Ao Chalong is the only year-round anchorage at the southern end of Phuket. It is the big shallow bay facing south and is protected by the large island of Koh Lon at its entrance.
Only 10 kilometres from Phuket Town by road, this is traditionally the first port of call for visiting yachts, and offers many restaurants and marine service outlets on shore. The one-stop port control centre is located at the landward end of the main concrete pier. The Thai Marine Department have made a request that all visiting yachts conduct their formal check in procedures at Ao Chalong pier before proceeding to other locations.
The long government jetty gives access to the west side of the bay at low water for dinghy and shallow draft vessels, which can be easily tied on the leeward side at the steps, halfway to the shore.
The floating steel pier head allows larger vessels to come along side. There is a fee of 100 baht per yacht visit to access the jetty.
Fuel and water are available near the jetty head. Large areas of sticky mud dry on low spring tides, making dinghy access to the beach impossible.
There are two approaches to Ao Chalong.
From the south, care should be taken to stay closer to Koh Lon on your starboard side than to the mainland because here both the bank and the reef extend farther than the Admiralty and Thai charts suggest. Just south of the jetty there is a shallow sandbank, so motor until east of the jetty to find the best anchorage.
From the east, head approximately 2850, leaving Koh Thanan, the small mid-channel island to port. From there proceed past the safe water mark and then between the fixed tripod channel marks towards the Big Buddha on the hill. Avoid the shallow bank in the north of the bay to anchor amongst the other yachts.
Anchor on the muddy bottom in 3-7 metres well offshore. Preferably well beyond the end of the 800 metre long concrete jetty or to the north of it as it is used daily by express ferries of all shapes, sizes, and speeds. Holding is excellent, and the most likely hazard is other boats with inadequate ground tackle dragging into you in a strong wind.
Alternatively, moorings are available at a monthly fee. Check with some of the local yachtsmen at the Ao Chalong Yacht Club for details of cost, location and safety of the moorings.
In the southwest monsoon season, this is one of the few perfectly protected anchorages on the island (although some ground swell may be experienced). In the northeast season, on the other hand, conditions can be a little choppy because of the long fetch in the bay and this can make dinghy transfers to the beach uncomfortable. There are about 10 days per month when, due to the tide, dinghy access to the beach is impossible for a few hours.
The Ao Chalong Yacht Club moved in February 2009 and can now be found on the beach half a mile to the north of the new jetty (70 49’38.2N 980 20’53.6E). Twice monthly races for keelboats and multihulls are held and visitors are welcome.
This club is a well-oiled yachtie’s gathering place and good for trading information. There is a useful notice board here where prospective boat crews advertise their availability, and boats advertise needs for additional crew and items for sale, etc.
Still under development as this edition went to print, the club is being substantially upgraded, adding a more ‘up-market’ restaurant and bar alongside the ‘wet’ members-only facility. Monthly memberships are available for visiting yachts.
The building close to the jetty with a decorative lighthouse is, in fact, a restaurant called ‘The Lighthouse’ − another meeting point for cruising yachts, as are other small restaurants and bars along this beach.
Around the jetty and on the road leading to the Chalong Circle, a five-way roundabout, is a bustling commercial centre. From the junction, roads lead to Rawai, Nai Harn, Kata, Phuket Town and the main highway to the north of the island, passing the new out-of-town shopping centres on the way to the airport.
On the west side of Cape Panwa, there is a concrete jetty serving as a base for the Hydrographic, Fisheries, and Marine Biological Departments.
On shore, you will find the Phuket Aquarium. Anchor anywhere in the bay in 6-8 metres on a muddy bottom keeping well clear of the floating peal-farm on the west side. When rounding the cape, use the safe water mark to keep well clear of the off-lying rocks and reefs.
To the northwest lies Ao Yon. This bay offers good shelter in both seasons, has a fine beach and the original Phuket Yacht Club ashore. It is predominantly a dinghy sailing club but many cruising yachts make this bay their base. Enter from the east side of the bay to anchor in 4-6 metres inside the line of the fish farms on a muddy bottom.
On the north coast of Koh Hae there is a sandy bay with live coral fringing the beach. In the southwest monsoon season, sheltered anchorage is available on a sandy bottom in 8-10 metres.
Beware coral heads on the fringe of the reef rising from depths of up to 6 metres. Ashore, bungalows and restaurants cater to day visitors, while many tour operators bring their customers for snorkelling.
For a lunchtime stopover, try the small bay in about 14 metres on a rocky bottom on the south side of Koh Hae.
This is a very pleasant anchorage – quiet, nice coral and lots of fish. A small sandy beach with a local styled restaurant is accessible at high tide. There are a few resident hornbills for the nature photographer.
In the northeast season, this is more protected from the chop than the main anchorage directly across Ao Chalong bay. In the southwest season, the anchorage is open to a long fetch across the width of the bay.
A drying coral reef fringes the sandy beach, but there is an access channel at low tide. Two miles further north in Chalong Bay is a mangrove creek, which can be accessed by dinghy from mid-tide leading to a picturesque seafood restaurant on stilts.
Ashore at the anchorage are some private housing developments and some restaurants. Just behind the beach is a road that runs to the top of the mountain to a spectacular viewpoint giving a 360-degree panorama of Phi Phi islands and the south end of Phuket. The trip to Phuket town takes just 15 minutes, though finding transport can be difficult.
While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate, the charts of anchorages are based on personal experience and satellite imagery and are intended as a guide only. They should not be used for navigation. Please refer to Official Hydrographic Charts of the respective countries.
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