Thailand and the Andaman Sea..Pirates..Anyone?

[jollysailor17]

I have been offered a rather nice boat out in Thailand at a great saving over a similar boat in the UK, but it would entail my sailing her single handed to New Zealand.

I know nothing about these waters, but have read about the riek of piracy off Thailand and in the Andaman Sea. My gut feeling is walk away, but I thought I would post on this message board and see is anyone has sailed these waters and what advice they could offer.

I have no charts for the area as yet, but looking at Google Earth, it seems likely if winds currents allow to sail to Singapore and then via the Java Sea, Arafura Sea to the Torres Strait and Coral Sea.

All replies appreciated.

 

[Gordonmc]

Keep an eye on this site:
http://www.icc-ccs.org/piracy-reporting-centre/
The IMB is based in Malaysia for a good reason as the Malacca Straits are still a piracy hotspot.
The Straits are on the route you describe.

 

[Channel Ribs]

Sailing single handed, in an unknown boat, in unknown waters? Sounds like your pursuing a Darwin Award.

Not to mention the piracy you are concerned about!

Can you get it transported? Or hire a delivery skipper who knows the water and the current pirate situation?

 

[V1701]

Noonsite and the Online version of SE Asia Pilot might yield some useful info. E.g. here's a report on Melaka from May of this year on Noonsite. I have sailed from Langkawi to Phuket and that was absolutely fine. I wouldn't be put off, good luck...

Oh and advertise for crew on some of the crewing sites, the sailing I did round those parts I picked up on them, also did Phuket to Maldives shared costs basis...

 

[AndrewB]

You might find it useful to contact the Sail Indonesia Rally, from Darwin with routes up as far as Malaysia and back. Quite a few yachts taking part will end up in Thailand. (I was planning to do it this year, until SWMBO got health problems).

As I understand it, there has been no reported piracy against a yacht in this area for 10 years now, but there are places where you are best not visiting alone.

The main difficulty is that Thailand -> New Zealand is against prevailing winds and currents. It will be a tough passage. As Djbreeze says, best take experienced crew.

 

[jollysailor17]

Thanks for all your advice. Whilst I liked the boat I was rather wary of the location, so have made detailed Internet searches and have now found an even better boat in NZ! So no longer need to sail in these waters. Many thanks for all your help.