This is about Daryl & Laurel Fisher and their cruising adventures on the catamaran "Cool Bananas"...


Tuesday, 24 April 2012

Langkawi – Phuket. March 2012



At last we are out of the boatyard but not quite in a state for cruising so we high tail across to Royal Langkawi Yacht Club. Dave and Anne have been slumming it for the last few days in a flash resort just up the road from the Yacht Club and stay on one more night until we get ourselves sorted enough to have them aboard. Then with four of us chipping in we soon had some resemblance of order so we rewarded ourselves with a day trip around Langkawi to see some of the sights and to visit out favourite tiger prawn restaurant for lunch. While Anne and I opted for a leisurely gondola ride up to the hilltop Dave and Daryl chose to entertain themselves on some sedways. After a practice run Daryl proclaimed that the way they had been designed meant you couldn’t fall off them. He hadn’t however allowed for a large jutting rock on the track!!!! And yes, fall off he did, with more injury to the pride than the body, I think.

Generator maintenance ........................................Cheers. Look at that shine on the table.

Gondola ride.............................................................View of Telaga

Segway fun.............................................Dirty Daryl

Then we threw some provisions aboard and we proclaimed ourselves ready (enough) for a few weeks cruising. We had had such a focus on getting the yacht in order that it suddenly dawned on me that we had done nothing towards planning the cruising. The criteria established were clear swimmable water and chill out time. Out with the books, asked around a few cruisers and a loose plan quickly evolved. With light wind conditions motor sailing predominated as we made our way north in search of clear water. By day two we’d met the criteria and everyone was happy. We had about a week to get ourselves and the yacht up to Phuket and get checked in with Thailand Customs and Immigration. So we island hopped our way up taking in the new surrounding as we went.


Taking in the scenery in Langkawi waterways...Lunch at 'Hole in the Wall' floating restaurant

Langkawi eagle grabbing fish..................................Not much freeboard there!!

We’d been recommended Emerald Cave as the best hong and also that we get there first thing in the morning to beat the crowds. Hundreds of people visit the cave each day on tourist boats. Getting there just after 8 am didn’t give us exclusiveness but there was just one other group there. We swam up into the cave through a pitch black tunnel which then opened into a beautiful hong complete with a beach and lush vegetation.

Snorkelling into Emerald Cave.........................Cave previously used by pirates to hide bootie??

Recent boat wreck

We visited a famous lagoon where the movie ‘The Beach’ was filmed in Ao Maya on Koh Phi Phi Leh. It was absolutely beautiful and an advantage for us is that we could stay there after all the tourist boats had left and enjoy the scene uninterrupted.

Arriving at Ao Maya...............................................Enjoying 'the beach'.


Cards anyone?.........................................................Ao Maya

Moored at Ao Maya...............................................Commercial retrieving of bird nests


Hong at Phi Phi Lei.................................................Checking out the underwater scene

Beautiful hong we dingied into in Phi Phi Lei

More Hong shots

Monkey Bay on Koh Phi Ph Don was another favourite spot. It’s named Monkey Bay because frequenting the beach is a large group of macaque monkeys. Unbeknown to us these monkeys have become way too tame (and maybe teased), they’ve got used to being fed but can get very aggressive when the food runs out. Daryl decided he wanted some photos so took food in to lure them into the shot. Anne had the binoculars watched the scene as it unfolded on the beach. While Daryl fed the monkeys all was well but when the food was withheld all hell broke loose. Dave was first to run, heading for the dinghy, but fell head first into the sand. What a ‘girl’ Anne commented and then saw Daryl turn and bolt also. These monkeys weren’t playing!!!! Back to the yacht came two sweaty, sandy men with few photos to show for their troubles!! We do wonder what happens to these animals in the low season when tourist boats don’t come and feed them. Hopefully they have retained their ability to source food themselves. The same applies for the fish. Tour boats constantly feed the fish to attract them for the tourist (and we are guilty of it also sometimes). But when conditions get rough in the off season and the boats no longer come, what happens?

Monkey shots achieved before the rapid exit

Underwater at Monkey Bay with schools of friendly fish

We checked in at Ao Chalong, Phuket. The Thai Customs and Immigration were very relaxed. So far they are the most blatant for bribes, showing us the double receipts -one official receipt without the bribe and then the one for us with the original amount crudely crossed out and bribe amount added. We did a quick walk in Ao Chalong and thought it looked seedy and unappealing. As soon as we could we up anchored and headed back out into clear water.

Sunset and the fishermen appear ........................Prawn trader

Cool socks there Dave............................................Practising walking on water

Discovering unmarked hongs is always fun

Watching the sunrise in Phangnga Bay

Koh Hong...............................................................Coming in to anchor at Koh Muk

Posing at Koh Kudu Yai........................................Dinghy motor maintenance

All too soon it was time to come back in to Yacht Haven Marina and drop Dave and Anne at the airport. They need a big thank you in recognition of all the help they gave us aboard. We thoroughly enjoyed their company and the card games have not been the same since.

We took a few days at Yacht Haven to reprovision and get a few needed parts. Daily temperatures were on the rise and there increasing evening lightning storms. The cruising season is winding down but the seas are still calm and we hope they stay that way through April (as they should in a typical season).

Cool Bananas at Yacht Haven, Phuket...............Sunset in Yacht Haven