After having done the rounds in Phuket I one evening met a Malaysian chap that had been refurbishing a 10yr old second hand 45' Lagoon catamaran for the purpose of world wide traveling.
Eventually his skipper had bailed out as he had no Covid vaccinations. So I told him I could do it for him if he really needed and later in February he contacted me and offered a lumpsum for me to do the project which was:
- Outfitting and provisioning the boat for an ocean passage;
- Passage planning with the caveats of the Owner from Phuket, Thailand to Toulon, France;
- Handling all port formalities;
- Changing flag from Thai to Malaysian (part of the purchase deal) paperwork;
- Insurance and satcomms.
Whilst I was getting busy with lists and taking inventory of the sailing boat "Fanny" the Owner himself concentrated on getting the refit finished. Unfortunately the time went on as he got Covid, then his contractors got Covid. Furthermore, it became apparent that we could not enter Malaysia before 1st April due to their Covid restrictions. The weather window was already closing.
It was also a big change for me as I had never sailed a small glassfibre yacht over any ocean. I had prior experience from few charter holidays in the Mediterranean on mono hulls so working a catamaran was also new to me.
Fanny had ample space for her size, 2 cabins on the port hull with ensuites and whole of sb hull for the Owner. In the middle was the saloon with a cooking corner, a fridge and a freezer and nooks and crannies to put dry stores in. Friend of mine was selling a portable 220/12V fridge/ freezer chest of 90ltr that complemented our cooling storage. Forward where the crew cabins had been - they had been converted to tool and line stores.
Then my friend Enok joined to help us out and 3 pairs of hands is always better than 2 pairs. We compiled lists and visited shops to see the produce on offer and in the end decided to provision at Makro. Before that I had driven to shipchandlers at Royal Phuket Marina and Ao Chalong in search of small bits and bobs for the rigging and other fittings that we needed. We changed a few halyards, fixed hardware on anchors, got spareline for the spare anchor, renewed the dinghy hoisting ropes.
Finally Fanny had been painted and we had all provisions onboard so on 21st March she was launched into the sea. We spent a day puttering up and down in front of Yacht Haven testing systems and instruments and everything was working to our satisfaction.
We anchored off the marina for the night and had dinner at Bamboo bar next to Mama & Papa restaurant. As the Owner had been taking a lot of meals there the proprietor gave us several frozen desserts (brownies and cheesecake) to take with us for the voyage.
On the 22nd we moved down south to Ao Chalong where we anchored shortly off the public pier, a massive construction designed to cater for the thousands of tourists wanting to visit various Islands and scenic spots in the area. As Thailand had only recently relaxed their Covid restrictions there was not many around but I could see that it was gearing up with more tourists every day.
Every morning we could see the dive boats going out to sea and then returning in the evening, coincidentally like clockwork when the sun set a multitude of floaties started populating the water giving a special effect when the underwater lights were on. Needless to say nobody went for a dip whilst at anchor.
As we waited for the deadline of Malaysian Covid sanctions lifting we had only the contractors onboard doing final details that we discovered during tests and using the boat. We also bunkered some refreshments and last minute condiments. Unfortunately a lot of our fresh provisions had started going off as we were mostly eating ashore during this time. We had not anticipated this lull but had expected to be on our way sooner rather than later. One day we went around to the Mai Thon Island for a day cruise with the contractors and in the evening we did a BBQ for everyone. Fun times to be had.
On the 29th I managed to get the insurance for traveling to Malaysia issued so we could enter there without hiccups. The Malaysian Gov't has decreed that all pleasure boats must have 3rd party liability, I guess too many wrecks have been left lying in various decrepit marinas around the peninsula.
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