Zero To Hero: Week 1

1-7 FEBRUARY 2019

After 18 months of liaising and planning, our 2-week overseas training course was finally upon us! (And hats off to our international babysitters: thanks Mum and Dad!) We left Singapore and flew to Krabi International Airport. Having travelled only with kids for the past 3.5 years, there was a sense that we had forgotten something… But we soon settled into a book each on the short flight over to Thailand.

John and Jessica of Java Yachting kindly met us at the airport to drive us to Krabi Boat Lagoon. As soon as we stepped foot out of the car we felt very welcomed and relaxed. Everything was taken care of and planned out in advance, which was very helpful. We checked into our accommodation pod (yes, a pod! Though very comfortable…) and took a stroll around the marina. Along with the Java Yachting school, there were condos, private yachts, a boatyard for long-term boat storage or repairs, and two restaurants (most notably the soon-to-be-notorious joint called The Captain’s Galley). We soon wound down from the precise and hectic pace of Singapore life just as John said, “Wander over to the restaurant by around 6ish for sundowners.”.

However, before the cocktails were poured we met our new home, Java. She’s a 12m Stealth catamaran built for racing. With 20% carbon fibre and less than three tonnes displacement, she’s lightweight and handles like an eggshell. :) But it’s much more comfortable than it sounds, comprising of a full galley, three berths, two heads and ample space to relax. At this point we also met Doug (“Dougie”) who had completed the same course as us the year prior, and was back up from Australia to lend a helping hand and gain some extra experience in the process.

Following a relaxing swim and some reading in the afternoon sun, we ambled over to The Captain’s Galley at 6.02pm (as long as we could wait!) to be greeted by a complete cacophony of sailing characters. There were the long-termers, liveaboards, boat families, and salty sea-dogs. But what a welcome! I actually recognised one individual, especially when he said he had a YouTube channel... It was Jamie from Follow The Boat! This channel has been running for years, and it has been one of my many research sources. There are so many great people giving out wonderful advice online, so how brilliant to meet him in the flesh at a tiny Thai marina!

This was our first time meeting a group of people who we would typically be hanging around in our new life. The attitude was one of a relaxed family - like we had been part of it forever. No judgement; just pure encouragement to join them in what is clearly their chosen way of life. And so we sat, open eyed at times, eating beautiful Thai food and sharing a beer with these experienced story-tellers. Each one allowing us to skim off a lesson or two with some no-nonsense advice. It was very comforting to be honest, given the next morning we were heading off for a week on Java.

After a comfortable sleep and a spot of breakfast we wandered around the marina before packing up to move aboard. We loaded the provisions aboard and begun packing everything away and settling into our hull - we had the whole starboard side to ourselves.

At 11am we departed the marina swiftly and uneventfully. We coiled the lines and sailed down the river towards the open bay. It was critical to leave at the right time to ensure the tide was both deep enough for the boat and flowing in the right direction. And just like that we were on board our floating home for the next 6 days. And it felt very comfortable. Just us two, John and Dougie.

Captain John is a veteran of the seas and a wonderful, patient teacher. Having spent a long time on cargo ships he then went into the shipbuilding business. Despite the sailing school being his “retirement” he is as busy as ever, taking out lots of students like ourselves. His style was relaxed, and rather than go from the beginning sequentially, he tied each sector or session to the learning (both theory and practical) that we needed to undertake.

Heading for Ko Lanta on our first passage, we sailed around 7kts south past Ko Jum (where we had spent a couple of nights in a rustic hut back in 2006 and haven't seen it since!). There was plenty of information to glean on charts, sails, weather, and Colregs (Collision Regulations) - probably the most important lessons of the course.

For the first night aboard we motored into Ko Lanta, anchored 500m offshore and had sundowners with a swim. A bit of knot practice was followed by dinner and lots of great chats. This first day characterised exactly our hopes for the course: a good vibe and happy, sunny days.

Breakfast on board was followed by some dinghy practice to Long Beach for a coffee, walk and a quick visit to the shops. Then back to the yacht for more theory, followed by some anchoring practice. It was really useful to learn not only the theory of this mysterious method, but also see how it plays out in practice with the two of us working in tandem. Anchoring requires communication and patience, but if it doesn’t work out - no worries - just go around and try again! After a nice gentle motor-sail under jib in the afternoon to South Ko Lanta, we took a swim and then the dinghy ashore for some sun-downers and fire dancing on the beach (not us; some local pros). Prawns on the BBQ back on the boat topped off a super day. Not much wind for the second day, which actually provided some good lessons on how to pivot from your planning to reality.

As we continued on it was plain for us to see that whilst we were learning a lot, there were few occasions that you felt rushed. Everything was conducted at a relatively slow pace, broken up with ample time to rest, put the kettle on and chill out. And lots of literature aboard helped to supplement our learning.

Waking up with the sun does give you an excellent opportunity to explore before the day is hot and things get busy. We took the dinghy ashore for a morning beach stroll and to get in some dinghy practice. Then it was back to the boat for more theory over breakfast. By now the flash cards had come out, and they were very useful tools in helping us to memorise buoyage markers, Colregs, and vessel lights and sounds.

Day three provided lunch on the go as we set course for Kradaw Island. And the reward was a chance to relax, do some snorkelling and have a well earned cold juice ashore. Swimming off the beach we saw plenty of colourful fish, beautiful starfish, sea urchins and cuttle fish. Whilst we could have anchored there it seemed like it might be a little rocky overnight, so we headed out to find an anchorage near Ko Muk. This would give us ample opportunity to swim through Emerald Cave in the morning before the crowds arrived. After a long day we anchored in a beautiful small bay, cooked some simple dinner and had an early night. Breathing in the fresh clean air all day takes it out of you!

The next day was our first exam day: the International Crew Certificate. So after a brief tourist stop at Emerald Cave followed by breakfast, we set sail for Ko Lanta to brush up on the practical and theory elements. It was a real highlight playing with the spinnaker; a beautiful and iconic sail type. John showed us how to rig it correctly, and how to tack without causing a total mess of the halyards, sails and sheets! Anchoring back where we did the first night was bliss - a beautiful bay and a good chance to restock supplies. After passing our first exam (yippee!) we went for a celebratory dinner at one of John’s favourites - a Swedish sports bar no less!

Leaving Ko Lanta in the morning we set course for Ko Dam Khwan, affectionately known as “Chicken Island”. A swift lunch underway allowed us to spend the long sail practicing bearings and navigation by chart. Despite having a whole swathe of electronics onboard, everyone should know how to navigate using paper charts and a hand bearing compass. Utilising and learning a bunch of techniques to plot our position allowed us to also update the log book correctly and at regular intervals each day. Arriving to what we hoped would be some mooring ball practice actually ended up being another anchoring opportunity, just 15mins before a stunning sunset. So we dropped everything, grabbed a cold beer and drank in the horizon. Thai green curry and a quiet evening reading books followed. What a tiring and very satisfying day!

Our final day on Java started early as we needed to head back to Krabi Boat Lagoon for the morning tide, and our theory and shore-based learning. However, firing up the engines in the morning gave us a bit of a challenge: only one would start. Hmmm… After multiple failed attempts we decided to set off with one engine. And John coached us on what that would really mean when entering the marina (more shortly!).

On the way back we encountered a large amount of marine traffic, which was great for practicing our collision avoidance techniques in real time. The regulations we learn in the book assume that the other vessels are also adhering to these international standards. Of course, not surprisingly in Thailand some fishing vessels and small crafts didn’t comply. But it was just another opportunity to learn i the setting of real-life challenges! Thankfully, Emily and I successfully skippered the vessel all the way across the sea and up the channel on one engine, working really well together to navigate as a pair.

Then came the final trial: enter the marina with one engine. Gratefully, one of the main benefits to a catamaran is that you essentially always have a permanent backup engine, plus the added bonus of excellent manoeuvrability in small spaces. However, the downside is that with one engine in each hull it becomes hard not to just spin in circles when only one is running. But don’t worry - there is a solution! The dinghy (conveniently mounted on the stern) also has an engine. So we anchored in the channel just short of the marina to start rigging the workaround. We lashed the dinghy to the port engine hull at the stern to act as another engine. In theory this seemed pretty crazy, but after some practice with hand signals from the skipper we were ready to go! And as we raised the anchor, it was fouled. The chain was in a total mess. Yet another test! (Although John swears he did not plan it…) Finally solving the last piece of the puzzle, we headed into the marina. Thankfully we were able to swing into the berth (not without quite a bit of perspiring on the brow), and all-in-all it was a pretty fun adventure to get home. And this was of course a very good test of what can, and most definitely will, happen in real life.

Relieved and extremely satisfied to be back on dry land, we unpacked the boat and moved into our shore-based accommodation. It was back to The Captain’s Galley for lunch with new friends, before some intense theory in the classroom. Charts, course alterations, currents, tides, bearings and weather... All very interesting topics as we started to dive deeper into our learning for the skipper licenses.

What a week it has been!

-Ben