15 miles from Ao Khlong Son
This is the largest and most sheltered bay on the island and is divided by two smaller islands. It is generally shallow although anchorage is available in the west of the bay in 3-4 metres for good all-year round protection.
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On the west coast of the bay are three small marinas with a few pontoons based on or at the head of single jetties. Koh Chang Marina at 11°59.188N, 102°22.410E has about 15 pontoons, whilst a quarter mile southeast at 11°58.981N, 102°22.600 is the floating pontoons base for Island Spirit Yacht Charter at Salak Phet Seafood and Resort. South again a few hundred metres is Bang Rong Than Pier with Sailing Koh Chang’s floating dock for about 6 yachts.
Each place offers onshore accommodation, fuel, Internet, water and laundry services. The village at the head of the bay has adequate shops for provisioning, but for major mechanical repairs it’s easy to rent a motorbike or catch a ferry to the mainland town of Trat.
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To the east of Ao Salak Phet, off a long beach, is the site of a naval battle between the French and Thai navies during WW II. The Thai vessel still lies between two yellow buoys marking the location. There are plans to sink a World War II 100-metre tank landing ship ‘HTMS Chang’ in the same location to create an artificial reef.
Further west, offshore at 11°53.692N, 102°15.448E the ‘HTMS Chang’ was scuttled in 2012 in 32 metres depth to create a local site for wreck divers.