We were sailing yesterday and now are anchored near James bond Island in Phang Nga Bay and we've just been posting some photos of yesterday's sail on the wingssail images site from our anchorage.
We'll post a story about this trip soon. Meanwhile you can click here for some photos and here for some more photos.
Our YouTube Video of Wings sailing in Phang Nga Bay:
As we stood on the rim of Yasur, the volcano on Tanna Island in Vanuatu, Yasur decided to shake us out of our complacency. Somewhere deep under the three steaming vents on the crater floor, three hundred yards from where we stood, an explosion occurred....
In 2002 we sailed to Tanna Island to meet the volcano which lives there. it was an exciting visit.
In 2002 we sailed to New Caledonia and even ventured out to the Loyalty Islands. We had some great sailing adventures there and even some scary jungle trekking.
In May we flew to Chiang Mai for a long weekend with the idea of doing a little road touring and taking some photos. Late Thursday arrival; Friday morning pick up the rental car; and then head out for three days to see Chiang Mai and the surrounding area, mostly mountains and rivers.
This post contains the links to the wingssail images pages where all the photos can be found.
On Saturday we headed out of town to see some of Chiang Mai's famed mountains and hills. Along the way we found rivers and valleys, and several small Thai towns.
Near the top of Doi Inthanol, the tallest mountain in Thailand we stopped at the Napamaytanidol monuments to the King and Queen of Thailand. The air was cool and the location was spectacular.
There were many signs along the road directing us to waterfalls and we decided to stop at this one. It was the last chance to see one before the light was lost to the shadow of the mountain. We were glad we stopped.
After all the driving we needed some activity so that night in Chiang Mai we went looking for music. There are a few rock clubs along the river and after sticking our noses into three of them we ran into this great punk band at the Riverside. Here is a short video clip we made to the music of Franz Ferdinand. When the band played this song the whole house started jumping.
After a late start on Sunday we made our way up to Chiang Mai's local mountain temple, the famous Doi Sutep. This temple nestled in the forest on the mountianside high above Chiang Mai has a stunning chedi of gold. In the late afternoon sun it glowed against the blue sky.
We had to climb a long set of stairs to get to it but it was worth it. Click here for more shots of the Temple of gold wingssail image-fredrick roswold
Where there are tourists you often find performers with a collection box on the ground who will dance or sing or play music for donations. At Doi Sutep there were a number of young kids playing music and dancing under the watchfull eye of their parents nearby. We put some extra baht in the box and took photos.
We pushed the weekend in Chiang Mai as long as possible only flying back to Bangkok at midnight on Sunday night, but we had a good, mostly relaxing, time and we are so glad that we finally got to see Chiang Mai. Next weekend we go back to Phuket for more boat projects.
A type of umbrella of wood and paper and waterproofed with the juice of persimmon has been made in Asia for centuries.
I first saw them in as a sailor Singapore in 1971 but even back then buying one was difficult. All I could find in the shops in 1971 were steel and black nylon umbrellas from Japan. Yet the paper ones had to be sold somewhere; the local people were using them every day on the streets of Singapore. The taxi driver I enlisted for my umbrella shopping quest was patient and I was persistent back in 1971 and after several stops we finally found a paper one for sale in a small shop which I bought from the elderly Chinese shopkeeper for a dollar and some small change, all I had in my pocket at the time. That umbrella became a treasured memento of Asia for me and found its way back to the USA in my Navy sea bag. It knocked around the house for many years and eventually lay gathering dust in the basement. I left it when I moved to the boat but I always missed that paper umbrella
This year I saw in a tourist brochure that there is a place in Northern Thailand where paper umbrellas are still made. Now I had a chance to revisit the Asia I knew from 1971.
Judy and I drove to Bor Sang and found several small factories where men and women made umbrellas of wood and paper, hand painted and waterproofed with persimmon juice, the same as Singapore in 1971.
It made for some interesting photos.
And yes, I bought another paper umbrella, three in fact. They are in a shipping box in the apartment Bangkok at the moment and we'll put them on the boat this time where they will replace the rusting and broken steel and nylon ones we carry under the port pilot berth.
We returned to Wings again on May 17 and were happy to find the varnish work completed and looking very nice indeed. With the fresh paint the main cabin now sparkles.
In addition to the paint and varnish we put in new cabin lights, new tap in the galley and several other minor jobs. There's lots more work to do, it's a boat isn't it?
Boat work is all part of owning a boat and it is never ending; but we're happy with the progress.
With the camera on the back seat, new items for the boat in the trunk (picked up at Home-Pro on the way out of town) and with a hastily packed bag, we hit the road.
What else could we do when we found ourselves in Phuket for three days with no where to sleep, (the boat was un-inhabitable) and with the workers aboard we couldn't even do our planned projects?
Take a drive.
Where to go? Koh Lantra came to mind but Nick and Zara said, "That is a long way, how about Khao Sak National Park"? I could see from his face he was appalled that we'd try to head to Koh Lantra; too far. So we got out a map. Yeah, Khao Sak looks good. Let's go.
Ok, we got a late start (or more truthfully our shopping detour before starting kept us in Phuket for far too long), so we had to make a stop Friday night short of reaching the national park. We found a hotel at the beach on the way, had a walk, a nice dinner, and then hit the road again the next morning.
For two more days we drove all over the Khao Sak area, took a lot of photos, took a hike in the jungle, got caught in the rain, got attacked by leeches (UGH), and saw a lot of neat scenery.
The town of Phang Nga was the best part. We've heard of this place, seen the signs for it, but never had anyone mentioned that it is in the most stunning setting for a town we've seen in a long time. Check out the last link above to see Phang Nga town, it is beautiful even in the rain.
Next week we are going to Chang Mai and plan another road trip there, so we'll have another of these reports. Someday we'll have sailing update too.
Friday morning, arriving at Wings for a three day weekend, we had plans to complete some mechanical projects and possibly admire some shiny new varnish work.
We had no idea we’d find the varnish worker still there, the work unfinished, and the boat totally uninhabitable.
Flexibility, that’s the key.
With the interior completely disassembled, the boat covered in dust, and a man with sandpaper busy making more, we quickly realized we wouldn’t be staying on Wings that night and we couldn’t dig into the mechanical work either but we still had three days to kill.
What to do?
Within 30 minutes we had rented a car and we were headed out for a three day drive with a map of Thailand, a camera, and no fixed itinerary or destination.
It turned out to be a fun trip and a good adventure. We’ll have a report and some photos soon. Meanwhile click here for some more photos of our interior project.
We’ve been looking at a bad paint job on Wings’ interior walls since they were sloppily done by a so-called painter we hired in Sydney in 2001. When the results are bad and you have to look at it day after day, year after year, you really come to regret not getting right the first time. Our walls had runs, bubbles, wrinkles, and after 8 years were turning dingy yellow. We knew the only way was to tear into a big sanding job. David Nutt tipped me off on how to do this when we spent some time with the Nutt family of the yacht Danza in Mooloolaba that same year.
“How do you sand the walls without making a huge mess with sanding dust?” I asked.
David said, “Wet sanding keeps the dust down.”
“What about the water?”
“Just put down a towel at the base of the wall where you are working.”
Well David was a boat builder and a competent guy so I stored away that bit of instruction. Now in 2009 it was time to put it to the test. We bought a sleeve of 80 grit wet and dry, found two good sanding blocks, and got at it.
The results were immediately promising; by the next day we had sanded one wall, two surfaces out of 21 in the main cabin, and they were very smooth. But this used up the weekend and I had to head back to work in Bangkok. To keep the project going Judy stayed on the boat and we hired Hasan and his various nephews to spend the next week sanding and we showed Hasan how to use a powerful work light to cast a shadow which revealed any slight waviness. We were determined to have a great job.
When I returned the cabin was ready for paint. Working slowly, with high quality enamel and small foam rollers, we repainted the walls. It took three coats, and lots of care to get a shiny, high gloss, surface but in the end we had the nice walls that we wanted (OK, bulkheads for you die-hard boating terminology fans).
Now we needed to re-do the varnish trim.
For this we hired Mali and his crew. That was three weeks ago, and it brings us full circle to today.
Our interior project still includes upholstery, lighting, new shelves and taps in the galley, and we don’t know what else, and there will be plenty of mechanical projects later too.
But, by remaining flexible we turned a setback in our plans into an opportunity.
“Hey, Judy, let’s get the anchor up, we’ve got a squall coming.”
“OK”, her voice comes up from below deck and I know she is moving about. Soon she appears at the hatch and she scans the sky. One look is enough; she is on deck and we start the engine and are raising the anchor when the first puffs of wind come. They are cool and fresh but we are working quickly to get underway before the stronger wind hits and we don’t have time to enjoy the wind’s coolness.
Judy had disappeared below deck to take a nap after lunch while Jim and I sat topside and talked about airplanes.
The day was still and oppressively hot. We were anchored off a small island in the place where the wind left us when it died. The sunlight hurt my eyes and I tried to shade them with my hand but the heat reflecting off the water against my face feels unbearably hot. The resonating sound of the Cicadas on the nearby island sounded like time stopping. We found shade on deck and waited.
The season of squalls, otherwise known as the Southwest Monsoon, is fully upon us in Phuket. The days in April are boringly hot and still but we generally get a squall in the afternoon. You see them coming: a tall a dark cloud to the east or north and below it a grey mass which obscures the horizon. Then the wind starts; at first as a gentle brush on your cheek but soon it builds and continues to build until it is a force which buffets you. Rain too, a few big splattering drops fall, then sheets of it follow, drenching.
Ashore you deal with it differently then you do at sea. Ashore you pull the door shut or you hurry along to reach shelter from the wind and rain and you wait it out. It’s just an inconvenience from Mother Nature; a fact of life, nothing more.
But at sea the squall takes on a different reality. At sea when the squall comes you are alert, you watch and you are wary. The squall brings danger, maybe disaster; at least excitement.
We just went out for a short sail today; just an afternoon on the water and maybe a chance to get the sails up and hopefully see a bit of wind. It has been a month or more and we need the sailing fix. I told Judy I’d be happy with a just a few minutes hard on the wind with the sails sheeted in Wings and heeled well over. In the back of my mind was the thought that we might get the daily squall while we were out and I didn’t think that would be bad; at least it would be some breeze but there wasn’t much wind when we left Yacht Haven; just a whisper. Then even that died and we anchored.
Now I watch the clouds to the east: a tall dark thunderhead. It could be trouble brewing, a squall. At first it seems that it is moving south and will miss us but then I realize it is coming our way.
Heading directly into it we motor slowly and work the mainsail up. In the steadily increasing breeze it flaps and shakes the rig and we have some trouble with the running backstays but we get the sail up and we bear off until it fills. The boat heals over and we start to make way. I kill the engine and now we silently face the wind and Wings is moving slowly. Without much way on the rudder is unresponsive and I have to take care to avoid getting into irons. I ease the main a little to gain some speed. The helm begins to work a bit better. The boat heels even with just the mainsail. The wind is 27 knots and the sky is dark ahead. Now we are settled down and sailing and the boat feels solid under us and in control. Wings is big and powerful and when we are underway this squall is nothing to her. On board we face the wind try to see what is coming next. Rain starts to fall. I cannot go get a raincoat, so I just decide to accept the wetness. It is OK.
We see that the jib on the foredeck either needs to be secured or hoisted. We don’t know if the wind is going to continue to rise or drop off, so we delay setting the jib. Judy goes forward to tie it down.
In a few minutes it looks like the wind has stopped building so we set the jib and we sail towards the squall, but it is dying and we don’t really get up to speed before it passes as quickly as it came and we are left rolling on a still sea. We wait for a while to see if more wind will follow but it doesn’t so we drop the sails and motor home.
The daily squall has passed but tomorrow there will be another.
I turned 63 this week. Judy is a few years behind but we both are traveling down that path. Old age or not, we like to feel well and exercise is important. Our apartment building in Bangkok has a small fitness center and we hit the gym or the pool every day. Usually Judy and I both go in the morning and Judy gets back down there during the middle of the day. I think it's working; on the day I turned 63 I beat my all time best time for 10K on the excerise bike and I've been tracking that for at least 10 years. It's been steady improvement every year as I keep working a bit harder each time.
To celebrate the birthdays of Fred and Randy and John Jorgl the six of us pictured here went to the Indigo Pearl Resort at Nai Yang Beach in Phuket and spent three hours at brunch, with endless food and wine. It was all quite decadent and superb and best of all we spent it with good friends. I won't try to tell you all the great food and drink we had but trust me, it was the best brunch we ever had.
Now we have to get back into the gym and work it off.
Click here to see more shots of the buffet at Indigo Pearl
My name is Fred Roswold. I’m 63. You can think of me as a corporate guy wearing a suit and a sailor man, but mostly a sailor man, who holds that he owes his obsession with boats and the sea to his Norwegian sea captain grandfather Alfred Roswold, and to his other Viking forbearers.
My wife Judy Jensen and I have lived on our 43’ sailboat WINGS for 22 years, first in Seattle, while we worked to save up for an extended sea cruise, and since 1996, in ports and harbors around the Pacific and Asia. We’ve sailed some 25,000 miles since leaving Seattle, but we don’t consider this to be a journey with a fixed destination; we're just living aboard in some different places.
We now have jobs in Bangkok, Thailand and do our sailing in Phuket.
I'm sure we're bound for new cruising adventurers in the future, continuing this vagrant life, wandering from port to port, across different oceans and seas, never knowing where we’ll next drop our anchor.
Under sail
Volcano
Ouvea
Judy at the top of Thailand
Chiang Mai
Breakfast at the Duang Champa
Wat Pan Tao
Dragons at Chedi Luang Chiang Mai
Terraced Farm Land
Judy visits a temple at the top of Thailand
Waterfall
Doi Sutep, temple of gold
Young Thai Dancer
Paper Umbrellas
Paint & Varnish
Hitting the Road
Definitely not habitable
Judy
Excercise
The Good Life
