Year 3 -6 May 2026 –Solomon Atoll -Chagos – part of BIOT (British Independent Overseas Territory).

We woke at a reasonable time and it was raining and everything was wet. The wind was howling and the rain was lashing. I could see the way we were facing that there was a large bommie some 10 m behind us. Carolyn went in and said that the anchor was not far from the boat on the starboard side but the chain ran forward and was round a bommie. It looked solid and as long as the wind stayed between South and East we should be fine. I actually got in myself and went right along the chain and the anchor. It was held well but the bommie we would definitely hit if we fell back on it.

The forecast was for rain -28mm all day and it did not disappoint.

The rain came and went and the forecast going forward was for rain each day but a lot less than today. We had breakfast and relaxed. We noticed a large ship approaching the atoll. Then 2 large ribs came into the atoll and then went ashore on Boddam. They then came over to the catamaran near us and then came over to Stormbird. There were 2 navy guys and a Military Policeman and they checked our passports and already had a copy of our permit. They were British and pleasant and warned us about mosquitos ashore. They then went on to other boats.

The rain continued on and off and we had some salad lunch. It was not a day to go ashore. I then had the idea of getting the cockpit tent out which we fitted and then we had the cockpit enclosed and free from rain. We dried the seats and before long it was dry enough for us to use. We therefore had our own outside room.

We rested in the afternoon and I did some emails etc.

We then put on some music and had an evening drink in the tent. Our washing had been out all day so it was getting a good soaking. The rain continued to lash down

I made a spaghetti bolognaise which went down well which we had in the cockpit in the dry whilst the rain lashed down. We then played further games in our cosy room.

Hopefully tomorrow will be drier and we can go and explore.   

 The picture of the day is a rainbow on Boddam Island.

 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 in need of potentially 2 crew from Mauritius to Cape Town from about 10 June 2026 and we should arrive in Cape Town on about 25-30 July 2026. If at all interested contact me on my email below or WhatsApp +44 7931360372.

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