20 April Thinadhoo

00 32.03N 073 06.22E 6.5m sand

Staying on the west side of the atoll we moved 7nm south to the town of Thinadhoo. The anchorage is a sandy lagoon accessed through a 3.5m channel. The water is cloudy so you don't see the occasional bommie within the lagoon. We first noticed the floats and then on a clear day the dark patched beneath the floats. We were one of six boats in the lagoon and there was plenty of room for all of us.

ferry terminal

tuna boat

Thinadhoo has a large tuna fishing fleet and regular ferry service to the other islands. Filling up with diesel and water is simple. Diesel is delivered to the boats by tanker and potable water can be taken on at the ice plant. We phoned the fuel company and asked them to bring a tanker and the water man to be there at the same time. We lifted anchor, motored up to the wharf and David backed us up to the wall where we tied off to one of the tuna boats. It didn't take long to pump 240L of diesel (47p per litre) and 850L of water (£6 for 1000L).

Thinadhoo is a well supplied little town with two ATMs, half a dozen hardware shops, one of which had diversified to sell ice cream cones, a bakery, well stocked (by Maldives standards) food stores and a chandlery. It has cafes and restaurants with limited menus. You could have fried rice but only with tinned tuna. Odd when the tuna boats were landing their catch within sight of where we sat. There was no chicken or beef, just tinned tuna. Therefore it isn't surprising that the shop with ice creams sold between 500 and 800 a day! There was always a queue.

testing the ice cream

Last week the pump for our freshwater system failed; it couldn't build pressure and was running continually unless you switched off the power feed. David fitted the spare pump which we had bought in NZ five years ago only to find it leaked because the diaphragm was faulty. Fortunately for us the chandlery not only had a Jabsco water pump, but the less common 24V version.

When the other yachts left and motored 80nm to Gan in Addu atoll we stayed with German catamaran Relax waiting for a forecast westerly wind to be able sail the distance. We didn't have to wait long for our westerlies and enjoyed a comfortable overnight trip to Gan – our final port of call in Maldives before we continue on to Chagos.