The winds have been quite light in the last few days and barely enough to get the genny up so we’ve motored most of the way down, on the west side of the Dhaalu Atoll, switching hourly between engines, at 1200-1500RPM which burns approx 1 litre of fuel an hour and moves us along at 5.5 to 6.5kts

We sailed to the fishing town of Kudahavadhoo in the southern end of Dhaalu, arriving at 1500hrs, to pick up a few provisions, a nice tuna rice dinner and ice cream. It was impossible to get a shallow enough anchorage near this fishing community and we ended up in 28m with a 1:3 scope – with all my 80m of chain out. And sure enough, it blew a howlly in the night with large VD clouds and thunderstorms about which kept me up most of the night with an eye on the leeward island and the drift alarm. And sure enough, at 0630hrs the winds increased to 35kts and we started dragging toward the reef some 50m downwind. So the engines were started and we pulled-up and hauled out of there.

Thaa Atoll is the next one south of Dhaalu Atoll and we had our eyes on Gaalee Island in the north but we first stopped in at Buruni Island to top-up our internet card. Then we sailed the 3 miles east to Gaalee into another picturesque lagoon with an uninhabited island. Snorkeling, diving and beach walks. Rose went up the mast to recover our lost flag line.

But its time to move along knowing we have to be in Addu Atoll by end March and there are still some islands, lagoons and atolls to be visited.

Whenever possible, we sail on the outside of the atolls, in deep water, and not inside unless there is a destination we have homed in on. This is simply a risk-reduction measure as the atolls are reef filled, not always charted or inaccurately charted. And while one can see into the water with good sunny conditions, the reefs and their depth colors, why take the risk for a few extra miles with time on our sides. If you let your guard down just once and hit a bommie, you done for! And never, never sail the atolls and lagoons at night unless you have a trusted track to follow.

On the boat issues:

Battery Rejuvenation: Good news. The two rejuvenations have resulted in an improvement in the house battery performance where, for instance, overnight battery discharge used to be 20-23% and is now 14-16% - with no low voltage alarms going off. I was on pins and needles doing this but had good advise from SV Leucat on this (thanks Dave).

Freezer Condensation: I pulled out our freezer from its cabinet the other day (as part of the misaligned door resolution - more to come on this later) and discovered that condensation drips from the freezer and onto the wooden cabinet base resulting in eventual rot of the wood. Lagoon missed this one! So a solution is needed here in the form of a liner or tray that can collect the water and drain it off. Still reviewing a smart solution for this and then need to check the fridge for the same.

And changed out the outboard's prop after it being dinged too many times.