Nai Yang Beach & Leam Pakarang Boatyard.

When Barry asked the Royal Thames Yacht Club, of which he is a member, for a donation towards the "Coco de Mer" Tsunami Appeal, the Vice Commodore replied by inviting him to contribute to the Club's Tsunami Appeal which was aimed at helping to restore the fishing industry in the devastated areas.

Angus Robertson, a Thai speaking friend, found some damaged longtail fishing boats on Nai Yang Beach so Barry sent a proposal to the RTYC who agreed to support these fishermen by providing 15 boats with engines and nets, all of which had been lost in the tsunami.

The fishermen had already drawn up a comprehensive list of each person's requirements which made it easier to deal with.

As a month had already passed the objective was to get these boats operational again as soon as possible so the fishermen could start to earn a living. When Angus returned to Europe they were able to involve a Thai lady, Somrudee Amatayakul (Cookie) who is a retired Vice President of the Siam Commercial Bank. Apart from being able to speak Thai to the fishermen she was also able to get considerable discounts from the suppliers on the engines and fishing nets.




It was an exciting moment when the first boats were launched and the nets arrived. Each boat needs approximately 14 sheets of nets all sewn together to make one huge net. The RTYC ordered 175 sheets in total.

After two months of hard work some of the fishermen were back in business and able to earn their own living again.
HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of York was making a goodwill visit to Thailand and Phuket was scheduled in his busy itinerary for 26th April. As HRH is also Commodore of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, the Vice Commodore informed the Palace of the Club's involvement with the Nai Yang fishing boats, so the British Ambassador met Barry on the beach to check on the suitability of this project for a Royal visit.

The Ambassador gave it the okay so Cookie got the 15 families organized for a good turnout with boats, engines, fishing nets and fishermen all neatly on parade. She also acted as interpreter.
The Commodore spent about 20 minutes visiting Nai Yang Beach where some of the new engines were displayed together with a set of new fishing nets. He was genuinely interested and asked a lot of searching questions about the fishing industry and the reason for using these rather strange "longtail" engines only in Thailand. Fortunately Sue Plodput, a fisherman's wife was on hand to explain.
HRH then shook hands with all 14 fishermen and Mrs. Wanpen Woralert, the only fisherwoman, who were lined up for inspection. He seemed pleased to see the concrete evidence of the Club member's support and he was also interested to know that money had not been handed out but the funds were used to buy the equipment. He expressed thorough approval of this policy.


There were nine of the fishing boats riding at anchor and Suwan & Sue's son and friend cast nets from their boat so that Prince Andrew could see some action. The new engines on the boats were shining in the sun. (Cookie had made them all take off the covers).
The National Park Warden and his staff were present as this part of the beach is in the National Park and they presented a small flower Lei as is the Thai custom.

The Ambassador's Reception at the Laguna Resort Hotel at 1830 was very well attended with a great many British police as guests. They are the ones still identifying bodies through DNA and sending them back to UK. HRH gave an excellent speech praising the Thai rescue services, thanking all the foreign volunteers, and expressing his admiration for the energetic way the Thai people have got back on the feet after this terrible disaster. He predicted that tourism would be back to normal next season.
It was also mentioned to the Commodore the help the Club intended giving to the Laem Pakarang Boatyard project in Khao Lak and he was very interested, but he has not had time to visit that area on this occasion. Barry & Christiane have also decided to support this project from the "Coco de Mer" Fund so they will continue to visit and report on future progress.

The Laem Pakarang Boatyard project was initiated in an effort to assist the local fishermen in regaining their livelihoods and offering them the opportunity to participate in the building of their own boat.
A three bay boat shed has been constructed which will allow work to continue throughout the rainy season. The idea is to construct two new boats and repair one other as a repair facility will be a long term need after the new boats have been built. It is estimated to take two/three weeks to complete a new longtail boat.


Scott Carter, the Project Manager, is an American engineer in his thirties and has employed Thai boat builders working alongside fishermen and foreign volunteers.

An American benefactor started the project off with a US$20,000 donation and other people have supported it since. The present requirement is to build 47 longtail fishing boats and fully equip them at a cost of 160,000 Baht per boat. Wood prices have increased by 30% since January.

This is the first boat to be completed and launched on Friday 20th May - with a suitable celebration party to mark the occasion.

The Pakarang Boatyard has created its own website: www.tsunamiboatproject.com so look it up for more information on this project.
The Royal Thames Yacht Club has funded three fully equipped longtails and the Coco de Mer Fund has funded two at Leam Pakarang Boatyard.

These boats are completed and ready to go fishing.