Year 3 -29 April 2026 – We leave Himmufushi -North Male Atoll for Gan -Addu Atoll – Maldives

It was a damp morning when we woke but the rain had stopped. Carolyn had packed all Keith’s things as we had agreed that we would take his things to the hospital in case he could not return to the boat. We had a quick breakfast and I had to bail out the dinghy as it was full of water which shows how much rain we had had in the night. We then we all went ashore as we agreed that Carolyn would go to Male to take Keith his things and do the final provisioning. We therefore put her on the 8.00am ferry.  Joyce and I had some final things to buy including 120 eggs, some more tins of chickpeas and some red kidney beans. We got all off this from 2 shops and then had a quick drink before we returned to Stormbird.

I made sure the cabins were ready for Erika and Keith who were arriving about 9.00am and tidied up the boat and cleaned the heads etc. I then made sure I did the blog and then looked at the weather to go to Gan. This is the most Southern point you can check out of the Maldives and it is the most Southern atoll called Addu Atoll. It is a journey of about 300 nm and will take us probably about 2 days. I had been thinking that it would be good to leave this afternoon and get there by the afternoon of the 1st or morning of the 2nd May. I need to refuel there and we need to do the formalities of checking out of the Maldives for Chagos ideally leaving for Chagos on the morning of the 3rd May as we only have a limited time slot in Chagos and can be there from the 3rd May.

We had a message from Keith that they had got an earlier ferry and had arrived in Himmafushi and they were at the café we used to go to. I said I would come and get them.

Carolyn had been to see Keith but the Dr had not yet been to see him. She said he seemed as per yesterday. She was getting the 12.00noon ferry from Male back to Himmafushi.

I went to collect Erika and Keith (Watty) and brought them back to Stormbird so they could settle in. It was great to see them both and Keith was coming back for about the 6th time and Erica for the second. I then went through the inside of the boat as it had started to rain again. However, we had to go through the outside too and it was only spitting. We went through the man overboard procedures. I then had to go and get Carolyn in the rain and she had managed most of the shopping. She said she had not seen the Dr but suggested I call Ruth as Keith’s phone did not seem to be working in the hospital. I rang her and she said Keith had decided he was coming home. I was sad in one way but in another Keith’s health is more important and if anything happened when we were out beyond medical help -well it is not worth thinking about. We all wish him a very speedy recovery – cheers from us all on Stormbird. You will be missed Keith especially now Keith Watson and I will be outnumbered by women now!!

This meant we were 5 and once Carolyn was back we chatted. I explained about the journey and that ideally I would like to leave today and go to Gan in one go. We can then have more time there and can refuel etc. The weather was grey and wet and there was some wind so it seemed a good time to travel. Keith and Erica were happy to do this and so lunch was prepared and we then went through the emergency procedures.

At about 2.15pm we started to raise the anchor and had to be careful of the tripping line. The anchor came up well although the tripping line was twisted at the end and we had to unravel it.

We left the anchorage about 2.25pm and headed out of the pass managing to dodge the coral again. We then had to head Southwest across the atoll to the pass at the Southwest end. We could motor sail so I put up the mainsail which helped a little. We had to dodge shallow patches on the way and we could not sail properly due to the wind direction.

It was grey and drizzly and not very pleasant. There were a number of tankers anchored and we meandered through these and out of the atoll.

We then headed South between a series of atolls. At about 5.00pm we were able to start sailing and so we put up full main again and genoa and were soon making good progress and the engine could go off. I then put the generator on and started to make water as we only had half a tank of water left and we all would like a shower.

The wind was a bit too far South to miss the next atoll so we sailed as close to the wind and luckily with the wind veering more to the West we were able to miss the atoll and sail on. We were trying a new shift system suggested by the girls where people overlapped and I was happy to try it. You did 2 hours with one person and then the final hour with another and sometimes you have 4 hours break and some 5.

We had not thought much about supper so I made an easy pasta pesto (our homemade one) with pak choy.

After supper we settled into night watches and it was great that the wind was continuing. In addition I decided to use the Staysail as well so we were making 8+ kts and making good time.

It was good to be back on the move again and with all the crew on board with the exception of Keith. Still I hope he will return again before I am back in the UK.  If anyone reading this is interested (or knows anyone who may be interested) in joining in Mauritius to Cape Town do let me know.      

 The picture of the day is a grey day leaving Himmfushi which is a nice place and I feel a bit like part of the furniture.

 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 currently full which is great but if things change I will make this clear.

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