bareboat in Phuket in June with kids for 10 days?

[mikr]

Hello All!

I am looking for any advice on bareboat cruising in Phuket in June.

1) We are a family with 2 kids (7 and 10) with little bareboat experience. I have owned a 36 footer in San Francisco Bay for 5 years which I mostly single handed and I have cruised it down to LA and back), however my family is less experienced (only a 7 day charter in Adriatic).

2) I (think I) understand the weather patterns (SW monsoon in June) so we are planning to visit only Phuket-PhiPhi-PhanNga triangle. Maybe extending to Ko Racha and Krabi.

3) We're planing 10 days but are open to extending it up to 14.

4) We are looking into a 33ft sailboat located in N.Phuket (close to land bridge).

Questions:

1) Given 10+ days, starting in N.Phuket and less experienced crew what would be the best it trip plan? Go Phangnga or PhiPhi first?

2) Would 33ft be comfortable or a bigger boat would be better (I may end up single-hand it a lot so do not want anything too big, perhaps I am wrong?).

3) What are sea conditions ? Do sailers use safety harnesses? I understand the sailing is limited to daylight only.

Any suggestions and comments are welcome!

Thanks!

Michal

[svhoneybee]

Hi Michal

We are currently sitting in Yacht Haven Marina in Phuket - I guess that is where you are planning to charter from as there is a big charter fleet here.

We cruised around here last July and found it quite acceptable, but it is the wet season, so you get a lot of thunderstorms and you can get some quite rough weather periods - that is down to luck.

No where is very far around here - it is quite a compact cruising area, so you can pick your routes to suit the weather. Personally, I would stay away from Phi Phi Don as that area has insane levels of boat traffic and it is completely over run with tourists, but that is very much down to your tolerance of those conditions.

We found Ao Phang Nga very pleasant, some areas have very high levels of tourist traffic, but you can get away from that with a bit of effort. The scenery is very spectacular. There are only one or two spots on Phuket itself where you would want to anchor, Ao Yon for example.

As for a 33 foot boat, just remember that it is insanely hot here and very humid, so you might not enjoy cramped conditions - your choice.

As far as safety gear is concerned, it is whatever you are comfortable with. Water here is very shallow and the tidal streams can run at 1 or 2 knots, so, even though the area is sheltered, the sea can chop up.

Yacht Haven Marina have just completed a significant shore side renovation and the new facilities are great.

Good luck with you trip.

[mikr]

Hi,

Thank you for the reply. Much appreciated!

Yes, we are aware that it's a monsoon and that it can rain daily. And with some luck we may avoid the 4+ days downpour.

How rough does the weather gets (wind/sea condition) when he rail turns on?

How busy (charter/sailboat wise) was during your June? Are all the boats out? There seems to be a 20% discount for last moment reservation which would give us opportunity to charter a bigger boat.

Also, how's provisioning around the marina?

Regards,
Michal

[svhoneybee]

Sorry about the slow reply - been busy making miles. Worst we had was 60kts for an hour or so in the middle of the night. Generaly bad weather means around 20kts. Chartering seemed dead at that time and few other cruising boats around. Often we were the only sail boat in an anchorage.

From yacht Haven, you need a car to do provisioning. There is a big Tesco about 20 - 25 minutes drive away and you can get absolutely everything there. Also a Makro bulk store just across the road from Tesco if the kids really eat a lot. For fresh food, there is an excellent local market about 2 k north on the main road - ask around about opening times.

If you can't get the boat you want, I suggest you send an email to Chris Jongerius ( chris@andamanseaclub.com ). He runs a small charter operation out of Ao Yon and could probably fix you up with a nice fast boat.

[markburski]

The most convenient way to explore what Thailand has to offer is by chartered yacht which everybody will tell you this. Last year thanks to Yachtoo.net I discover this exotic and fascinating country on board of a luxury boat, avoiding overpriced hotels and crowded places, such as the most popular resorts or beaches. I chartered an catamaran in which i was able to find deserted and untouched places. Highly recommend it!!