BREAKING NEWS!
As some of you will recall, a few weeks ago, our friend Somdech’s Longtail boat was struck by lightening on Phi Phi Island, the fire destroyed half of the boat and the engine. 😞
Somdech’s longtail boat, just like many of the other fisherman on Phi Phi Island, is their lifeline, their livelihood, as they use their boats to go fishing each day to catch food for their families and other people in the village, in normal times some of them use their boats for tourism, taking people on day trips around the Phi Phi Islands, but due to Covid there’s no tourists here, so they have no work, therefore no money, and this has been going on all year, these are desperate times, and it’s very sad to see, but they won’t let this get them down, they are masters of survival, and they are very proud people, but sometimes everyone needs a helping hand, and what an amazing feeling it is to be able to give something back to people that really deserve it, so to all of you that have kindly donated to both the food and clothing parcels, and now the boat rebuild, you should be very proud of your generosity, you are making a difference to people’s lives, and we thank you for that.
For the last few weeks, Somdech and his family have been working hard to rebuild their boat, from cutting trees down in the jungle, and producing all the boats components from the tree trunks by hand, and as of today, the boats woodwork is getting near to completion.
Very soon the boat will be ready to receive its many coats of varnish and paint, we just need the rain to stop! We’ve also managed to find a longtail engine, it needs a bit of work doing to it, but it’s perfect for a boat of this size.
We are just over £500 away from meeting our target to complete Somdech’s boat, hopefully in the next 2 weeks we can get the boat back on the water, and Somdech can continue to provide the much needed fish for his family of 25.
These photos were taken this evening in between a storm, as you can see, Somdech is very happy, both Somdech and his family and the other people in the village are so grateful to all of you that have donated, which will enable the rebuild of their boat.
We are so close to finishing!
If you would like to read the full story, see stage by stage photos and videos of the rebuild, and more importantly would like to make a small donation to help complete the rebuild, then please click on the link below, once complete, we will share a short film of the whole rebuild.
Note: if we are lucky enough to raise more than our target to complete the boat, the surplus money will be used for additional food and clothing parcels for the families on Phi Phi.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/helpingphipphi?utm_id=125
Chris and Gabs World Cycling Tour 