Galle, Sri Lanka

Photo taken by our friend Tycho from
the mast of a neighboring boat

After a relatively fast sail, Perry is in Galle Harbour, Sri Lanka. Before we left Phuket, there were no cases of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka and there were no issues for a foreign yacht checking into the country. Cases in Italy were rising, but no major changes in travel policies were occurring worldwide. By the time we arrived over a week later and even within a day of our arrival, the situation was rapidly changing.

Broken (shredded really) batten

We enjoyed favorable winds and current on our trip from Phuket and all was good until just before we entered Galle Harbour. A squall hit and we got our mainsail down just before a 60-knot wind came roaring through. The batten pictured above (the top one from our mast) was luckily the only casualty. It could have been a lot worse. We will attempt to get it fixed here in Sri Lanka but we have some options on board that should work (a much larger batten that we can cut down or even a fishing polespear if needed). 

Here in Sri Lanka, the government has stopped airlines from bringing passengers into Sri Lanka and has closed its borders. There is currently a 24-hour curfew that lasts through this weekend, confining us to the boat. Even after the curfew is lifted (IF it's lifted) we ourselves will remain confined to the port area until at least the end of the month and cannot leave, even to buy groceries. 

But we consider ourselves fortunate. New yachts are not allowed in except to get fuel and water and then are pushed out. Other nearby countries have gone a step beyond a 14-day quarantine and have completely banned yachts from entering their borders. This can leave boats in a serious situation without necessary fuel and water and with nowhere else to go. Our best strategy at the moment is to wait and see how things go over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, we are playing volleyball in the port area with fellow cruisers (when there isn't a curfew), rediscovering baking, and playing card games. And I in particular am grateful for what we do have.

Stay healthy and safe, everyone. This too shall pass.

Langkawi to Phuket (Thailand)

Splash Out Water Park
Photo by Amber Lim

In Langkawi, we met up with our friends on Irie, Angel Wing and Whisky Jack in Langkawi, lowered our waterline with booze and provisions, and then headed up to Thailand.

Ko Phi Phi

We wanted to cruise some of the areas in Thailand that we missed the first time, as well as shake down the boat and pick up some parts. So we headed up to Phuket.

The beach from "The Beach" movie.
Closed off but lots of tour boats coming to look.

Our Jabsco Rule pump that got stuck on and
heated up so much that the plastic melted.
We seem to go through a lot of these that become
defective for one reason or another.

It has been good to get Perry into shape for our next voyage in a place where parts are readily accessible. Of course, being in a 'good place' to do things leaves us open to the time sink of actually doing them.

We found a place in Phuket that would fill our hard-to-fill fire extinguisher that was accidentally set off in Pangkor. If there is a fire in our engine room, it is meant to automatically release an engine-safe gas. We figured it would be a good idea to have it in place for our next journey and it is very hard to find a place to fill it. The special 'cold room' gas meant it needed to be sent to Bangkok, which was supposed to take 3-5 business days. 

As the winds that would have allowed us a relatively fast passage to Sri Lanka started dying and we started to question our decision to have the fire extinguisher filled, we finally got to the day it was supposed to arrive and started making preparations to leave.

But, no.  Somehow, the fire extinguisher began to leak or was deployed in transit and needed to be refilled again. So now we are in round two of waiting (hopefully not as long this time).

At least the kids have been enjoying being in clear water once again. Hopefully our next post will be from Sri Lanka.