Uligan is a pleasant stop after 12 days at sea where we were welcomed by wonderful people and sea full of amazing life!

Firstly, for those future yachties visiting Maldives, I would highly recommend the agency services of Assad at RealSeaHawk Maldives with his friendly meet and greet demeanor and style .... and his fees are much more reasonable than his competitors - he can't do much about the government imposed fees however. That said, he's been a real help with the 100 questions I've had for our first time in this island nation. A positive impression has been set!

Assad and his cousin Assan took us out fishing and spearfishing on our second day where we caught travali and spine fish. Assan had earlier caught a large grouper and later that evening we, along with the folks from SV Cold Water, joined Assad and his friends on the beach for a BBQ. We eventually moved to Emerald to finish the fish as the imposing rains threatened.

Manta Rays...lots of them...all around the atoll and boat along with dolphins and sailfish. We snorkelled and played along with 3 mantas that was breathtaking. What an experience.

After a few days at Uligan we picked up anchor and headed south to Ihavendhoo (Island) for a visit before we move onto North Thiladhumnathee Atoll.

The autopilot, that was giving a loud knocking sound during our passage here, seems to now have been repaired. I examined the complete steering system which is in good order but the hydraulic linear cylinder needed bleeding to remove an air lock. Also got around to reviewing the misaligned salon door but still needs a solution for this.

The next improvement will be rejuvenating my gel batteries. Recently they have been discharging quicker than normal and have been researching methods for brining them back to next to new. More on this to come.