Year 3 -13 February 2026 – Mast Day - Kochi -India

We woke quite early and it is light bit cool then and very pleasant. We had our usual breakfast of mango and granola and Chris the rigger came at about 7.45am. Paul made his own omelette on top. After a cigarette (for him) and tea we commenced work.

The first step was for Chris to have a look inside through the inspection holes and to look at the halyard swivel. We started work about 8.00am. He looked inside and thought that the tack assembly looked knackered and we would need to get that out and of course the halyard swivel. The first thing to do was to get the tack assembly out. This meant unscrewing the foil using the handle in the side of the motor until it could drop. We could then remove the motor from the mast and unscrew the hydraulic pipes. This gave us an access hole and gradually we began to take out the parts. The tack assembly came in bits and to bits and we managed to get it out with ball bearings dropping out. We compared it to the new tack assembly and they looked a little different (which worried me a little and had we got the right parts).

We then tried to get the halyard swivel down and we eventually got it down to the motor hole and it would not come out – it was about 2-3mm too wide. We had in fact tried the new halyard swivel and it did go in and out the hole so we knew that would fit. The old one was seized which may explain the juddering and the torn sail. In the end we had to use an angle grinder to cut the outside collar of the halyard swivel to get it out. It did come out and with a great cheer from us all!!.

We had been working flat out for many hours and it had got hotter and hotter. Whilst we had the odd break time was of the essence. We stopped for a sandwich lunch. I had asked our friend Varghese to do some shopping for us and he had just delivered some bread and salads etc so we had enough for lunch.

The fridge man came to fill some more gas in the system and he found a leak and so it took some time for him to find and stop the leak. He then filled it with gas and it worked. So that was satisfying to get that going again and also so I could put everything away again in the lockers so the saloon looked more normal.

After lunch we set about round 2. We managed to get the new halyard swivel in and to connect it to the halyard. The problem was the foil would not turn and so we hoped it was not the top swivel which was also a problem otherwise we would have to remove the mast. Chris said that the top swivel really did not do anything and was not necessary when the sail was on.

We then looked at the new tack assembly and according to Selden you have to dismantle it and then effectively reassemble it in the mast – daft and quite a challenge with rings of ball bearings either side and which would not fit into the holes in the mast.

The sowing man came at 3.00pm and using the trusty sowing machine I had bought he repaired the sail and it looked a good and strong repair by the end. This was another positive step.

In relation to the tack assembly we looked at the Selden instructions and in order to get it into the mast we needed to take it apart. There is a large grey ring (called a doughnut) which the bearings sit above and below. We had to take these apart and then put the doughnut in on its own and work out how to assemble it. In short this was difficult and the doughnut would not go into the mast and then go up through it as it was so thick. We therefore cut it a bit and which made things a bit easier. By this time it was getting dark. Everyone was tired and het up and so we called it a day and showered. We left all the parts on deck and it was not going to rain. We all retired to the bar for a well-deserved drink and then we had the Indian Buffet which was good. We could not drink in the restaurant and so had one more drink after the meal and then it was time for bed. It had been a long frustrating day. We had to decide by 10.00am tomorrow whether we needed to take out the mast. I was concerned could the job be done here, did we need to lift the mast, did we have the parts – would we be able to do the job here. We will see tomorrow.      

The picture of the day is bits on the deck we have to get it the mast. Can we do it? This is the burning question I went to sleep with.

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