appreciated. The place is huge! And spotless inside and out. We were greeted at the door by an attractive Thai lady in a security type of uniform, and she grabbed the jib and put it on a hand truck by herself and took it inside. Don’t think I would mess with her, she probably can break every bone in my body with one hand. She came back out and the boys and her carried the main in because it was too big to stay on the cart.
I filled out the necessary paperwork and we were off to the neighbor of coconuts bar to get the sail cover- called a “stack- pack”- repaired. The fellow that does this is from California and actually speaks English. We laid it out and discussed what type of repairs would be done, and instead of a zipper, he is going to use those plastic snap clips that you see just about on every back pack. They of course will be sized accordingly. Then there will be a Velcro flap to complete the closure. No more messing with a stubborn, mangled Zipper, Yea!!!
Of course, by now I’m sure everybody knows what came next…… Tiger beer of course. A couple of beers and then it was back to the boat for some food, a call to Clara, and some rest.
By the way, The two guys worked for a total of 11 man-hours for 500baht which is a little less than twenty dollars US, and were very happy and bought me a beer. That’s 250baht each.
Yesterday, Dave took me back to the sail loft to drop off the batten, so they can get it right, and then we went to Phuket Town and got what I needed to repair hot water heater leak and looked around at all of the yachty stuff. This place will hold it’s own against any marina that I’ve been to in the states. Very clean and organized, and the quality of workmanship that I saw is second to none. Every worker seems to have a great pride in the job they are doing, and it really shows. I love America, but if I owned a yacht, I think I would seriously consider bringing it here for it’s refit, because of the high quality of workmanship.
On the way back, we picked up Dave’s twin, sort of adopted grand daughters, from the Montessori School that he sends them to. These kids are not five yet and are beginning to speak English and Chinese as well as being able to converse with adults in their native tongue. The school sits right on Chalong Bay, and is a very nice place with a gorgeous view of the bay and outer islands. They have a high concrete wall with a locked gate to keep the kids in and luckily it kept the tsunami out.
Then it was…… you guessed it "Tiger" time and the internet café to start getting caught up with communication.
The mainsail we removed from the boom and folded on deck. I found the upper batten broken and some seems beginning to come apart, so it’s a good thing we are doing this. The mainsail is extremely heavy. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s probably around 375 to 400 lbs.. We got it all bricked up and one of the tropical squalls came ripping through. We managed to get the sail mostly under the cockpit dodger, so It didn’t get too wet. The little squall dumped so much rain in a half hour that the dingy had about six inches of water filling it. Instead of the usual little dingy bailer that I use, I grabbed a regular full size bucket to bail it out, and it still took a little while. We then loaded the main and ourselves in the dink and took off for the beach. I’m starting to get the hang of beaching the dink to load and unload cargo. Look out Jaques Custaue. (I’m sure that’s not spelled right, but you know what I mean!!!)
We dropped the main off on the launching ramp and went back for jib and main cover. Those both fit nicely, and one of my helpers laid on top of them on the way in so that the cover would not blow out. Dave Rukker picked us up and took us to Rolly Tasker’s sail loft which has to be seen to be appreciated. The place is huge! And spotless inside and out. We were greeted at the door by an attractive Thai lady in a security type of uniform, and she grabbed the jib and put it on a hand truck by herself and took it inside. Don’t think I would mess with her, she probably can break every bone in my body with one hand. She came back out and the boys and her carried the main in because it was too big to stay on the cart.
I filled out the necessary paperwork and we were off to the neighbor of coconuts bar to get the sail cover- called a “stack- pack”- repaired. The fellow that does this is from California and actually speaks English. We laid it out and discussed what type of repairs would be done, and instead of a zipper, he is going to use those plastic snap clips that you see just about on every back pack. They of course will be sized accordingly. Then there will be a Velcro flap to complete the closure. No more messing with a stubborn, mangled Zipper, Yea!!!
Of course, by now I’m sure everybody knows what came next…… Tiger beer of course. A couple of beers and then it was back to the boat for some food, a call to Clara, and some rest.
By the way, The two guys worked for a total of 11 man-hours for 500baht which is a little less than twenty dollars US, and were very happy and bought me a beer. That’s 250baht each.
Yesterday, Dave took me back to the sail loft to drop off the batten, so they can get it right, and then we went to Phuket Town and got what I needed to repair hot water heater leak and looked around at all of the yachty stuff. This place will hold it’s own against any marina that I’ve been to in the states. Very clean and organized, and the quality of workmanship that I saw is second to none. Every worker seems to have a great pride in the job they are doing, and it really shows. I love America, but if I owned a yacht, I think I would seriously consider bringing it here for it’s refit, because of the high quality of workmanship.
On the way back, we picked up Dave’s twin, sort of adopted grand daughters, from the Montessori School that he sends them to. These kids are not five yet and are beginning to speak English and Chinese as well as being able to converse with adults in their native tongue. The school sits right on Chalong Bay, and is a very nice place with a gorgeous view of the bay and outer islands. They have a high concrete wall with a locked gate to keep the kids in and luckily it kept the tsunami out.
Then it was…… you guessed it "Tiger" time and the internet café to start getting caught up with communication.
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