Snorkelling of sorts

The weather for our trip has been far from ideal,but you make of it what you will. Winds overnight were up to 40 knots, but May's Bay protected us from the worst of it. With a little sunshine this morning we took the opportunity to go out int he dingy and test the snorkelling gear. Well, I put my face mask and snorkel on, dangled head first out of the dingy and checked out the coral, bommies and fish. Sighting of the morning was Mr Moray eel. A pale white colour I thought perhaps he was a rock due to his lack of movement, but appatprent,y thats what they do.....lurk, then when something comes within range, lunge! Perhaps not the traditional way to snorkel but given the wind conditions and temperature of the water a good compromise. We decided to head back to the yacht, making it back on board within minutes of another downpour. Perfect timing. Next was breakfast - spaghetti on toast with toast cooked the camping way. For this city girl a new way of doing things using a funky little rack to balance the toast over the gas flame. Why is it that food tastes so much better outdoors? 14.7.13

It's a sailors life

The interesting thing about expectations is that they are often misfounded. Take this land girls thoughts on sailing. Here was I thinking it would be relaxing, full of solitude, might I even suggest romantic. How wrong was I. With winds that reached 25 - 30 knots overnight there was nothing but noise. I thought that the motion of the boat was what I would find most challenging to deal with. Perhaps I was a Pirate in another time and place as this has been the least of my concerns. The noise though has been something else entirely. Apart from the occasional pump kicking into action and the ropes slapping against the mast the continual slurping and slapping of the water against the hull made me realise the subtle power of Chinese water torture. Most noises I could equate to something at home. The bilge pump reminds me of Tia and Willow scratching at the door to come inside, the ropes slapping on the mast equate to branches falling on the roof, motel doors slamming when I travel for work etc. I wake, recognise the sound, turn over and go back to sleep. The incessant slurping of the water is something else....that said, at least I slept. That makes one of us. The weather this morning isn't much better. Wind has dropped a little perhaps, but it is cloudy and overcast. So at this stage it looks like we will settle in for an hour or so with a book, then reassess things later in the morning. Might not be the best weather for snorkelling but we might take the rubber ducky across to the bay and go for a walk. 13.7.13

Marine Reserve

It is an incredible thing to swim with, and hand feed, fishes. This was just one of the highlights of our day. We took the opportunity to explore the Marine Reserve off Koh Samui so hired a boat for the day. Daeng, our local guide put us onto the Captain, who is a mate of his brothers. Given Daeng's brother manages a dive company, a good contact to have. The boat is available for diving tours or day trips. With 42 islands in the reserve, 17 of them are considered large. Many of them you visit for a specific purpose, like to snorkel or kayak. So, first stop for us this morning was within the cove of the best island for snorkelling. Hence the opportunity to feed the fishes. Daeng had very kindly stopped to get some bread on his way to pick us up, and it turned out to be the perfect thing to attract the fishes.

Using a mask and snorkel even I was able to see the fishes as they came right up to you, literally bumping into you in the frenzy to eat. Two main varieties were there in numbers, one a striped variety, the other a little less common was a spotted species. Not knowing my Thai fishes I am unable to identify the species at this stage. We did however have lots of fun and I am determined to try snorkelling again at some stage. 4.2.2013