Living on a boat is a great life though it does come with its own very unique dramas or pitfalls.
Apart from the many things you can kick your toes on, bang into, trip over, slip on, or bash your head on when you don't duck in time, there's the bigger issues. Like when other boats want to get up close and personal with you when you're on anchor. And they're on anchor. Except they're dragging their anchor.
We were on shore, enjoying breakfast when our friends rang us from their boat.
"You need to get back to your boat. A catamaran has dragged its anchor and hit your boat."
Not what you want to hear when you're on land. We raced back to the beach, into the dinghy and went flat out (something we can do with our new 10hp motor 😁) back to Watusi only to find a 60 foot catamaran hugging her side. A 22 tonne 60 foot catamaran at that. Bigger, heavier, and taking the term 'boat buddies' to a whole new level. Luckily for us, our friends and another couple of yachties had jumped aboard the boats to try to keep them apart. The end result was a few minor scratches on our boat and the big catamaran went onto a mooring. Phew, close call. And a big thanku to the guys that minimised the damages with their quick response.
boat buddies
all hands on deck
Just a few days later, and this time it was Hubby who saved another boat from damage by a yacht that was dragging anchor. Yachties will tell you that sailing is easy. It's anchoring that is the hard part. Ain't that the truth. It's enough that we have to dodge fish traps, fish nets, fishing boats and the like, but now we have to be wary of unmanned boats wanting to come a calling.
Ramble over and onward to Patong Bay. Alot of people would say that you can't visit Phuket without a visit to Patong Beach, the party central for folks of all ages. There's markets and shops, restaurants and bars, music, dancing girls, full moon parties, boxing, jetskiing and on it goes. Been there, done that, but sailing in and anchoring off the beach was a pretty cool way to enjoy Patong from a different perspective. It really is a lovely bay, with its clean clear water, soft white sand and mountainous landscape. One morning the water was so smooth, like undulating silk, with the clouds reflected in it and the ripples in the sand under our boat clearly visible. At night the lights of the town and the fireworks regularly being set off created a colourful vista from the boat.
Patong Bay
a bird's eye view of Watusi from the exclusive Amari Resort
We treated ourselves to a couple of nights in a cheap hotel so we could wander at our leisure through the bustling streets, alleys and markets. It just so happened that the wind shifted and brought quite the swell into Patong bay. Perfect time to be off the boat. Watusi 2 was like an oversized rocking horse riding the waves.
We yachties love the quiet life, so after a few days of full on crazy Patong we upped anchor and headed north to Bang Tao Bay, a blissfully tranquil anchorage, for some down time.
Until next time, Watusi Woman - Patonged Sailor, out.
