Wishing all our blog followers the best for 2011 .We had a very lively Christmas and New Year here with Vanessa and Henry and friends and the Davies ,Button and Gibson families . Wonderful food ,too much to drink but a lot of fun ! Yes we are still in Phuket as the anchor windlass failed on boxing day while we were sailing in Phang Nga bay . Of course it was impossible to fix anything quickly over the holiday period . As a result of the delay we have not been able to join the Blue Water Rally but have joined another group TTT (Thailand to Turkey ) leaving on 15th January .The route is slightly different as our first stop is the Maldives so we miss Sri Lanka and India .But some sailors we have talked to here think it may be better and safer .We have found a replacement windlass here and it should be fitted tomorrow .There are certainly worse places to be stuck than Phuket but we have spent rather too much time in chandleries and boat yards viewing windlasses and calculating windlass performance than one should on a tropical island holiday ! However as always we have learnt from the experience and who knows in the long (and/or short ) run it may all work out for the best ,although it has been rather frustrating and disappointing at times .

sailing on boxing day

swimming in Phang Nga

bungalow and small swimming pool at Andaman bangtao beach resort

restaurant right on the beach- where are the others?

lanterns on new years eve

new years eve