On board our boat

We have just had Mark, Livi and little Blake on board, so of course we would like to write about it and thought, for those of our friends who have not yet visited us, that we would like to give them a picture of what it is like to live on board our boat.

And since we took the family down the magnificent west coast of Phuket then up into Phang Nga Bay, we would be guided by the photos and make it a picture-story.

So, of course, we went to the photographs to use them as a base and weave the tale around them. But… well, this is pretty ridiculous!! Magnificent scenic shots? Sunsets? No… All the photographs are of a baby!

So now we have to confess that this tale of life on Ketoro is from the perspective of a 6-month old; future visitors, please be not afraid: the boat caters for adult visitors quite comfortably, and you will not, for example, have to…

Bath in the galley sink on the first night, after your late flight;

We will provide other lovely bathing circumstances for you;

You will not be restricted in your movement around the boat (but we can make it safe for you too…).

You may do a bit of driving,

You will be treated to dinghy rides, and if you examine your circumstances we hope you will be at peace with it all!

(but we are not sure if, for you, we will stretch to lounger up front in the dinghy, with cold-pack for your back and parasol for shade);

And we will provide the wherewithal for all your other needs (so what is wrong with these teethers?)

Hopefully the background of the photos show adequately the crystal-clear water, beautiful scenery and lovely eateries which we try to show our visitors…. Whether or not they are able to appreciate it!

Of course, on board our boat there will invariably be work needing to be done; in this case, amongst others, Mark was required to help Rolf change props underwater,

and the boys spent many hours in the port engine-room.

This means they spent many hours under the port bunk in the cabin, which of course means that on board our boat it is not always a certainty that your cabin will be entirely yours for the duration of your stay!

Along with tales of boats at sea, sometimes there are unfortunate stories to be narrated of marine creatures defending their territory from us, the invaders. This time it was Irene who had an unfortunate encounter: with a jellyfish, or rather: the extremely long tentacle of one. On board, we did the best we could to denature the toxin initially with vinegar and heat, but it turned out we simply did not have adequate pain killers or other meds to deal with the symptoms brought about by the toxins that affected nerves, muscles and joints. We are, however, blessed to have friends on shore, and JJ came to the rescue with a longtail boat and then his car to whisk us away to hospital where they addressed the inadequacies of the med kit on Ketoro!

During the final week of Blake’s stay, we watched the stars and nightly saw the new moon begin to fill…

Bitter-sweet for us, for at the next full moon we will be on our boat, sailing away from Thailand finally.

So you will have to come and join us at our next destination… come on board our boat, and claim your own Ketoro cap!

In fact, if you come to Mauritius but are worried that you have no sea legs, rest assured: the net to surround the boat lies in wait for the visit of two perhaps newly-walking tots, and will be there for you too!