Mooring Buoys in Chalong

[IrishIvan]

I noticed with some amusement that divers had smashed up the concrete blocks that were responsible for a couple of sinkings and a few near misses.

The answer is simple for boat owners, stop trying to take short cuts from the pier. There is a clearly marked channel with no mooring buoys that heads straight out from the pier!

I am siding with the marine authority on this one. They put more mooring buoys down at great expense for boat owners to use for free. When the numpties sink their boats outside of a marked channel they complain. There is no helping some stupid farangs in this country.

Its like driving on the footpath in Phuket and smashing into a chicken cart, then complaining that it was in your way.

Edited February 15, 2014 by IrishIvan

[NomadJoe]

Except that the people hitting the blocks are Thai.

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[KarenBravo]

The mooring buoys were not stolen.

They were installed without a wire-rope leader, so that the rope chaffed against the concrete and broke.

Just another example of gross ineptitude by the Marine department and the notorious leader of that department is yet again, making blatantly see-through excuses.

Also, why deploy channel markers when there is actually no channel? The whole of Chalong Bay is flat.

[stevenl]

The mooring buoys were not stolen.

They were installed without a wire-rope leader, so that the rope chaffed against the concrete and broke.

Just another example of gross ineptitude by the Marine department and the notorious leader of that department is yet again, making blatantly see-through excuses.

Also, why deploy channel markers when there is actually no channel? The whole of Chalong Bay is flat.

True, plus the construction was too light for some of the bigger boats so the lines broke.

[IrishIvan]

The mooring buoys were not stolen.

They were installed without a wire-rope leader, so that the rope chaffed against the concrete and broke.

Just another example of gross ineptitude by the Marine department and the notorious leader of that department is yet again, making blatantly see-through excuses.

Also, why deploy channel markers when there is actually no channel? The whole of Chalong Bay is flat.

well you have a channel so you know that its clear and there is no concrete mooring buoys in it, pretty simple. If you try to take a 2 minute shortcut your boat will come to grief

[KarenBravo]

So, you are saying that they have put down mooring blocks to show a clear path through the mooring blocks that they have put down?

A mooring block should not be in a depth of water whereby a vessel no matter what the draft can hit it.

Why are you defending morons?

[IrishIvan]

So, you are saying that they have put down mooring blocks to show a clear path through the mooring blocks that they have put down?

A mooring block should not be in a depth of water whereby a vessel no matter what the draft can hit it.

Why are you defending morons?

Not at all, I am saying there is a perfectly good channel that leads straight out from the pier that people choose to ignore, regardless if the bay is flat. Channel markers are referred to as aids to navigation, ask the captain on your next ship. He will tell you all about it.

As far as I can see... No one has come to grief using the channel.

Not one of these boats that holed themselves were coming from Phi Phi, they were all trying to push in and cut in before other boats. Am I wrong anyone?

[KarenBravo]

If there is no channel, what is the point of channel markers?

What is the point of putting down channel markers in depths of water that make them a hazard to shipping?

If there were boats pushing in without these blocks, there would have been a few fenders bumped instead of actual sinkings.

You are still trying to defend the indefensible (and doing a lousy job of it, too).

Finally, these are not channel markers that "are an aid to navigation". How can they be when they are not marked by anything (remember the missing marker buoys).

They are now hazards to navigation, which is why they are being broken up.

Edited February 16, 2014 by KarenBravo

[IrishIvan]

You obviously have no idea. Ill take a photo of the channel markers that lead out from the pier and show a clear and safe way to navigate away from the marina. Its pretty much due east, not due south where the boats have been hitting mooring buoys. Stevenl should be able to clear this up. Is there or is there not a clear Channel leading out from the pier?

And i am inclined to feel that there could be deeper water going through the channel, Ill just hazard a guess (pardon the pun)

[stevenl]

You obviously have no idea. Ill take a photo of the channel markers that lead out from the pier and show a clear and safe way to navigate away from the marina. Its pretty much due east, not due south where the boats have been hitting mooring buoys. Stevenl should be able to clear this up. Is there or is there not a clear Channel leading out from the pier?

And i am inclined to feel that there could be deeper water going through the channel, Ill just hazard a guess (pardon the pun)

Yes, there is a clear channel. I don't think there is deeper water there, am not 100% sure though, but think it is simply meant as a 'don't moor here zone'.

[jaapfries]

You obviously have no idea. Ill take a photo of the channel markers that lead out from the pier and show a clear and safe way to navigate away from the marina. Its pretty much due east, not due south where the boats have been hitting mooring buoys. Stevenl should be able to clear this up. Is there or is there not a clear Channel leading out from the pier?

And i am inclined to feel that there could be deeper water going through the channel, Ill just hazard a guess (pardon the pun)

IrishIvan: With regards to your numerous attempts at 'informing/educating' KarenBravo: we sailors have a saying which well describes this situation:

"You Can Lead A Horse To The Water, but You Can't Make Him Drink . . . ."

Just reading through the posts, it appears to me that KarenBravo has a particular concept in mind as to what a "Channel" is; namely a path through the old H2O which is significantly DEEPER that the rest of the area. This, of course, is a total misconception on his/her part, since a "Channel" in nautical-terms basically indicates "clear/safe-path-through-whatever-obstacles" in any locale.

Some people just like to argue for the sake of argumentation - I really admire the fact that you remain soooo calm.

Mate; next time you happen to be around Pattaya; just give's a buzz and I'll take ya' for a little sail, okay ?

Cheers !

[LivinginKata]

Off topic inflammatory posts removed.

[huuwi]

Most of us from the local fishing fleet have paid some money for a group of divers to remark the concret blocks and now 13 of them has been removed to racha.

Mainly the blocks that where placed in the short cut

[IrishIvan]

Most of us from the local fishing fleet have paid some money for a group of divers to remark the concret blocks and now 13 of them has been removed to racha.

Mainly the blocks that where placed in the short cut

So they are now mooring buoys at Racha? Thats good they were getting kinda short there

[NomadJoe]

Most of us from the local fishing fleet have paid some money for a group of divers to remark the concret blocks and now 13 of them has been removed to racha.

Mainly the blocks that where placed in the short cut

So they are now mooring buoys at Racha? Thats good they were getting kinda short there

That is not good! These blocks get dragged all over the bottom destroying any reef in their path. The only way to set moorings near reef is to drill anchors in the sand.

huuwi, do you have any more information on who is moving these to Racha and where they plan to put them? Pm me if you like.

Edited February 17, 2014 by NomadJoe

[IrishIvan]

Most of us from the local fishing fleet have paid some money for a group of divers to remark the concret blocks and now 13 of them has been removed to racha.

Mainly the blocks that where placed in the short cut

So they are now mooring buoys at Racha? Thats good they were getting kinda short there

That is not good! These blocks get dragged all over the bottom destroying any reef in their path. The only way to set moorings near reef is to drill anchors in the sand.

huuwi, do you have any more information on who is moving these to Racha and where they plan to put them? Pm me if you like.

Why did the divers move them there? Surely they should know this. I imagined the buoys were the type that had Rio bars sticking out

[NomadJoe]

Most of us from the local fishing fleet have paid some money for a group of divers to remark the concret blocks and now 13 of them has been removed to racha.

Mainly the blocks that where placed in the short cut

So they are now mooring buoys at Racha? Thats good they were getting kinda short there

That is not good! These blocks get dragged all over the bottom destroying any reef in their path. The only way to set moorings near reef is to drill anchors in the sand.

huuwi, do you have any more information on who is moving these to Racha and where they plan to put them? Pm me if you like.

Why did the divers move them there? Surely they should know this. I imagined the buoys were the type that had Rio bars sticking out

I assume you mean re-bars. No, these are not of that kind. Those type, always dropped in threes tied together, are only about 2feet square and have not been dropped here for a long time. 10+ years at least. It was realized quite quickly that they were too small and too light. These things are around every Phuket dive site, but people have for the most part learned not to tie mooring lines to them. I have seen them destroy a lot of reef over the years. Here is a photo I took the other day of one that was lifted off the bottom by a live-a-board boat that then cut the line and dropped them on top of a beautiful coral bommie.

This is a photo of one of the offending mooring blocks that was dropped in Chalong Bay. Bigger but still far to small for many of the boats commonly using them. Notice also the line tied directly the to steel loop. This was one of the reasons cited by yachties and Thai captains as why so many of them broke soon after being deployed. I saw one of these get dragged though one of the PMBC's coral re-growth projects at Racha Yai. (Bay 3)

Here is what we need, and hopefully will have soon if we can get it funded.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=COn3pYL7C4s

More info on the Helix Mooring System: http://divetribe.weebly.com/the-news.html

Edited February 17, 2014 by NomadJoe

[NomadJoe]

well you have a channel so you know that its clear and there is no concrete mooring buoys in it, pretty simple. If you try to take a 2 minute shortcut your boat will come to grief

"Local yachtsmen have confirmed to the Gazette that “about a dozen” moorings were placed in the approach channel.

“About four of them are still marked by [mooring] buoys,” one yachtsman said.

“Where the remaining unmarked buoys are located is anyone’s guess,” he added.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Chalong-Bay-s-sunken-dangers-20449.html

Edited February 17, 2014 by NomadJoe

[IrishIvan]

well you have a channel so you know that its clear and there is no concrete mooring buoys in it, pretty simple. If you try to take a 2 minute shortcut your boat will come to grief

"Local yachtsmen have confirmed to the Gazette that “about a dozen” moorings were placed in the approach channel.

“About four of them are still marked by [mooring] buoys,” one yachtsman said.

“Where the remaining unmarked buoys are located is anyone’s guess,” he added.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Chalong-Bay-s-sunken-dangers-20449.html

The short cut approach channel, they mean right? Cmon Joe you are working on boats that use the main channel. Not one boat has struck a mooring buoy there, because NONE were laid in the channel. A lot of yachties are that messed up from the plonk I am surprised they even know where the pier is.

Edited February 17, 2014 by IrishIvan

[IrishIvan]

well you have a channel so you know that its clear and there is no concrete mooring buoys in it, pretty simple. If you try to take a 2 minute shortcut your boat will come to grief

"Local yachtsmen have confirmed to the Gazette that “about a dozen” moorings were placed in the approach channel.

“About four of them are still marked by [mooring] buoys,” one yachtsman said.

“Where the remaining unmarked buoys are located is anyone’s guess,” he added.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Chalong-Bay-s-sunken-dangers-20449.html

It must be true because its written in the newspaper argument wont work....see that photo of boozecruise. That is taken to the SOUTH of the approach channel. I would say he is a good 50m off course there

[IrishIvan]

I never thought I would have to draw a crayon map for English speaking locals. I suggest you all photocopy it and hand it out around the pier

Edited February 17, 2014 by IrishIvan

[eezergood]

I know nothing about yachting/nautical terms, but why would you risk a, potentially, mulit million baht boat for the sake of a few minutes short cut? especially as this boat is probably your mean of making money....... you wouldn't, I hope, drive across the central reservation on a motorway casue its quicker to exit on the right hand side.....

[IrishIvan]

I know nothing about yachting/nautical terms, but why would you risk a, potentially, mulit million baht boat for the sake of a few minutes short cut? especially as this boat is probably your mean of making money....... you wouldn't, I hope, drive across the central reservation on a motorway casue its quicker to exit on the right hand side.....

Because no-one bothers to learn about boating/navigation before investing. And the fact that I have to draw a crayon style map for people shows the level of intellect ,and lack of knowledge, involved in the boating business.

[stevenl]

I know nothing about yachting/nautical terms, but why would you risk a, potentially, mulit million baht boat for the sake of a few minutes short cut? especially as this boat is probably your mean of making money....... you wouldn't, I hope, drive across the central reservation on a motorway casue its quicker to exit on the right hand side.....

The captain is driving the boat, not the boat owner. And the captain wants to get home asap, wants to unload his guests asap, or, as was the case in at least 2 of the incidents, is drunk.

Also, sometimes some manoevring in the direct vicinity of the pier is necessary because of boats already there, wind, etc. And with the loose mooring blocks very, very close to that area and very, very close to the channel it had made quite a few captains, including the experienced, knowledgable ones, very nervous.

[IrishIvan]

I know nothing about yachting/nautical terms, but why would you risk a, potentially, mulit million baht boat for the sake of a few minutes short cut? especially as this boat is probably your mean of making money....... you wouldn't, I hope, drive across the central reservation on a motorway casue its quicker to exit on the right hand side.....

The captain is driving the boat, not the boat owner. And the captain wants to get home asap, wants to unload his guests asap, or, as was the case in at least 2 of the incidents, is drunk.

Also, sometimes some manoevring in the direct vicinity of the pier is necessary because of boats already there, wind, etc. And with the loose mooring blocks very, very close to that area and very, very close to the channel it had made quite a few captains, including the experienced, knowledgable ones, very nervous.

If I were a boat owner, I would tell the boat captain that if they take that short cut just once, after 3 boats have sunk there that they can look for a new job.

And yes they may require some manouvering near the pier, but the boats which holed themselves were zooming back from the south, and smashed into them. Not a gentle nudge

Edited February 18, 2014 by IrishIvan

[eezergood]

The VIP mentality that we see at car intersections! Muppets

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[NomadJoe]

well you have a channel so you know that its clear and there is no concrete mooring buoys in it, pretty simple. If you try to take a 2 minute shortcut your boat will come to grief

"Local yachtsmen have confirmed to the Gazette that “about a dozen” moorings were placed in the approach channel.

“About four of them are still marked by [mooring] buoys,” one yachtsman said.

“Where the remaining unmarked buoys are located is anyone’s guess,” he added.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Chalong-Bay-s-sunken-dangers-20449.html

It must be true because its written in the newspaper argument wont work....see that photo of boozecruise. That is taken to the SOUTH of the approach channel. I would say he is a good 50m off course there

It's much better than your argument which seems to be "If it's written in the newspaper than it must not be true." Which is certainly what you are going to claim about this next bit ;

"The hidden moorings in Chalong Bay have remained a serious safety issue over the past year. On February 26, the tour boat “Booze Cruise” collided at low tide with an unmarked block in the middle of the approach channel to Chalong Pier"

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2014/Phuket-Marine-chief-blames-captains-for-ramming-hidden-mooring-blocks-23365.html

I know very well where the Booze Cruise sank. I watched it sink. It sank not where you have drawn it, but nearly next to the floating pier where it had progressed to before sinking after hitting the mooring block minutes before.

Edited February 18, 2014 by NomadJoe

[NomadJoe]

I never thought I would have to draw a crayon map for English speaking locals. I suggest you all photocopy it and hand it out around the pier

Your location of where the Booze Cruise sank is way off. The photo here was taken from the end of the floating dock pointing south.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/All-safe-after-Phuket-tour-boat-hits-mooring-sinks-in-Chalong-Bay-20348.html

Edited February 18, 2014 by NomadJoe

[NomadJoe]

well you have a channel so you know that its clear and there is no concrete mooring buoys in it, pretty simple. If you try to take a 2 minute shortcut your boat will come to grief

"Local yachtsmen have confirmed to the Gazette that “about a dozen” moorings were placed in the approach channel.

“About four of them are still marked by [mooring] buoys,” one yachtsman said.

“Where the remaining unmarked buoys are located is anyone’s guess,” he added.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Chalong-Bay-s-sunken-dangers-20449.html

The short cut approach channel, they mean right? Cmon Joe you are working on boats that use the main channel. Not one boat has struck a mooring buoy there, because NONE were laid in the channel. A lot of yachties are that messed up from the plonk I am surprised they even know where the pier is.

No, they mean the approach channel, just like it says. According to more than one report, a number of other boats have also struck them.

Here are a couple of the brilliant quotes from the the guy you are siding with, also probably not true since they are in a "newspaper":

"Mr Phuripat admitted there were many other unmarked moorings lurking beneath the water’s surface in Chalong Bay, and that his office had no idea where those mooring blocks might be."

"...local skippers should know where the unmarked moorings lie on the seafloor."

Edited February 18, 2014 by NomadJoe

[NomadJoe]

..., but the boats which holed themselves were zooming back from the south, and smashed into them. Not a gentle nudge

Pure speculation on your part.