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Day 16 Another day in paradise
We set off after breakfast for a short sail to a cut between two small islands; a large motor yacht was anchored there when we arrived so we picked spot out of the channel and dropped our anchor a polite distance off their stern. The water here is perfect for swimming, just cool enough to offer refreshment from the blazing sun, but not so cool as to require even a minute of getting used to. Everyone went into the water, most just swimming around the boat while the more ambitious swam between the islands. The area has two tides a day and quite a tidal range so there is always a current to deal with but it wasn’t so severe that it was tiring to swim against it for short periods.
We took the dingy to a small cove around the back side of the larger island, but being it was low tide the water was too shallow for swimming; walking into shore on the jagged rocky bottom was an exercise in balance as you tried to place your feet only on the sandy bits to avoid cutting them. We lounged on the beach near where someone had tied a tire to a rope on a tree limb at the high water mark, during high tide this would be an ideal spot to spend a couple of hours.



The little cove at low tide

Dan and I prepared a Thai lunch on board, using the cookbook I received from my course and the hands on tips I learned. Dan made the Pad Thai, while I whipped up a batch of green papaya salad; both dishes had the right taste and adjusted heatwise for more delicate palates they were well received.
After lunch we sailed to a nearby island with a beach resort, my first opportunity for wifi since leaving the marina. If you have an unlocked phone local data cards are reasonably priced and the signal has been strong all around the bay. We arrived just in time for happy hour at the resorts beach bar, lots of fruity tropical drinks for half price ($5). I caught up on my facebook, but I’m afraid I’m not getting much sympathy for having to deal with the intense sun from my friends I Buffalo, where the temps have hovered in the single digits for a the last few days. We checked out the dinner menu and while the prices at the western food restaurant were akin to those you would expect from a nicer restaurant at home, the prices in the Thai restaurant were more to our budgets and the offering looked very tempting.



A bird fishes in the shallows



The crew relaxes on the beach with some drinks



The Paradise Resort

We went back to Skyelark to pick up some baht, the local currency, and to make ourselves more presentable after four days onboard. The food was every bit as good as it sounded and the service was equally satisfactory; a couple times dishes no one had ordered appeared but were sorted out quickly by the staff. We opted for separate checks to save the hassle of trying to decipher a large bill since some shared dishes, others had just an appetizer and salad, and some a three course meal. Anxious to try to post my trip reports using the resort wifi (100 baht/ $3 for access) I left my check with Dan including a generous tip, surprisingly the server returned half the tip apparently not being used to the American custom of tipping at 20%.
We chatted in the cockpit for a while before heading off to bed for the night after our busy day. During the night the strong tidal current swung the boat around so the stern was facing the wind, luckily Skyelarks hatches can be opened facing either fore or aft so I switched the orientation and soon a breeze so cool that I needed a blanket was keeping the cabin comfortable.