Island Spirit Yacht Charter – Koh Samui Base

The Island of Koh Samui does not have a marina. We moor our yachts in the sheltered bay of Bophut in the north of the island, home to the now partially gentrified Bophut Fisherman’s Village just 15 minutes away from Samui International Airport.

Our meeting point is at the end of the village road next to the Hansar Resort. We meet you to load all your gear to a dinghy and assist you out to your yacht. If you have enough crew, we can send some out to the yacht to get things organized, and the skipper and one crew can stay onshore to conduct the area briefing and then head out to the boat to finish with your yacht briefing.

Our team makes boarding from the beach easy; we help load all your gear and ferry everything out to the boat. However, being in touch for your arrival is essential to making things run smoothly, so please make sure you’re in contact with the base manager via Whatsapp. Fisherman’s Village offers many services, including:

• Accommodations for all budgets
• Dining and beach bars
• Friday Night Street Market
• Bophut Beach
• Shopping for apparel and souvenirs, but limited provisions
• Only ten minutes to the big markets, Makro, Big C and Tesco Lotus

Bophut Fisherman’s Village is a favorite for food and entertainment, so there is no rush to get going. Your yacht is already at an excellent place for your first night.

Your sailing itinerary will likely take you to the less traveled islands of Ang Thong Marine Park, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. But Koh Samui has a lot to offer, and spending a few days to enjoy the luxuries on offer is a great way to relax before or after your sailing adventure.

We do our best to equip your yacht with everything you need to operate it safely and enjoy living aboard. Below is an inventory list of items included with your yacht as standard.

It is not necessarily an exhaustive list. So, for instance, your yachts’ galley is equipped with appropriate cooking utensils; pots, pans, serving trays, cheese graters, tea towels; we’ve tried hard to ensure you are not left wanting. We make up your cabins before you arrive with quality clean linens. Each berth has a personal blanket, bath towel, hand towel and fluffy pillow. If you would like additional linens, no problem, if you know in advance, book and include the fee when you make your booking, or just ask our staff assisting with your boarding. We also provide everything you need to operate your yacht and to deal with minor problems. Things like a spare anchor, toolbox, rope ties, bucket and deck brush, and spare winch handles. Of course, we’re on call to support you if required, but it’s nice to have the option to deal with the little things yourself.

We do not include the following items:

• Beach towels
• Any food or beverage, IE there is no salt, pepper, sugar, spices
• Drinking water
• Fishing gear
• Personal toiletries
• Child safety netting (available for rent)

Childrens life jackets

Comfort is the key to having a child accept wearing a life jacket, and they don’t work if they don’t wear them. If you’re sailing with a child that cannot swim, we strongly suggest that you invest in a quality, fitted life jacket for them and bring it with you. Island Spirit does have a selection of buoyancy vests suitable for some children; please book in advance to ensure availability.

Request additional items

If you want to have onboard items not listed here, please let us know when you make your booking. Most things are available in Thailand, and we’re happy to search it down and have it onboard when you arrive.

Yachts’ standard inventory

Below Deck

• Two hand towels and bath towels per cabin
• Two blankets and two pillows with cases per cabin
• Tea towels
• Clothes pegs
• Cabin fans
• Toilet paper
• Showers
• Refrigeration
• Gas stove
• Galley gear for preparing and serving meals
• 12v outlet
• 1000W 240v inverter
• Flashlight
• Stereo with Bluetooth connectivity

Above Deck

• Deck shower
• Rigid inflatable dinghy
• 6 – 8 HP outboard
• Spare 10L jug of benzene for the dinghy
• Electric windlass anchor winch
• Winch handles
• GPS plotter
• Bucket
• Fenders
• Mooring lines
• Boat Hook
• Swim ladder
• Dinghy anchor

Safety

• Charts
• Cruising guide
• Parallel rule and dividers
• Operations manual
• Buoyancy jackets
• Comprehensive First-Aid Kit
• Depth sounder
• Tide chart for your trip
• Tools & Spares
• Life ring (MOB)
• Fire Extinguishers
• Fire Blanket
• 1 mask & snorkel for prop inspection

Consumables & Gear

• Garbage bags
• Dish detergent
• Dish Sponges
• Counter-top wipes
• Aluminum foil
• Plastic wrap
• Toilet paper & Paper towels
• Cooking Gas

Rental Gear

It’s nice to have some toys out there to explore the smaller nooks and crannies on your journey. A kayak can also add a great deal of independence as it provides a means for people to go ashore without needing the tender.

Island Spirit can organize additional rental equipment for your yacht charter to take your adventure at sea to the next level. Usually, you rent equipment for the entire duration of your charter. Whether you pay for rental gear when you pay for your charter or plan to pay at the base, book the items you want before arriving to ensure availability.

Snorkel equipment

Each yacht already has a full complement of mask and snorkel sets, and there is a selection of fins on the dock for you to choose from, so there is no need to rent this equipment. We also have a selection of children’s sets available in our office.

Kayaks

Two-person kayaks are available to explore the many islands, paddle to the beach, up the streams or drift among your tropical surroundings. Kayaks are a great addition to a charter with larger groups or lots of older children; it gives you a chance to escape for some peaceful exploration or a romantic getaway. Kayaks are stowed on deck (not towed) and come with paddles.

Stand Up Paddle Boards (SUP)

Step off your yacht onto the SUP and glide across the water’s surface. Explore the rivers, travel the coastlines, nooks and crannies or snorkel from your board around the smaller offshore islands and pinnacles. It’s a great way to experience the anchorages and surroundings while getting a little exercise. All our boards are over 350cm long x 80cm wide (11.5’ x31″), making it easy for beginners and children to learn quickly yet small enough for the experienced rider to enjoy. SUP rentals come with an adjustable paddle and leash.

Scuba Diving

We do not allow dive gear on the yachts due to the damage caused by dive tanks. However, talk with the Charter Coordinator to help organize diving trips with local dive operators. You must carry a PADI or equivalent certification to be able to dive on organized trips. The Dive Academy: https://thediveacademysamui.com has a shop in Bophut and offers dive tours to all of the best spots around the island.

Provisioning for your yacht charter on Koh Samui

Koh Samui has big modern supermarkets close by the base, so provisioning is easy and offers a pretty good selection of western delights! But that makes it so easy to go overboard, often literally, at the end of your charter because it’s also so lovely to eat ashore! It’s relatively economical to eat onshore, and with no preparation or cleaning up, you’ll have more time to enjoy your holiday.

Nonetheless, stocking your boat with food and beverage is crucial; it allows you flexibility and freedom to move around at your own pace.

How much do things cost?

Koh Samui is a bit of a foodie heaven; it offers an abundance of market and street food all the way through to five-star, fine dining. Once you head out to the other islands, there’s still a wonderful selection of resorts and restaurants, but the prices drop considerably; here’s a rough guide:

Most wine-by-the-glass is box-wine and costs 120 baht to 300 baht, depending on the style of the resort or bar you’re at. A bottle of wine costs about 800 baht in a supermarket and at least twice that in a restaurant. A small bottle of beer costs about 45 baht in a supermarket and from 70 baht up to 150 baht in a restaurant. Good quality Thai food can cost as little as 80 baht per person in a local street-side or beachside restaurant, where a meal in a flashy resort can cost anything from 1200 baht per person and more.

Tips for planning your menu

When planning your provisioning, consider that Thailand has a warm and humid climate, boat galleys have limited space, refrigerators are small, and storage lockers are few, so you need to optimize what you take and how you use it. Design a menu that shares many of the same base ingredients but delivers very different tasting meals. That way, you minimize the number of items you take on board. Keep the menu simple, so you don’t spend your holiday time in the galley trying to make magic happen. Here are a few tips:

• Don’t take too much fresh or cold food as your refrigerator space will be limited, and food left out will spoil in the tropical heat; salad doesn’t last long.
• Buy veggies that don’t require refrigeration, carrots, cucumber, potato, onion etc.
• Provision for all breakfasts and just one or two dinners aboard. Then have an array of cheese, cold cuts, nibbles & snacks along with fruit that does not require refrigeration, apples and the like.
• Often, the shops on the outer islands do not have a lot of stock.
• Get all the western delights before your charter because they are difficult to find once you leave Samui.
• Don’t buy ingredients to make Thai food; it’s much easier and more economical to go to a restaurant.

Provisioning

We have a team of trusted drivers who speak English well and know the island. If you want to provision on the way, this is by far your best option, because our drivers will stay in touch with us, they understand your objective, and know which shops to visit. If you are coming directly from the airport, you’ll need to consider the available space you have, taking into account luggage. If you are a large group, drop the Skipper and First Mate off with the bags at the meeting point, and send the crew off provisioning after that.

Important note about purchasing Alcohol

Thailand restricts the sale of alcoholic beverages; you can purchase between 11am and 2pm or after 5pm to midnight. You can usually buy it all day in the smaller local shops.

What’s onboard

Island Spirit Yacht Charter will provide all yacht charters with:

• 10kgs of drinking ice
• Kitchen cleaner
• Dish soap
• Dish scouring pad
• Paper towels
• Gas Lighter
• Garbage bags
• Toilet paper
• First aid kit

Things not to do or buy:

• Turn up with loose items because you didn’t purchase carry bags
• Purchase the following as we do not allow these items on the boat:
• Double strength, super-dooper toilet paper.
• Steel or coarse scouring pads
• Cif or any other cleaner
• Bleach or toilet cleaner

Things to do or buy:

• Purchase carry-bags to transport your produce
• Minimize the use of cardboard boxes; they will not be permitted onboard after loading

Koh Samui has postcard sailing conditions from May through August, while the rest of Asia enjoys the wet season delivered by the southwest monsoon.

The mountainous terrain of the Malay peninsula to the west exhausts the monsoon winds of their rain and leaves Koh Samui and its surrounding islands basking in the sunshine with flat seas and a cool, steady breeze.

May through September

Weather conditions remain nicely tropical, with temperatures ranging from 30C in the daytime to 24C during the night. Wind can range from 10 to 25 knots, and although conditions remain mainly dry, afternoon squalls are common and predictable. Sailing conditions are relatively uniform throughout the season and can be more challenging than Koh Chang and Phuket.

The islands are 20nm apart, so the passage between islands can take most of the day. But the islands are big, so once you arrive, it’s easy to spend several days at just one, so there is no need to be sailing all day long every day; there’s plenty of bay hopping to do.

Overall, the Samui cruising ground is a great place to charter a yacht, with moderately challenging sailing conditions by day and beautiful tranquil anchorages by night. It is, without doubt, the best place to go sailing in Asia from May through September.

Call 191 = Emergency Services all of Thailand

Emergency Contacts Koh Samui Call

1719 = Hospital Bangkok Samui (Primary International Hospital)

Samui Ring Road,

Chaweng 57, Moo 3,

Tambon Bo Phut

Koh Samui

Tel: +66 (0) 77 429 500

Samui International Hospital (closest to our base)

Chaweng Beach Road,

Chaweng North 90/2, Moo 2,

Bo Phut Koh Samui

Tel: +66 (0) 98 013 5479 +66 (0)77 300 394 +66 (0)77 300 395

Island Spirit Yacht Charter:

Base Manager Samui (mobile 24hr):+66 (0) 93 131 0844 – WhatsApp +66 93 131 0844

Island Spirit Head Office (Office hours):+66(0)38 237 752

Email: charter@groupislandspirit.com

Tourist Police

Thaweeratphakdee Road,

Nathon 304/8-9, Moo 1,

Ang Thong Koh Samui

Tel: +66(0) 77 421 281