The night of the long-tail

propeller had become entangled in a drifting fishing net and the aging drive chain snapped. There we were, bobbing in the middle of the Andaman Sea without life jackets, in a boat that was filling up fast.

I grabbed a cut-off plastic bottle, the only safety feature of this traditional craft, and frantically started bailing. Neep in the meantime had dropped anchor and was looking heavenwards. scenario looked like a night at sea.

Neep finally fitted the drive chain, disentangled the net and threw it back in the water, then attempted to hoist anchor. My son and I lent support but to no avail. I didn’t fancy the idea of a herniated disc that far from the mainland so we gave up. After a few more futile efforts from the captain, he cut the anchor rope, tied a plastic bottle to the end of it and started the motor. What a relief.

Half an hour later we were back at Rawai, soaked to the skin but happy to be alive. Neep would no doubt retrieve his anchor in due course if he could remember the co-ordinates. Quite a challenge lay ahead for him, considering the number of floating bottles he would encounter in his search.

Experience is a great educator. I now ensure on alighting both public and private transport that there are lifebelts on board. This includes trains, buses, rickshaws and taxis, just in case a mishap close to water may find me having to float my way out of trouble. — © Brian Carlin

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