Year 3 -12 January 2026 – Passage to Galle in Sri Lanka- Stormbird Record Breaking 24 hours 198 nm in 24 hours.

Rhys and I had the 5.00am to 8.00am watch and we were still sailing well with the Blue Baron and had been all night. One of the pleasures of sailing long distances is that you get to see greats sunsets and sunrises. When we came on watch it was pretty dark apart from some moonlight from the moon which rises about 1.30am here. You can of course still see the stars twinkling away. As the day dawns light gradually begins to appear and you can begin to make out the horizon and the black sea. Then more definition appears and you begin to get a little glow from the East which is like a dimming light which gradually increases lighting up the sky and any cloud cover. The stars disappear and go to bed. The glow increases further and the stern of the boat which points East as we are going West moves from being a silhouette to more defined shapes. Eventually after some time and increasing light the sun shows its face and rises up above the horizon to greet you. You can feel its warmth straight away. It is a magical moment and it feels good to be be alive. The picture of the day is a snapshot of this moment.

We were still sailing well and fast recording 7’s,8’s and 9’s in terms of nm. It was warm and when I came off watch I made some fruit smoothies which are always a treat and then we had some toast from Rhys’s loaf which was very good.

We had a pleasant morning chatting and reading and resting with nothing to see other than mile after mile of blue sea with a few white horses and little swell. There was a West bound current helping us. We had prawns and garlic with bread and salad for lunch. The garlic buttery smell always makes your mouth water.

We saw little wildlife other than flying fish and I thought why do they fly?   

Flying fish "fly" (glide) primarily to escape underwater predators like tuna, marlin, and swordfish, using their speed to launch out of the water and their large, wing-like fins to glide long distances to safety, confusing attackers and covering ground quickly. This aerial escape tactic allows them to evade predators that can't follow them into the air, though it can make them vulnerable to bird. When they do this they swim rapidly toward the surface, reaching speeds of about 37 mph (60 km/h). They then break the surface at a shallow angle. Their enlarged pectoral (and sometimes pelvic) fins act like wings, allowing them to glide for hundreds of feet (up to 200 meters). They rapidly beat their tails, still partially in the water, to gain extra speed before fully entering the air.

The record for a flying fish flight is 45 seconds, achieved by a fish nicknamed "Icarfish" near Japan in 2008, beating a previous 42-second record, with distances potentially reaching over 1,300 feet (400 meters) using tail-beating for momentum, reaching speeds over 40 mph and altitudes of about 20 feet.

As Stormbird sails we see many of fish flights and these glides and some go on for a long time.

Our 24-hour run to midday was 191 nm which was good and just shy of our record of 196nm. The afternoon continued and we continued to be lucky with the wind which continued to blow us along well. I decided to put up the courtesy flags for Sri Lanka. We saw one fishing boat and a cargo ship all day otherwise we have the ocean to ourselves. We saw a pod of dolphins towards the end of the afternoon and to end the day we were rewarded with a lovely sunset. It felt a little cooler which was welcome. Keith cooked some fish with yam and aubergine with egg which was delicious.

I had been regularly checking the weather and it seems the wind will continue for the next 24 hours at least so we will use this as much as possible and I decided to keep the Blue Baron up for another night.  

When it came to midnight we had sailed 198 nm in a 24-hour period which is a record for me on Stormbird. This means we averaged 8.25kts an hour. The Blue Baron is such a good and versatile sail. We will see what the 24-hour run to midday will be but it will be pretty close to this. This is trade wind sailing at its best. It is warm and sunny, relatively flat and you are pushed along by a warm breeze which gives you a sense of speed as the water swishes by the hull speeding you on to your destination which you look forward to with great anticipation. The sailing is part of the adventure of getting there.   

 The picture of the day is a snapshot of the sunrise I described.

 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