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Old 09-06-2018, 07:03   #1
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Sengal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau

Hello.


We're heading down with the hope of cruising in West Africa in November - January. I'm curious to hear from those who have sailed in either the Gambia, Casamance or Guinea Bissau.


We probably don't have time for all three but would like to try and make an informed decision which is best to suit our style.


If anyone has useful links or info on safety that would be good also. I have the RCC West Africa Guide.



Many thanks
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Old 09-06-2018, 07:47   #2
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Re: Sengal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau

What kind of boat do you have, where are you now ?
I will sail there at November Senegal guinea bisau and after cape varde from canary's.
About Senegal sailing is easy and the country is "safe" and the rivers are well charted .
In guinea bisau is really safe people are friendly and polite , you will need to speak Portuguese since English is not wide spread there yet , bijangos islands are one of the best places and remote places from the west civilization you will have great time sailing there , but be careful sailing in bisau is challenging there a lot of shallows big tidal range , strong currents and moving sandbanks.

My girlfriend is from bisau so never had issues with the language and getting information from locals .
If you sail from canaries would be nice to meet along the way !!!
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Old 09-06-2018, 07:53   #3
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Re: Sengal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau

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Originally Posted by gmakhs View Post

My girlfriend is from bisau so never had issues with the language and getting information from locals . If you sail from canaries would be nice to meet along the way !!!

Thanks for the info. We will leave out boat in Canaries maybe in September and then return to the boat in November and sail to Dakar. Then have November - January. We had considered sailing to Cape Verde and going to Dakar from there in November.


Boat in 43 foot cutter rig and we draw 2m.



When do you plan to set off from Canaries?
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Old 09-06-2018, 08:15   #4
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Re: Sengal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau

Yes I still debating this myself , but it's gonna be either straight to Dakar or cape varde and then Dakar .
I have the boat in Las palmas now , the plan is to leave end of September after the yearly haulout.
Make sure you have enough sun protection (shadowing ) and mosquito nets(mosquitoes and fly's are tough ) , plus the right vaccines for Africa .
The boat draft is in the limit in my opinion for bisau , just be careful and sail in the day making small steps and during high tide , the worst would be if you end up on dry land so you really need to plan your anchorages.
For entrance go in cacheu or bubaque and avoid bisau ,I have heard that in bisau it's quite challenging . Having a residency card my self it never bothered me .
Now if your boat is suitable to stay on a dry anchorage take that chance and EXPLORE the country is amazing .

Keep in mind there is no safe dock on those countries so you have to be self sufficient .
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Old 09-06-2018, 08:17   #5
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Re: Sengal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau

This is old information, but something to watch out for.

We had friends, who we met in the Canaries, go there in 1988 and at that time you HAD to surrender your passport to the government officials.

When our friends went to check out to leave, the immigration/customs "officials" said that they could not find their passports.

Andy, who was an Unlimited British Master, asked to see where their passport had been stored while they were in the Gambia. This seemed to be OK with the locals and they took him and his wife and kids into a back room "storage area".

There they found a 4-ft x 4-ft x 4-ft open top cardboard box FILLED with hundreds/thousands of passports! They took a picture of it, which Andy showed us as he was telling the story. Unbelievable.....

Luckily they found their passports in the top couple of inches of the pile after about 30-minutes of searching.

The officials did not care that they asked to do this or that they actually recovered them - so that part of the whole adventure went well.

Moral of the story - really beware when having to surrender your passport, and if it was me I would just sail on to another country rather than turn my passport over to any country or hotel.
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Old 09-06-2018, 08:22   #6
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Re: Sengal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau

Quote:
Originally Posted by gmakhs View Post
Yes I still debating this myself , but it's gonna be either straight to Dakar or cape varde and then Dakar .
I have the boat in Las palmas now , the plan is to leave end of September after the yearly haulout.
Make sure you have enough sun protection (shadowing ) and mosquito nets(mosquitoes and fly's are tough ) , plus the right vaccines for Africa .
The boat draft is in the limit in my opinion for bisau , just be careful and sail in the day making small steps and during high tide , the worst would be if you end up on dry land so you really need to plan your anchorages.
For entrance go in cacheu or bubaque and avoid bisau ,I have heard that in bisau it's quite challenging . Having a residency card my self it never bothered me .
Now if your boat is suitable to stay on a dry anchorage take that chance and EXPLORE the country is amazing .

Keep in mind there is no safe dock on those countries so you have to be self sufficient .

Thanks. Where do you plan to sail then? Straight to Guinea Bissau? have you considered the Casamance and River Gambia?


We do have beaching legs but not great unless on an even surface. Probably not great as a fail safe on a falling tide if aground but better than nothing.


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Old 09-06-2018, 08:23   #7
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Re: Sengal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau

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Originally Posted by Doug Brown View Post
Moral of the story - really beware when having to surrender your passport, and if it was me I would just sail on to another country rather than turn my passport over to any country or hotel.

Thanks for this. Old but good advice!
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Old 09-06-2018, 08:54   #8
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Re: Sengal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau

I live in The Gambia now for 20 years and the river is really beautiful to go upstream especially the sweet water part. Anchoring can be done near Denton Bridge you should enter through the bolongs from Banjul or find a place at Lamin Lodge very sheltered nice place. Anyway If you want/need some help/advise i'm on 7789797 my local gambian number
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Old 09-06-2018, 08:55   #9
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Re: Sengal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau

God she is gorgeous on this pic , my boat used to have legs as well but they have been lost years ago since the gold days in the Mediterranean I plan to fix new ones before I leave ,for the same reason .

The plan is to take it slow and enjoy as much as possible , so I plan to visit both Casamance and River Gambia , before bisau .
I want to sail for Caribbean in jenuarry time permited but there is no pressure .
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Old 09-06-2018, 09:47   #10
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Re: Sengal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau

Quote:
Originally Posted by gmakhs View Post
God she is gorgeous on this pic , my boat used to have legs as well but they have been lost years ago since the gold days in the Mediterranean I plan to fix new ones before I leave ,for the same reason .

The plan is to take it slow and enjoy as much as possible , so I plan to visit both Casamance and River Gambia , before bisau .
I want to sail for Caribbean in jenuarry time permited but there is no pressure .
Ok great thanks. We too will cross the Atlantic in January or Feb. From what I have heard it's a bit overcrowded and crime in some areas so we may stay as long as possible in west Africa

Have you a marine traffic link?
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Old 09-06-2018, 10:07   #11
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Re: Sengal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau

I was in Caribbean for a delivery 2 months ago the people there are nice and kind , i didn't had crime incidents but stories give and take ,so you have to be carefull . I believe after Africa you will be disappointed from some Caribbean islands .

I don't have an AIS ,one of my biggest mistakes after buying a new (raymarine autopilot that failed within 6 months )and not a wind vane .

I am not sure if my budget will be sufficient to buy one after all the new gadgets this year : forward solar , water maker , windvane , lithium batteries but if you come to las Palmas I am the only boat sailing under the Greek flag boats name :Nala and I can send you my contact details in pm so we can talk once you are here !
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Old 09-06-2018, 11:32   #12
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Re: Sengal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau

We have been to gambia this year. Also went up the river to Georgetown and back. Very nice people en very friendly. You can read our blog at:
SailingPegasus.nl - Zeilen met de Pegasus - Blog
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