Stopped in Phuket – and stayed
by Lynn Fitzpatrick, US Editor, Sail-World.com on 6 Dec 2007
Stopped in Phuket – and stayed Lynn Fitzpatrick
There are all sorts of accents among the 1,000 sailors at the King’s Cup in Phuket, Thailand this week. While everyone speaks English aboard the boat on which I am sailing and everyone has called Southeast Florida home at one point or another, two members of the crew have accents that have been influenced by their non-stop travels that came to an abrupt halt once they reached Phuket, Thailand.
Keith MacKay sailed into Fort Lauderdale nearly two decades ago and took up professional sailing as a career. He worked for years with Swan Nautor. In December 2005, he visited a long time friend. He had planned to stay for a month, but he and his 1 tonner, which he spent several years refitting for cruising, have never left. 'I fell in love with Chalong Bay, the most beautiful cruising ground in the world.'
The other thing that attracted the retiree here was the cost of living. 'Health care costs one tenth of what it does in the States and vegetables cost a quarter of what they cost in the States. I can have a dinner party for eight to ten guests and feed them for less than a dollar per person. It’s astounding.' (By my estimation, MacKay has lost touch with the skyrocketing cost of food in Southeast Florida.'
Jerry Petite cruised the globe for over two years and came ashore in Phuket, Thailand over eight years ago. He has been shore-based ever since. Petite builds high-end homes, primarily for expats from Singapore and Hong Kong and are looking for a retirement home in Asia.
His clients appreciate the infrastructure, schools, shopping and stability of the government in Phuket, Thailand and are willing to spend upwards of $1 million for custom homes built to North American construction standards. The homes are large – nearly 4,000 square feet under air and 7,000 square feet including patios, pool decks and balconies. Petite and his partner employ over 100 people, including the subs that they use to build the custom homes.
There are a lot of happy campers on my boat and I am sure to find similar stories among the 1,000 sailors who are enjoying great winds; meandering distance races around scenic islands and over the top parties by the regatta sponsors – Raimon Land, Kata Group Resorts Thailand, TMB Bank, Nautica, Thai Beverage PLC, Thai Airlines, Mom Pri’s Boathouse, Sunsail, The Phuket Magazine, The Nation, Phuket Gazette, Coca-Cola and Mont Clair.
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