May 12

Good evening all…

Well, as those of you who have been through this a couple of times know, the routine often is that as soon as I hit send on the email, I’ll get an update. Such was the case last night Betsy came up on Skype just a few minutes after I sent out the email.

She relayed a tail of pirates… ok, more like petty thieves in a panga (opps, wrong country – no pangas in Thailand). It seems that the girls were all out exploring and while they were away, the boat was pilfered by a band of wayward fishermen.

Betsy sent an email a little later so I’ve included it below along with the SPOT location that I received overnight.

I also received a phone call from Holly this evening. Everyone is fine… they just won’t ever leave the boat unlocked again. Holly said that the thieves didn’t seem to be very good at their craft… they took some ipods and left others, left Betsy’s enormous camera and computer… some entire wallets were taken while other had their credit cards lifted and the cash left behind… one passport was taken but it seems that was only because it was in a bag – in this case they took the entire bag.

Holly also relayed a tale of an anchor drill in the middle of the night but in typical Holly fashion, queen of anchoring that she is, she handled the situation in fine form, extricating Team Thailand from a close encounter with another boat.

The crew was just about to get underway for today’s adventure when we talked this evening. It sounded like they were none the worse for the experience… there were tales of thunderstorms and conga lines… They expect to anchor near a town tonight so we may finally receive a new email from La Capitana.

So that’s it for today, not the happiest of tales but another one for the adventure log book… one to look back on and say… “remember when we were in Thailand… what a wild adventure it was…”

Warm regards,

Jo

SPOT Location 5/12/10 3:41 AM PDT:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=7.9775,98.8131&ll=7.9775,98.8131&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

FROM BETSY: REAL LIVE PIRATES – 5/11/10 10:42 PM PDT

Our trip has been fantastic, with one exception ... Tuesday, while we were exploring Koh Roi - a small island of lagoons and fruit bats, a couple of ‘fishermen’ helped themselves to some stuff on our boat. They snuck aboard during a 20 minute window when we were out kayaking and on the dinghy – so none of us were hurt or scared (just pissed off!).

The good news is one of the other SUNSAIL boats got a photo of the longtail (the Thai version of a fishing panga) that robbed us. So this morning stopped at a resort at the foot of Koh Yao Noi island, and the restaurant owner drove us to the regional police station; Nancy sitting on the back of the motorbike and me in a sidecar made of rebar and rotting plywood.

Nancy and I brought along the photo and are currently writing this email from the police station, where we’re picking through the phrase book and filling out the necessary report for everyone to make their insurance claims. The police – who work in a steamy open air office – are personable and fun, and update us on how the LA Lakers are doing, as they write the report (by hand).

This experience has been an inconvenience and very unfortunate, but we are not going to allow a couple of pricks to ruin our fun! !!! To prove the point – last evening, when a colossal downpour soaked our little flotilla, us gals congo-lined around the boat in the pouring rain. We had a dinner of burgers, stir fried veggies and sangria when the rain subsided then went ashore to visit the bar at the resort to THAI ONE ON!

We’re all fine! With the exception of the pirates everyone in Thailand has been DELIGHTFUL – including Louie the restaurant owner who is waiting with us at the police station, to bring us back to the boat … when we return we’ll be sure to enjoy a huge seafood dinner at his restaurant, before getting underway to Koh Yao Yai. Then we’re heading south – where we’re looking forward to great snorkeling in the cooler (we hope) clearer water of Phang Nga Bay.

Sawadee Ka!

~ Betsy