Year 3 -2 April 2026 –Uligan – Male - Maldives
We were up at 5.45am and by 6.00am the first job was to get the dinghy on the davits. We then started to get the anchor up using the snubber on the winch on the mast and had to do this a number of times. It is slow but works. We still had a rope tied to the anchor and at one point when using the bow thruster this rope was sucked into the bow thruster tunnel. Luckily I stopped quickly when I heard it and Jamie dived down to have a look. It was wrapped round the propellers. He had to cut the rope and managed to get it out. This was very annoying and I hope no damage has been done to the thruster although the rope is now in two bits.
By 6.33am the anchor was up and we set on our way. This was a journey down through the middle of the Maldives to Male where Jamie gets off and Stig and Cari get on. It is also the capital of the Maldives and somewhere I hope we can get the windlass repaired. This trip is about 180-190 nm and we planned to do it in one go and so overnight.
Due to the anchoring issue the agent suggested the Crossroads Marina just South of Male and from where you can get a ferry to Male. I thought this may be sensible so they can come and take the motor away for repair if that is what the issue is. I therefore contacted the marina and they had a space although it is not cheap. However, they wanted all sorts of documents and like India you get a sense of quite a lot of bureaucracy here.
It was a lovely hot day with no wind and so it looked like we would have to motor the whole way as there is no wind forecast for days. I decided to motor South through our atoll and then to bear right and then motor right through the middle of the Maldives to the Male atoll and then head to an anchorage near the marina with a view to going into the marina on the morning of the 4th. With the help of Starlink, now restored, I was able to arrange this on the move.
Keith Watson, who has crewed many times had contacted me with someone he knew who may be able to help with the windlass as he regularly reads the blog and had read about the windlass issue. I therefore made contact and was able to arrange for a technician to come on the morning of the 4th to the marina. This was very helpful and hopefully we will be able to resolve the issue in Male.
We settled in for the long motor and I did the first few hours on watch. We decided to do 2-hour watches during the day until 8.00pm rather than 4 and then to revert to our usual night shifts. I made a fruit smoothie for breakfast which was enjoyable.
J put out the fishing line but we did not catch anything all day sadly. It was hot and the only breeze really was from our motion as the wind was 2-3 kts and no more. The sun rose giving beautiful light around the atoll and the islands with the sea being a lovely dark blue colour. During the day we came across a number of pods of dolphins jumping, fishing and having fun as they played. We saw many islands on various atolls as we moved along and you wondered how many are inhabited.
Miranda made some beetroot houmous and a Spanish tortilla for lunch with corn on the cob which was healthy and enjoyable. As it was so flat we got the table out. The afternoon wore on and we rested, chatted and did watches. I did some passage planning for the Maldives and as to where we should go. Keith made a banana loaf (as we have lots of bananas to eat) and he also volunteered to make supper so I got out some mince from the freezer.
The sea was calm and flat and we continued to make good progress. I kept the revs down to conserve fuel as getting a lot may prove to be difficult with the Middle East situation. We continued to see more dolphins and birds clearly fishing on the water. Sadly from time to time we saw rubbish in the water.
The sun began to go down and it was a lovely orange sunset giving beautiful colours in the sky and we settled down for the night. Keith made a spaghetti bolognaise with broccoli which was nice which was followed by banana bread.
We were doing reasonably well and hope to reach the anchorage near the marina tomorrow at about lunchtime. We see the odd yacht anchored at various atolls on AIS and it is a shame we are having to pass these on the way. Getting the windlass fixed will make it much easier for us to explore.
The picture of today is the map of the Maldives with Uligan at the top and our route down through the middle to Male.
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