Year 2 -11-12 th December 2025 –Phuket -Thailand

11 December 2025

We had another nice morning when we woke and had planned a special offer package at the Spa where we were to have 15 minutes in the steam room, 45 minutes body scrub and a 60-minute Thai massage.

I had got on quite early with preparation and it was the Maldive Agent which required a load of documents this time and of course there are a number of changes of crew there which adds to the complexity and it varies from country to country. In doing all this planning I decided I will not go to Chagos but go direct from the Maldives to Mauritius. This is largely because there is little to do there, you need wreck removal insurance, it is quite costly to go and with the handover by the UK to Mauritius it is unclear whether there are any changes in formalities. I also made further contact with future crew members and continued reading the pilot book regarding the various countries I am visiting, their formalities and ports etc and firming up on dates etc.       

 I managed to speak to the Rigger and I have agreed to meet with him on the 13th at the marina. I will also be able to see what progress has been made with the other works going on.

We set off at 12.30pm for our massage and we got to the spa 15 minutes early as requested. It was a lovely setting with flowers everywhere and little fountains, light music. We were given a welcome drink and then they confirmed the body scrub choices of cream and how strong pressure we would like the massage to be. We were then led away to a private spa villa and we had the 15-minute steam bath and then the body scrub which is essentially a complete body scrub with a green tea cream which exfoliates your skin. Then after a proper shower we then had an all-over Thai massage which is quite painful in parts but they basically put pressure in various areas which stops the blood flow and then they release which lets the blood flow again. After 2 hours of pampering it felt good and we were very relaxed. They then gave us some ginger tea and we relaxed for a further 15 minutes before walking back.

We had lunch and then relaxed by the pool, although Jules had a pedicure and her nails were painted. I read more of the pilot book. We had a sundowner and then a nice supper.  It was another enjoyable and productive day.   

 12 December 2025

This was another relaxing day -planning, reading and relaxing by the pool. We did our agreed swimming lengths and then in the afternoon went to the gym for a bit of a workout. I had heard from our guide in Sri Lanka and circulated this to the crew for consideration. Essentially he is planning a 2-week tour of Sri Lanka for us with a private tour and our own transport. In my view it looked good. There were therefore a number of emails and messages I needed to do to keep up to date. We had a mixed day of relaxing and doing. I head over to see Stormbird again tomorrow as I am meeting the rigger.     

 The picture of the day is us having dinner where we are looked after every night by a senior waiter called Erwin who is from the Philippines.   

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. 

I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town and from Cape Town to the UK. If of any interest do email me.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com