Year 3 -16 March 2026 - Stormbird - Kochi - India
I was up about 7.15am and made myself a mixed berry smoothie which was up to its usual standards, In addition I cut up some papaya which I had for breakfast with the usual yoghurt and granola. Luckily the yoghurt was still ok.
I sorted out some sheets for the forepeak and then put the sheets on in the bunk room. Apart from polishing (I have run out of polish) 2 cabins are now ready. The window in the bunk room needed a bit of sealant in one area so hopefully that will resolve any leak which only occurs in very wet and heavy weather.
The bracket to the forward-looking sonar has started to rust despite the fact that it had been fully painted. I therefore took it off and cleaned it all up, got rid of the rust and sprayed it with a special anti-rust spray which leaves an oily covering and I sprayed the other bracket for the chart plotter under the doghouse.
The engineers came at about 9.30am to look at the gas leak. They disconnected the gas cylinder and put about 2 bar of pressure and waited to see if it went down. It did not. That must mean there is no leak from the gas locker to the valve in the pan locker which was off. They then turned that on and the gas switch which now enable gas to go to the stove and the pressure again did not change. They did the soapy water test on all the joints and the fitting to the stove- no sign of any leak. It was suggested that the solenoid might not be shutting off fully when switched off. I had a spare so we changed it. Otherwise they could not find a leak or explain why the gas alarm goes off when the boat is shut up and closed. I will just have to monitor.
I had agreed with Varghese (local guy we use for transport) to go out at 1.30pm to do some shopping. In addition I asked him whether he knew a good Doctor as I have had what I assume was a cyst develop on one area of my skin and it has been there for a number of months and I thought I ought to get it checked out. I am not home for another 6 months. He said he did and he would take me and that I should bring my passport.
Varghese took me to a large modern hospital called Aster Medcity. He led me to reception and we arrived at 2.17pm. They just asked me to complete a form and took my passport and registered me as a patient. They wanted to know what type of Dr I wanted and thought a GP should know what it is and should be able to recommend treatment. I thought bearing in mind the UK I could be here for hours. However, once registered they asked for payment of about £6.50 and then I was shown through to a large medical area. It was very busy. They required me to initially have my height, weight and blood pressure taken (which was normal) and then within about 35 minutes of entering the hospital I was in front of a Dr and showed him the cyst. He said he thought it was a …. And mentioned a medical name which I have forgotten. He said it would not go with ointment and thought it may need to be removed. He said he would like me to go to Dermatology and get a second opinion. He entered all this on to my hospital record. We went off to Dermatology and registered with them and I paid the same fee again as I was seeing a second Dr. I waited about 30 minutes and was then in front of another Dr who examined me and confirmed the diagnosis and said it would have to be removed and they can do it today. I then paid the fee for the procedure and within 10 minutes I was in a procedure room and they basically burnt it -to kill it. I could smell burnt flesh. They said it will fall off within a few days and to use antibiotic cream and to go to the pharmacy and it will be ready. I went to the pharmacy and paid for the cream. The whole process took less than 2 hours from my walking in the door and cost me in total about £40.
I was amazed and relieved. What a system and anyone can access treatment and although they have to pay it is affordable. I was very grateful to Varghese who had led me through the whole process and communicated with the staff.
I left the hospital and we had time to do some shopping so I got some more beer and wine in advance of the new crew coming and a few things from the supermarket and we then returned to Stormbird.
I had been invited by the Agent Justin for supper and so I showered and got ready. He picked me up at 7.00pm with his son Raybel who I had met previously and we drive to a bar and a restaurant in town where we had a good meal and a chat, learning about the loan system in India etc. They dropped me back off again to Stormbird about 11.30pm.
It had been a full day and I was so glad that I had gone to that hospital and had not left it.
The picture of the day is the car ferry which goes past a number of times a day.
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