Thailand time at Panwa Bay, Phuket.
With clear water, a golden sandy beach and a restaurant where you can watch the sun go down with your feet buried in the sand, we had found Thai time. And embraced it fully. The sunsets have been spectacular lately and colour the evening sky with an array of pinks and oranges. One night we even had a fire twirling artist that took our breath away when he twirled actual fireworks.
Panwa Bay
sunsets that colour your world
Fire twirler extraordinaire
But after a few days just kicking back and enjoying some time on the anchor, we were ready for some island exploring. Koh Racha Yai was just 12 nautical miles from our anchorage at Panwa Bay and its sister island, Koh Racha Noi, was another couple of miles beyond that.
Racha Yai has a couple of lovely bays and a couple of exclusive resorts. One was so exclusive, in fact, that us visiting yachties were given an escort off the grounds when we stopped by for dinner and drinks. No grotty yachties were allowed to grace their tables. This didn't stop us from making full use of their floating dinghy dock 😁.
We took a wander through the island on concrete paths and tracks of fine white sand, checked out the many goats, chickens and turkeys and found a restaurant happy to welcome us.
It's a beautiful island with its turquoise waters edged by the powdery white sand, though lacks any decent snorkelling on the western side. I still went looking of course. With the clarity of the water I had to find something there. Turns out I snorkelled to the bleating calls of the goats on shore and they were the most exciting find for me.
Racha island also known as Raya island
snorkelling with goats
Alot of tour boats, I mean ALOT of tour boats, stop here for a few hours or half a day and fill up Patok Bay with its abundance of mooring buoys. Once 4pm hits it thins right out with just half a dozen or so boats left for the night. This particular bay faces west so is a top spot for a drink as you watch the sun sink into the sea.
Early one morning we caught some wind and sailed on down to Racha Noi on the east coast. In an easterly wind. Needless to say, it was a day anchorage only, and the wind and swell didn't abate. We grabbed a mooring and cooked up breakfast. The waves kept coming, hitting us side on. Sliding my breakfast straight off my plate and onto the floor of the cockpit. Except for the egg. I caught that with my knee, sunny side down of course. I called the 5 second rule and rebuilt my bacon, eggs, tomato and toast back on my plate, then licked my nice runny egg yolk off my knee. Aah, the trials of eating at sea.
The little spot we moored at had the most vivid turquoise waters, glowing white sand and a small rocky islet sitting just off the shore. What a picturesque spot to spend a few hours. The visibility for snorkelling was incredible, the best I'd seen since Indonesia. There wasn't much coral, very little colour but plenty of little tropical fish to keep my entertained.
early morning departure from Patok bay, Koh Racha Yai
Koh Racha Noi
Koh Racha Noi with its turquoise waters
We headed north, back to Racha Yai for one more night, then onward to Nai Harn Bay at the bottom west coast of Phuket. Our weather app indicated 10-15knots of east wind. Sounded perfect for a sail back to Phuket. We motored out of Patok Bay, cleared the island and bam! Got hit by 20knots of wind, then 25, then peaked at 27. And the swell. From a calm bay we were suddenly in 2 metres of swell and building to 3. With less than half our headsail out, we made fast work of the 12 miles back to Phuket.
Lucky I wasn't trying to eat breakfast in that. God only knows where my egg might have ended up.
Until next time, Watusi Woman - the yolk's on me, out.
