Embarkation at Bang Tao

I must admit I had reservations. Jake has a history of association with mechanical failures. The last time he came out on a boat with us – a day trip in the Solent many years ago – the engine broke. We didn’t dwell on it at the time, because these things happen. After all, there is no such thing as a Jonah. Is there? But we were looking forward to having them onboard and seeing things from a different perspective.

Jake, our grandson, and Maya, his girlfriend, arrived in Phuket on 9th January for a two-week stay aboard Jamala. They were both beginners – no sailing experience to speak of – and came armed with the enthusiasm of people who had absolutely no idea what they were letting themselves in for. They also arrived with the sleeping habits of those just out of their teens, with 1030 to 1100 as the optimal time to roll out of bed.

After meeting them at Jack’s Restaurant and talking through what they might want to do during their stay, we motored the short distance to Patong to show them what it’s made of (mainly beach, beer, restaurants, jet skis, tattoos, girls, and girls with tattoos). They seemed to enjoy it. Maria and I had already been overexposed and wanted to run away from it.

Getting back to Jamala afterwards involved a dinghy, which concentrates the mind after a night out, even for those of us with plenty of experience. Nobody fell in, though, which we took as a good result.

Floaters and Elephants

The following morning, Jake and Maya spent a pleasant time floating on inflatables. This is the kind of activity that looks more relaxing than it is, because someone has to wrestle them out of the locker, inflate them, and tie them to the boat to ensure they, and the people in them, don’t drift off. And afterwards they need to be retrieved, rinsed with fresh water, and put away. Still, nobody complained.

That afternoon, we went to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. The sanctuary rescues Asian elephants from logging sites and tourism operations (I understand the irony, but the sanctuary has to be funded). It gives visitors the chance to feed them, watch them bathe, and take photographs. For those who want to just walk with the elephants, that’s where they go after being fed.

Patonging

We explained to Jake and Maya that 2 weeks isn’t enough time to do and see everything in the Phuket area, so they should focus on Patong-related activities while we are here. The result of that was the two of them on a giant inflatable sofa being yanked around by a speedboat, followed by paragliding. I have never tried paragliding, so I joined them on that mini-excursion. The problem is that I have a high threshold for excitement like that. I appreciated the view from the air, but frankly, it was boring.

Wat Nai Han

We moved down to Nai Harn on the 12th February, a welcome change of pace from Patong. They wanted to see a Buddhist Temple, so we visited the nearby Wat Nai Han, although it is more of a monastery, and then walked up the hill for a view of the bay.

Exercise and posing

We, I mean me, decided it would be a good idea to walk to the top of the hill overlooking the bay. We found out that it’s quite the walk up there, with no shade to speak of and not much in the way of pavement. On the way up the hill, we stopped for a bit of light exercise. This mini outdoor gym was very well equipped. I’ll take the win on the tricep dips.

A few people were already gathered at the station on top of the hill, taking photos. I confess that I remain baffled by selfies (if you took the photo, you were there), but I do appreciate a good composition. The woman in the photo below nailed it, so I thought I’d give it a go too.

By the time we arrived back at On The Rocks, I think I, too, had nailed it.

Also, on the walk up the hill, we discovered the best way to move rebar. There’s no need for heavy trucks and machinery – all it takes is an open-backed van, a few willing participants and a rubber tyre.

Wat Chalong

On the 14th, we took Jamala around to Chalong. By pure luck, our friend James Khoo from Pangkor Marina was there and offered to drive us around, first to Wat Chai Thararam, better known as Wat Chalong, and then to the Rawai waterfront.

Before arriving in Chalong, Jake announced that he wanted to see a temple to see the flying monks who can kick down lampposts. I wasn’t sure we would find any of them at Wat Chalong, but the place does have a lot of history. The temple was built in the early 19th century and is dedicated to two monks – Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang. They led the local community against a Chinese tin miners’ rebellion in 1876 and used their knowledge of herbal medicine to treat the wounded. The centrepiece is a 60-metre chedi on three floors, its walls and ceilings covered in paintings depicting the life of Buddha. On the top floor, behind glass, sits a fragment of bone said to be from the Buddha himself.

The counterpoint to this fine temple is visible at ground level: the market spills across the temple grounds and the pyrotechnic, oven-like thing where, in exchange for well-earned cash, you can have firecrackers thrown into the building below for maximum noise. Sponsored by Coca-Cola, perhaps.

There were no flying monks, and as far as I could tell, no lampposts either.

Ko Yao Yai

The alternator broke. It wasn’t a major issue because our main power source is solar, and we have a generator. But it did need sorting, and I needed time to extract it from the boat. So, rather than expose our holidaymakers to the drudgery of boatwork, we escorted Jake and Maya to the ferry pier at Ko Yao Yai, where they joined a speedboat trip to Maya Beach and Ko Phi Phi. They reported back with tales of aggressive monkeys, pot-smoking travellers and snorkelling.

Phang Nga Bay

On the 17th, we headed into Phang Nga Bay for a kayak tour. Maria and I had done it before and really enjoyed it. We woke up our guests just before we arrived at 1100. As before, the guys on the tourist kayaks came over to Jamala and waited for us to get ready. Also, as before, the fee was 500 baht per chauffeur-paddled kayak.

Back to Nai Harn

We returned to Nai Harn on the 19th, where I introduced them to some of our sailing friends who happened to be there at the same time.

There was time to do a bit of snorkelling

Back to Patong

Jake and Maya wanted to go back to Patong for the Thai boxing and jet skis. It’s a long way from the boat at night, so I booked them a hotel. The report back was that the Thai boxing was good.

But the jet ski was less straightforward.

Jake and Maya hired one and headed out to sea from the beach at Chalong. At some point, it came to a grinding halt some distance from shore. The first I knew about this was a phone call from Maya saying that they had broken down, didn’t know what to do and needed rescuing. I launched the dinghy and headed out to save them. But by the time I arrived, they were gone. Admittedly, it took a while because I had the electric outboard on.

It transpired that they had already been picked up by the jet ski owners. The sea was flat, so I stuck around for a while, then turned around and went back.

Between the phone call and my arrival to find the jet ski equivalent of the Marie Celeste, a flash of inspiration led them to flag down a passing jet ski occupied by a group of Chinese visitors who clearly meant well. The visitors pulled alongside to help, then crashed into Jake and Maya’s jet ski. The damage, paid by Jake, came to £250

And nearly back to the Airport Anchorage

Our plan was to take Jake and Maya back to the airport anchorage where we’d picked them up, but when we tried to lift the anchor at Bang Tao, it wouldn’t budge. So, after a final lunch at the local Italian restaurant, we paid for a Grab car for them and a hotel near the airport and waved goodbye. It was a pity – at least one of them was mastering the art of paddleboarding and just a bit more practice might have done it.

And that was it. Jamala went quiet. The inflatables were deflated and stowed, and the machinery has been running smoothly ever since.

And for the record: the outboard broke, the alternator broke, the anchor windlass broke, the jet ski broke and then was involved in a collision. And years ago, in the Solent, the engine broke. Some believe in the existence of Jonahs. My internal jury is out, but I am keeping a list.

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

This has nothing to do with our visitors, but I wanted to share this bonkers email exchange with Lofrans. We have been carrying a spare windlass around with us since 2022, just in case. Some thought we were bonkers. Maybe. But we were right. We had a spare to replace the conked-out one.

The performance of the new one didn’t seem as good as the old one. We thought it might be the oil because it had been in there for so long. We changed it, but it wasn’t that. Then we thought maybe it needs time to loosen up a bit. So we gave it time, but time made no difference.

Consequently, we contacted Lofrans support for help. They were very responsive. The questions they asked seem reasonable:

Please clarify the working load installed (or provide the chain type, chain length and anchor weight).
Also, please check and provide the voltage at the windlass motor terminals during operation.
We would like to have a video of the windlass operation in order to advise accordingly.

We supplied them with the information and got this reply;

From the information you have provided, we observe that the working load is higher than the one we provide for this windlass.
This contributed to the reduced speed of the windlass.

In addition, we notice that the windlass has been modified, with holes drilled into the body and with the addition of a component that we are not able to identify.

It is possible that water has entered through these holes, resulting in damage to the motor and causing it to behave in this manner.

Since the windlass has been modified, as you can see in the attached photo, this issue cannot considered for a warranty claim.

Then my reply:

Thanks for getting back to us.

Actually, the case is from our older windlass – we did not want to drill holes in the new one. There is no water ingress.

We have fixed the issue. It transpires that it was the contactor at fault, not the windlass itself. Now it seems to be coping well with the chain and anchor – just like the previous Tigres we had installed for years before this one.

To be clear, we were not seeking a warranty claim – only help and advice on what to look for to be able to fix the problem. We bought the windlass back in 2022, and it has sat unused in a locker on the boat, so it is way out of warranty.

We were very pleased with your initial email and told our fellow cruisers about how responsive Lofrans were and how helpful. Good press for you. It didn’t cross our minds that you were looking for reasons not to help, like an insurance company would in the event of a potential claim.

An old saying springs to mind about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

I never received a reply.