When you haul out your boat anywhere, most yachties break into a sweat. That sturdy ocean-going vessel suddenly looks unnatural as it hangs in the air on fragile straps. At this particular boat yard they do it differently: a cradle is built around the vessel while in the water, then pulled up onto land along tracks using a steel cable. During our previous year-long refit here we had seen that cable snap a couple of times, adding to the tension we felt on this occasion.
The yard employs workers from Thailand and Myanmar, but the boats – ranging from small yachts to gargantuan fishing vessels – are hauled and moved by a group of strong Cambodian men. They get into the murky slipway and manoeuvre the cradle around your boat, spending minutes at a time under water with just the use of a hose to help them breathe.
The attitude towards health and safety in Thailand is slowly changing and the boat yard tries to enforce standards. But it is not helped by some workers who genuinely feel their manhood is threatened when you suggest they wear protective goggles, face masks, gloves, hard hats or boots when working in these dangerous conditions. While erecting a tent to cover our boat during the refit last year I watched one worker in flip-flops climb to the top of the first piece of scaffolding – over fifty feet – while another team member held the pole while taking drags from his cigarette. As I looked on in anguish, they laughed at me!
