25 to 28 June Passage to Koh Samui

The four day three night passage to Koh Samui, Thailand is memorable for the wrong reasons; first a lack of protected anchorages and, second, I picked up an infection on day three.
The coastline on the eastern seaboard of Thailand is one long sweep of beach.  It lacks offshore islands and headlands where one can duck into to avoid the regular swell rolling in from the China Sea to our east.  Only at Songkhla town are there two islands of sufficient size which can provide a welcome shelter; the smaller is Koh Meao (cat island) and the larger, Koh Nu (rat island) so named for their respective profiles.  Rat island was our choice and we enjoyed a roll free night tucked away from potential hazard of moving boats.  The nights either side were spent in what are commonly called 'open roadstead' anchorages, where you simply turn in towards the coast until you find a comfortable depth to drop the hook.   On the last night we were more than a mile off the beach in less than 4m of water.
After our night at Songkhla I awoke with eyes feeling sore. A check in the mirror showed one to be bloodshot.  During the next two days the infection worsened with the whites of both eyes inflammed and David pushing on as fast as we could to reach Koh Samui and medical attention.