Boat chores (Feel free to skip if you don’t have a boat ;-) )

Firs off, I keep getting this message on my phone. Any Thai readers out there?

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So after the trip to the Soi Dog home, I had a lazy Tuesday, Wednesday was spent planning the work, and reading a big book about anchoring, I never thought you could fill a book on this subject, but so far I have read a third of the book, and we still haven’t got to the anchoring bit. Fascinating learning the history of Anchors, Chain, Windlasses etc, well at least I think so. For example, “The bitter end” is very much an anchoring term that found its way into common use.
Yesterday and today I got stuck into fitting the all the new kit onto the boat. I modified the old anchor bracket on the stern to fit the new kedge anchor. Then I attached the new lifebuoy with it’s hi-tech fancy LED light that turns on when it hits water. My old one used to turn on when it was the right way up, as a spring and gravity comprised the switch, however in a big sea, the boat would sometimes ride up on a wave quickly and the light would come on briefly making us jump in the cockpit as if a searchlight had been shone on us.  I also repaired the life-sling and its case as it had some UV damage. Just need a danbouy to complete the safety gear. The new fenders now hang, looking very smart.IMG_3921

I also restocked our flare container and removed the oldest flares. Once the stern of the boat was sorted, it was up the mast to fit a new halyard, put the missing screw into the wind sensor, and recalibrate it.

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Extra points if you spotted it’s on the starboard side of the mast and is green!

The new green halyard is there for emergencies really, but can be used for various things like holding up a canopy, climbing the mast, or swinging small children around.

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I’m sure you’re not meant to look down!
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My neighbours

I also replaced the blocks (pulleys) on the spreaders which are used to fly the visiting flags, or courtesy flags as they are called, along with their halyards. These halyards hoist other flags and pendants as well, like signal flags, should I ever need to “expect anyone to do their duty”. Protocol says you must fly a little flag for the country you are visiting when you hit their waters. Flag etiquette can get quite confusing, I have a club flag for the Cruising Association, and I still can’t work out where to fly it, every position on the boat has a status and priority, club ensigns should be flown from the top of the mast, something thats hard to do on a sailing boat, flying it on the port spreader is a no no, and to demote it to a lower status than the courtesy flag, flown on the starboard side is also a no no, so I’m up for suggestions. I have never met anyone from the flag police, but I’m told the are a serious bunch, not to be messed with 😉
I fixed the staysail furler, which I had trouble with when I lost the staysail over the side. When I had re-hoisted, after recovering the lost halyard, I had put a twist before the twist preventer at the top of the furler. This had now become off centre, but was easy to fix. Just need a sail to put on there now.

Preventers
Skip this if you don’t know what a preventer is, but basically it stops the boom flying around doing damage when you the wind catches the wrong side of the mainsail. It can be very destructive, to the crew and the boat.
To answer Tim’s comment, I have a dutchman system which is a combination of Kicking Strap/Vang (UK/USA names) and also acts as a preventer. This has worked well so far, I need to tune it better, but this is fine for daytime runs, in lighter winds, were it’s unlikely for the boom to hit the water. The main worry about the Dutchman is that it attaches to the boom around the midpoint, so if you roll on a fast run, and a bit of mainsail hits the water, the forces on the boom can be quite strong, and I have heard of booms snapping at the centre point because of this. So for this reason I have gone for a belt and braces solution that allows me secure the end of the boom as well, in a more traditional manner. After consultation with members of the baba internet group, and reading up on other ideas, in particular one by Brion Toss, I have implemented, or started to, a system that should prove useful.

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My first failed attempt at an eye splice on braid on braid

First I had to learn how to do a eye splice in braid on braid rope, as you can see I need to work on this a bit more. But I can see now, how once I get a proper fid, and take a little bit of time to mark my cuts properly, then it should be a doddle.
So basically I have a strap around the end of the boom, and on each side a line of rope runs from this to the end of the boom near the gooseneck connection at the mast. IMG_3910 IMG_3915
The strap is there to spread the load around the boom, rather than have it focused on a couple of pop rivets, or self tappers that would normally hold a pad eye on. The eyes at the mast end allow me to hook them onto a cleat like prong, which I will fit later, once I have made the eyes proper. Another little trick is some elastic will be sewn into the outer braid that will cause the lines to contract and stay snug on the cleat/prong.
These lines aren’t enough on their own to do much, but a second line, made of 12mm 3 strand nylon runs from near the cockpit,  IMG_3913

up to the forward hawse pipe, out over the side and back to the stanchion just aft of the mast, or most aft stay.

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here it is clipped to the stanchion with a carabiner.

IMG_3920  So I have a line either side of the boom, and a line running the length of each side of the boat.
To operate the preventer, you walk to the mast, unclip the eye from the boom and attach it to the carabiner on the stanchion on that side, retire to the cockpit and tighten. I haven’t tried it yet, and I don’t know if I can leave them both connected at the same time, or if I need to go to the mast if I want to Jibe. we shall see. The nylon is designed to put some elasticity into the system, so the shocks if the boom hit the water can be absorbed a bit easier. I need to do proper eyes, and the elastic bit, but the system is good to go for now, so I will test it in a few days time when we head out. Also, the line not in use, which I intend to call the ‘Lazy Preventor’ can be used  as a forward stay for a poled out genoa, when running.

As I write this now, there are two converging thunderstorms heading right at us. The sky is full of lightning and I have unplugged all the aerials, Im expecting one heck of a storm.

Last night we sat in the bar here and I had a coconut, which is really nice, don’t know what took me so long. Also it looks like a little house or tent, which is nice.IMG_3879

Today we walked around the back streets of the village and made friends with some local kids. They were so sweet, they practiced their english on us, which amounted to  “Hello, What is your name” “My name is…” , which was great for such young kids, much better than my Thai so far. IMG_3927 friends1When they left us the older girl shouted to us “We love you” which was wonderful. The people here are very kind and generous, probably my favourite country so far.

Tonight we checked out a local Thai eatery down on the waterfront just a few minutes walk from the Marina. Excellent, cheap and delicious.mamma-pappa

 

Paul C.

Soi Dog Foundation Visit

After Paul returned from an early morning excursion to sort out more boat business, we set off on the short journey to the Mai Khao area where the above organisation is located.  We had already learned the whereabouts of the turn off in the road we needed to take, having passed it every time we went out in the car, but I hadn’t expected the road to carry on for the distance it did.  It seemed we were going further into the country which made sense considering it’s a facility that cares for hundreds of dogs and cats.  I had been aware of its existence and the work they do for several years because a friend of mine’s son works there and she had invited me to like their facebook page. It was thrilling to know that I was going to see it at last after following their pictures and updates for so long. We drove through tiny picturesque villages and lush countryside with fields of golden pineapples on either side of us. It had rained a lot during the night but as we drove along the narrow empty roads, the sun came out and by the time we reached the place, it was very hot.  There were a lot of cars lining the track that led up to the entrance which I was pleased to see because up until then we had seen hardly any and I wasn’t sure what to expect or how the visit would work, as we hadn’t actually booked a tour.  We could hear barking and yapping as we got nearer and I half expected a group of excitable dogs to appear as a welcoming committee at any moment. I was pleased to see that the photographic tribute to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej showed him surrounded by, and cuddling, some of the dogs. He was a great supporter of their work apparently.

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I needn’t have worried about what to expect. We followed the path a little way behind a family group up to the entrance and saw them go straight into the information tent. Before we got to that, however a friendly man came bounding up to greet us and to ask if we wanted to join the tour that would start in five minutes at 11am.  I told him we hadn’t booked but he said it didn’t matter and told us to wait in the information tent with the others and someone would explain the details to us.  The tent doubled as a refreshment area for staff breaks and several of them were chatting with visitors, answering questions and there was even a dog adoption process taking place.  A lady from Wales introduced herself and gave us a form to fill in about where we’d heard of the place, our nationality etc etc.  I did that while Paul read all about the work the charity carries out on the information boards. Dianne comes to Phuket every year with her husband to spend a few weeks volunteering at the centre. She was the one who commented it was the wettest November they’d ever experienced.

Our tour guide was European (I’d missed the part of her introduction that specified where from, along with her name unfortunately) and she began by giving us a brief talk on the history of the organisation, its work with other charities worldwide, and an overview of what they do. There were about 8 of us in the group, including a French couple with their little boy. The mum had to keep translating what was being said to her husband and son but the delays when that happened provided a chance to look around. I spotted a cage opposite that housed the cats. The ones I could see were laying on their beds staring out at us. I wondered if the barking bothered them much. Unfortunately the picture I took of them didn’t come out and for some reason they weren’t part of the tour itself but we were told we could spend some time with them afterwards if we wanted to.  We were unable to do this as we had to return the car by 1pm.

A volunteer dog walker near the entrance
A volunteer dog walker near the entrance

We were taken to each area of the centre and informed what it is used for, and about some of the staff working there and their particular roles.  One area we came to was very poignant with its sign displaying just 3 letters: DMT. It stands for Dog Meat Trade and is where those rescued from that vile business are kept.  Known as ‘The Trade of Shame’ it is totally illegal but still thousands of dogs are smuggled across Thailand’s Mekong River for use in the Vietnamese dog meat trade.  Heartbreakingly, some of the dogs are much-loved family pets that have been stolen.  The dogs in this area were the most silent of all those we saw and were laying contentedly on the concrete pipes in their cages. It might be a romantic notion of mine but the thought occurred to me that it was almost as if they were aware of the fate they’d been saved from and were simply grateful to lie there with their companions.

Rescued from the dog meat trade
Rescued from the dog meat trade

In all of the compounds there were volunteers stroking, cuddling, and reassuring the dogs.  We learned that the centre’s permanent residents, such as the blind, very old or terminally ill dogs tend to have the same carers because of the comforting bond that develops between them. Luckily there are plenty of local and long term volunteers for this purpose but volunteers come from all parts of the world and can stay for days, weeks or months depending on personal circumstances and visa requirements.  We visited the hospital, the behavioural unit, the old-age facility and, right next to it, the ‘mum and puppies’ unit which delighted the little boy in our group. The puppies are usually adopted by families fairly quickly but with so much work being done to make them suitable for re-homing, more and more of the older dogs are being successfully adopted too.

Note the three dogs looking out in unison (behavioural unit)
Note the three dogs looking out in unison (behavioural unit)

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Puppies :)
Puppies 🙂

There is far too much being done and going on at the foundation to explain it all in detail in this post but the main aims of the centre are:

  • To reduce the stray population through sterilisation
  • To treat sick and injured animals
  • To shelter victims of cruelty who can no longer live on the streets
  • To re-home suitable animals
  • To feed animals who would otherwise go hungry
  • To educate local communities about animal welfare
  • To stop the barbaric and illegal dog meat trade and support those rescued from it

When the tour ended I went off to the merchandise area with others who wanted to buy things, while Paul waited at the information tent and left a very generous donation in their box.  I left full of admiration for the workers and volunteers. It’s heartening to know so much is being done to help vulnerable animals. More pics of the visit below with a link in case anyone wants to know more about the organisation.

The hospital area
The hospital area
More of the rescue dogs
More of the rescue dogs

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Got another Tshirt :)
Got another T shirt 🙂

Link for organisation here

Kathy