Koh Phanak to Koh Hong via Koh Ping Kan and Koh Pan Yi

12/12/2010 11:00 to 18:00
Engine hrs 1752.2 start, 1762.3 stop
Rainy all morning, clear in afternoon, raining at dusk with 28 kts squalls
Rainy morning spent uploading blog entries. Still raining as we passed Koh hong and the cave entrance, so shot the curl around E side of Koh Hong and headed to James Bond Island (Koh Ping Kan). Beautiful karsts everywhere, shallow but not too shallow – have to keep a decent eye on the depth gauge. Charts generally on the safe side wrt depths (deeper in reality). Rain cleared after lunch anchored by James Bond Island, dinghy ashored. Dodged persistent ranger wanting 200 baht / px park fee. Bollywood movie filming on beachside. Swam to the pinnacle, Ian climbed up a bit and jumped off. Back to the boat to get money to pay ranger, who offered 500 baht price w/ no ticket (vs. 600 baht w/ ticket). First taste of corruption in Thailand. Insisted on tickets so we could use them throughout the Phang-nga park waters, so he took us to the legit HQ to buy. Motored to Koh Panyi, the village on stilts at the base of a cliff. Batteries got down below 80% with 3 days of docking and good sailing. Anchored around NE side behind massive limestone wall. Gets shallow quickly. Dinghy around to back side (west side) where more authentic, walked through labyrinth of houses / stalls – very much like an arab bazaar. Great early supper of seafood fried rice and sweet tea / sweet roti. Dan bought some pearl earrings and a wooden spoon (lady asked 250 baht, Ian said 30, agreed on 50). As soon as sails out on way back, slammed into a 27 kt squall. Turn into wind, sails in, then U turn to avoid shallow water dead ahead. Motor into Koh Hong anchorage around SE side, away from the 4 other boats on the E side.