Year 3 -11 May 2026 –Record- 201nm in 24 hours bound for Mauritius

I had the 11.00pm to 2.00am slot and we were sailing well and fast under a reefed genoa and 2 reefs in the main. The wind was blowing 15-18 kts and we had 2-3 m waves. The wind was a warm wind but it also kept you cool and it was nowhere near as humid as it has been. We had a boobie on the rail above the mid ship cleat who was hitching a lift. I did not have the heart to move it on and I bet there will be a mess in the morning.

The shift came and went and Keith and Erika took over and I was ready for bed. I had to rig the lee cloth so I did not fall out of bed due to our angle.

I got up about 7.00am and Carolyn and Joyce were on watch. We were sailing on the same course and well and I took over from them at 8.00am for my 4-hour morning watch.

I did the daily checks and we had company – a tanker which came down our starboard side. It is funny when you have seen no traffic for a while that a tanker becomes of interest and something to watch and see where it is going etc. Otherwise the wind was still 12-18 kts but the sea state was a bit bigger and a bit more confused. We continued to sail well but with some roll and every now and then we would have a wave slam over the deck. We realised that we would be getting to have a good 24 hour run as 24 hours from 7.00am yesterday to 7.00am today was 191nm, 8.00am to 8.00am was 193, 10.00am -10.00am was 199 a new record in itself (198 was our last best in the run from Thailand to Sri Lanka). 11.00am to 11.00am was 200nm and 12.00noon to 12.00noon was our best at 201nm, an average of 8.375 kts for each hour over a 24-hour period. These are the best runs I have had in my circumnavigation. It is also Keith Watson’s 67th birthday today so happy birthday to him and we celebrated with a bit of cake. 

The morning passed with the sun out and white fluffy clouds decorated the sky. The sea looked quite mean with huge 3m ocean waves which came about every 8 seconds. You rose to the top of one and you looked into a large dip between it and the next which approached at some speed. We were mostly riding over them bit some had some breaking bits and we would spray through them. Stormbird was sailing well and these conditions did not bother her and she just powers through especially when she is close hauled or on a close reach.

The morning continued and we had lunch and then people rested, chatted, read or chilled and we went through the shifts. I had to do some more admin and yet another form for Mauritius. I reached out to a number of people to try and find crew and am waiting to hear back from some. I do hope I can make this work and I am hopeful that I will get some people from South Africa.  

We continued on and there were a few more tankers so we were on a tanker route now. It began to get dark and so we sorted our sail plan for the night. Keith and Erika then cooked fish (which we had been given in the Maldives) which was delicious with mashed potato and carrot.

We were now into our night watches and continuing to make good progress.    

 The picture of the day is some of crew relaxing as we whizz along.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

I will be going shortly from India to the Maldives and then on to Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. 

I am currently in need of potentially 2 crew from Mauritius to Cape Town from about 10 June 2026 and we should arrive in Cape Town on about 25-30 July 2026. If at all interested contact me on my email below or WhatsApp +44 7931360372.

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