Year 3 -15 March 2026- Brunton Boatyard – Stormbird Kochi - India

We were up at 6.00am and did the last of any packing and then went to reception to settle up. They had prepared a packed breakfast for us with some teas as we were going so early. This was not much but better than nothing and we were soon heading for the airport.

The roads were relatively clear and so it only took us about an hour and a man from Ampersand met us and took Jules into the airport to help check in her bags. I was not allowed in. We said our goodbyes and I wished her a good flight. Although she is going via Mumbai she should land at Heathrow at 7.00pm UK time this evening.

We have had a great 2 weeks or just shy of that and have seen quite a bit of Kerala. We have had some fun, great meals and enjoyed each other’s company. It seems weird to think I should be home all being well in 6 months. What will I do then?

Sabu drove me back to the Bolgatty Palace and Stormbird. We managed to stop at a fruit market on the way and I got a papaya, mangoes and some pineapples which should keep me going for a few days. As it was a Sunday there were no supermarkets at that time open and I my try later.

We arrived at the Bolgatty Palace about 8.30am and the man with the key was not coming until about 9.30am.

Stormbird was where I left her and she was now the only boat in the marina. She looked a bit grubby on deck and the birds had obviously been using her for target practise. The spreaders are an ideal place to stop and have a dump!!.

I got everything into the cockpit and the man came about 09.10am so I did not have to wait long. Everything was in order and I opened windows to get some air.

I had 9 days or so to get a lot done so I unpacked and made some coffee. I tidied up my cabin and put everything away. The carpet was looking very clean since I cleaned it before I left. I put the 12v power on and the water and it took a little bit of time to prime which it did. There seemed to have been no leaks as I was concerned about that due to the higher pressure from the new tanks and the water joints on the pipes around the boat.

I had heard that gas was becoming short in India due to the Middle East and so I got out the gas fittings and then got out of the port lazarette the big full cylinder which I have not used for a while. I needed to find the right regulator and pipe which I did. I made sure it all fitted and put the cylinder ready in the starboard lazarette. I did not turn the gas on as there is a small leak somewhere and hopefully they are coming back to deal with that tomorrow. I could buy an Indian cylinder (assuming I can) and a new regulator or wait until the Maldives. The WhatsApp group say it was relatively cheap to buy a cylinder in the Maldives and it was the same as Malaysian cylinders.

It was very hot by this stage and I wanted to get the cockpit clean and put all the cushions out. I therefore got out the hose and gave it a good clean including under the cockpit grill. I then thought well let’s have a go at the deck which I did but some of the bird stuff did not fully come off so I will have to give that a proper go with a hard brush etc. It was very hot and humid.

The cockpit was dry so I put out the cushions and made it tidy so I could sit there and I put the large fan to cool me down in the cockpit.

There was an endless procession of small boats coming by with people having a little trip as it was a Sunday. Stormbird seems to now be on the tourist circuit and the guides all talk about her and point to her as they go past. God knows what they are saying. I sit there behind the cockpit glass and hope they do not come too close.

The next job was to secure the two outboards with padlocks and to put on their covers. I also put on some marine grease on the bolts where a little rust was forming.

I then had a look through the freezer and checked what we had. I cut up some papaya for lunch and thought I would see what the eggs that I had left were like for supper. They might be ok as I was not able to shop today. I checked the bilges and pumped out a small amount of water but not enough to worry about.

I then prepared the forward cabin so that was one done.

I made some tea and relaxed a bit as it was still very hot. I then heard the automatic bilge pump going. That was odd as where was the water coming from? Clearly we must have a leak and it had got to the level that turned on the bilge pump. What if it was a skin fitting? Well we have bungs on all of them. I checked the engine room and there was no leaks there. I took up the companion steps and the floor and could see water streaming in from the engine room area. As there was no leaks there, I checked the rudder area and that was dry. I then thought about the skin fittings for my toilet and took up the carpet and floorboard. They were fine. I checked the sink pipes in my heads and then heard a sound behind my shower and where the washing machine was. I opened it and the fitting from the cold pipe from the engine room was leaking. This was a pipe Mark (Godders) and I had changed in Australia. I turned off the water and released the pressure and it was a fitting which screwed on to the flow to the washing machine and then to this pipe. I managed to get it off and the fitting disintegrated or the part the pipe clicks into. I got out my spares and went through them and luckily found another of the same type and screwed it on the fitting and then pushed the pipe in. I turned on the water pressure and it leaked again but not so much but I think this was due to the pipe not being pushed in hard enough into the fitting. Once I had done this and positioned the pipe in place it seemed to stop. I cleaned it and dried it and waited and watched. I checked it every few hours until bed and all was fine. I hope that has solved the problem and I did worry about this with the increased pressure from the new tanks and hope all the other fittings are ok too.

By this time it was getting dark so I had a shower and tried the eggs which seemed ok so I made a large cheese omelette which I enjoyed in the cooler air of the cockpit and the fan.

I decided to watch a film as my kids had bought me a whole load of CD’s and I watched Unbroken which was a book I had read on Stormbird. It is about a US American (Italian American) Olympic runner (1936 Olympics) who became an airman in WW2 and was shot down in the Pacific. They survived for about 120 days in a life raft and then were captured by the Japanese and were treated appallingly until they were rescued at the end of the war. It was a good but thought provoking film.

It was time for bed. A reasonably productive first day. I had heard from the interested crew member about the Mauritius to Cape Town route that he was unable to make it unfortunately. I am therefore still looking for one person for those reading or if you know someone who might be- please put them in touch.                  

 The picture of the day is seeing the fishing canoes again around Stormbird.

 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 one crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town (mid June to end of July). 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