CanKata For Sale (37 Privilege catamaran 1997 in S.E. Asia $220,000 US)

UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 2013

We have returned from a 2-month vacation in Canada, and are now ready to show off CanKata to those who are interested in buying her. She is listed with Lankawi Boat Sales & Services - LBSS (www.langkawibss.com). Here are the photos we posted a couple of years ago. More photos can be viewed on the LBSS site.

She's a fabulous boat in wonderful condition. Come have a look!



Our nephew Kevin took this photograph from the top of the mast.



Before the paint job, with both sails flying

Stateroom with queen-size berth

Galley with two sinks and two-burner stove with oven.

Galley counter and microwave; port-side head

Starboard queen-size berth.

Salon dining table and navigation station.

Starboard cabinets and library space.

Starboard head with separate shower stall.

T/T CanKata, c/w removable wheels.

News Release from SY Aspen regarding pirates

We met Steve and Maria from SY Aspen in the Caribbean. We left on our “intended” circumnavigation a couple of years before them. They caught up with us here in Thailand, but our busy schedules stopped us from getting together. We did email each other, and we told them that we were pleasantly “stalled” here in Thailand and we wished them a safe and successful circumnavigation.

After hearing the news of recent pirate attacks, we emailed them again to see if they were safe. Attached is their response that shocked both Darrel and I to the core. We were very relieved to hear that Aspen and other yachts are taking these extreme safety measures, but we are deeply saddened that it has come to this.

THEIR EMAIL:

Loretta and Darrel,

Hi!  It is nice to hear from you.  Yes, it has been a difficult journey since we left Thailand. We are glad you are staying there! Below is the press release we sent out yesterday. Keep safe!

Steve and Maria, SY Aspen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 12th 2011.

The 2009/2011 Blue Water Rally has effectively come to an end in Salalah, 17 months after the fleet left Gibraltar to sail around the world. The original rally plans concluded in Crete at the end of April, however the remaining skippers have decided to ship their yachts directly to Marmaris, Turkey.

This decision was taken when four American rallyers were fatally shot by pirates after their sailing yacht Quest was captured on passage from Mumbai to Oman and the subsequent capture of sailing Yacht ING with a Danish family onboard.

These incidents and other recent acts of piracy in the area have made proceeding in any direction from Salalah too high-risk for the vast majority of participants. Strong recommendations from The UK Maritime Trade Organisation and The Maritime Liaison Office were decisive factors. 

An action team was quickly set up by the skippers and crews to handle the planning and negotiations necessary to extricate the 20 yachts currently berthed in Salalah.  A maritime transport company has now been contracted to ship the yachts. Over the coming weeks, crews are keeping themselves occupied with preparatory boat work and exploring some of what the Dhofar province of Oman has to offer.

_________________________________________________________ 

CanKata hopes that all goes well with Aspen’s new plans and that all the rally members are soon able to enjoy peaceful sailing and ease of mind.

The Andaman Islands

On February 4, 2011, we left Thailand heading for the Andaman Islands. You probably haven’t heard of the Andamans unless,

1.       you live in S.E. Asia,

2.     you sail in S.E. Asia, or

3.     you are a backpacker looking for a place hardly anyone goes to.

We heard about the Andamans from friends who have sailed in this area. They all, without exception, recommend that we make the trip.

GENERAL INFORMATION: The Andaman Islands (a territory of India) are located between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. There are three principal islands and a cluster of small islands, all hilly and heavily forested. Port Blair is the territory's capital. Timber, coconut, hemp, tea, coffee, and rubber are the principal products of the Andaman Islands. Most of the inhabitants are Indian; Negritos, the islands' aborigines, now number only in the hundreds. Some of the Negritos are a little unfriendly, and we were not allowed to visit some of their islands.

HISTORY: The British established a penal colony at Port Blair in 1789. The penal settlement was discontinued after seven years, but in 1858 it was re-established to imprison Indian “freedom fighters”. The islands were occupied by Japanese forces from 1942 until the end of World War II in 1945, when the British regained control of the territory. The islands became a union territory of India when India gained independence from British rule in 1947.  The remains of some settlements, especially at Ross Island, were fascinating to see – most of the brick buildings almost entirely covered with the roots of strangling fig trees.

We arrived in Port Blair on February 7 at noon, and then had to check in with Customs, Immigration, Coast Guard, the Harbour Master and the Forestry Department.  We had to pick up the two Customs officials and then the three Immigration officials with our dinghy, but the Coast Guard arrived the next morning in their own big boat (we had plenty of fenders awaiting them!), and four officials came aboard.

Once we answered piles of questions and handed over scads of forms and then completed scads more, we were allowed to go ashore to visit the Harbour Master and the Forestry Department. There are a couple of islands that require special permission in order to go ashore, and we filled out the required forms and waited nearly two days to get the written permission. But when we saw the fee – over $45 per day – we decided that there were enough other islands to visit, so didn’t pay the fee and didn’t get the permission.

So while we were in Port Blair for four days, it actually only took 24 hours to get the clearance we required. For three of the four days, we were able to go ashore and tour, shop, eat and get lots of great photos. Port Blair is India without the extreme smog, hustle, smell and poverty of the mainland, so we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there, and got some great photographs.

Darrel and Tim (Rubicon Star) searching for the perfect banana.

The “out” islands are spectacular.  Unbelievable as it may sound, there are still islands of breath-taking beauty that are untouched, uninhabited and swarming with reef fish, even if the reef itself is bleached and dying in the warmed-up seas. Highlights

·        catching lobster

·        spotting a manta ray

·        swimming along HUGE and colourful parrot fish

·        watching the full moon rise

·        and then days later watching the crescent moon and Venus rise at almost exactly the same time

Ross Island



Havelock #7 Beach



Fishermen at sunset

The Cinque Islands



Rutland Island, South Bay Beach

CanKata at Rutland Island in the Andaman Islands

The People of the Andaman Islands

We were thrilled to get permission from so many beautiful people to take photographs. Following is a small sample of our collection.

Waiting for a ferry.

Climbing for coconuts.

Out for a stroll ... with a penguin?

School children at Long Island, Andamans.

Just arrived by ferry after a long day at work. Still smiling.

The Coast Guard on CanKata.

I don't think they knew what I meant when I said "Say cheese".

A teeny-weeny lady selling fruit.

Beautiful mother and daughter.

Wow.

The Andaman Islands: Go Back! Go Back!

Havelock Beach #7 was one of our favourite anchorages in the Andaman Islands. We stayed there for four days. Highlights:

·        had Indian lunch and spicy ginger chai (tea) ashore on three of those days

·        caught a taxi to the small village on one of the days (did internet and shopped at the market)

·        bought a coconut from a teeny-weeny ancient lady
       (I say this with much respect and with the hope that someday I will deserve that description)

·        saw elephants on the beach

·        did lots of snorkelling

On day three, we were alarmed to get more information about an incident that happened on day two. While Darrel was hunting for grouper on day two, I snorkelled closer to shore to get a better look at the coral (which this year is unfortunately bleached and colorless). I heard a whistle and stuck my head up. A man wearing military garb and carrying a rifle was waving me away from the beach. “Go back! Go back!” he commanded. I obeyed and joined Darrel in his hunt for a grouper (no luck), wondering if I had encroached upon a private beach.

Then, the next day, came the alarming news. The man with the whistle and gun was warning me away from a beach where there had been a crocodile attack! Rumour has it that there have been 24 attacks in 25 years, or maybe it was 10, or maybe it is all an exaggeration. Whatever the truth, I didn’t return to the beach. Maybe there is no crocodile, but there was certainly a man with a gun.

... and wondering if it's wise to swim with crocodiles.

The Andaman Islands: BBQ Ribs

Our friend Jim loves to fish but doesn’t eat fish. Lucky for us. We had nearly ten meals in the Andamans complements of Fisherman Jim, including grunt and barracuda. When Darrel cleaned the barracuda, he took the remains to Jim to be used in his crab pot. Mate, said Jim, you’ve got to take the rib back and toss it on the barbie. Bloody good, mate.

He handed Darrel the barracuda’s backbone and all the spiny bones and meat attached to it. We covered it in salt and pepper and threw it on the barbie (Q), cooked it for a few minutes, and then enjoyed one of the best fish feasts we’ve ever had. There was a lot of tender, juicy meat on the “rib”.

Those Aussies know how to enjoy their fish, even when they don’t like eating it.

Cheryl showing us Odyssey 9's big catch.

Not the barracuda, but nearly as yummie. Another gift from Jim.

The Andaman Islands: NOT CanKata

We get some great photographs of our buddy boats. And it seems that more often than not, our buddy boats are catamarans.  And it seems that more and more, other boats in our selected anchorages are catamarans. Therefore, to avoid any confusion, the following photos come with the footnote, “NOT CanKata”.



Murungaru



Odyssey 9

Odyssey 9 and Ultimate Dream

Rubicon Star - a converted Tasmanian fishing boat. Not a catamaran.

Heading to the Andaman Island

CanKata is heading to the Andaman Islands (India), setting sail early Friday morning – February 4.

We should arrive some time on Monday and plan to stay for the full 30 days that we’re allowed. Then we’ll head back to Thailand. We’re pretty excited about this trip.

We’ll fill you in on the highlights once we get back. And we'll probably have a few photographs to share.

Visitors – Dave & Jan

In the streets of Nai Yang, Phuket, Thailand

"Jan in Jan"

We met Dave & Jan in St. Martin, Caribbean a number of years ago. They visited us there, then in Australia, and now in Thailand. When they visited us in Australia, Jan had written in our guest log, “We are already anticipating where in the world we will be together again”. Turns out it was Thailand … we would never have guessed.

We were thrilled when we managed to set a date for this visit. The creators of our signature toast “May you never have sand in your mud” have been great buddies over the years. Avid sailors and travellers, they have taught us many lessons on living life to the fullest and being good guardians of the environment. They even taught us how to pack efficiently

Here’s their guest log entry for this visit. Note: although they were here in the dry season, the weather was very wet. Sorry about that, guys.

January 24 – January 30 2011

The “Dry” Season ???

CanKata started our stay with a fantastic light show: cloud formations and shadows, sun rays, lightening, lightening and more lightening. Simply beautiful!

Our days went by so easily … swims, lunches, massages and fresh water showers.

Creative additions [box crib: 15 two, 15 four and a pair is eight] and G&Ts ended our nights.

Highlights: rain swimming … sailing to our destination … brilliant fishes … 17-legged purple and black star fishes … rain walking … hugs … Buddha’s ear [the Big Buddha had his back to us, but his right ear was listening in] … imported cappuccinos and fries [the restaurant said “Yes, we have” then an employee had to hop on a bike to get the potatoes and another employee ran next door to get our coffees].

Conversations ranged from stars to gender to families to politics at the drop of a hat … which Darrel did manage to do [overboard, but he jumped in to retrieve it].

CanKata in all her new fineries kept us comfortable and dry. She is still so lovely!

We wonder where next we will share adventures and catch up with these wonderful friends of ours.

Thank you Darrel & Loretta. “May you never have sand in your mud”.

Love, Jan & Dave

Beautiful Freedom Beach, Phuket

Cloud shadows at Freedom Beach

CanKata and a longtail at Freedom Beach

Wet from the rain at the Nai Yang Market

In Thailand, wondering where in the world we'll meet again.



Nai Yang Sky

During the dry season, one of our favorite places is Nai Yang Bay in Phuket Island, Thailand.

Here are some sunsets we enjoyed, and a picture of a moonset that turned into a work of art for Darrel.

Sometimes the sunsets are silver.

Sometimes the sunsets are dusky red.

Sometimes the camera just goes crazy!

Let Me Check Your Body

Swimming suits don’t last a long time on CanKata. Between the sun, salt, chlorine (from marina swimming pools), and laundry detergent, the colour soon fades and the elastic soon gives out. I can live with the fading, but the stretched elastic can lead to OOPS – BOOB (see previous article).

While in Nai Yang – one of our favourite beaches on the island of Phuket in Thailand – we stopped at a small beach store to see what sort of swim suits were available. I was looking for an over-the-shoulder top versus the halter-neck tops that are so popular here. We had been searching for quite a while.

The friendly sales lady greeted us with “Hello! Welcome!”

Darrel asked her if she had any bikinis with over-the-shoulder straps. “Yes, yes. Come in!” was the answer.

So we entered the shop, and then she grabbed my shoulders and said, “Let me check your body!” She grabbed my breasts to check their size, then she cupped them to estimate their heft, then she felt my rib cage to estimate the girth, and so on with my stomach and buttocks. “I have your size!” she announced.

She found a box, entered it head first and dug around for a few seconds. “Here, try this on”, she commanded. “If you no like color, I have others!”

The little shop, jammed with all sorts of lovely sun dresses, short-shorts, halter neck tops and so forth, had a shower-curtain type dressing room. Our lovely sales lady pulled the curtains around me and waited patiently while I changed.  When I stepped out of the curtain, she yanked at the bottoms and stuck her hands in the top and announced, “Too big!”

Back her head went into the box and out came a smaller suit. “Here, try this on. If you no like color, I have others!” (Yes, it’s true: all her statements ended with an exclamation point).

When I came out of the curtain the second time, I was not subjected to another pat down. “Ah, yes, very good!” declared our lovely sales lady. “You like color? Here, pick the one you like!”

Up until now, we have not discussed price. Darrel and I had set the budget at 600 baht ($20 Canadian). While I’m searching through her selection looking for a color that looks good even when it has faded, I ask her the cost.  “450 baht – special for you because you first sale for today!” she said with a shining smile.

“How much for TWO?” was the only response I could think of.

In the end, we bought THREE, at the price of 400 baht each.

“Now, does Mister need a swimsuit?” she asked. “Will you be measuring me?” was the only response Darrel could think of.

He didn’t get one.