Diego Garcia - Seeking Info

[nauticalnomad]

Has anybody sailed to Diego Garcia its below the Maldives and is British Teritory?
It has an interesting History where the UK govt depopulated it on purpose,
The locals have fought and won back but the US are still there occupying until 2016 i think.
but it looks like a nice sailing destination..

[atoll]

Originally Posted by nauticalnomad

Has anybody sailed to Diego Garcia its below the Maldives and is British Teritory?
It has an interesting History where the UK govt depopulated it on purpose,
The locals have fought and won back but the US are still there occupying until 2016 i think.
but it looks like a nice sailing destination..

can you post a link to the us and uk abandoning it as a base in 2016.

i've only been to the archepelago a few times but it would be great if the locals could go back before the sea levels rise enough to make the area uninhabitable......................

[captain58sailin]

It is a pre-deployment site for MCS (Military Sealift Command) vessels that are under contract with the US Navy. An industrial area. Have not sail in myself, have worked with several mariners that were there, doesn't sound like much to offer, hotter than the hubs of hell 122* F.

[nauticalnomad]

Originally Posted by atoll

can you post a link to the us and uk abandoning it as a base in 2016.

i've only been to the archepelago a few times but it would be great if the locals could go back before the sea levels rise enough to make the area uninhabitable......................

Depopulation of Diego Garcia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Developments since 2000

The headquarters of BIOT police (2005)


In 2000 the British High Court granted the islanders the right to return to the Archipelago.[59] In 2002 the islanders and their descendants, now numbering 4,500, returned to court claiming compensation, after what they said were two years of delays by the British Foreign Office.[60]
However, on 10 June 2004 the British government made two Orders in Council under the Royal Prerogative forever banning the islanders from returning home,[61] to override the effect of the 2000 court decision. Some of the Chagossians are making return plans to turn Diego Garcia into a sugarcane and fishing enterprise as soon as the defence agreement expires (some see this as early as 2016).

(i read somewhere else about it as well, But cant find it now, Ill keep looking)

[atoll]

it was my understanding that the islanders were forever banned from returning by the british government.

and by 2016 iran and iraq will have sorted themselves out,so the uk and us will not need to keep a task force in the area............................

[Dhillen]

Otherwise known to sailors as "Chagos," as in the "Chagos Archipelago," this is one of the ultimate cruising destinations. The only way there is by your own boat. Diego Garcia is a US naval base at the bottom of the chain which is totally off limits to sailors. The US leases the facilities from the British who kicked the original inhabitants out, ostensibly telling them, "We're all going on a shopping trip to the Seychelles." And then nobody was allowed to go back...

We spent several months there and it is a true paradise.

One of the most pristine and beautiful places on earth.

Dhillen

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Dhillen

Otherwise known to sailors as "Chagos," as in the "Chagos Archipelago," this is one of the ultimate cruising destinations. The only way there is by your own boat. Diego Garcia is a US naval base at the bottom of the chain which is totally off limits to sailors. The US leases the facilities from the British who kicked the original inhabitants out, ostensibly telling them, "We're all going on a shopping trip to the Seychelles." And then nobody was allowed to go back...

We spent several months there and it is a true paradise.

One of the most pristine and beautiful places on earth.

Dhillen

There are now severe rules and high costs on visiting chagos. Its becoming virtually impossible to stay any length of time there now

Dave

[DeepFrz]

It is a pre-deployment site for MCS (Military Sealift Command) vessels that are under contract with the US Navy. An industrial area.

That's a different way of saying "Bomber Base".

[GordMay]

See also, several earlier CF discussions ➥ biot - Google Search

Including ➥ Chagos (BIOT) - New Rules

And ➥ Marine Sanctuary - Chagos Islands

The UK/ U.S. treaty, that turned the island into a military base, was signed in 1966. It runs until 2036, but either government can opt out in 2016. Meanwhile, there’s the non-trivial matter of supplying, improving, and operating the island’s military infrastructure. This article offers a look into those contracts ...
More ➥ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/diego-garcia-03556/

[Blue Crab]

Rhumb line view.

[Peter Richardso]

I read somewhere that you could become a life member of the yacht club for just $20 but the cost of mooring there has gone through the roof in recent times, off hand $500 for a minimum stay

[rebel heart]

I went there several times when I was in the Navy; our submarine stopped in there. Two interesting facts:

- There are folks who say the biblical version of "Eden" was really on Diego Garcia. Back before it was a barren atoll it was (according to fossil data) a garden paradise roughly smack dab in the backyard of early humans.

- It's solely an industrial military installation at this point. Private vessels can clear in there with permission from the installation commander because of emergency reasons, but there's nothing really to see and no one wants you there.

[Jon Hacking]

Salamon & Peros Banhos atolls (~300nm S of the southernmost Maldives, or ~100nm N of Diego Garcia) are delightful, but Diego Garcia is strictly off limits to cruising boats, although we did meet a Chinese Journalist(! - who was clueless at sailing) who stopped there for repairs.

I think the Brits actually did pay compensation to the displaced Chagosians, but they paid it to the Seychelles & Mauritius governments, who decided they had better uses for the $$ than giving it to the Chagosians.

[medicrene]

OK Guys, here is the real skinny on Diego Garcia.

I was stationed there at the begining of the war. All of the islands in the atol are completly off limits. However, the military only occupys the island of Diego Garcia. The other islands are open, but you are not allowed to go to them. Here is what happens.

About every week or ten days, a patrol of the Royal Marine Commandos will set out to patrol the islands looking for cruisers who have anchored in the atoll. If they find you, they tell you to pull up anchor and leave immediatly. They do not send you to jail or fine you.

Thus, if you can set anchor for a few days before they find you, all is well. Good luck.

And as one of those who lived in the "Garden of Eden" it was not all that fun. I lived in a tent the size of my boat with 10 other men. I had rats crawling on me at night and bombers screaming in and out at all times of the day and night. I do not see myself looking to visit there any time in the near future.

The Witchdoctor.

[goboatingnow]

About every week or ten days, a patrol of the Royal Marine Commandos will set out to patrol the islands looking for cruisers who have anchored in the atoll. If they find you, they tell you to pull up anchor and leave immediatly. They do not send you to jail or fine you.

sorry is this information pertinent to 1945 or today? a lot has changed in the last 5 years. see the BIOT site.

Dave