Koh Phetra

After an almost 8-hour close-hauled solid sail to windward, we arrived at a new destination for us in Thailand - Koh Phetra (N07°02.542' E099°28.251'). This  narrow 1.6 nautical mile long island's limestone cliffs rise sharply out of the sea, it's towering limestone walls giving us wind protection and safe anchorage on the west side.

We set anchor at a 7-metre depth close in against the vertical face where icicles of limestone hung out pointing down to the sea and where small caves and recesses made it ideal for swallows to build their nests only to be raided periodically by harvesters for the birdnest soup delicacy. A lonesome sea turtle came by to visit Sea Turtle on its way to who knows where. Hope he wasn't looking for a landing site here because apparently only the other side had any sort of beach.

Can you see Sea Turtle? (circled in red in centre)

We hopped in the dinghy and explored the west extremity and tried to greet a lone fisherman, but not a word of English did he seem to know, only the universal language of broad smiles and gestures were exchanged in passing.

Lonely fisherman