Lucky - the Boat that Wasn't

by Nancy Knudsen on 12 Oct 2007 The first mistake he made was in naming his boat 'Lucky'. On the other hand, with the sailing skill that he showed, I guess he was hoping that Luck would play a big part in his staying afloat – which of course he didn't.

Thailand's Phuket Gazette reports that the boat Lucky, anchored in Ton Sai Bay, off Koh Phi Phi, decided to go for a sail, but raised sails before getting the anchor up. A 'strong gust of wind' caught the sails, according to the Gazette, and capsized the boat, which then sank, dropping its load of six expert crew into the sea.

The owner was apparently suitably embarrassed enough to identify himself to the Marine Police as 'Mr Smith'. On board with 'Mr Smith' were an Irishman, a Norwegian, an Australian and two Thai crew members. Maybe it was the Irishman and the Australian advising him how to sail.

But there was some luck involved after all. The crew of a Krabi Marine Police patrol boat were close enough to hear their calls for help and responded quickly to rescue the stranded yachtsmen.

Col Somchart of the Marine Police told the Gazette, 'Luckily for them, we were just about 900 metres from their boat when it sank. It was about a 15-person wooden sailing yacht, and the owner was able to salvage the yacht on the same day, at around 5 pm.'

Mr Smith wasn't taking any chances about being identified. Pol Lt Col Jakra Saowakon, chief of Koh Phi Phi Substation, told the Gazette, 'The yacht owner hasn’t reported to us so we don’t have any additional information about him. I heard that when he got his yacht back after it was salvaged, he went back to Phuket.'

Well, Phuket may after all be the best place for Mr Smith, perhaps sitting at a beach bar telling sailing tales.