Almost there but not quite 5 57N 75 10E
Yachtsongster
Brian Palmer
Thu 27 Jan 2011 08:02
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The past couple of days have been hard going with
20 to 25 knot winds gusting 30 at times and huge seas. However
two days ago we had a day of very light winds, flat seas and sunshine where
we had to motor sail for much of the day before the winds
returned. We are now making our way across the
Lakshadweep Sea, the piece of Indian Ocean that separates India from the
Maldives heading for Uligamu in the north of the Maldives which is situated at
07.04.65N 072 54 93E. We heard yesterday that there were
difficulties with cruising permits etc in Kulhudufushi our original destination
so today I phoned the listed agent, this information is never correct in the
books or on the internet. He was no longer an agent but the
friendly guy contact edCustoms in Uligamu for me and the ycalled to tell me that
if we head for Kulhudufushi we will only be allowed 3 days in the Maldvies or
pay $500US for a cruising permit to be able to sail to the island of Uligamu
which is our port of departure in a couple of weeks. We have
changed direction and are now heading in a more northerly direction to the atoll
of Uligamu on Ihavandhippolhu Atoll.
This passage has been much harder than we expected
and we just cannot wait to put the anchor down and have a good nights
uninterrupted sleep. Cooking has been a nighmare as
everything is thrown around and we both look forward to a good cooked meal
served on a plate rather than thrown into a bowl.
Today the seas have calmed slightly but are still
extremely confused and the winds have abated to a reasonable level of around 15
- 18 knots from the North East.
The positive side is that we are at least 20 per
cent of the way towards the Mediterannean.
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