… or why to keep an eye out when sailing. We had trouble with our Starboard engine since October. In Phuket we finally had Yanmar mechanics who could identify and fix the problem.

During the boat manufacturing someone must have left the diesel tank open while fiberglass work was being done. Some fiberglass filings fell into the tank, and clogged up the fuel hose between tank and fuel filter. This caused engine alarms when running at higher speeds. Leopard had to pump out the tank and clean it. We had starboard done last week, port side is to be done next time we stop in the marina.

We also had issues with the starboard engine not starting when needed. It turned out that a 2.5mm iron conductor plate had broken off. Unusual, probably due to an impurity in the material. Fortunately we could find a replacement and since then the engine has been reliable.

So on Saturday morning we happily started our 58 nautical mile journey out to the Similan islands, a famous diving destination. Our new friends from catamaran Field Trip invited us to join them and share their dive equipment – very very kind of them.

The first half of the trip we had great wind and were able to sail at about 7 knots, but after noon the wind died down and we had to run the engine. I happily used the fixed starboard engine. As we left the Phuket shore the water depth dropped to 80 meter, the deepest we have had, and the water became clear: beams of sunlight disappearing in the depth.

While I was making an entry in the log book I heard a dull “boom”. I turned around and checked the water behind us, and sure enough, I saw a big green fishing net floating in the water. The type of heavy plastic rope that they use to tie around big floating styrofoam blocks marking fishing spots.

Our speed did not decrease, and engine temperature was stable, but it felt like more vibration on the engine than usual. I switched from starboard to port engine. One of the benefits of sailing a catamaran. Later in the clear waters of Similan I dove under the boat and sure enough found some rope wrapped around the propeller axle. It was not too hard to pull off, we got lucky this time around. Engine is back in running order.

More on what happened once we reached the Similans in my next post…

It is Frebuary (I know how to spell it but this way is fun) and here is the monthly yacht. It is short because i can’t think of anything really interesting but it has some fun stuff. I hope you enjoy it. Monthly Yacht- Frebuary

In Chinese I think this word means red, but in Thailand it refers to the hidden lagoons you find inside the dramatic karst rocks of Phang Nga bay.

After three days of boat projects in Royal Phuket Marina we set off to explore this natural beauty. Stunning is not strong enough to describe the scenery.

Arriving at Ko Phanak we set off in our dinghy to still catch the tide at the right height to enter a 50 meter long tunnel through the rocks. Fortunately we were not alone. Normally we would not have chosen to go through the tunnel at the same time as a herd of tourists being paddled on kayaks by their tour guides, but in this case it comforted us that we were going the right way, and their headlamps helped to light up the cave and show us the bats, stalactites, and streaming water of the flood leaving the lagoon.

We had to duck our heads low to make it through the last bit of tunnel, then it opened up and we were in a roughly circular, open sky lagoon surrounded by cliff walls and jungle. A real Jurassic park… but instead of dinosaurs we found a local baboon which had trained itself on jumping from the rocks onto the canoes to feed on unsuspecting tourists’ snacks. Look closely and you will see it in the middle of the photo.

We will spend the rest of this week exploring more hongs, rocks and islands in Phang Nga bay, before returning to Royal Phuket marina to meet up with other sailing friends.