Category Archives: Cruising Guide

Information for other cruising boats. Our experiences finding places to anchor, dealing with officials, provisions, etc.

Welcome to Port Blair, Andaman Islands, India

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Sea conditions remained the same (thank God!) and we arrived at Port Blair at 1030 local time. We anchored in a bay surrounded by a series of small islands, some with low hills, some taller mountains, all green and beautiful. There are a couple sailboats and a mega yacht anchored near us. Port Blair’s wharf is full of commercial containers and warehouses. Farther back, you can see lots of buildings on the hill. East of Port Blair is Chatham Island, a tiny island with more commercial vessels in front of it attached by a bridge to Port Blair. The surrounding islands are all dotted with buildings here and there many along the shore, a housing development of some sort at the top of the hill on another island , a smattering of houses on the hills, but the majority of the land is undeveloped. It looks like pretty dense forest. In some ways it reminds us of the Thursday Island area in Australia.

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Mainland India has a long and rich history, but we are going to focus Continue reading →

Passage from Phuket, Thailand to Port Blair, Andaman Islands

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On Sunday, the moment of truth came where we realized we could no longer put off chores. Eric changed the generator oil and filter and the air filter in the main engine and on engine fuel filter while Christi cleaned and did laundry. We also both did some major re-organizing. No matter how much stuff we move around, we never can seem to put it all away. We always have something sitting out on the living room floor that has no home. And when we find a spot for it, whatever was in that spot goes to the living room floor instead. Someday we will get it all put away… Maybe… Mike went to the hospital to have his bandages changed. We are pleased to report he came back with slightly smaller bandages, which is a very good sign, indeed. In the evening we went out to dinner with a family we had met on the kayak trip.

Monday morning we took a taxi back to Ao Chalong bay to check out. We were supposed to Continue reading →

FantaSea

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Today was errand day. We went to an internet café, the grocery store, and to several gas stations in search of diesel engine oil. The grocery store we went to is called Tesco and it is like a Super Target, and very clean and nice inside and outside. There was also a section where you could buy foods in bulk. We are delighted to report that there was a big selection of heat and serve foods with English labels, however, most of the canned foods were labeled in Thai, so we didn’t get many canned goods. BTW, prices for alcohol and cigarettes are much lower here with tax than in Langkawi duty free, so we should have stocked up here.

A friend of ours from home that had recently visited Thailand told us we needed to get a pancake from a street vendor. We were pretty disappointed with the pancakes we had gotten in the restaurants, but we saw a street vendor selling dessert pancakes and each got one only because we trust our friend’s judgment on food. They turned out to be paratha bread filled with the sweet(s) of your choice. They were to die for good. We all got a second one.

In the evening we went to a show called FantaSea, which is billed as a Vegas style show. A van picked us up at 1830 (6:30 pm) and took us to up the coastal road, the same road we had taken with Jennifer and Koy to Patong. Beyond Patong there are a lot of big, fancy resorts lining the road. We were let out at the entrance to the park at 1930. Park? We thought we were going to a show! The area where you buy your tickets has elephant head columns and the ceiling is painted in a way that looks like it is from a Thai Disney cartoon. There is a pond with a waterfall and with statues in it that look like Thai Disney characters, including the Thai Little Mermaid.

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We entered into the park. There are Continue reading →

Visas, Boat Lagoon, Floating Dinners and Emergency Rescues

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Last night when we were visiting with Mike, we asked him about his visa for the Andaman Islands. The Andaman Islands is part of India, and you can’t go there if your Indian visa doesn’t have a special stamp saying you are allowed to visit the Andamans. Mike did not have such a stamp. So, the first priority of the day was to get the visa situation rectified.

We got a taxi and went to Phuket Town, several miles north of Ao Chalong. While in transit, we gave the taxi driver the address of the agency we were going to and he said he didn’t know where it was. He instantly flagged down Continue reading →

Moving from Ao Chalong to Nai Harn

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We needed to take Ron to shore at 0900 so he could make it to the airport on time. The past two days, the dock has been more or less deserted, but we also weren’t there at 0900. Apparently, every single boat tour and ferry in Phuket leaves from the exact spot we unload from right at 0900. The staircase was completely loaded with tourists waiting to board boats. There were several boats hovering at the landing, vying for who would be next to pull in when the boat currently loading up pulled away. We watched two boats load up before we got aggressive and pushed our way in. We quickly unloaded and pushed our way up the stairs. At the top of the staircase we saw the entire pier was crowded with people all waiting to get onto boats. It was a zoo.

After saying goodbye to Ron, we moved the boat to the Nai Harn Beach anchorage we had been eyeing yesterday. Moving was a good call. This anchorage is better in every single way. There is much more space between the boats, and we are no longer worrying about hitting a neighbor. Yes, it is still rolly, but not as much. The waves don’t get as big, so we stay dry on the dinghy ride. It is a short ride to a floating dinghy dock, where we don’t have to worry about tides flipping the dinghy over or ferries crushing the little boat. The water is cleaner and deeper, which means less dirt for the water maker to have to filter out. And it is a prettier spot. While there are a few small buildings around, they are low and hidden behind trees, so, with the exception of The Royal Phuket Yacht Club hotel, our view is of undeveloped hills with a picturesque beach nestled in between. The beach is covered with lounge chairs with covered umbrellas. The first shot is looking north at the hotel, the second is looking south to the lighthouse, but you can’t see the lighthouse in this picture.

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Once Kosmos was situated, we went to shore to explore. There were lots of Continue reading →