Enso sail

After a great time exploring Japan it was time to get to Thailand for the delivery of the boat. Unfortunately there was a small delay due to paperwork issues. We didn’t feel like hanging around busy Bangkok for an extra week so headed to Hua Hin on the west side of the gulf.

We then spend another 2 days in Bangkok shopping, after which we left for Pattaya where the boat was delivered to. Once there we spend yet another 3 days shopping. Think about moving into an empty house. You need bedding, kitchenware, storage boxes, tools etc etc and once you have all that your not done as before you set sail for a longer period you need spares. So if something breaks you have a chance of fixing it at sea.

Thursday August 8 we met Phil the delivery skipper on board Enso and together with him we spend the next three days getting to know the boat. We went through and checked and learned about all the systems (2 engines, airconditioning, chartplotter, water pumps for potable and seawater, monitoring system for when you are off the boat and a load more)

Then we Phil took us sailing. Just coming in and out of the marina with this boat is something to get used to. She is much bigger/wider than Mokimak and in a busy marina with lots of tourists coming in and out you feel some added pressure to stay out of their way.

We raised reefed and lowered all the sails and anchored.

After those three days we did some more shopping, and read many manuals to get a better understanding of systems.

Now it was finally time to take Enso out ourselves and do a test sail. We sailed around the local area and stayed at some small islands. Tested the dingy, and learned how the batteries performed when spending some days at anchor. (Happy with an extra 4th battery!) We also tested the watermaker. This makes drinkable water from seawater by pushing it at high pressure though very fine filters.

In between being busy getting to know the boat we had some short moments of relaxation. We did some swimming/snorkeling under the boat. But at this time of the year the water clarity is not good at all! It’s quite a change from the Pacific Northwest where swimming off the boat is breath stealing and quickly hypothermic. Getting a lot more use out of our stern step shower than we ever did on Moki Mak.

We took the dingy in to a small island Ko Sak. We went in the morning as the afternoon before it looked more like a zoo. Boatloads of people getting dropped off from Pattaya onto large partyboats complete with slides and floating obstacle courses. The beach was quite shocking, full of plastic and left behind tourist jetsam. On the small islands trash disposal is a huge issue, taking it back to the mainland is to expensive so they mostly burn it. We have seen lots of trash fires while we sit at anchor.

On the way back to the marina we had our first little boat issue to solve. The alternator belt (which makes electricity from the engine turning) had started squeaking the day before. And after inspection it turned out a large bracket holding the alternator, had broken off. This meant the belt was wearing out and could do more damage when the engine was run. In the end we decided to cut the belt so we could safely use the engine. (With two engines you can steer the boat like a tank, one in forward one in reverse and you will turn on the spot). It was a little early for us to attempt to steer this beast in a busy marina with one engine.

Phil will help us resolve any warranty issues and he already got a team to weld the broken bracket and installed with a new belt.

Next we will do another little test sail to Ko Chang. First we need to get into town for you guessed it, some more shopping!

Simon