Year 3 -12 February 2026 – Day 2 - Kochi -India

We woke at a reasonable time and Peter had walked to the railway station to try and organise a ticket to Goa on Sunday. I cooked poached eggs on toast for Mark, Paul and I.

There is a trade union strike going on and they were blocking the roads etc. I checked with the agent whether taxis will be working at the airport and he did not think so. I therefore arranged for a car to pick Chris the rigger up from the airport. Peter decided to get the chain out of the anchor locker to try and clean it and he laid it out on the deck. There were lots of barnacles etc in the anchor locker and I thought we need to empty it and clean it out. There is a small hole in the bottom which can easily get blocked. I therefore emptied the locker took out the shelves and there was a lot of crud in the bottom and the drain hole was blocked. I cleaned it all out and we decided to bring the chain back to outside the anchor locker so it was not in the way of the rigger. What a mess it had made.

The fridge man and sail repairer were due to come but they could not get to us due to the strike. I needed to get the sowing machine out so we took the opportunity to get the log out and clean it. It was full of barnacles. I left it sitting in white vinegar for an hour and this softened everything up and it cleaned up a treat. I will leave it out until we leave at the end of March. We ordered a lot of white vinegar to do the steps and anchor when we can. 

Paul and Mark made lunch and I then hosed the whole boat down. She was covered in salt and muck from the anchor and after a good wash looked better.  

Paul and Mark went for a swim and I joined them about 4.00pm. Chris the rigger had landed but could not find Justin who had gone to collect him. We thought his was coming from Mumbai so Justin was at the Domestic Terminal. In fact he was at the International Terminal. They eventually found each other and by about 5.30pm I met Chris in reception.

He got his room and joined us in the Beer Parlour where we chatted away. He is an agent for a number of companies in Cape Town and does all the rigs for Skip Novak’s boats and Expedition boats. We chatted about the mast and what was required etc and then went off to the Grand Hyatt for dinner. Chris agreed he would start at 8.00am. I just hope all will go well tomorrow.

The picture of the day is the pool we enjoy at the hotel.

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 (mid June to end of July) and from Cape Town to the Azores and then to the UK (mid August onwards). 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