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Happy Australia Day!

A post to display a few photos: This is the last photo with Kate's 'Tour of Alberta' cap, just before it blew off into the Andaman Sea never to be seen again... Enroute from Ao Chalong to Kata Beach This is the perfect photo.  Full credit goes to Lynda for the ideal framing and capturing a moment so beautifully. Girls on the rock and Popeye in the background And this may be the last photo ever taken of Popeye anchored off Kata Beach as she heads to Australia in late February. Early morning, Kata Beach

The next leg of Plan J, having abandoned Plans A - I, was Monkey Beach on the stunning Ko Phi Phi Don.  Beautifully protected from the wind, we picked up the prime mooring ... bang in the middle of the bay.  The beach certainly lived up to its name with almost as many monkeys as tourists!  Fortunately, the tourists left by mid-afternoon, leaving just the crews of the half-dozen boats anchored alone with the monkeys. Whoops, forgot to hit start on the route tracker! We spent two fabulous days snorkeling, kayaking and watching the monkeys on the beach.  We took the dingy across Lohdalum Bay to the beach and explored the streets and shops of the island.  After flooding the outboard, Kate towed then Sean rowed through the rainstorm back to Popeye.  One of the beauties of being in the tropics is the water and the rain is always warm! Monkey Beach lived up to its name! Monkey! Lynda negotiating a ride back to the boat More monkeys Duly n...

So Plan H was turned into Plan J by the weather, a howling easterly of 25-30kn.  This plan saw us seeking shelter at Ao Nang, a bay well protected from the east, with a lovely beach (a request from Keara) and a village offering restaurants, shopping and massages.  The one little hiccup was the 25nm of bashing into the wind we had to do to get there! Ao Labu to Ao Nang Cruising down the west coast of Ko Yao Yai was well protected.  Both girls had a turn at helming.  Elaina did a magnificent job, wonderful concentration and got the hang of the roll of the water.  Once we unfurled the heady, she even noted it was easier to steer.  We will use her as a helmsperson on a more permanent basis! Captain Keara Things changed dramatically once we left the protection of the island.  With the wind bang on the nose, we bashed into a big wind chop and were managing only about 4kns - a far cry from the 9kn we were doing in the lee of the island.  Rathe...

With the tropical storm putting the spanner in the works for Plans A - F, we arrived at Plan G where we picked up Lynda, Elaina and Keara from their hotel at Nai Yang Beach and drove back to Popeye anchored snugly in Ao Chalong.  To great excitement, the girls set themselves up in their cabin before the inaugural swim off the back of the boat.   We then headed up to the Big Buddah, stopping to feed the elephants on the way.  For good measure, we managed to produce a couple of monkeys along with kittens, baby bunnies and geckos.  All in all, a very successful outing!  Elephant kisses A big smooch in return for a banana! Big Buddah - and little Keara Macaque monkey - be careful, they bite! And a relaxing end to the day at our favourite restaurant Kan Eang@Pier for fabulous Thai food under red umbrellas overlooking Ao Chalong and Popeye! Fresh coconut water, prepackaged... Plan G was then quashed next morning when Sean went to raise the...