15th December
We are staying at Ao Po marina which is a new marina in Phuket .The pontoons are open so there is a good breeze but also a good tide which can make manoeuvering onto the berth rather tricky .The weather has improved or at least we are not noticing it so much in the safer confines of the marina and we have done several jobs on the boat which we had not finished in Hong Kong such as new furling lines and new jib sheets as well as the general repairs .We are trying our hand at mousing the small jib sheet but had to give up this evening as darkness fell .
Ao Po marina
We heard from the marina manager here that several yachts from the King’s Cup were washed onto Kata beach in a strong westerly wind .I expect this is old news now in Hong Kong but we went to see the boats and a very sorry and sickening sight it was . We had certainly experienced the strong westerly winds at sea and indeed at anchor having made the mistake of thinking we were in the NE monsoon and anchored on the wrong side of an island .We might have been anchored in the middle of an ocean for all the protection we got .Our anchor held but as a cruiser I think we had a lot more weight than the racing boats .
beached yachts
a sad sight
We have met our boat neighbours whose problems made our rather rough passage seem inconsequential beside the problems they had losing their steering in the Indian ocean and having to raft up alongside a commercial vessel to get engineering assistance in rough seas with no steerage. So it is all relative !
Baringo's Blog 
Thanx 4 your Christmas message. Glad the pictures look warmer although the sight of the wrecks is a little disturbing. Here’s hoping the next leg is calmer. Christmas is almost upon us and UK is gripped in freezing weather but all is well here with friends and family arriving and lots of merriment ahead. Will raise a glass to you on Christmas Day. Will write on main email. Take great care and enjoy! With love Sarah
glad to see you are making good progress and avoiding the ignominy of being beached! happy christmas. love Paul and Sally-Anne
Well done! So glad you and the boat are doing extremely well! Enjoy your Christmas with Jo and Simon. Have just braved it across the country to a family wedding in Herefordshire. Fortunately, we caught a ‘window’ between the snow and ice. Perishingly cold and so wish we could join you! Take care. Thinking of you and will raise our glasses to your achievements tomorrow! Lots of love, Pam, James and family x
Happy Christmas to you two intrepid sailors. Hope you are having a relaxing few days after such a traumatic beginning to your voyage. Sounds like brilliant seamanship from Captain and first mate, saved the day—–and Baringo! Well done. We are enjoying your blog so much. Keep up the good work please! With much love from us all, Anne x