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Today marks the start of our second month without sleeping on dry land.  A 47 foot yacht - it is quite different than anything that I've ever called 'home'' before.  I have about another half-year occupying this lovely vessel, along with its marvelous advantages and its detriments.  I’m starting to be pretty comfortable around here and feel I now know quite a bit about Popeye. A few days ago, I put out a call on Facebook for any questions that people had about living on a yacht.  Go ahead - ask me anything. ----------------- Question: I’ve heard you call it a yacht.  Really?  Do you know how pretentious that sounds? This is me now, but with a different hat. Answer: Yes, embarrassingly, this prairie boy reacted the same way the first time the ‘yacht’ word started flying around my life.  I’ve since learned that referring to a power boat as a yacht is a North Americanism.  Every Australian will tell you, "a yacht has sails."  All p...

Friday dawned windy, overcast and threatening rain.  The wind was screaming in from the east and we had had a rocky night in Donald Duck Bay on Ko Similan. We dropped our mooring and headed to Ko Miang and its cell phone tower to connect to the Internet and get a weather forecast ... only to discover we were bang in the path of Tropical Storm #4 - an unseasonably low pressure system bringing high winds, rain and severe weather warnings from the Thai meteorological service! Look carefully - that is Phuket, just above the eye! We made a run to Ao Nai Harn at the southern end of Phuket with the intention to nip around to Ao Po Grand Marina next morning, snugging up somewhere flat, with hot showers, a bar and wifi!  We made 9kn under heady, the wind was a steady 20kn and the rain come down. And it rained and it rained and it rained. It's not all cocktails and sunsets! Our Ao Po plan was thwarted by the majority of small craft around the Phuket region having the ...

Kata Beach at night Ray and Adrienne's time with us came to a close just before New Years.  We dropped them off by dinghy to Ao Bang Tao, then rented a car to go and connect with our next guests, Cindy and Roger.  We met at a cheap-and-cheerful restaurant on Kata Beach for dinner and to plan our next ten days.  Their experience at back-country camping and ski trips gave them the foresight to create a meal plan so we could easily do the shopping on the next day.  We were very impressed - this was going to be a treat!  We left them to enjoy one more night in a bed on land.  The next morning we picked them up, spent the morning doing boat errands (including getting provisions), then took our yellow dinghy back to Popeye.  The evening was spent with them setting up in their cabin, then getting the safety/info briefing under a warm, pleasant evening sky. We started our journey the next morning.  The sails went up shortly after leaving Ao Bang...

We have been aboard Popeye for a couple of months now and established a few favourite things. 1.      Solar-powered light This little gem, courtesy of Rick and Sue , has unfailingly provided us with the perfect ambient light in the cockpit.   We clip it to a deck fitting to power up by day and enjoy light through the night. And the best part; no batteries required! 2.      Orange Floatie Lounger Sean may never go back to the pool noodle! This came along with Scott and Elizabeth and has been extensively deployed.   Sean catches up on his sleep whilst comfortably floating behind the yacht for hours. 3.      Funky waterproof speaker It even came complete with its own floatie!  Thanks to Adrienne and Ray, we can enjoy music in the cockpit, on the ‘front porch’, floating off the back of the boat, on the beach, anywhere…. 4.      Go-Pro (with selfi...

'Donald Duck Bay' Ko Similan Picture the perfect tropical island with palm trees, white, white sand, turquoise water, green foliage and interesting rock formations.   This is the Similan Islands.   Stunningly postcard perfect.   And Popeye floating serenely on clear water, as if suspended by magic above coral outcrops, teaming with colourful schools of all varieties of fish. That is, until 10am. At that time, speedboats start pouring in from the mainland. Boat after boat after boat, disgorging passengers onto the beach in a scene that would do a wartime beach landing proud.   For six hours, we observed this onslaught of day-glo-lifejacket-wearing daytrippers cluttering up a perfectly good stretch of sand, many with selfie sticks wielded like dueling swords.   From this lagoon, where we are moored off Ko Similan, there is a short hiking trail up to a lookout point on the rocky outcrop that shelters the lagoon from northeast weather.   Al...

Full moon over Krabi Boat Lagoon Krabi Boat Lagoon is taking on a Hotel California effect for us.  Despite checking out several times, we cannot seem to leave! Putting up the cruising main We arrived on the high tide on Tuesday 13th planning to offload racing gear and bring on all the cruising essentials such as BBQ and kayak.  Tides about right, just needing to fuel up, an inconsiderate charter motorboat (snowboarders of the sea!) sat on the fuel dock and declined to move despite many requests from ourselves and the marina management until the tides had turned and we could no longer leave. Next day, we managed to get as far as Ko Phi Phi.   Sailing to Ko Phi Phi Beautiful sailing weather... As we were anchoring, the anchor winch decided to give up the ghost.   Rather than anchor in the crowded bay at Ton Sai Bay, we slipped around the corner and anchored in the quiet off the Loh Moo Dee beach.  Next morning aft...