Malaysia to Thailand: ISLAND HOPPING...



Firedancing! I captured a HEART:)





Caden fishing for squid:)

  Well it is the 3rd today. Charl and Darren are with us and we are finally sailing out of Telaga Marina in Langkowi where we have been preparing Micah for our next journey up to Thailand. Of course- there always has to be some excitement:) Just when Brent's mom Charl, had got used to being safely moored to a jetty, we left the safety and calm of the marina and headed into the big ocean:)


Langkowi Marina where we are moored in this pic:)



Charlotte Mellowing on Micah:)



Charl sitting nervously? on the front of Micah as we sail out of Langkowi Telaga Marina:)



Koh Muk Island-One of our stopoffs:)


As we sailed into the ocean, a frantic mayday call sounded over the radio. Of course, Brent went into full rescue on standby alert mode:) We however, did not have the co-ordinates of where the mayday was coming from. From the broken messages that were coming through though, we pieced together that a boat had sunk and that 5 survivors had been rescued and  9 were missing! By the end of the drama, all of the people had been rescued and put onto various boats in the area. Thank goodness as We had spun the yacht around several times as we contemplated rescue assistance:) My biggest worry was that my fishing lines were out behind the boat and all serious fishermen know that circles are not good for one's lines:)


Anchored between Koh Nok and Koh Rok.Pristine waters!



 Charl immediately went to find her life jacket:) The last news we heard was that medical attention was needed for the people rescued...will have to find out what happened to the boat when we get back to Langkowi in January...




Koh Muk Island

 

Anchored between two towering cliffs around from Koh Muk beach

Our Beautiful Yacht anchored off Lipe Island!

We are at an island now called "Lipe" Our anchorage is not great. It is actually our second night here already and Micah is rolling in the rolling of the ocean. Embarrassingly for me, the rougher waters after we left the calm of the marina, left me feeling seriously seasick. I had to take a tablet while our landloving guests appeared to be okay:) So I slept through our first sail alone without crew and I noticed so did Cally and Cody who were both passed out on the saloon floor.

Time is flying again! We are now anchored between Koh Rok Nok and Koh Rok Noi-2 idealic little islands. We arrived here at about 5ish yesterday afternoon. For the first time on our travels, there were lots of yachts around:) Two were flying in , sails raised full and fat with the wind, and 4 others were lazily snoozing in the late afternoon sunset. We tipytoed in over shallow coral and aqua waters and dropped anchor in the channel.

It is so peaceful here.

We motored here yesterday from Koh Lippe South. This was the busiest island we have been too. It was a tourist haven and Charl and Darren loved it! It offered all the creature comforts- restaurants spilling out onto soft powdery beaches, Thai massages for R100 or 300 Baht, loads of food and barbeque smells of roasting fish and crayfish, people everywhere in various stages of relaxation, blue waters, hot sun, computor connections,...and yet - i felt strangely disconnected from it all.

Highlights for ALL our boys:)- 2 topless French girls tanning right next to us!

After stocking up the boat with several thousand rands worth of vegetables and meat, we ate out:) Steamed fish and pizza and bolognaise and green curry...delicioius:)


Cally -which facemask should I use today:)



Lowlights: Charls wine was R50 a glass and the Thais have a habit of using small glasses and only half filling them. The restaurants use these Lady Boys to distract one from not noticing that the glasses are only half full or full of crushed ice with a dash of juice!

It is actually a  little disturbing having these strange deep voiced over dressed  waiters-esses serving us. They smile with their mouths but not with their eyes...

Charl and Cally with the Lady Boy waiter!

Brent had dropped us off at the beach in the late afternoon and he had gone back to the boat to gut and clean the King Mackeral that Cody had caught earlier:) Darren bought Charl and I a Dacarai or Maitai:) Yummy! Is this what I have been missing out on my whole life?? Cocktails??

Cheers Everyone:)!

The evening ended early as  we were all quite exhausted. Charl had befriended several of the local men on the beach:))) and as Darren propelled her into the rubber duck and pushed us off, she was waving and hollering goodbye to them all:) What fun to watch:)

The next day we went to relax on the beach and Brent and Cal went to arrange our visas for Thailand.



The Gang heading for shore to have a good time:)

Sunset at Koh Muk beach:)

It was a bit intimidating in the morning where we were getting ready to leave the yacht for shore. The boys and I had taken the duck for a quick U-turn in the water to trawl the lines  while the rest were getting ready to go. The next moment, 4 torpedo like very official military boats came splicing into the bay with a sense of serious intention. The charcoal grey speedboat had CUSTOMS displayed importantly on its side. I stared with concern at the MEN IN BLACK on board them. It looked a bit like they were arriving to round up all the tourists and hold them for ransom!! Instinct made me want to pull up anchor quickly and flee from any potential drama!

Darren and Cally bonding on Lipe beach:)

But then we would have had to leave Darren behind as he was already on the island beach somewhere. Later on, Brent found out that the reason for the Military presence and their rapid arrival was... BREAKFAST on shore!! hee ! hee!

Charl's first Duckie trip to shore:))