Saturday morning I left J, J, J & M in Bangkok and flew to Phuket to meet up with my sailing buddies at the Yacht Haven Marina. After a little “meet and greet” with the tour guide and group we went aboard our 82 foot catamaran. There were only 10 of us (two couples and eight singles). Half from the USA. We were able to have our own room with en-suite bath and air conditioning. The living area is spacious and the front of our boat has great lounging spots with bean bags for chilling out.
Our crew consisted of a Captain /Skipper, Chef and one assistant. Our Chef, Su cooks up the most amazing meals. Here she is hard at work on breakfast while we sip our coffee Americano and look out on the sea.
We will be sailing around the Andaman Sea for a week. The boat has a very large anchor so we can pretty much go where we want to swim, snorkel, kayak and paddle board before stopping for the night.
Our first day we had a three hour sail so we could anchor near James Bond Island. This island was made famous in The Man With The Golden Gun. A long boat ferried us from our Cat in early am so we would miss the “day tripper” crowds that get to be enormous.
After that excursion, we sailed several hours to a swim/snorkel and lunch stop. The water is super warm but not very clear for fish viewing–we are promised better for the days ahead.
Our final stop on day two was to Railay Beach. This out cropping is not accessible by land and has been made very famous by rock climbers. 
There were some people hanging on the cliffs the day we visited but the world famous competitions draw thousands of climbers.
Railay Beach has a cute town center with lots of shops, restaurants and ample opportunities for massage. Of course, I had to have one. Two hours of pure bliss that included scalp treatment and foot reflexology was $25. We ate dinner on land, I had a yummy lemon grass soup and stir fried tender squid.
The dingy transported us back to our floating home amidst beautiful views and a full moon.
Barb Does The World 
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