We caught the boat from Koh Wai back to the mainland city of Trat yesterday morning and proceeded to make travel arrangements to get ourselves to Chiang Mai – nearly the opposite end of Thailand.

Trat is very close to the Cambodian border. It’s not a major tourist destination, but rather, a waypoint for travelers on their way to or from Cambodia, or the islands around Koh Chang. There are some guest houses and a handful of restaurants and shops that cater to the tourists, but for the most part, the streets were devoid of westerners other than the occasional sighting.

We had decided to stay in Trat for a day and one night. We wanted to accomplish a few things: get transportation arranged to Chiang Mai (via Bangkok); get some laundry done; find internet service; visit the reputed day and night markets; and Michael had set for himself the dubious task of purchasing a pen and a pad of paper.

Transportation to Chiang Mai turned out to be our most difficult task, and what some had considered to be setting the bar pretty high (finding pens and paper) turned out to be easily accomplished. As we made several walking trips to and from the bus company and some travel agencies, we stumbled upon a stationery shop featuring all the pens and paper we could hope for including dusty stacks of notepads that, in my estimation, were about 50 years old. It was just down the street from a print shop that drew us in with the steady mechanical whirls and bangs of an old printing press churning out sheets to be bound in books. But after several hours we still had not figured out our way to Chiang Mai.

The most recommended mode to Chiang Mai is the overnight sleeper train from the City of Angels (Bangkok). However, there is only one train per day, and getting tickets in the 2^nd class sleeper car usually requires booking a day or two in advance. We had hoped that a local travel agent would be able to assist us in doing this booking, but after visiting several shops, found it would not be possible. Plan B: try online. Plan B yielded little more success, although we did find a specific train schedule and get a phone number of the station in Bangkok. Our final attempt at the train tickets was to call the station. As it turned out, today’s train was cancelled and to buy tickets on the phone requires booking at least 5 days in advance.

The second choice for traveling north is to fly on one of the domestic discount airlines. Flights can often be found that are actually cheaper than the train or bus (though flying somehow lacks some of the adventure and romance that the train would offer). We settled for some tickets on Air Asia, a discount carrier we should soon be able to give a review of. With our flight time planned, we got some bus tickets that would take us the 5 ½ hour ride back to Bangkok and the airport.

Travel plans arranged, it was time to take in some of the local attractions. The day market in Trat is a bustling hive of activity. Street after street are crammed full with vendors and small shops offering a myriad of fresh and cooked foods (including fresh bee larvae in honeycomb), clothing, shoes, clothing and shoe repair, and of course, the delightful banana pancakes (did we mention those yet?). The day market transitions seamlessly to the night market, just a block away. The night market features much more cooked food and has been given the name “Food Safety Street”. A large sign in English indicates the start of the market. We have grown rather addicted to the sticky rice and mango, as well as the banana pancakes, and so we were unable to escape the market without a good helping of each.

Later in the evening, we went on a short escapade to explore the neighbourhood around the guesthouse and find some dinner. One highlight of the evening was coming across a small distillery/refinery where 5 or 6 men in uniforms were examining and comparing the resultant concoctions emanating from the glass and stainless steel equipment. Curious and not sure what was going on, we asked what they were doing. One of the men was very happy to talk to us and explain they were making bio-diesel. Their operation was put together with financing and expertise offered by the King, as he said “the King taught us how to make bio-diesel.” Our impression is that the men there were all well educated, likely as chemists or engineers. They explained that they can only output about 200 litres a day (presumably their equipment has a higher capacity) because they can’t find enough used cooking oil to do more.

Another highlight was crossing a bridge to the other side of the river (the side across from where the tourist establishments are) and dining at one of the restaurants that probably normally only gets local guests. It seemed that the entire restaurant, staff and dinner guests included, all had to have a good look at us. The staff were all smiling and laughing – clearly it was quite a rare occasion to have some westerners eat there. After some initial difficulties in ordering since none of them spoke English, we found ourselves enjoying yet another fantastic Thai meal. One thing they really know how to do in this country is prepare amazing food!

As I write this, we are on the bus from Trat to Bangkok. Other than the three of us and two couples of westerners, the bus is filled with Thai people. We had been forewarned by another traveller that these long bus rides would typically feature seemingly endless Thai pop music, ranging from the latest CD’s to DVD’s on the TV of Thailand’s favourite bands. Whether we like the music or not, I do find the DVD interesting as it shows a live concert recording, thus giving an insight into the pop culture here. The hot-headed, elderly Frenchman near the back of the bus, however, was not so appreciative of the music. A few minutes ago some rumbling started out between him and his wife, followed by his wife making a timid trip to the front of the bus, and then finishing with him making an angry trip to the front. He proceeded to yell in French at the bus driver, shouting that the music is wrecking his ears. When the driver clearly did not understand what he was saying, he decided to yell louder to the point where everyone on the bus started looking, the driver was visibly disturbed and started to pull over. We think the driver yelled something back, but we have no idea what he said. Clearly, there was a language barrier between the two gentlemen. In the end, the Frenchman walked back to his seat, asking Michael whether his ears were being wrecked as he passed by. The music remained the same, though shortly after it was turned off as we pulled into a rest stop.

At this moment, we are just preparing to leave the rest stop and head back out on the highway. We’ll find out momentarily if the music was turned off for the Frenchman, or for the rest stop!

And thus concludes another edition of adventures in Thailand! Next up, Air Asia and Chiang Mai.

Hello to all, this is my first blog entry so here goes……

Following the regatta Mike, Noah and I made our way down to Koh Chang via a very expensive taxi. In many ways this happened by accident; while we knew that we wanted to leave Pattaya and head south to Trat, we didn’t really have a clear plan for how to go about doing that when we were set to go on Sunday morning. Eventually we decided that the bus would be our best option and, through a few confused conversations with bahtbus drivers and motorcycle taxi drivers, we found our way to the appropriate bus stop; unfortunately we were 15 minutes too late for the only bus for the next 6 hours. It was not long, however, before the man that appeared to be managing the bus stop proposed the alternative option that he would drive us to Trat for 4000Baht and that the 3 ½ hour trip would be far more comfortable than the bus ride that would have taken 8 to 10 hours. Not liking the sounds of the long wait for the next bus and then the long bus ride we agreed to the offer and jumped in the back of his bahtbus to drive back to his place to get his vehicle. Seeing his house was quite interesting as it was the first Thai person’s place we had been to; it was simple but pleasant, with stone floors and a small garden. The three of us got in the back seat, the driver’s wife in the front, and off we went. At one point in the drive we came to a road block with uniformed army personal, as we slowed the driver opened the window, exchanged a few words with one of the men and then handed him a dozen M-150 and we were waved through. M-150 are a drink available in most of the convenience store we have been and Noah had been expressing his wonder as to what exactly they were for days, being too afraid to try one because of their medicinal appearance. Following the exchange with the army man, we really began to wonder. We later learned the block was an old border patrol zone between Thailand and Cambodia that has never been removed because it makes money for the army and that M-150 are energy drinks very similar to Red Bull. From the port near Trat we took a ferry to Koh Chang where we spent a night in a highly over crowded bungalow resort then caught another ferry in the morning to the smaller island, Koh Wai, where we have spent the last 3 days.

Koh Wai has only 4 small bungalow resorts on it and no roads. From what we gather the island is deserted during the rainy season save maybe a few rubber tappers who stay on the other side of the island, though they may leave too. On our first day we rented snorkels and explored the coral reefs off the beach where our bungalow is. Or second day we walked around the island, past the rubber tappers huts, and to the other resorts. It turns out we are staying at what is by far the nicest on the island, run by individuals who put a lot of care into keeping the area free of garbage and junk. We spent today watching the boatloads of Russian day-trippers from Koh Chang come and go, snorkelling in waist deep water wearing their life jackets. We spent this evening discussing global politics, the seemingly more and more depressing social policies of our society, and the environmental garbage hole the earth seems to be headed towards and decided to end the evening with a plate of banana fritters, as has been the tradition over our three days spent at paradise beach on Koh Wai. It is at this point that we realised that over the last three days the concern of most direct influence on our personal well being has been whether or not Noah has already fingered that particular fritter and whether they are cool enough to eat without burning our gums (seriously uncomfortable). At this time it has also been brought to my attention that there have been some comments of recent as to our blog entries, or rather lack thereof, and I feel compelled to inform you all that our time at Koh Wai has been without internet and with electricity only in the evening, so, clearly, we have been roughing it and you should all be feeling sorry for us rather than making impossible demands of us.

Joke aside, tomorrow we are heading back to Trat with the plan to spend a night at the night markets there and then to head north to Chang Mai.

Finally an update! Last Friday held the last two races of the regatta, followed by a frantic rush on the containers, and the closing banquet of the regatta.

First, the racing. The last two races of the event were lighter wind than usual, but still with the wacky seastate that we’ve grown accustomed to. Aside from the general recalls on the start of the first race the races themselves were uneventful, but the fleet generally did seem tired and at times sloppy. I know Noah and I did! Our starts weren’t as good as they have been, and we closed the event with two mediocre races. Could have done worse, but we certainly could have done better. Oh well. We finished the event in 39^th place.

Once on shore the British team were almost immediately packed with all of their boats stowed in their two containers. Maybe they brought some Harry Potter magic with them from good ol’ GBR, or maybe they’ve just done it before, but while they were getting changed into their Thai Party Shirts for the banquet Noah and I were just taking our mast down! We left the Canadian container that night with 3 ½ boats loaded. The rest of the loading went smoothly Saturday morning (we got up extra early in an attempt to beat the brutal heat of a sunbaked container.

The closing banquet was held at the megaresort Royal Cliff Hotel on top of the hill overlooking Pattaya. The buffet at this 6 star resort and conference center was excellent, and the entertainment out of sight. The evening started with a live band, but as dinner got underway a troupe of Thai dancers/puppeteers entertained us with stories of Buddhist gods in puppet form. During dessert we got a sneak peek of the show at Tiffany’s, the premier ladyboy revue in Pattaya (we tried to see the show the next evening but got waylayed and missed it). After their set they cruised through the hall taking pictures with various drunken sailors. It was quite something. The Thai team LOVED it! We then had a short intermission before prizegiving. Despite the absurd amount of tropies being handed out and the usual thanks to all the organizers, the prizegiving was short and sweet, and the entire fleet was recognised in one way or another. It was the best I have seen, and everybody left feeling very good about themselves and the regatta. From Canada the Hendersons won “Most Persistant Boat” for being the last boat in the fleet to finish every race, Debbie Kirkby won the oldest regatta shirt contest (she had one from the 1978 fireball worlds, also held at the Royal Veruna Yacht Club. Her father and some other sailors from Calgary attended that one), and Noah and I took home the “Overall Classic Boat” for being the first skinny-hull style boat to finish (our boat is also 38 years old, if skinny isn’t classic enough for you). So, Canada’s bringing home some hardware!

The next day we said our goodbyes to the staff and officially began our post-event travels.

 

As I write this we are in the back of a cab headed south to Trat, and hopefully the island park of Ko Chang. We missed the bus in Pattaya so we went the more expensive private-car route, but at least the trip will be non-stop and air conditioned. Fingers crossed that we get there! We may spend the night in Trat, or maybe we’ll hop the ferry to Ko Chang. It seems in Thailand you just never can be too sure where you might end up or when. We’ll see! Wish us luck!

 OK, the sailing was superb, the conditions challenging, and the location exotic, but one thing that made the World’s experience so exceptional was the incredible hosts we had.  The staff and members of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club of Pattaya took the welcoming-traditions of the Sailing World and of Thailand and pushed them over the top. 

From the day we arrived, the staff bent over backwards to help out – us, the other sailors, and all the hangers-on.  Even in times where there was more than a bit of ambiguity in arrangements or the lack of them, they just made things happen.  From rooms to cranes to sourcing laundry and tour buses, they calmly and professionally performed magic.

 

The veranda, kitchen, and bar staff, were the super-hero’s though.  They put in 15 + hour days for two weeks straight dealing with over 200 regatta people and regular members while they fed, watered, and feasted all.  And always, with a warm smile.  For the four of us, we felt as if we were allowed to be part of their family, and enjoyed some of the benefits of being so.  For instance when the sponsored free-beer was being self-served and the line-ups long, Nuen or one of the other servers magically appeared and filled our glasses at the table, usually admonishing us for letting them get low.  Although it’s our way, it pays to be respectful and kind. 

The service was amazing, but the food was insane.  This is a club with a relatively small membership yet was cooking up some of the best eats we experienced in Thailand – and at a price that even Americans could afford.  And of course, the spice level was up to full Thai standard – with menu items like ‘rocket-salad’, it was no wonder that Noah’s eyeballs tried leaving the building a few times. 

We had heard the legends about the club’s boat-boys before we left Canada, but they didn’t even come close.  From muscling containers into place, dragging boats and sailors out of the surf and up and down the big hill, to pulling off repairs beyond belief in the simplest of facilities, these guys just rocked.  They always had time for a smile and a high-five of encouragement even when they were just bagged.  At one of the party nights, they were invited to join us all for drinks and when introduced, the place went wild with applause and a standing ovation.  So deserved, so very Thai. 

The Royal Varuna members also took their hosting seriously.  Ruk was regatta chair and simply and quietly made the machine work.  Other members, such as Gilbert and Helmuth had endless advice on everything essential from currents and tides to what doctors to use, where to eat, tailors to engage, and tour buses to hire.  Gilbert even set us up and hosted a meal at a distant local restaurant that was to die for.  Wow. 

Other than improvements to on-water performance, I don’t know how the World Championships at the Royal Varuna can be topped.  Our hosts really made the event!

OK, I’m in Tokyo, and I’m freezing. +11 deg and raining. Tokyo has always been a non-stop smile for me, but I can’t stop shivering for some reason. Time to look back at the last few days and warm-up again!

The closing banquet, party, and awards were simply over the top. If you’re thinking of hosting a World’s anytime soon – don’t. After the event at the Royal Cliff Hotel, you’re screwed – by the expectations that set by FI and the Host Thai’s. Sure the food is all but perfect everyday, but present it in a hotel and facility of the likes Calgary has never seen, throw in a mega-ladyboy Vegas Style Review, a very exceptional award presentation, tasteful and fun speeches, and free drinks, you can’t touch the evening we had. Add to the pot the image of every participant wearing their supplied but very cheesy Hawaiian shirt and Noah and Mike on stage for winning the best Classic Boat, and you can tell the wheels came off this party.

Despite the fun and the late hours kept, we were up packing the container at 6:30am the next morning to beat the oven-like heat of the big steel box. It wasn’t a fun place for hangovers, but the doors were, quite impressively, closed by 11:00am. You might want to be around when we re-open it Calgary as there is sure to be a great stew on the go as water-content was remarkably higher than when we packed it in the dead of winter. Ah, sailing gear…, let me smell the ways.

It was tough saying good-bye to all of our old and new friends on Saturday as we lazed around the club recovering from the ‘pack’. It’s been a great group all around except many of them kept whipping us so badly. Good-guy and great-crew Tom Egli from Montreal, FI’s Tech Boss, pointed out the significant number of ‘professional’ crews in the top 15 teams, “don’t feel so bad”. The Brits and Aussie’s are just playing at a different level however, which we can talk more about over beers – wow. Mike, Noah, and Maddy will get to the racing so I’ll continue to concentrate on the rest.

Frank, Sean, Stephen, Joe and I headed up to Bangkok as we were flying out starting at three am. Hot? The night-market at Lumpani. HUGE. Staying in a suburb close to the airport – Hot – although the buildings look disturbingly like Calgary, transit infrastructure kicks but and the food is way better. Fun was had by all. Hot Highlight #41? Simon blowing his MCL early in the week. Bad for Simon and Jaimie, good for the rest of the Canadians as Simon had cold beer awaiting as we hit the beach and finished the big boat-pull up the hill each day. Blink, and you missed them going down. Wow.

Hot highlight #42? (don’t go looking for all the rest…) Local member and all-round helpful guy Gilbert organized a seafood dinner at a restaurant where if you don’t speak Thai, you’re going hungry. Did I say how great the mussels were?

I have to go and board my plane. More heat later on!

Yes it’s true – despite earlier rumours of the Canadians generally getting our asses handed to us, we’ve rebounded with crushing force to obliterate the competition at the 2008 Fireball World Championships here at Pattaya. Too bad it’s not on the water, but in Tug-of-War and the 3-legged race, the games put together by the organizers to celebrate St. Patricks Day.

Laugh not, the competition was fierce! Combine a crap-load of Australians, Irish, Brits, Japanese, Swiss, and Canadians already wired on the competitive go-juice of a World Championship, add a few beer, and watch out. This was a major event.An on-beach, single-elimination knock-out with five aside was scheduled (except the Japanese who successfully argued for seven). We faced the intimidating Aussie squad first (they had 65 people to choose from!). Crushed them. Next, the devine warriors from Nihon. Mmmm, crushed them too. Finally, in the World Championship, the British. See ya. Whoo hoo – Canada rules Tug-of War! Cheers to Ned, Tom, Sean, Gregg, and anchor Mike M.

Next, the one-of-a-kind three-legged obstacle race on the beach. Go-go-GO! Canada’s entry Frank and Debbie (neither with a competitive bone in their body…) stumbled at the start but quickly recovered, passed the rest of the World’s best like they were standing still, and roared to a fantasmagoric victory. It should be mentioned that the smaller member of the team was NOT picked up and carried. So, there it was. Two events, two Canuck wins – SWEEP! The spoils? Forget the tinsel trophies, it was a large bottle of Johnny Walker Black, thank you very much.

So there you have it – success for Canadians at Pattaya and on the World stage. We know it means something – the Aussies are whining and asking for a rematch – this time with 20 people aside. Dream-on, Antipodeans! See you next year!

Some of you have indicated that the frequency of our posts may be a little bit slow.  We appologise for the delay, and here is a backlogged story from Tuesday.  The regatta here was actually 2 regattas, first International week, and then the World Championships.  Day 2 refers to the World Championship regatta.  Just in case my ramblings are confusing (who am I kidding, we all know they are!)…

Day 2 here at the worlds proved to be the windiest one yet.  The winds were gusty and approaching around 15 knots, but it was the waves that made the day impressive.  Steep, and tall (some of them approaching 6 feet), the sailing was tough both upwind and down.  The name of the game seemed to be keeping the pointy end up (which Noah and I failed to do in the second race, although it was our first Thai capsize).  But win or lose, boy was it fun.  Surfing down some of those waves on the reaches and downwind legs were wet n’ wild, and often times you got going so fast on a wave that all of your sails would go limp and leave you in kind of an eerie quietness, even though you would be traveling extremely fast.  Then, if you didn’t nosedive into the next wave or capsize spectacularly, the sails would load up and catapult you onward.  It was a fine line, and it truly was a wonderful feeling to get to the downwind mark unscathed (equally frustrating when you didn’t!)

Noah and I had one good race and one not-so-good one (note to self:  don’t tip over), finishing 34 and 47.  Unfortunately, we had a bit of an altercation on the start line of the first race and had to go through a protest  hearing in the evening, but in the end we won and the other guys were disqualified from the race.  I feel bad for them, but on the other hand, they shouldn’t have hit us!

All in all, it was an extremely fun day with very intense racing.  Hopefully there will be more sailing pictures to post soon!

It’s been a while since my last post so this post will have a bit of everything from the past week and I’ll give a disclaimer right now that it might be on the longer side. There’s the exciting conclusion of the pre-worlds, the first 3 days of races from the worlds, the serving of justice, burningness becomes happiness, awesome wave surfing, more Papa comments, and all this from the stunning beach cabana view on the Island of Ko Samet. Breeze is on… let’s go!The pre-worlds (officially called International Week) seems like eons ago now, but it was just last Friday that the pre-worlds warm-up regatta concluded. Throughout the week the wind slowly increased and the wave patterns became more steady and predictable as the wind also held more steady in direction throughout each day. Having had no idea of how competitive the racing in the Fireball fleet would be and how competitive we would be (new boat, new crew etc) it was easy to race the regatta with no expectations other than to push ourselves to sail our best and have fun. I can confidently say that we did both. Some highlights included having consistently excellent starts to each race, and steadily increasing our boat speed and technical skills and Michael and I familiarized ourselves with the Turtle more and more. We finished roughly mid-fleet when all was said and done. Tomas Musil from the Czech Republic took the regatta honors, with British and Aussies rounding out the top 5. (Click here for results).

The big regatta started on Sunday. As you have probably read from other posts, the intensity was noticeably increased. The wind was also noticeably stronger and the waves that last week were very choppy began to have a slightly more rolling feeling to them. The increased wind, rounder waves and more consistent wind and wave conditions made the waves easier to sail in my opinion. However, the waves continued to be quite short even though they were quite high at times. The shortness of wavelength and the steepness of the crests was certainly a challenge for us all. Lots of bemused stories could be heard around the boat park coming from gleefully smiling faces at the end of each day. We were all having a blast in the surf! Some of them were so memorable that I actually have a favourite wave that I remember. It took place on the second downwind of the first race of the second day of the worlds (race 3). Michael and I were sailing nearly straight downwind on port tack, the spinnaker far out to the left of the boat, what is known as “sailing by the lee”. The direction of the waves and the steady wind and big waves made for just perfect conditions for this and we were consistently passing boats downwind as a result. We go on one big wave and just rode it, snaking up and down the wave while all three sails were hanging limp with no pressure on them as the wave was giving us all of our forward momentum. It was amazing! Michael let out a “woooohooooooo!” and it was shortly thereafter that he said to me “It’s a good thing I trust your driving because I don’t think I’ve ever sailed on waves with someone like this before.”

Sail our best and have fun!

We had our mishaps too. This being the strongest wind we’ve yet sailed the Turtle in, there are small adjustments to the rigging we’ve been needing to make because things just haven’t been tested on a wide enough wind range. On Sunday our strut (a stabilizing bar that gives strength to the lower part of the mast and helps the sail keep its optimum shape) let go not once, but twice. We found we didn’t have quite the proper length or the most appropriate knot to hold it properly in place. We also had some length issues on other controls like the boom vang (used extensively to control the shape mast and the leach – or back edge – of the sail) being set with too little range of movement, meaning we couldn’t tighten the leach of our sail properly as the breeze picked up. These things cost us some speed and some places as a result, but again, we’re both happy we’be been learning lots and getting going fast with each race! On the Monday we also had a series of unfortunate events.

The start of the first race on Monday involved a heated exchange between us and a British boat. The Brits were trying to use intimidation tactics, yelling at us rather rudely with words that need not be repeated, essentially trying to head us into the wind and get us out of their way on the start line. However, just because we have an older boat and we’re not in the top 10 doesn’t mean we’re a bunch of beginners and I, for one, really don’t feel like being wrongly taken advantage of. Thus, we stood our ground and I told the British boat they had no rights to force us up into the wind. 30 seconds of shouting later, after repeated exchanges back and forth, they British accelerated forward and hit the back of our rudder with the front of their boat. It was all quite the opposite of amicable, and we yelled at them to do a 720 (penalty turns as provided by the rules – sailing 2 circles) and we yelled protest. They basically ignored us so we were faced with the unhappy feeling of either allowing them to sail like jerks on the course and abuse the rules, or filing a protest; the latter most certainly meaning we would be facing a grumpy British team in a room full of judges after the race for several hours instead of relaxing. Protests are never fun and I generally try to avoid them. But these guys just left a sour taste in our mouth from what should be a fun regatta. After careful consideration, we decided to go through with the protest.

The protest itself was not much fun to be involved with. The panel of five judges were very respectful and nice to talk to, but our British counterparts were noticeably perturbed and angry, saying comments under their breath and within earshot of us before and after the hearing that were clearly condescending and unfriendly. The findings of the jury were that Michael and I were in the right, and therefore, the British boat was disqualified from race 3. It’s not really a way to make friends, but I also don’t think blatantly abusing the rules is a friendly thing to do. So, we did our civic duty and helped withhold the rule of law in our self-policing sport. Another experience to write about!

We have not been able to determine conclusively if the following was a delayed result of the British hitting our rudder before race 3, but during race 4 the line that holds our rudder down and in place for racing failed. We were screaming across on a Starboard tack reach in what has been the windiest race of the series so far. One of the less pleasant things of sailing here is the amount of garbage in the water. We’ve had to be extremely vigilant for floating debris ranging from plastic bags and pop bottles to logs and bamboo poles. At this particular moment, we were navigating through a veritable mine field of garbage on the edge of control when we hit something. It’s hard to say what, but it seemed like a bunch of floating rope or something similar. The added force on our rudder however, caused the line to break. There we were, racing along already having to work hard to keep the boat upright, and then we suddenly had no steering! We immediately doused our spinnaker (took it down) and I went to the stern (the back) to try and effect some repairs. I tightened up the pivot bolt on the rudder as much as I could to try and keep it down and we kept racing. However, we ended up having to stop on a regular basis to push the rudder down again by hand and try and tighten the bolt. Needless to say, it wasn’t our fastest race. Then, to clinch the misfortunes, we capsized on the final downwind leg of race 4 when we were once again trying to push the rudder back down. What can we say? C’est la vie and move on to the next race.

Yesterday’s races felt like our best races yet. The breeze was once again stronger than the previous week, though not quite as strong as Monday. The wind was averaging around 13-15 knots. It really feels like we’re starting to pull together more solid races from start to finish. Race 6 was shaping up to be our best finish yet, as we were in the top 20 boats and the top Canadians for most of the race. I’m gonna put this one in the category of “finding a way to lose” as on the final downwind we found a way to capsize in the rolling waves, costing us around 15 places. But we still came up to the club at the end of the day with big smiles on our faces from a day of great racing and really feeling like we’re getting the boat going fast.

Also, we finally have a sailing shot on the water, thanks to the local club member Gilbert.

Burningness becomes happiness. It’s just a little tidbit, but Papa (our dear friend Gregg) began calling the hot chilli condiments ‘happiness’ – “Can you pass me some of the happiness please” he would say as he loaded up his Thai dish with more spice. To that end, we’ve all become a little more accustomed to the spiciness of the Thai food and we’re all loading up a little more on the chilis.

And now, for those who have been waiting, I’ll speak to the nickname of Papa. I was thinking Maddy would write something about this (and so this is where I’m publicly calling Maddy out for not writing a little more) but here goes. It was on one of our first days in Pattaya. Gregg was staying at the yacht club as it was his responsibility to coordinate the crane and unloading of the containers arriving for teams from around the world. Maddy, Michael and I were taking a taxi into the city. We happened to get a taxi driver who we had already had the day before. We were all three of us in the taxi, but the driver was not moving. He was expecting Gregg to come as well. After a few seconds he turned to us and says “Papa no come?” As we struggled to contain our laughter, we said, “No, no. Papa no come!”

That was the first time. We all felt it was enough to make it official, so we have been (lovingly of course) been joking with Gregg occasionally by calling him Papa. However, the name seems like it should stick. Not only has Gregg served as an excellent guide taking care of us and leading us to fantastic, little-known travel spots like the beach we’re sitting on today as I type this, but the locals all look to him immediately when we are in a group. Today is once again a lay day with no racing. We headed down the coast to the island of Ko Samet to experience a different side of Thailand and to get away for the day. This morning we arrived on the island and found our beach cabanas of choice for the night (we’ll be heading back to Pattaya tomorrow morning to continue racing). We all sat down to arrange some breakfast and the resort attendant came wanting to arrange the paperwork for our cabins. She immediately turned to Gregg and asked if ‘Papa’ could fill in the sheet for all of us. No more needs to be said (and I think Gregg would rather that not a lot more is said – heh).

A cheerful hello from Ko Samet in southeast Thailand! Tomorrow, back to racing!

Tomorrow morning is day 1 of the World Championships – welcome to the show.  A few more boats have arrived and there are decidedly fewer crew in the bar tonight (might also have something to do with the killer party and BBQ last night here).  You can feel that things have cranked up a notch and this on top of some very sore bodies not yet recovered from the sun and chop induced cuts and bruises.

Today was a welcome lay-day.  Big plans quickly evaporated to more mellow efforts.  Suits were measured and zinc-oxide sourced.  Spicier Tom Yam was found too – hard to imagine.  The day also gave us all a chance to reflect on the past 10 days and some of the amazing experiences we’ve had.

Things work differently here – particularly the way work gets done.  Thai’s have a bit of fun doing everything, but the unloading of the containers may take the cake.

We’ve also been thinking back to our interesting trip to the Sri Racha Tiger Zoo.  We’re kind of questioning their conservation philosophy a bit.  We were told that there were Crocodiles to be seen, but not thousands in multiple huge swampy enclosures.  A high creep-factor along with coming face to face with a tougher group than what we’re seeing on the start-lines here.

Oh…, you can buy crocodile meat at the zoo shop…

Tough too are Thai shoppers – it seems like a national past-time so we decided to join in.  A  tailor was recommended and off our bunch and Sean went.  Eleven suits were ordered but not before Mr. Paul had politely commented to Maddy that “only old momma’s would pick that” – this from a fellow whose shop is on Walking Street!  Mr. Paul also took a shining to Sean.

Jokes aside, there are going to be some well dressed sailors coming back to Calgary.

It’s late, big day tomorrow, more to reflect on after the races tomorrow. Warm-up is over and now we play for real.  Wish you all could be here – shopping or racing!

We’ve had another day of racing here in Pattaya yesterday and then a layday today to lick our wounds (bruises, blisters and small cuts can be found on almost all the sailors… not to mention those nasty burns).  As has been the case throughout the past week here, the short waves and chop are very difficult to sail in.  Keeping the boat moving at speed in relatively light winds requires fulltime concentration.  The shifting wind means that the waves are very seldomly coming from the same direction as the wind.  In fact, sometimes they are coming from the opposite direction.  A few bad waves and we lose a few places.  Sail well over some waves and we can gain a few places.  Add into this the shifting winds and several knots of current from the tide and we have a good challenge out on the race course.

Other than being a little off the pace to start the first race, Mike and I are still quite pleased with the speed of our boat, the “Fert’le Turtle”.  Having not raced it in a competitive fleet or with new sails before, our boatspeed was a big unknown.  There was also some concern over measuring in easily because of how close the hull’s rocker (curvature on the bottom) was to the rules in the measurement we did in Calgary.  However, we can safely say that the Turtle has been weighed, it has been measured, and based on our boatspeed, it has been found worthy!  Tactical decisions of it’s helm and crew are another matter, however.

Some of the Canadians had a better day, but in the whole, it would seem that most of us are still shaking off the rust from the winter without regattas compared to the Aussies and Brits who have been sailing much more recently.  We continue to be very pleased with our starts, generally being in very good position to start each race.  Our slight speed disadvantage to start the first race of the day dropped us down a bit in that race though, and some rough and rusty boat handling with the spinnaker downwind cost us some valuable places as well.  Good thing we have the tune-up regatta!  On the second race we had an excellent start as well as excellent speed.  Unfortunately, our tactics for the first leg of the course were not on par and we forgot to be alert and re-evaluate our decision until it was clear that we had lost a lot of places.  A large shift came in along with some better pressure (more wind velocity) causing all the boats on the right hand side of the course to gain a lot of distance and put us near the back of the fleet.  If there is any consolation, it is that we are in good company.  Several boats that we have been beating, or that were right around us have all finished in the top 3 in worlds previously.  And at the least, we’re having fun and getting our minds back into the racing mode while we’re at it!

Unfortunately, we’re always busy racing when on the water, so we haven’t had time or opportunity to take any sailing photos.  The closest I’ve got is this shot of Mike doing a bit of boat maintenance in the evening.

For those interested, here’s a link to the results so far: http://www.fireball-international.blogspot.com/

On the non-sailing front, today we took a little journey up the coast to a fishing village along with a couple of sailors from Montreal.  It was the first time we’ve been in a town that wasn’t full of English signs.  We didn’t see any other westerners, and the locals were the ones taking pictures of us for a change.  It was a nice change.  It was an adventurous day from bartering with the Songthaew drivers to checking out the fishing peer and watching the fishermen repair their nets.

Tomorrow, racing begins again!