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Sailing in Asia's Marine Playground
 

Thailand’s Andaman sea coast, including Phuket, is emerging as Asia’s favourite maritime playground, yet on the worldwide stage it remains one of the little-discovered secrets of sailing.

The sailing/cruising conditions are ideal and delightful here during many months of the year and the background scenery is simply dramatic whatever the season (click to see photos of sailing in the region) The warm clear waters and beautiful, uninhabited islands make life afloat in the Andaman truly idyllic. But for many yachting enthusiasts in Europe or the Americas Phuket is simply too far away, so the number of boats remains low.

The undeveloped state of the marine industry here is evidenced by the fact that Phuket has only two modern marinas, Yacht Haven at the northern tip of the island, giving close acess to Phang Nga Bay, and the Boat Lagoon, in an inland lagoon in the mid east of the island.

Those without their own boat can readily charter either power or sailing yachts, crewed or bareboat. There is a reasonable variety of craft available for charter, and international charter company Sunsail has a Phuket base with a fleet of about 30 bareboats. For crewed charter boats contact Thai Marine Leisure (TML) the major charter company in Phuket. Contact numbers for both of these are also given below.

Boat owners wanting to stay in Thailand can bring their boats into the country for 6 months at a time, after which the vessel must leave Thai waters. It can return soon thereafter for additional six month periods. Some long-stay boats exit to Langkawi Island, about 90 nautical miles to the south of Phuket, and just a few kilometres over the frontier in Malaysia. This island is a duty-free port and ideal for replenishing supplies.

Two join-in cruises depart from Phuket and travel through the islands of Phang Nga and Krabi and are an easy and relatively cheap way to enjoy the beautiful islands and scenery here. The junk Suwan Macha does a four day cruise that ends in the Phi Phi islands. The magnificent 85 foot yacht Meroja has five cabins available on the same join-in basis and does a more adventurous six day run between Phuket and the islands off Trang (contact TML, listed below).


Phuket King’s Cup Regatta This annual regatta held in the waters off Phuket attracts almost 100 yachts and up to 1,000 sailors and family members each year. Begun in 1987, this has become the most prestigious sailing event in Asian waters. It’s serious competition for some, and lots of fun for all. It lasts for one week in early December, coinciding with the Thai King’s birthday.

Phang Nga Bay Regatta A small regatta that began only in 1999, this has quickly become so popular that it is certain to become a permanent annual fixture. It is held over three days during the Chinese New Year holidays, in January or February. In 2000, its second year, it attracted almost 30 boats. In 2001 there were 36 boats, just about as many as this small, friendly event can handle, and there is talk of limiting the numbers if it gets larger in future. The major limitation is the number of boats that can be safely anchored during the overnight stops in the bays of Phang Nga Bay.

Sailed through the islands between Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, this regatta is not as serious as the King’s Cup, but is great fun in some of the world’s most extravagant sailing scenery. For full details go to bayregatta.com

PHUKET MAGAZINE has published numerous stories on sailing in this region and the best of these will soon be posted in their own subdirectories, along with many great photos and contact information. These will be accessed from the bottom of this page

SAIL THAILAND is a complete sailing guide to the region, beautifully illustrated.

This large format sailing guide to all of Thailand’s seas is published by ARTASIA, with a new, updated version coming out every two or three years. It’s primary purpose is an anchorage guide, showing captains where they can find safety during overnight stops amongst the most beautiful islands and bays. The information includes tips on what kind of bottom your anchor will dig into, where to find fuel and fresh water, where to go for swimming, fishing or how to find caves and other interesting places.

The publication is lavishly illustrated with photography by John Everingham, and makes a beautiful souvenir that celebrates the magnificence of the scenery in Thailand’s waters.

For full details go to the website sailthailand.net


For more information on sailing in the Andaman regions select:

SUNSAIL – the famous international charter company has a fleet of bare boats for hire out of Phuket www.sunsail.com

Thai Marine Leisure (TML) – is the biggest charter agent in Thailand, representing a large fleet of boats, both power and sail www.thaimarine.com