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Back to Main Page Cruise reports Cruising around Pukhet Dec 1997 - Jan 1998 on Mata Hari II By David Lourey, Owner/Skipper Much has been written in many excellent articles on Cruising around Phuket which are readily available so the following is written only to compliment these articles from our first hand experiences. 1. KO PHUKET ANCHORAGE' S Phuket West Coast During the NE Monsoon Season (December to April) the bays on the west side of Ko Phuket offer excellent protection from the daily E/NE winds. While anchoring in all bays care must be taken to make sure you set your anchor well in the hard sand. We dragged twice, once at Patong Beach and once at Nai Harn, using our 20 Kg CQR. Because of this we set two anchors, the CQR and our 5 Kg Danforth, and had no trouble after doing this. In fact the Danforth turned out to be the best for these conditions. All bays have a very gradual slope with 3-5 meters approximately 200 meters offshore. The following are individual comments on each eastern bay starting from the southern tip of the islands: Nai Harn –A nice protected anchorage and the location of the Phuket Yacht Club/Meridian Hotel. There actually is no yacht club just the Meridian high-class expensive resort. The bay is quite isolated from the central tourist areas and transport to and from can be a problem, particularly at night. Exercise caution to avoid submerged rocks at the NW side of the bay. The Kings Cup races (apart from the Ko Phi Phi to Nai Harn Race) all start from Nai Harn so the bay is full (50+) of boats during the Kings Cup week. During this week the local restaurants and stalls increase their prices up to five times the normal tourist area prices so provision elsewhere during this period. Best method to get around is after arrival caught a minibus to Phuket Town, approx. 20 Km to the north, and rent a scooter for around USD 5 per day. Small Suzuki 4WD can also be rented for approx. USD 15 per day. Scooters and cars can be safely parked overnight in the car park on the edge of the beach. Motor cycle licenses are not required but the rental companies insist on holding your passport during the rental period. This can be a problem if you need to cash travelers cheques where your passport is required. Helmets are required everywhere however outside Phuket Town most people do not use them. If two handing and only one helmet available then the driver must wear the helmet. I did the opposite with my son on the back and got pinched in Phuket Town. They average a death and 10 serious accidents a day so helmets are highly recommended. Scooter prices in Phuket Town are cheaper than the major tourist areas, where prices increase to USD 20 per day during the peak Xmas/New Year period. When wind gets up (25-35 kts) during this period you can get bullets off the surrounding hills so anchor setting is important. Kata Beach – Just north of Nai Harn and a nice anchorage at the southern side of the bay. Club Med occupy approx. half the northern end of the bay but the road access along the foreshore allows access to the town behind the northern end of the beach without restriction. A short walk inland give access to all restaurant, bar and shopping facilities at very reasonable prices. Karong Beach - The next bay up from Kata and much larger than Kata or Patong and therefore more exposed to wind and swell. Ashore are many good seafood and European restaurants. Prices both here and Kata are 5-20% cheaper than Patong. Most yachts prefer to anchor at either Patong or Kata and catch one of the many Bemo's to Karong. Just north of Karong is a small bay, which is the location of the 5 star Meridian Resort, sister of the Nai Harn resort. There is only room for 5-7 boats and a bit of an uphill walk to the main road thru the resort. Patong Beach - The main tourist area of Phuket. A large bay with best anchorage's located in the center and southern end of the bay. Don't park to close to the shore to avoid the numerous jet skis and parasail boats. All eating and other preferences are available in Patong, including the transvestites around the Anderman Queen, with the town really coming alive around 2200hrs with some areas going all night. Two reasonable small supermarkets and an Internet Cafe are located towards the southern end of the beach. Numerous small foreshore restaurants serve an excellent English breakfast for around USD 3 and the local seafood restaurants are excellent and cheap with you choosing what you want from ice cooled trays along the pavement. This is where most of the visiting yachts come for the New Year celebrations to watch the spectacular fireworks display. Last year there were approx. 120 yachts anchored over New Year. Just offshore in the NW of the bay is a spring water hose fixed to a mooring buoy, which is excellent and cheap. A local swims out for the connection. North of Patong Beach - Two small bays, Kamala Beach and Bang Thao Beach offer safe anchorage with small restaurants along the foreshore. We did not go further north towards the airport where there are other bays and resorts. It was difficult to go beyond Patong with all its facilities. Phuket East Coast Ao Chalong - The first main bay north of Nai Harn. We did not sail into Chalong but visited the shore facilities. This is the main base for longer staying yachts where they can anchor offshore among a multitude of other sailing and motorboats. I was told it is safe in all seasons but subject to some swell throughout the year. I spoke to Heinz and Catherine Lorenzen on "Rolling Home†|