Rehua - A two thousand-nautical mile passage towards the Indian Ocean

We logged 2,115 nm to be precise, roughly the same as our Atlantic crossing. It certainly wasn’t a boring trip. Every day brought its challenges, whether it was a broken generator, fuel pump failure, or crossing the busy shipping lanes, with gigantic tankers speeding past us in both directions, or when dealing with the Sri Lankan fishermen who wanted to trade fish for cigarettes and alcohol. We were rewarded with the most amazing sunsets and sunrises and we were in awe at the beauty and the vastness of the ocean and the sky all around us. We had dolphins visit us on several occasions and also had a little bird staying over for the night. We had pitch-black dark nights with rain and bad weather and approaching tankers and we had beautiful calm moonlit nights on a peaceful sea with the perfect breeze pushing us along. Exactly three weeks after leaving Singapore, we were very happy to drop anchor in The Maldives as we arrived in Male early in the morning. It still feels a bit unreal that we are here. Three years in Singapore was a long time and we can’t quite believe that we just sailed two thousand miles in one go. I’m happy to be part of the cruising community again and I have missed this lifestyle over the last three years. Arriving here in Male was an immediate reminder of how inclusive and supportive this community is when we met a Belgian couple onboard another catamaran who had just arrived the day before and happily explained us the lay of the land. Later, we met a British solo sailor who had arrived a couple of weeks ago and who had had surgery upon arrival. The anchorage is a mixture of local charter yachts and round the world sailors, but everyone is equally friendly and chatty. We don’t plan to spend too much time here and as soon as we have some fresh supplies on board, we are out of here and you will be able to find us anchored in turquoise water, off a sandy island somewhere…