After a slow overnight “drift”, we arrived around mid-morning as planned, in the company of Talulah Ruby III (Andy and Paul), Golden Spirit (Caroline and Michael) and another yacht called Morgane. Our first glimpse of the Maldives revealed beautiful white sandy beaches bordering flat islands covered in vegetation and surrounded in crystal clear water.

Taking advantage of the calm seas on our approach, we used the time to start the watermaker, tidy up Paw Paw, get a bit of cleaning done and give the decks a quick fresh water rinse.

By 1030 local time we were anchored of the island of Uligamu, part of the Ihavandiffulu Atoll and received word that the officials would clear in all the yachts in the afternoon. That gave us the time to enjoy a well deserved nap.

Once all the officialdom was completed, we didn’t waste any more time in jumping into the beautiful clear water for our first swim. Fabulous!

By then it was time to have a shower, catch up with family and friends, since we had data connectivity again, and then dinghy over to Talulah Ruby III to celebrate the safe arrival of all the yachts. It was wonderful to see everyone again and to socialise with cruising friends. Our sailing lifestyle felt like it was slowly returning to life as it was before the pandemic!