Senegal and Gambia

[AiniA]

Curious to know if anyone has sailed to Senegal and Gambia and if so whether they are worth a visit on the way from South Africa to the Caribbean?

[boatman61]

I've not done it myself but know folks off 3 boats who have done the Gambia...
Swiss.. Dane's and Brits... they all reckoned it was great..

[barnakiel]

Senegal and Gambia are not on the regular sailing route from RSA to West Indies.

Both countries are extensively visited primarily by francophones, ask in their forums and you are likely to get plenty of first-hand info.

Whether they are worth the visit or not is up to your likes and dislikes.

b.

[MarkJ]

They are normally done on the route from the Med or Europe to the Caribbean.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by AiniA

Curious to know if anyone has sailed to Senegal and Gambia and if so whether they are worth a visit on the way from South Africa to the Caribbean?

you are going to have a tough time getting to the west coast of africa on a passage from cape town without a lot of motorsailing.

from personal experince reaching the cape verde's was difficult on a passage from ct-st helena-mindanao.

assuming you can get that far east,casamance,river gambia,sini saloum and dakar yc are worth stops.

petty theft is a problem and genarally you will need a guard for the boat and dinghy around banjul town and dakar if you go in the main port.

malaria,dengue fever and corrupt officials are the norm rather than the exception!

lots of info on the net,see noonsite.com for up to date country info.

not a stop for the faint hearted,but well worth a visit for the seasoned traveler

[AiniA]

Thanks for the responses. Perhaps I need to check French boards - good test for my French. The pilot charts for December to February do not look too bad for getting there. Ainia is a surprisingly good sailor for 40,000 lb, thank you Mr Hood. My wife and I are pretty adventurous travelers and I spent several months volunteering in the mountains of Lesotho so am used to fairly primitive conditions. Started with Noonsite but only limited info there. Got several months to think about it.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by AiniA

Thanks for the responses. Perhaps I need to check French boards - good test for my French. The pilot charts for December to February do not look too bad for getting there. Ainia is a surprisingly good sailor for 40,000 lb, thank you Mr Hood. My wife and I are pretty adventurous travelers and I spent several months volunteering in the mountains of Lesotho so am used to fairly primitive conditions. Started with Noonsite but only limited info there. Got several months to think about it.

some friends stopped there in 2009 their blog is quite informative

link here
http://www.ironylondon.com//?s=senegal

[syGabber]

We have been in Senegal and Gambia in 2012 and enjoyed it. Check website, sory in Dutch, Zeilen West Afrika, Senegal, Gambia, Saloum, Cassamance but Google translate can be of help.
We sailed from Cape verde to Dakar (Senegal).
Erik

[AiniA]

Terrific blogs, thanks.