Samui & The Western Gulf

Most yachts cruising into the Gulf from the south go straight for Koh Samui, and this is permissible if no landfall is made.

The well heads and rigs of the gas fields in Thai waters are well offshore and unlikely to be encountered unless heading on a more northerly course direct for Pattaya, but anyway are a blaze of light at night.

The weather patterns are similar to the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand, except that the southwest monsoon is dryer in the lee of the peninsula. There’s only one high tide per day in the Gulf of Thailand.

The 100 miles of coastline from the border to Songkhla is well charted in Thai charts 206 and 230, so is not covered in detail here.

A stopover in Songkhla is a good opportunity to explore southern Thailand; the west coast is only 90 kilometres by road. Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and surrounding islands are the first point of real interest for cruising yachts. Busy Koh Samui is the main centre of the group.

To the north are Chumpon, Prachuab Khirikhan and Petchaburi, all large fishing ports serving the huge Thai fleet trawling the Gulf. In the river mouth, inside the fishing port at Pranburi, 30 miles north of Prachuab, is the recently upgraded Racer Marina at 12°24.467N, 99°58.721E.

At the head of the Gulf are the low marshy areas just south of Bangkok and the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, gateway to Thailand’s Central Plain and much of the country’s rich history.

A vibrant town, it’s the administrative centre for the province of Songkhla, although Hadyai, just 20 kilometres inland, is a much larger city as it straddles the main peninsular railway between Bangkok and Singapore.

Hadyai is a border town with direct flights to Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Phuket. Many visitors from Malaysia flock to Hadyai for the cheap shopping and nightlife.

North of Songkhla, the coast up to Nakhon Sri Thammarat is a long uninteresting stretch of beach backed by prawn farms. There’s nothing of note for cruising vessels and most continue up to the Samui islands after leaving Songkhla.

Ferries to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and the Ang Thong National Park islands depart from the town jetty in the river and eastern provincial centre of Don Sak, 22 kilometres by road northeast of the city.

There are Immigration offices in town and on Koh Samui for yachts checking into Thailand. Donsak is the main car and passenger departure point and is south of the city, on Highway 4041. There are two ferry operators – Songserm and Raja – each with its own jetty. Pleasure and private yachts need to make advance arrangements before using the jetty.

Anchorage can be found virtually anywhere along the coast in 5-10 metres; a very small town adjoins the ferry terminals, where you can find supplies.

Further south on the mainland is the town of Kanom. A broad river giving access to shipyards and commercial fishing wharves runs north-south into the town. Two miles south of this river, past the gypsum piers, is a four-mile-long, east-facing pristine beach with numerous bungalows and midrange hotel resorts. Anchorage can be found anywhere off this beach in the southwest season.

Generally speaking, the islands lie in a shallow part of the Gulf of thailand, off the east coast of the southern peninsula where the waters are rather turbid, with poor visibility for snorkelling.

Koh Tao and the islands adjacent to Chumpon are a notable exception, with Koh Tao in particular offering clear waters and the best diving in the western Gulf.

Koh Samui and, more recently, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao have become major tourist destinations, and are accessible by a variety of sea craft from the mainland. Koh Samui also has a private airport, operated by Bangkok airways, with connections to Bangkok, Singapore, Phuket and Pattaya and other regional destinations. thai airways, previously restricted to Surat Thani airport, now also flies into Samui.

Monsoon wind patterns are the same as for the rest of the country. however, from May until October, during the southwest monsoon, the seas are calmer than the Andaman due to the protection of the Malay Peninsula, and there is less rainfall. In fact, Koh Samui enjoys some of its finest days during the months of July to September.

Conversely, during Phuket’s fine but windy weather from November to February, Samui is lashed by strong northeast monsoon storms, and the seas can be rough. The South China Sea is influenced by the Pacific ocean, and most of the year there will be only one high tide per day, as compared to the Andaman Sea, which has two tides daily.