Marina bound for boat work

We departed Chalong Bay (southeast corner of Phuket) for the Boat Lagoon marina complex on May 1st for some overdue boat work. In windless conditions, we motored about a 20-nautical-mile-trip up the inside/east side of Phuket.

The 2.5 nautical mile dredged channel into the Marina has to be done at high tide so we planned our timing for that. We arrived outside before absolute high tide but with the meandering dredged channel well marked with pylons, rather than wait, we continued in slowly through the murky water, only touching the muddy bottom once. That is until we got about 200 metres from the wharves where we became stuck in the soft bottom.

By radio, the Marina was expecting us so the waiting wharf hands saw us stuck and quickly came to the rescue in their skiff. They simply nudged Sea Turtle's nose bow around while we motored off the shallows.

Looking back at shallow entry channel

The Boat Lagoon complex includes a resort hotel so we decided to rent an air conditioned suite to escape the intense heat and where we could see Sea Turtle down below while work was being done by a local crew.

We were having almost all of our interior teak wood refinished including some minor wood work done, so to give the workers free clear work space, we cleared almost everything out. It took us a couple of days in the sweltering heat and many, many trips the short distance and up 36 stairs. So our suite became a combined living and storage area.

In Sea Turtle, the workers covered and/or taped everything that they were not sanding and varnishing, even including the floor, stove, etc. They took our doors, drawers, and tables to be done in their shop.

The to-do list of work included finishing the build-up and installation of 8 new tempered glass windows (the old lexan had become almost impossible to see through). That job was Jordan's.

Taking off old lexan

Fibreglass buildup

Finished product!

I took advantage of this time to do major brass polishing and some sewing jobs. We set up the sewing machine in the room to do this as well as make a new, badly needed, dinghy cover.

Deteriorated chaps...

...new homemade chaps 

A little about Boat Lagoon...at first we were relegated to the working dock but it soon became apparent with each ebbing tide it left Sea Turtle deep in mud. So Jordan arranged to have it moved across to a deeper area.

Our room is above an esplanade of commercial shops, bars, and restaurants/cafes. Chandleries, laundry service, and an American-style supermarket are close walking distance away. We were excited about the king-sized swimming pool too, but we discovered the water was very warm and didn't give us the invigorating respite to the heat we wanted. Website: www.phuketboatlagoon.com

Another task for the crew was deck painting and exterior teak refinishing. But eventually the full effect of the southwest monsoon was felt, and even though it gave some relief to the heat, the downpours delayed exterior work...