Year 3 -18 April 2026 – Himmufuschi -Hulhumale -North Male Atoll – Maldives

We got up reasonably early and decided to move by 8.00am to find an anchor slot in the Hulhumale lagoon if possible. The anchor came up well and I made mixed fruit smoothies as we got some bananas the day before.

We motored some 7nm to Hulumale and as we got close the traffic got busier. It must be one of the busiest ports in the Maldives with all types of vessels going in and out – police, prisons, fishing vessels, cargo ships, oil tankers, ferries from all over, gin palaces and lots of small dinghies and speed boats. We motored through the pass and looked around. There were lots of gin palaces on pick up lines but there was no space for us to anchor at all. The only options was just inside off a sand back and we managed to anchor in 8m.  We were not in the way of the channel but it was quite rocky from all the wash.

Hulhumalé is a reclaimed artificial island in the Maldives, located near the capital, Malé, serving as a hub for urban expansion and housing with a population of over 65,000. Connected to Velana International Airport and Malé by bridge, it is a popular, accessible destination for budget-friendly guesthouses, local culture, and a, beach, acting as a convenient base for tours to nearby resorts.

We waited for Thaleem who had to go to another boat first and at about 12 noon he called and said he was ready. He then said he will call me when to pick him up (code for I am going for a coffee and 2 cigarettes and some Maldavian nuts. This takes about 20 minutes and sure enough 20 minutes later he called. I collected him from a very busy jetty and you had to be careful in the harbour in such a small dinghy.

When he got to Stormbird he fitted a new stop switch on the 4 HP engine which was good. He then started again on the 9.9 engine and thought that the ignition may be bad.  He suggested we went to Male to look at batteries too.

We therefore left the dinghy at the quay and then got a taxi to Male. This took me along the large bridge which connected tis island to Male and it went right past the airport and sea plane area. We looked at several battery shops and none had my 6-volt type although one had almost the same battery. His idea was to change the 4 bow thruster batteries and then to use the 3 good ones from there to replace the bad ones in the main battery bank.

We went to the Yamaha centre and the ignition was tested and it seemed ok and so the man there thought it may be another issue. However, Thaleem had a friend who had an old 15hp engine and he took the ignition out of that.

We must have walked all around Male for a couple of hours and there is a lot of Industry there. There were timber yards, outboard service place, engineering shops, boat shops, hardwear and electrical shops and all sorts of food shops.  You can see why it is one of the most populated cities in the world. Thaleem had to stop for some food and yes you guessed it two cigarettes and some Maldavian nuts.      

I bought 4 replacement batteries and we found a taxi and got back to the quay at 6.30pm and it was nearly dark. In the meantime I had been messaging with the crew and a large platform had come to the sandbank and Stormbird was getting close. The crew had the engine on and were preparing to leave if they had to.

Thaleem and I got the very heavy batteries into the dinghy and then managed to get them on to Stormbird.

I could see the situation and it was not a good idea to change the batteries in the dark as we would have to turn the electrics off. I therefore said to Thaleem that this was not a good idea -can we arrange another time to fit them. He agreed and after a bit of negotiation he agreed to come to Hummafischi tomorrow morning.

I took him ashore and when I got back we upped the dinghy on the davits and then upped the anchor and got out of that busy lagoon.

We retraced our steps through the anchored traffic outside and then had about an hour and a half back to Hummafischi. I was confident and happy that we could get in through the reef in the dark. Cari had prepared a chicken risotto which we had en route. We found the entrance to the pass and I followed it on the plotter and satellite and we slowly entered and anchored where we had previous. Once sorted we sighed a relief and had a cold beer on the deck. It had been a long and frustrating day. I do hope it does not take too long tomorrow. Phew! I was quite tired when I went to bed.

 The picture of today is the view of the reef from Hummafuschi.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

I will be going shortly from India to the 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