Year 2- 8th November 2025 – Langkawi

It was raining again when we woke but I made some blueberry smoothies which were good. The fridge man was coming at 10.00am and so I had to wait for them. We had breakfast and then the crew went off to swim, shower etc. I got on to looking at Thai anchorages around Phuket and sorting out dates with various marinas. The weather was looking wet on and off for the next week which is not great but there is nothing we can do about it. We cannot go anywhere until the fridge is fixed.

The fridge men came just after 10.00am and it was still raining. They are putting in a new strengthened wood fitting at the back which the hinges attach to. They are then glueing and putting in resin to hold the fitting inside in the correct position. The positioning took most of the morning (as they had to adjust the wood to fit) and once it was in place they went off for lunch to allow it to dry. In short they came back and had to do more glueing etc and left about 4.00pm to say they will have to come back at 9.00am to put the lid back in etc and to allow it to dry overnight. This all meant I was hanging around quite a bit.

Keith, Steve, Andy and Mark went into town and found a food hall where they had some lunch and got trapped for some time due to the torrential rain but eventually made it back to the bar.

Ruth went off to do phone calls and emails etc.

I eventually managed to get out to stock up on wine and get a few cases at the Jetty Duty Free sho which I had to bring back by taxi and get on board. Mark and I then went off to the Langkawi Mall to check out the supermarket and to go to Mr DIY to get another bucket and a few other bits and pieces. We cannot properly shop until the fridge is done.

We managed a beer at the bar on the way back and the rain was still going and had been most of the day. We had decided to eat on board so Ruth and I prepared duck breasts with red cabbage and a stir fry of vegetables which seemed to go down well and we then played cards.

 It had been a wet job type day but it has to be done sometimes and that is life when sailing as things have to be fixed.    

I am sorry today’s blog is so boring. However, I found a few interesting facts at the aquarium which I thought I would share. What is the difference between the Arctic and Antarctic?

Arctic

An ocean surrounded by land, geographically not clearly defined, substantial land areas free of snow and ice in summer, land mammals are present, penguins are absent, flowering plants bloom in summer and spring, Indigenous people as inhabitants and there are mining activities of natural gas and cure oil production.

 Antarctic

Land (an entire continent) surrounded by oceans, more than 95% ice-covered containing about 90% of the worlds fresh water, no land-based mammals, penguins are the most prominent inhabitants, few plants are present, mostly lichens, moses and algae, no Indigenous human population and no economic development on the ice-covered land.     The picture of the day is the fridge which we rely on for so much with the clamps in place binding it together.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Chagos, 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