We are a cruising boat and was anchored in one of the bays on the
southwest side of Phuket (Thailand) when the tsunami struck. We were
anchored in 14 metres of water some half a Nm from the beach. The boat
swung around at anchor as the water level initially fell. As the water
returned the water rose about 2-3 metres just like a massive tide rise.
At this stage the wave had not broken. As the water was within 100
metres from the beach where the depth was about 3-4 metres the wave
broke sending huge volumes of water onto the beach and surrounding
foreshore area. About 100 cruising boats were anchored in the bay (all
survived).
Cars and buildings were hurled into the air as the force was dissipated
along the foreshore. A friends dinghy on the shore ended up on the top
of a concrete structure about 6 metres above the water line. A power
transformer neerby was torn from the concrete pole and landed near the
dinghy. The tops of concrete structures were literally blown off the
buildings. Other cruising boats at sea felt no effect of the tsunami.
I guess the luck we had was the deep water bay and distance we anchored
off the beach.
Tony
S/V Ambrosia