Cambodia (Koh Rong & Sihanoukville)

The Gulf of Thailand between Sihanoukville and the Koh Rong archipelago is genuinely frontier sailing — shallow, warm, and shot through with possibility. Winds here are driven by the northeast monsoon from November through April, giving you steady ten-to-eighteen-knot breezes that make for relaxed beam reaches across glassy water.

Depths average a comfortable eight to fifteen metres across most of the archipelago, so anchoring is forgiving, though you will want to keep a close eye on the charts around Koh Rong Sanloem's shallower northern approaches.

Day sailing suits this region perfectly. Passages between the main islands run twenty to thirty nautical miles, and most skippers prefer to be anchored before sunset to catch the bioluminescence — stir the water at night off Koh Rong's Long Set Beach and the blue-green light around your hand is genuinely startling.

Koh Touch village is chaotic and cheerful with cold Angkor beer and cheap seafood grills right on the waterfront, while Saracen Bay on Sanloem is calmer, fringed with local fishing longtails and a handful of low-key resorts.

Charter logistics are improving but still rough around the edges. Sihanoukville is your base port; bareboat options are limited and most visitors go skippered, which makes sense given the informal local knowledge required for fuel stops and the occasional unmarked fishing trap. Provisioning in Sihanoukville covers the basics — fresh produce at the market, tinned goods, bottled water — but do not expect a European-style chandlery.

Cambodian port formalities require patience and a modest agent's fee; budget half a day and let a local fixer handle the paperwork.

November through February offers the most reliable winds and negligible swell; anyone who sunburns easily should pack serious UV protection because the Gulf offers almost no shade at sea.