Captain's blog February 2010

February went fast as usual, Kalizma was looking to be under siege with all the maintenance works going on but she looks better now with the new awnings, new bridge deck teak and fresh varnish work. I also did plenty of carpentry inside as well, fixing here and there.

Wonder if this guy was out shopping during low water

On the 13th we had to leave Phuket for Langkawi to our monthly visa run. I did a disappointing dive at Ko Ma enroute. We also thought we would end up in Dubai but those plans were cancelled.

As for crew matters I got a new stewardess on the 6th, Ms. Asen, to replace Martula. Asen is also from Nagaland.

Jyothi got married on Valentine's day and has been confirmed to be located to South of France, she is now taking French lessons. Best of luck to her new posting and marriage.

In Langkawi Saini, Rajaram and Dubey was cleaning the ship up after all the works, all decks were scrubbed clean. 

Then I got Chan onboard from Lumut to install new CCTV system and radar. Our old Pelco CCTV had not only proved unreliable but also very expensive so I got a more stronger Chinese made system that does not disintegrate in the camerahousings like the Pelco had done. This system also provides spares, so if a small part breaks I don't need to buy the whole camera.

For radar I installed a Raymarine to replace the old Nobeltec that is very unreliable and have given me so many grey hairs during my 2 years on Kalizma. The Raymarine is working very well and I do not miss the old Nobeltec for a second. I still have one Nobeltec as my 2nd radar though but maybe after some time I will have the budget to replace that one as well.

I was also invited for dinner to Mangoes by Vanessa and TC and was positively surprised by the food and service there. Mangoes is run by an Australian lady and her German husband. I recommend the chocolate mudcake with ice cream, yummy.

Chan took me to Teo's for a couple of dInners, the food was delicious as usual. I also dined Chan at Luck Luck restaurant in little Hat Yai, the Thai food there is also worth a try for anybody wanting some change.

By the 27th we were leaving Langkawi for Phuket and we dived Ko Rawi, Ko A Yam and Hin Daeng enroute. The weather was phenomenally great.

On the 1st I disembarked at Phuket Town to do our check in in Ao Chalong while Saini was sailing Kalizma to Yacht Haven. I had to hurry to the marina and they had a dinghy standing by for me to get back onboard. This time we moored inside the marina and managed it easily after getting the current from the right side.

So, once again we were safely back in Phuket and I called carpenters onbard to finish the radar installation and to replace some wooden railings that had gotten rotten. The same maintenance rally continues...