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| Stories from and near Phuket, Thailand |
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Although I had long known that Thailand was the place for me, it wasn’t until I settled in Phuket that I really found a home. Life here is just weird enough to keep me amused, without driving me up the wall. There’s a vibrant expat community and, I believe, the island's diverse and unusual history has given it a far more “international” outlook than can even be experienced in Bangkok.
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| Phuket in words and pictures |
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| Adventures on the Andaman |
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| Tales from beyond Phuket |
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Below are the latest updates in this section.
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Cracking the Curse
Race management is never an easy task. The changes brought about by Mark Pryke and his team to deal with the Curse of the KC also caused some discontent among racers who felt hard done by the course shortening – throwing a slew of protests before the jury each day. One racer in particular, David Bailey of Hocux Pocux, even felt it necessary to accuse Pryke’s team of cheating after what he saw as an unfair decision. As Mark Robinson, tactician aboard Thai Racing entrant, Pasaya, and coach of the Thai Olympic team, pointed out, "Everything was in the sailing instructions and the notice of race. How could they be breaking the rules, when they were the ones that wrote them in the first place."
Click here to read the full story...
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| Phuket King's Cup Regatta, Thailand |
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Racing Against the Rocks
“Look chaps and chapettes,” he said, as we tucked into our second mug of coffee and tidied up the ubiquitous piles of multi-coloured ropes that carpet every cockpit during a race. “If at any time I raise my voice, I’m just trying to let you know something, I wouldn’t want you to think I was being angry. Now, shall we tack before breakfast, or would you like to wait?”
Click here to read the full story
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| Phang Nga Bay Regatta, Phuket, Thailand |
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| Phang Nga Bay regatta, Phuket, Thailand |
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A tale of two regattas
The jewels in the crown of the Phuket racing year are the King’s Cup (KC) and the Phang Nga Bay (PNB) regattas. These two events are the signal calls to local and international yachtsmen and women to polish their spinnakers, tighten their tack maneuvers and make their way to the sparkling blue waters off Phuket.
Click here to read the full story
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Regatta Virgin
The King’s Cup Committee ... applied itself with tireless diligence to every detail of the organisation, chief among which was, of course, where they would get enough beer to satisfy a thousand sailors for a whole week.
Click here to read the full story
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| A couple of King's Cup volunteers enjoying a hard day's work on the water |
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| Links to some of the sites where I've popped up |
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Night of the Leatherback
These days, of course, baby turtles do not so often pop from nests as get dropped off from the local marine preservation centre by truck. This slight alteration to the aesthetic of Mai Khao and Thai Muang beaches has two very important benefits. For one thing, far more baby sea turtles are making it into that surf, where previously they were prey to poachers and other local wildlife, and – as visitors to Thai Muang discovered – a sea turtle release makes a great excuse for a party.
Click here to read the full story
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| Baby leatherback sets out on life from Thai Muang Beach |
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