Not wanting to be woken by an alarm this morning and in no hurry to actually leave Uligamu, we enjoyed a little sleep-in, before undertaking the last of our preparations for departure. We did, however, enjoy a quick dinghy visit from Paul off Talulah Ruby III, who was kind enough to return a knife and fork we’d inadvertently left behind in our hastily departure from dinner last night to partake in our Zoom family get-together. With that, we weighed anchor, a much easier task than we thought it would be, given the numerous bommies and length of chain we had out to anchor in 65ft of water.
Initially we enjoyed a lovely sail with a SOG (Speed Over Ground) of around 6 Kts, but then the wind lightened as forecast, so we spent most of the afternoon motor-sailing on one engine, under sunny blue skies, scattered with fluffy white clouds, in beautiful deep blue, flat seas. Fortunately the wind kicked in again, so we could turn the engine off and enjoy some fabulous sailing.
A mid-morning coffee, a nap for Roy and some reading time for Elaine brought a relaxing morning to a close. This reversed in the afternoon, with Elaine taking a nap and Roy keeping an eye on things before an evening chat to Michael off Golden Spirit.
A favourite dinner of chicken soup onboard settled us into a peaceful night under a clear, starry night.
These past few days have been a somewhat haphazard affair with arrangements changing, plans changing and scrambling to get organised again.
It started with our attempts to top up on our fresh produce at the local “grocery” shop on Friday morning, which fluctuated between Old Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard and a fair selection of produce, depending on the time of day that Roy visited the shop. We eventually managed to get everything we needed, however, including apples, mangoes, bananas, a pineapple, a pumpkin, a butternut, eggs, red onions, chocolates, biscuits and a few tinned items, as well as some buffalo meat.
The next event, which was a ramification from Thursday evening, following the request by the rally organisers to have all the yachts move over to the island of Hoarafushi. Since we were all concerned about this request, it was agreed that one person from each yacht would be collected on Friday morning to survey the anchorage. Before this could materialise, however, one of other catamarans had sailed over to the island and reported back that, not only was the anchorage on a leeshore, but it was too shallow, so an alternative arrangement was being made to clear out all the commercial boats from the little harbour, requiring all the yachts to then Med moor. Needless to say, by now, no one would entertain the idea of moving anchorage, so arrangements returned to the original plan of ferrying everyone in speed boats over to Hoarafushi yesterday morning for the rally’s Opening Ceremony.
Unfortunately, though, through all of this, Elaine had learnt that this was an inhabited island with a substantial population. A quick perusal of the COVID-19 situation in the Maldives indicated a rather bleak and indeed concerning picture, with daily cases ranging between 2,500 and 3,000 per day and confirmed active cases in excess of 17,000, with more than 5,500 awaiting test results, where the outlining inhabited islands had more than double the number of cases than in the most populated area of Malé, all extremely troublesome considering the relatively small population of the country. With that, our rally plans changed. There was no way we were able to participate in events interacting with locals either on Hoarafushi or with those flown in from other islands for the ceremony or indeed with numerous cruisers who had interacted with the locals, given Elaine’s underlying health conditions and being in the middle of nowhere to obtain hospital care if things went horribly wrong. Instead, as with our stay in Uligamu, we took the decision that we will cruise independently with cruising friends with whom we’re comfortable.
Of course, it’s very rare that a day on a yacht doesn’t involve some or other repair and Friday was no exception. Our solar controller circuit breaker had suddenly tripped. Further investigations revealed that a thicker wire was needed with the new lithium batteries absorbing the full power from the panels, a first ever event!
Our day ended on a good note, though, with another fun night of good food, good company and plenty of laughs on Golden Spirit, as well as receiving a message that our eldest grandson, William, had been awarded a “Super Job” certificate at school for his leadership and willingness to learn. Definitely takes after his Grandma!
Since we couldn’t attend the Opening Ceremony yesterday, we spent our day cooking, in order to use all our remaining fresh vegetables; potatoes, onions and carrots, supplemented with tinned mushrooms and green beans to make a number of meals to freeze, including our usual chicken soup, curry and spaghetti bolognaise sauce, but, instead of a beef stew, we used the buffalo meat for the stew; no idea what that’s going to taste like, but we decided to give it a whirl anyway. Guess we’ll know soon enough how that worked out!
Another dinghy ride ashore to stretch our legs was combined with collecting our fresh bread from the bakery, as well as our freshly made rotis, complements of one of the local ladies. Of course, back onboard, we then couldn’t resist enjoying some of the rotis, still warm, with the curry we’d already made. Absolutely delicious!
Our afternoon was spent snorkelling a different section of the reef and we were delighted to see a wider variety and larger fish, as well as lots of very healthy coral. It has been sad to see just how much coral has actually been bleached.
A quiet night onboard, watching a movie, wrapped up a busy day and, indeed, a busy few days.
Today’s start to the day was rather hectic, albeit a Sunday, primarily because we had provided the required notice period to obtain our paperwork in order to move on from Uligamu, but it wasn’t ready or rather, hadn’t been processed at all, causing a ripple effect of getting our paperwork in order for our next stops. Fortunately, no delays were incurred, but it did cause a mad scramble.
This afternoon Elaine prepared our contributions to a dinner aboard Talulah Ruby III this evening. Although we had to return to Paw Paw a little earlier than originally planned for our Zoom family get-together, it was yet another lovely evening with friends, followed by precious time with family, albeit remotely.
After a rather late, but fun night last night, we were both a little sluggish this morning, but it was no rest for the wicked; tasks had to be done in preparation for our next departure. While Roy moved all the jerry cans back to the cockpit, then dinghied over to Talulah Ruby III to assist Paul with an intermittent problem that was occurring on their email communication service, Elaine got the laundry done, then submitted the various artefacts of documentation needed for our next stop.
It was lunchtime by the time Roy returned having successfully sorted out Talulah Ruby III’s issue, thankfully, but by now we both needed an afternoon nap, one that extended longer than intended. That resulted in a mad scramble to prepare our contribution to another potluck dinner on the beach; this time to coincide with the Rally Registration event, where we received a refreshing cold towel and a welcome drink on arrival, offered by ladies and gents dressed in their traditional outfits, and to collect our welcome packs which included a very nice t-shirt each, amongst other items, have our photograph taken and to sort out a few logistics, given a change in the itinerary, particularly the alternative anchorage we were all being requested to move to.
Given the early start to the evening event, everything wrapped up soon after sunset, but an early night wasn’t to be; drinks, lots of funny stories and great laughs were had on Talulah Ruby III afterwards.
Yesterday we enjoyed a lazy, restful day without any chores or yacht tasks to take care of, instead enjoying another lovely walk; this time through the western end of village and onwards to the bordering beach. En route we were stopped by a young girl, speaking perfectly good English. She wanted to know if we would like to purchase some “coconut juice”, which we realised was coconut water. Delighted at the request, we were asked to wait in the shade of a nearby tree. Thinking she was bringing the coconuts to us, we were surprised when she returned empty handed, but asked us to follow her and, even more surprised, when we were invited into the grounds of the home to collect our four “jelly” coconuts. It was lovely to get an unexpected, up close view to the homes behind the walls and obtain a different perspective on the way of life here, including seeing children at play; their bicycles being the first clue there were indeed children on the island. The second clue was the local primary school we found during our wanderings.
Passing a few more of the quaint homes, we made our way to the beach bordering the southwestern side of the island, where we enjoyed a walk and a swim before venturing over to the northern, rougher side of the island.
We were also delighted to find the sea grass feeding grounds of the turtles we’ve seen popping up from time to time to take a peek at Paw Paw.
On our way back we eventually found the second “grocery” shop on the island actually open, although the shopkeeper nearly laughed at Roy when Roy asked if they had ice-cream. Obviously not something enjoyed on the island, although Ferrero Rocher chocolate is.
We returned to Paw Paw in time for lunch and a wee rest, before heading to the beach on the far eastern end of the island for a dinner arranged for us, compromising various local dishes to sample and providing the opportunity to meet the numerous other cruisers who had arrived over the preceding days. Set under the stars, we dined by candlelight, savouring the multitude of flavours of the meal and the company of friends, old and new.
Today we were up early to prepare for our own dinner “party” hosted on Paw Paw; sundowners followed by a potluck dinner with Talulah Ruby III and Golden Spirit. Besides preparing our contributions to the meal, most of the morning was spent moving all the jerry cans from the cockpit and undertaking a general tidy up / clean inside and out. Roy also found the time to bake his first baguettes after his baking lesson and Elaine enjoyed a swim off the back of Paw Paw.
A scrumptious dinner of barbecued chickens and freshly baked baguettes (from Paw Paw), a medley of roasted fresh vegetables (from Talulah Ruby III) and two delicious puddings; a chocolate pie and a summer pudding (from Golden Spirit), all of which went down like a treat, accompanied by lots of chatter and laughter. Oh yes, and copious amounts of alcohol!
Roy had an interesting morning, while Elaine relaxed onboard. After an early breakfast, he dinghied ashore to meet the Master Baker, Hussain, for his baguette baking lesson.
Hussain worked for 17 years at a number of the high-end resorts, many charging upwards of $1500USD per night and where he learnt his trade. It was only recently that he decided to return home and open his little bakery, serving his community and cruisers like ourselves arriving during the sailing season.
Like any business, it must have taken a substantial amount of capital for Hussain to set up his small business, given that all his equipment and tools were imported from Germany, while all his ingredients are imported from Sri Lanka and he has learnt to improvise with a gas oven versus the big rotary oven he had at the resorts, the latter keeping temperatures more consistent and evenly distributed in the oven.
Regardless, if the results of the baking lessons this morning were anything to go by, the community is indeed lucky to have him; the baguettes were baked to perfection and absolutely delicious! Apparently, though, the locals prefer panini rolls and submarine rolls (aka hotdog rolls), as well as the staple white loaf, so he doesn’t get much opportunity these days to bake exotic breads and pastries.
Besides the six delicious baguettes they baked, shared with Talulah Ruby III and Golden Spirit, Roy also gained some interesting insights into local life in the Maldives.
One observation we’ve had about Uligamu is the obvious lack of children and indeed people on the island. It transpires that most of the children are schooled in the capital, Malé, including tertiary education and almost all the working adults spend up to three months away from home working very long hours in these high-end resorts. Not an easy life at all for the islanders and definitely not something any holiday maker would know about or indeed think about.
After enjoying the freshly baked baguettes for lunch, followed by a wee nap, we were off exploring again; this time the underwater world of the many reefs surrounding the island. A nice long chat to Justine in England and a movie brought another lovely day to a close.
With the stormy weather continuing, Elaine enjoyed a lazy morning yesterday catching up on all her correspondence, while Roy continued his efforts on the repairs of the float switch; what a mission that turned into, but he eventually completed the rewiring and got the bilge pump operational again. Adding biocide to all the jerry cans and resealing the emergency hatch completed his latest To Dos List, but not before he’d dinghied over to Golden Spirit to re-gas their freezer, which had stopped working a few days out of Malaysia. Unfortunately the leak identified could not be repaired, so they remain without a freezer; not the best situation for any passage, especially when most of the contents had to be disposed off en route to the Maldives.
As the weather deteriorated, making Roy’s return to Paw Paw in the dinghy a little precarious, once safely back onboard, we spent the afternoon reading our books, catching up on some world affairs and enjoyed a movie night; the perfect pastimes for an overcast, rainy day!
This morning Roy was up early to dinghy ashore to collect our pre-ordered baked goods from the bakery, although the conditions were still a tad on the rough side, but not wanting to let the baker down, he ventured out nonetheless. However, it turns out this effort was in vain, since the baker had not prepared our order. Rather than waste the trip, he then visited the local “grocery“ store and managed to get some bread rolls, butter, cheese, yoghurt, veggies and chocolates to replenish our ship’s store.
After breakfast onboard, we dinghied back to shore to enjoy a walk on the beach and what a fabulous walk it was, on fine white sand, lapped by various shades of blue and turquoise water; the scenery alone was worth the effort and we definitely weren’t expecting the lush vegetation, accompanied by butterflies, that we encountered en route to the beach, along with a few more telltale signs of what life on the island is like, reminding us of our hikes on St Barts in the Caribbean. Sadly, there was also evidence of the scourge of the earth’s oceans; plastic waste!
By the time we returned to Paw Paw, however, we both needed a midday nap, having had an interrupted night’s sleep with the weather and an anchored fishing boat dragging precariously close to Paw Paw in the middle of the night.
After lunch, given that the weather had settled, it was time to enjoy our first snorkel in the Maldives and our first snorkel in months; again, well worth the effort. Although that the reefs are badly bleached, the variety of fish was delightful to see.
By this evening, Elaine had enjoyed a quick chat to Justine in England, who was shuffling horse poo at the time and the anchorage was starting to fill up, with four more yachts arriving today. Our day was sealed with a video call to Keenan and the grandsons, given that Brooke was on a road trip to Michigan.
After a good night’s sleep, we decided to enjoy a relaxing day onboard yesterday, getting the rest we both still needed. However, the first task of the day was to get the empty jerry cans ready for collection. We were pleasantly surprised that the full cans were returned by the afternoon, providing peace of mind that we had all the diesel we would need once we leave Uligamu.
Roy was definitely more active than Elaine, though. While Elaine enjoyed a chat to her folks in Ireland, then slept for most of the afternoon, Roy baked some bread and a chocolate muffin loaf, as well as replaced the Racor filter on the starboard engine and started the repairs required to the float switch of the bilge pump in the starboard forepeak cabin, which started to play up on passage for no apparent reason. As usual, it required more time than originally thought, after some troubleshooting revealed that a number of wires had corroded.
Feeling totally refreshed again, Elaine surfaced just in time to receive an invite to join Talulah Ruby (Andy and Paul) for dinner ashore after their son and additional crew member had arrived; we’d already met their first crew member the previous evening. Golden Spirit (Caroline and Michael) would be joining the outing too, but not before we all reconvened on Talulah Ruby III for pre-dinner drinks, following which our dinghy nighttime excursion commenced. Fortunately Talulah Ruby III had been ashore earlier in the day and had completed their reconnaissance, so we all just followed them into the small boat harbour.
Having ordered everyone’s meal ahead of time, everything was beautifully setup for us when we arrived and another evening of fun and laughter with friends ensued.
After our initial glimpse of the little island in the dark last night, we were excited to explore this morning and what a special treat it was. It was probably one of the most interesting little villages we’ve seen during this circumnavigation. Not only was it neat, tidy and spotlessly clean, there were so many unusual items scattered around that Elaine was in photographic heaven.
For starters, there are no cars, no traffic lights, no stop signs and the entire island is beach sand; roads, gardens, pathways, restaurant floors, etc, all beach sand, interspersed with coconut palms, banyan trees, flowers and all sorts of other vegetation. It was a mystery as to how this flora could even grow in the sand.
As we wondered around we saw homes constructed of various materials, including some from palm fronds and others from volcanic rock. There was no particular style per se, but some had shutters versus louvered windows, some were plastered and painted, others not. It was a fascinating mix of homes set out in a grid configuration.
In front of some homes, there were very intriguing “benches” made from a wooden or steel frame and rope, while other homes had privacy screens constructed from plastic water bottles.
Being early morning, women were out “sweeping” the area in front of their homes, while others waited near the small harbour for a water taxi. Being a muslim country, all the woman were dressed in their full body garments and head veils, but mostly, if not all, were in black, unlike other countries we’ve visited in recent years where the outfits are colourful and could be quite exquisite.
We were, however, surprised to find an abundance of noisy crows, which completely drowned out the beautiful sounds of the other birdlife inhabiting the island. Most fascinating, though, were, not only the number of hermit crabs, but the size of them; the biggest we’ve seen and more than what we found in Surwarrow.
After a stop at the local bakery to order croissants, as well a stop at one of the two “grocery” stores we found, to get some fruit, we returned to Paw Paw for breakfast. Afterwards Elaine decided to use her time to get the laundry done, while Roy replaced the Racor filter on the port engine, cleaned the anchor chain and locker, repositioned the full jerry cans in the cockpit, tried to complete the repairs on the float switch, but gave up as Paw Paw was bouncing around in the swell by that stage, as well as helped Talulah Ruby III fix the issue with their chartplotter.
An afternoon nap and a chat to Elaine’s sister in Ireland brought the day to a close.
