What is it like to ride a catamaran and sail along Thailand's wild Andaman coast?

By accidentally hitting a jellyfish, I didn't expect to start the day. However, it is difficult to maintain a personal sense of underwater when surrounded by these pastel pink acceptable ethereal creatures. My unintended victims seem unobtrusive, as they pulsate and swell around me in the calm waters of the Andaman Sea, but their brushes look like branches that have been alleviated by the hurricane. It sends my limbs into panic that is out of control.

There's a head above the water, but everything is much more calm. I am surrounded by wooden karst towers – limestone rock formations that characterize this west coastline in southern Thailand. The cliffs that I keep quickly to my right look particularly magical and are almost stacked. It protrudes into the blue cerulean sky softened by spots of pink and purple clouds, and grows taller like a fantastic giant watching over it as he attempts to navigate the water at his feet. The only sounds are the trills of cricket-like birds flying in the morning and the gentle splash of water hitting the sides of our boat.

It is now before 6am and we are docked in the northern part of Maya Bay. Maya Bay is a protected area belonging to a small resident island. With just 10 guests, I am on a 7-day voyage trip on a brave trip. Although it's only the fourth day of my trip, I've already admired the stal litter from the ice cream caves of Konak Island (so called for its “melt” appearance), the untouched waters of Hong Kong's islands I kayaked and witnessed an incredibly photogenic sunset at Raylei Beach while the fruit bat colony fell on my head.

Maya Bay is undoubtedly one of the most famous stops on our journey, surrounded by dramatic cliffs and picturesquely perfect white sandy beaches. Our Captain Rob Williams snorkels us in the cracks of Dawn to defeat the long tail and speedboat dissonance that arrives in an hour or two. Everything changed in the region in 2000, when Danny Boyle's blockbuster film adaptation of Alex Garland's cult classic novel “Beach,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, included a key scene in Maya Bay. The success of the film drove a period of obstacles and excessiveness. One day, as many as 4,000 tourists arrived in Maya Bay by boat, repeatedly dropping anchors causing devastating damage to the fragile seabed. The Thai government finally took action in 2018, closing the bay until 2022 to promote ocean revitalization.

“This is the quietest thing I've ever seen Maya Bay in my life,” says Rob, with a thick South African accent as he bobs up and down the water. One of the many perks of having our own boat is that we can sail towards the rhythm of our own timetable. So you can see this precious bay when many others can't. “It's an incredible sense of freedom,” says Rob, who left behind a stressful IT job in 2009 to start living at the ocean. I ask him if he gets tired of doing this. “Have you ever got tired of breathing? Trust me, it gets better and better every day.”

You can see what he means when you put your snorkel back down and head down the water again. Within seconds, we find a school of yellow scribbles and twist the jellyfish tentacles mercilessly. Clear water illuminates all traits, from exaggerated, exaggerated pouts and mermaid-like tails to bright blue graffiti on the body.

Here you will find an incredible abundance of marine life. And further ahead, a handful of yellow and dark blue striped sergeants head towards us. Find a long, silver crocodile needle, a young unicorn fish with a fluorescent blue dorsal fin, and a pale yellow Titan trigger fish. Rob then points out the scorpionfish. The creatures are camouflaged so well against the seabed that I only get a fleeting glimpse. We find a boring giant clam patterned with almost hypnotic navy and turquoise swirls. Not boring, but it was named after its ability to tunnel and embed its entire body into a coral that it calls home.

It is clear that Maya Bay's regeneration period had a positive effect. According to some sources, only 8% of the coral remained at the time of the closure. This is a tough comparison with 70% from 30 years ago. Since 2018, restoration projects by university students and volunteers, as well as organizations such as Ocean Quest Global and Reef Guardian Thai have planted around 20,000 coral fragments to help rebuild damaged coral reefs in the bay. Coral regeneration has seduced marine life and returned to these waters, Rob told me, bringing a healthier ecosystem.

To avoid history repeating, the number of visitors to the bay has been limited by Thai authorities, forbid swimmers and boats to get too close to the coast, and tourists have been built behind the bay You can enter the beach via the pier. Inspired by what I saw, when I was called to the boat for breakfast, I ask Rob how I can become a more sustainable visitor. “Remember! Love and observation, leave only footprints, take photos,” he says. “That way, everything's fine.”

Living at the sea

The Thai National Anthem will only start playing through the boat speakers at around 6:45am. Nicknamed Thai Captain Sanoncha Nakobon is busy as he appears to be every minute of the day – releases anchors and prepares for our departure. Our onboard chef, Ice (real name Kanjarinprom) is in her small kitchen and adds the final touches to our breakfast: aromatic soup with khao tomgun, rice, shrimp, spring onions, coriander, all The chicken soup is full of hearty ingredients. I pour a cup of black coffee and sit in the cockpit lounge area to enjoy a quiet moment. I know I'll be asked to help pilot the boat towards the mangrove-containing Koyao Yai. It is not mandatory to assist during voyage hours, but it is part of Spirit of Sea Life. Despite this being a very photogenic part of the world, my phone is firmly hidden in my cabin.

It didn't take long to stand at the helm of the boat, and as I was with Rob, I controlled the wheels, and as I was by my side, my binoculars looped around my neck. Near Helm is a Doh Buddha necklace, wedding rings and prayer beads. At 36, Do, from the age of 18, spends more than a third of his annual water on the water. He loves it so much, he tells me with a happy expression, it will be his life until he retires.

We head northwest to Yao Yai, a peaceful island home with a beach lined with a handful of palm trees. Since leaving Phuket four days ago, the scenery has remained roughly the same. Rob explains that the topography of the area was caused by a geographical explosion that “from here to Myanmar” that took place millions of years ago.

Rob slowly increases the knot as we head north and thumps the helm excitedly as the wind speeds up. In front of the boat he points out the white hat, or “sea horse,” as Rob calls it attractive – a small white broken wave that shows the rising wind.

Just before lunch we arrive at Ao Son Bay, northwest of Yao Yaiyai. Rob says this is the perfect place for more snorkeling before sailing to Phuket. He's not wrong – we find everything from sea cucumbers and blue and yellow starfish to blue parrot fish, bright green algae to cling to corals as we slide into the calm ocean. It won't take long.

Back on board, I take myself about an hour to relax on a trampoline net hooked to the front of the boat. I'm almost asleep when the high-pitched racket kicked me out of my stray stray. He screams like ice, and carefully carries homemade mango ice cream, one hand squealing the knife with one hand. One of my fellow guests found a bride whale breaking through between Yao Yai's Emerald Waters and our next stop, Ko Mai Tong.

It is far down to the right board side, leaving behind a silky smooth water mark. The appearance of the ice-faced gree is precious. This soon learned this was the fourth time in a decade, so it was the boat chef that she found the whale. Track the giant creatures at a safe distance for about 10 minutes before changing courses.

Later that day we set sail for Phuket, dropping anchors on the wooden-filled Kohai Tong-enamed beach, making it a paddleboard spot. We are one of only four ships here. The boat does not see the wooden beach, but if you paddle nearby, its lonely wooden shaking, white sand and washed-down corals appear in stages. It's no wonder in the 1930s that American businessman Clinton Washburn fell into idyllic charm and began buying the island and offering it to newlyweds for post-natal leave. After that, it was only known today by one of Life Magazine's editors called “Honeymoon Island.”

After dinner, we head back to the boat and the sun begins to set. It is the most enchanting sunset I have ever seen – a soft, powdery fusion of yellow, orange and red. It is soundtracked only by the calm sillap of birds that nest in the surrounding limestone rocks. Despite seeing all these countless hours, Rob turned to me and said, “Do you see why I love my work so much now? What a sight!” he was It seems he saved the best.