December 2024
Ally’s son, Isaac, and 2 of his friends, Aaron and Connor arrived at Phuket airport at around 21.30 and by the time they had travelled to Chalong and met up with Shawn and Ally to be taken out to Imagination, it was around 23.00. They were exhausted from such a long journey and so after a very quick bite to eat, a drink and chat, they all went to bed. Oh my goodness, it was so good to see them all. The 30th was a relaxed day with a late morning start and everyone went ashore for lunch ( KFC!!), shopping and to organise a trip for the following day.
On Sunday the 1st December, they met their taxi driver at 10am and the first stop was a shooting range where all the boys chose what guns they wanted to try. They all thoroughly enjoyed the experience, with Connor choosing a shotgun, Isaac and Aaron 22 rifles and Shawn a 38 pistol. It was very noisy, but they all did impressively well and the experience was over all too soon.
Next was a Tiger Park where it was possible to go into the tiger enclosures and stroke them. The only one who partook in this was Ally, who chose to have a visit with a pair of 4 year old large tigers, a male and a female. It was unreal to be sat next to these enormous but beautiful cats and having had a couple of tail whips, Ally very quickly realised how incredibly powerful they really are but with 4 or 5 keepers in the enclosure with her, she felt very safe. Next, they were driven up to the Big Buddha, but weren’t able to get very close to it as the area around the statue itself is closed due to an ongoing investigation since a landslide that killed several people in August. So, they took photos from afar, took in the fab views across Chalong Bay one side and Karon Beach the other and enjoyed a refreshing, ice cold fresh coconut each.
The final destination for the day was an elephant sanctuary where many elephants rescued from the logging trade are cared for. They do not allow rides, but instead give visitors some background information about the sanctuary and some of the elephants living there. The visitors then have the opportunity to feed the elephants with each group ( set times for visits) feeding different foods. On their visit, it was sugarcane and they had a lovely time meeting the elephants and their mahouts ( carers), feeding the elephants and marvelling at how dexterous their trunks were as they arranged numerous sticks of sugarcane along them. They had a great late lunch before heading back to Imagination for a while, returning to town at around 8pm to have a few beers in a couple of bars.
After a slow morning on the 2nd, they moved across the bay to a nearby small island, Ko Thanan, where they went and sat in the warm shallows with a beer for a while. They were off to Phi Phi on the morning of the 3rd, arriving mid afternoon ( Ao Ton Sai). Everyone went ashore immediately to arrange a trip for the following day before heading to a bar on the beach the other side (Loh Dalum). Ally and Shawn shared a bucket of Long Island Iced Tea, while the lads had a bucket each of various cocktails. Impressively, everyone was up and ready to go ashore at 06.00 for the day trip starting at 06.30!
They had a long day visiting various locations including Maya Beach ( from the film, “The Beach”), Monkey Beach, Bamboo Island and there were a couple of snorkel stops. On return to Phi Phi Don mid afternoon, Isaac was exhausted, but Aaron and Connor decided they wanted to stay ashore and so Shawn went back to pick them up at 9pm. Everyone went ashore for an “all you can eat” buffet lunch on the 5th, after which the boys ( Isaac, Aaron and Connor) went off to do their own thing. They had decided they wanted to spend the night ashore to make the most of their time in this iconic place and so they booked a hotel room. Being left to their own devices, Ally and Shawn returned to the “bucket” bar, this time having one each ( not long island iced tea though!!) and then they moved to another bar where there was a pool party, where Isaac met up with them for a beer before going off to find the other 2 again. Shawn and Ally staggered along the beach and back to the dinghy at around 9pm – not bad considering Ally thought they’d be going back to Imagination straight after lunch hahaha.
It was late morning on the 6th when the boys made contact with Ally and Shawn and Isaac had asked Ally out to lunch so she went ashore to meet him. Aaron and Connor did their own thing and Shawn chilled onboard. It was so lovely for Ally to spend one on one time with Isaac while they sat chatting, eating and watching the world go by at the beach bar. Saturday 7th, they motored for 3 hours to an anchorage between Chicken Island and Tub Island. They all went for a snorkel mid afternoon to cool off and spotted a few interesting fish, including a giant puffer, but it was otherwise disappointing as it was quite rocky, barren. Above the water, it’s so picturesque and they all went ashore mid morning on the 8th, wading through shallow water to visit Tub Island before Aaron and Connor explored Chicken Island on their own and Isaac stayed relaxing in the water with Ally and Shawn while enjoying a beer or two. After lunch onboard, they went across to nearby Poda Island in the dinghy to visit “Secret Beach”, only to discover there’s nothing secret about it…the world and his wife was there. They stayed long enough for Connor to go up into some caves in the cliffs and then returned to Imagination for the rest of the day.
On the 9th, they moved back to Phi Phi Don, but this time anchored in a small bay, Loh Lana Bay. They went ashore to explore after lunch and after a pleasant 10 minute stroll they arrived in a very cute, compact, but lively village with many shops and quirky bars/restaurants. Once they had had a good look around, they chose somewhere to enjoy a drink which turned into a couple of cocktails and then a very tasty early dinner ( we all had the Green Curry!). It was a great afternoon/evening.
It was time to head back to Chalong Bay the following morning – Aaron and Connor wanted to go over to Patong for the night, while Isaac was undecided. Once we had arrived at the anchorage, Isaac decided he wouldn’t go with the others, so instead he went with Shawn and Ally to meet a young lady who had expressed an interest in joining Ally and Shawn on next month’s leg. It was a nice time and they had another beer and then dinner together with Larissa deciding that she definitely wanted to join January’s leg. On the 11th, Shawn, Ally and Isaac went ashore for a while, meeting up with Aaron and Connor when it was time to return to Imagination for a quiet final evening. It was cleaning time on the 12th, and just like that it was time to say a very sad farewell to Isaac, Aaron and Connor as they left for the airport after an early cooked lunch onboard. It was so sad for Ally to wave them goodbye……it was lovely having them onboard and Isaac so close for a couple of weeks. Ally tried to keep her mind occupied and she and Shawn had some errands to run before getting back in the dinghy. Before they got to the end of the dock, the engine cut out and wouldn’t restart. Good job it hadn’t happened when taking the guys ashore for their flight, and that they were able to row to the dock where Shawn tried to figure out what the issue was. A very kind local guy offered to tow them back to Imagination and he declined the cash he was offered afterwards – what a kind man.
On Friday 13th, Ally and Shawn had a 7.5 hour motor sail up to the Northern tip of Phuket ready for hauling out on Saturday 14th. Imagination was in the slip at Phuket Premier Boatyard just after 9am, ready to be pulled out of water by tractor/trailer. It’s a small yard, but seems very busy with haul outs/ins, but the facilities are minimal and office staff non-existent ( apart from once!). The haul out team were very meticulous and professional as they supported Imagination on the trailer, transported her to her “spot” and put blocks in place…all done and dusted within an hour or so! Super quick in comparison to other yards! She had her bottom jet washed before Ally and Shawn left her to go to the airport to pick up a hire car at Phuket airport and then check into their accommodation before driving down island to a couple of marinas to purchase necessary items to do the priority jobs. Over the years, while hauled out in Grenada, Ally and Shawn would go home to the UK for a couple of months and then live onboard, on the hard, while doing maintenance, but the haul out fee here for 6 days was so reasonable that Ally and Shawn decided that they would rent a nearby apartment with air con and hire a car so that they had transport back and forth and access to chandleries and other stores. Over the 6 days, they wet sanded and repaired damage to the hulls before painting them for the first time since the last haul out in Carriacou, November 2021, changed sail drive seals, replaced anodes and props that had been damaged over time, had a “wave deflector” made and then they fitted it ( the original was lost somewhere between St Vincent and Bonaire 2022), stripped paint from galley cupboard/drawer fronts replacing the paint for multiple coats of varnish. Ally and Shawn were very thankful for their air conned room at the end of each day, which allowed them to disconnect from the yard and work, have a good, warm shower, do lots of laundry ( washing machine at very minimal cost on site) and relax ready for the following day.
On Friday 20th, Imagination was put back into the water at 14.00 and Ally and Shawn sailed back down the coast ( well motored – there was still no wind!) and anchored at a small island, Ko Rang Yai, where they remained for Christmas. The island is a popular stop off for the many jet ski day trippers and wake boarders from nearby resorts, so during the day it was a little noisy and choppy, but at night, it was calm and quiet. After a sedate few days which included a very lovely Roast Lamb dinner complete with parsnips, brussel sprouts, yorkshire puddings and stuffing on Christmas Day, it was back to Chalong Bay. Shawn and Ally had to return a generator that they had recently bought that wasn’t working which took much longer than anticipated and then they had to locate a replacement and make sure that is was going to work so that they wouldn’t have to go through the whole rigmarole again. On the 31st, just as they thought they had the day to finalise prep for the next leg, their toilet blocked! Over several hours, they tried various things to try and avoid the inevitable, but in the end, it was clear the whole pipe was going to have to come off, which actually wasn’t nearly as difficult or as bad as they had anticipated ( probably should have just done that first lol). Once all the calcium and salt deposits that had reduced the diameter had been broken up, the blockage cleared and, and although it was more difficult to put back on, it was all done and dusted within an hour by which time it was 4pm. Ally and Shawn worked together over the next hour to catch up getting cabins, galley and saloon ready so that they could relax for the evening, going to bed just after midnight to the sounds of numerous firework displays around the bay. Happy New Year x
