Year 3 -2 February 2026 -Trincomalee -Sri Lanka

We rose at a reasonable time so that we could go to Pigeon Island which is a few miles off the coast and which has the best-preserved coral reef in Sri Lanka. There apparently is some good snorkelling there and a number of sharks including hammerheads and whale sharks can be seen. Chinta says they are not aggressive!!

After a good breakfast we met him at 9.30am and got into the van to go to meet the boat which would take us across. On route Peter pointed out a war cemetery which he had visited the night before. The Japanese had bombed Trincomalee Harbour in April 1942 and had hit certain British ships. Peter said he saw many graves which contained the bodies of many naval sailors from this ship and others. He did some more research and found out that Jane Austin’s (the authoress) brother Charles who was a Vice Admiral died here and is buried in the Espinade Cemetery. In addition Peter had a friend whose father John Victor Marshall had flown hurricanes in WW2 operating from an airfield in China Bay near here.

We arrived at the beach and the waves looked quite large especially when we saw the size of boat we were to go in. We could the island a few miles offshore. There was no pier and the boats had to be launched from the beach. This was going to be quite a challenge. In fact the Police had stopped all boats and so we were not going to be able to go.

We therefore set off to visit Trincomalee Harbour which is one of the largest and finest deep harbours in the world. We drove round the side of it and there were quite a few ships anchored but no yachts. We did see a fishing harbour crammed full with fishing boats and decided to go and have a look. They are boats and as you know we love looking at boats!! This was a large fleet of boats and they were moored about         

8 deep. They were unloading all sorts of fish into crates of various types. We saw a few small sharks and a wide variety of fish. The boats were crammed with nets and kit. I asked one fisherman whether they use lines and he said nets. Hence why when thy pull in the net they get a variety of fish in it.

We then came across the tuna section and there were vast tuna being loaded into ice trucks (I assume to be exported) and one was on the scales at 35kg – there were others in the truck which looked bigger.

We walked on round and found a crane alongside the quay. It was one of those ones whose arm extends and it has various sections. It was putting the straps around a reasonable size fishing boat and then we watched as it hauled it out of the water and then set it down on the quay. I think it had some form of problem but the rudder was tiny for such a boat and note to oneself at sea these would not be very manoeuvrable so keep out of their way. It was an interesting visit and one not many tourists make.

We continued on to Marble Beach and the China Bay area and we drove past the airfield that Peter’s friends’ father had flown from in WW2. At Marble Beach we came to a small hotel and had a bite to eat. It was a lovely beach with surf and a cool breeze. The food took a while to come but it was nice when it did come.

When we had had enough we returned to our hotel and we read, rested and swam in the pool. This was all followed by a good supper.

We move on tomorrow to Anuradhapura – the old ancient Capital of Sri Lanka.

 I did manage to have another conversation with the rigger who had contacted Selden. The boom has to come off and the fitting on the gooseneck and its plate have to come off. The swivel can then come down below and come out where the electric motor is. In other words the halyard swivel can be taken off without the mast coming off- assuming that is the issue. We discussed location and it would be better to do this work alongside a pontoon and to have a crane available should it be necessary. This seems therefore most likely to be India. We will take some more photos when we return and liaise again and I will contact the agent in India.  

 The picture of the day is the crane lifting out the fishing boat.

 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