Indian Ocean Passage Planning

[hooligan6a]

When I was there they would not take Pounds only US Dollars. The story going around then was, that the Royal Marines would only take Dollars because they used them to buy beer at the American club on Diego Garcia. I don't believe it. The RM's were good guys. Where do you apply for the Insurance and the permit? I would love to get your waypoints and read your cruising notes.

[yachtdaemon]

Yeah they were good guys, the ones we met. You have to get a permit in advance nowadays, you'll get booted out if you arrive without one. You have to arrange your own insurance, so dependent on where you live/whom you normally deal with. The permit is from BIOT, their contact email is BIOTadmin@fco.gov.uk.

I'll post the cruising info in a series of posts for interested parties. There is also an informal group passing around info organised by Sea Bunny, who are in Boat Lagoon, Phuket at the moment.

[yachtdaemon]

Indian Ocean Passage Part One
Jill & Bruce on SV Daemon, 2012
Langkawi to Chagos

We left Langkawi on 9 June and headed across the Malacca Straits to Lhokseumawe on Sumatra, experiencing the usual horrible Malacca Straits sailing – squalls, thunderstorms, rain etc. Some fishing boats off Malaysia, but little large traffic until we reached the shipping lanes near Sumatra, and then small craft near the Sumatra coast, all buzzing us and begging for beer and cigarettes.

We rounded the top of Sumatra in the pass off Banda Aceh with 3 knots of current behind us and 20 knots of wind against us. Kids, don’t try this at home! The result was 3 meter standing waves in the pass, which was very uncomfortable, with our bows going under and water racing back over the decks. Anchor and wait for better weather would be our recommendation. However, it only took half an hour or so to get through and then we headed offshore to get out of the large swell coming in.

We then motored down the coast of Sumatra (no wind after the first day), making a few overnight stops. We didn’t have a CAIT, so kept a low profile, and had no problems. We stopped at Lahewa on Nias to get diesel and fresh vegetables. We tried to throw ourselves on the mercy of the Port Captain, but he pretended we didn’t exist, although his staff were really helpful in arranging diesel for us (5500rp per litre plus delivery fee) and showing us where the market and shops were. When we came in to the wharf to refuel, most of the town was their, including the police chief, but no-one was interested in papers or passports. Very friendly place and a great anchorage.

We then went down to Cubadak Resort south of Padang, intending to head into town and provision up for the ocean crossing. However the owners of this resort are incredibly friendly and helpful, and had our provisions bought out from Padang for a small fee, much cheaper than us getting taxis and buses in, and saving a day travelling. They also have a fresh water spring where we could fill up with water, let us buy LPG form them (siphon off their bottles) and arranged diesel (5500 litre delivered). We also went over to the mainland with one of their staff on market day (Tuesdays) and he helped us at the market. The fruit and vegetables there were first rate and lasted well. I can’t praise this place highly enough – they also do great meals, about US$20 per head, but worth the money.

West Coast Sumatra is very beautiful and unspoiled and if you have time (and a CAIT) it would be easy to spend a couple of months down there before you set out across the Indian Ocean. We found the Wings guide to be very useful (google them for their website). Charts are not very accurate and depths may vary post tsunami, more so in the northern area. You need to be alert for tsunami sensor buoys along the coast, although frequently there are fishing boats attached to them to alert you to their presence.

We left Cubadak on 5 July and motored out through the barrier islands until we picked up wind just past them, then we had wind all the way to Chagos. It was mainly from the S or SE and anything from 5 to 15 knots. Be aware that this is the ITCZ, so squalls abound. We only had a couple with 30 knots of wind for a brief time, the rest topped out at 20-25 knot bursts. We had a couple of periods of extended squally weather, being hit by squall after squall and constant torrential rain. As the Indian Ocean Cruising Guide note, do NOT underestimate the effect of this on crew morale! We were exhausted from constant sail trim and putting in and shaking out reefs. After a particularly horrible 36 hours we ended up heaving to and getting some rest for a few hours until the worst had gone through.

After we passed the Sumatra barrier islands, we saw no shipping (apart from one night where we passed a cluster of fishing boats) until we got to longitude 83 degrees, when we seemed to meet a shipping lane, and often had 3 or 4 ships on the AIS at once. This also heralded the appearance of several fishing fleets. Shipping continued at a lower level until we reached the 200 mile limits of Chagos.

We are currently in Chagos anchored off Ile Fouquet and there is only 1 other yacht here.

[yachtdaemon]

Indian Ocean Passage Part 2: Chagos to Madagascar
Jill & Bruce, SV Daemon 2012

We spent 10 days in Chagos, first at Ile Fouquet in the Salomons until we had unsettled weather with squalls that blasted us with 30 knots of onshore wind. We then moved to Ile Boddam for a couple of days until the SE trades picked up and made it bouncy in there, so it was back to Fouquet, which was pleasant in the steady trades. Boddam has an excellent laundry set up with barrels for washing and rinsing and clotheslines set up. There is a well with water good for washing, and if treated in the usual way, would also be OK for drinking. You can also dispose of rubbish here – recycle cans, bin plastics and burn other rubbish in a fire site.

The fishing is excellent and snorkelling great. The only other boat there with us kleft after a couple of days, so we got a bit lonely after that. Quite a change from the old social days! The BIOT vessel Pacific Marlin came in to Salomon atoll while we were there and they came over to check us out in a large inflatable. All very friendly and just asked us about our permit, but didn’t need to see it.

We are using Navionics for iPad for our chartplotter and found that the charting on this was very accurate, as it was satellite derived. After a couple of trips across the lagoon I would have been happy using it at night in an emergency.

We left Chagos on 5 August and were reefed down within half an hour, which set the tone for the rest of the voyage, which was fast and furious. We had steady SE winds, generally around 20 knots, but steady 30 knots on some days and 40 knots just off the Madagascar Coast for a few hours. Not particularly comfortable, but not too bad either. It was the fastest passage we have done, averaging over 150 miles per day (we are a 32 foot heavy displacement boat). We headed southwest to 12 degrees 20 mins south, 62 degrees 14 minutes east to cross the Mascarene Plateau where it was narrow and about the deepest, as the seas were around 3 meters plus from the steady strong winds. We had no difficulty in crossing the plateau with 30 knots blowing. We only saw one ship between Chagos and Nosy Mitsio on Madagascar, and that was at 10 degrees 40 S, 65 degrees E. Given the lack of shipping, I think it unlikely that Somali pirates are going to head to this area, especially at this time of year.

We then headed west to come in about 15 miles south of Cap Ambre at the top of Madagascar and sailed along the coast. We kept a mile or so offshore until we were around and experienced no problems (unlike the top of Sumatra), but we may have been lucky. We had 30 knots of SE behind us. It was lovely to come around into flat water, but we still had a lively sail until we got down to Nosy Misio where we are currently anchored.

[yachtdaemon]

Yacht Daemon 2012

General

Clearing In:
At Nosy Be: First go to the Police office (actually a blue and white shipping container) on the jetty at Hellville. They will want your passports and 3 crew lists (it helps if you use crew lists as per the East Africa Pilot, which have a French version, as little English is spoken), plus 50,000 ariary per person for a 1 month visa. You can get 3 months, which costs more and involves trips to government offices, but we didn’t do this, so have no exact information. They will keep your passports and let you go up into Hellville to the ATM to get some local money (by this time you will have been adopted by a boat boy, who will take you around all the stops for a tip of 5,000 or 10,000 ariary and translate for you). When you have finished with them, next stop is Customs. In our case this was in a shed next to the Police office, and cost nothing, but requiring more crew lists, however others have had to go into the town office, by the Catholic church in Hellville and have been charged 20,000 ariary. After that is the Harbour Master, which cost us 23,000 ariary, as we are less than 10 meters, the rate is more for over 10 meters. He will give you a form which you take to an office on the corner by the informal food court just outside the wharf gates where a woman will issue you with a cruising permit. That is free, but she will want 35,000 ariary when you check out, which brings us to…

Clearing Out:
First stop is Police who will want 3 crew lists. They managed to get some ariary out of the cruiser ahead of us, but didn’t ask us for payment. You need to tell them a) your boat is in the Hellville harbour (or they will make you bring it around before you clear) and b) that you are leaving that day (even if you don’t). Then take your papers to the woman at the cruising permit office to clear out. As mentioned above, she will want 35,000 ariary and will brandish a fax in French to show that it is a genuine request. However, given our French, it could have been a shopping list!

Security:
Outboard motor theft is a national sport. The possession of one means a good living and makes you a rich man, so the temptation is great. Keep them locked and chained at all times! Otherwise, remember you are in one of the poorest countries in the world and act and dress accordingly. Apart from the theft of a furling line in one of the northern bays on the mainland, outboard motor theft was the only crime against yachts we heard of while we were in Madagascar.

Cruising notes:

General:

We overnighted from Cap Ambre, as we rounded at 5pm, so did not stop at any of the bays in the north, instead going straight to Nosy Mitsio. Cruisers from Asia will be amazed at the lack of fishing boats, but be careful as lights on local vessels are unheard of.

The sea becomes wonderfully calm after you round Cap Ambre, but the wind is still quite strong until you are a few miles south of Nosy Mitsio, when it becomes the land/sea breeze phenomenon, with the sea breeze kicking in between 10am and midday, and rising to 15-20 knots, which in flat seas, gives great sailing. We found the night time land breeze to be less around the Nosy Be area, but further south (eg: the Radama Group onwards) it became more significant, and would kick in from around 7 or 8pm and blow until around 8 or 9am. During the sailing season the temperature is wonderful- around 25-27º C and the heat is dry.

Do not count on getting provisions outside of Hellville. The people are very, very poor and the land is very dry, so often there is only enough for their own use. Some areas have an excess of a particular speciality that they will trade, for instance, honey and mudcrab in BaramahamayRiver, and prawns in Moromba and BalyBays. As we did not stop in Majunga, the only other provisioning we found was a small market (bazaar) in Soalala in Baly Bay, which had a few vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, leafy greens) and some eggs. Water is also scarce, especially during the dry season. Some water could be found at Soalala. The East Africa Pilot suggests Analalava as another provisioning place, but since the closing of the prison the town has declined and provisions are not available.

Trading can be done with almost anything, but ropes, sunglasses (which you can buy very cheaply from the street vendors in Hellville), soap, shampoo and t shirts are popular. Giving your empty bottles and cans as an extra gift – “cadeau” – is much appreciated.

All references to charts in the following notes are for Navionics for iPad – other cruisers noted differences in accuracy from their systems, so care is needed in all cases. Also, we like to anchor well out, away from mosquitoes, so often you can anchor in shallower areas than we do.

Nosy Mitsio

Anchored anchored at S12º54.41, E48º34.67 in 8 meters.
We did not go ashore here as it blew strongly and rained while we were here, strong winds being a common occurrence at this island. We could have anchored further in, as the reefs do not extend as far as our chart showed. Apparently the snorkelling on Ankarea at the entrance is excellent, but it was too rough to try it while we were there.

Nosy Sakatia

Anchored S13º18.09, E48º10.67 in 4.5 meters.
Lovely sheltered anchorage, but with a ferocious tide which runs towards Hellville as in comes in. Snorkelling is good on the reefs around, and it frequented by a huge turtle named “Coconut” as that is the size of his head. An extra bonus of anchoring here is the presence of Des and Nell, South African cruisers who now live here and who are a fount of knowledge about the place. To find them, head in to the beach with the mangroves where the boats are moored and ask anyone for Papa Della and Mama Della (apparently in Madagascar you are known by the name of your oldest child), Watch the reef to the south when entering the Sakatia anchorage.

Hellville

Anchored in various places and depths depending on positions available, in 5-13 meters.
Anchorage:
You will be immediately adopted by a local boat boy – we used Romeo, Julian and Rasta John, all of who were trustworthy, but Rasta John left our dinghy in better condition. They all charge 10,000 ariary for a day or 5,000 for half a day and can arrange, laundry, diesel etc etc. We got diesel through Romeo and Julian for 3000 ariary per litre (gas station price 2730) which came delivered to the wharf in jerry cans, so it was worth it for the convenience. The downside is that they WILL use your dinghy for their own purposes while you are in town, but there is little option (apart from anchoring in Crater Bay and getting taxis in to town, but that involves leaving you dinghy unwatched) as the wharf has no dinghy parking and is in constant use from tour boats, ferries and cargo ships. Any dinghy parked there will be squashed. The wharf is awful, and access difficult at low tide. It involves scrambling on to one of the moored cargo boats then across to a very rusted steel platform and up some rusted steel stairs, several of which have only the skeletons remaining. At high tide you can use the ramp, a much easier option.

Town:
We found Hellville to be a quaint, ramshackle but charming town and grew to love it. The people are laid back and friendly (after initial reservation) and after spending so long in Moslem countries it was great to be in a place where shoulders and legs weren’t taboo!

We found we could get most supplies there, the exceptions being rolled oats for muesli and brown sugar. We shopped at the Shampion supermarket for our dry and canned goods (mainly French), wine and beer, meat and cheese. The local cheeses are good (similar to French rind-washed) and there is also a fresh local mozzarella, but it doesn’t keep well. There are also a large range of imported European cheeses and cured meats (salami, braeseola, hams), terrines and the local dried zebu sausage is very good. The fresh zebu is great, but the cheaper cuts can be a little tough. Fillet is so cheap (about 15,000 ariary per kilo) we stuck with that. The mutton was good but the chicken wasn’t so appetising although the duck looked good. There is also a newer supermarket out of town near CraterBay, but we didn’t go to that. We got our vegetables from the local market which is excellent and has a wide variety of local fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices as well as eggs, meat, fish, lobster, prawns and mud crab.

The local beer, THB, is good, but intestinal disturbances have been reported after consumption from bottles and cans are reported to be safer. A slab of cans was around 40,000 ariary. Wine is mainly French or South African – we found the casks of Overmeer red to be more than acceptable and were priced at around 65000 ariary. Rum is great, the best bottled brand is N K Johnson at around 6000 ariary for a litre! You can also buy rum in bulk at 4000 per litre, the best stuff being at the Chinese store opposite the market (identified by the THB sign above the door). It is great for making flavoured rums. The store opposite the Mofo Artisan Bakery has cheaper rum, but it is not as good. Pastis is around 18000 per litre.

The Mofo has the best bread - the baguettes are excellent – and very good pastries. They also have wonderful icecream, especially the vanilla, which is full of vanilla seeds. The bread at Oasis is not as good.

Nandipo was our favourite restaurant, serving French food, plus wood oven pizzas. The food was excellent, and ranged from 12000 to 18000 ariary. The dish of the day is excellent value and comes with a glass of wine. Escargot fans should try the local snails – tender and delicious! Digestifs (flavoured rum) are complimentary after the meal. They also have the best toilet in town, and free but very slow wifi.

Chez Sitty by the market is also good, cheaper and more local but lacks the free rum! It also has free wifi. Oasis is more snack food (and wifi), and we didn’t try Papillon but were told it was expensive, and the food only average with small portions.

There are three ATMS in town which take credit cards. They tend to run out at the weekends and don’t get recharged until Monday afternoons, so bear that in mind if you plan a spend-up. The maximum withdrawal is 300,000 at the bank by the Police Station in town or 400,000 at the other banks. You can do multiple withdrawals. It is also important to grab the cash as soon as it appears, as we have heard of others who have had it sucked back into the machine and then become involved in an extended nightmare trying to get the bank to give it back.

Water is available from taps in the street, but it is more convenient to get it from Nosy Komba.

Taxis are usually Renault 4s, some of which are lovingly maintained, but most of which aren’t! They cost 1000 per person around town. There are also tuk tuks, known locally as pousse-pousse which cost 500 per person.


There are several hardware stores in town and they have a surprising range of goods. We got glow plugs for our engine at one.

Diesel and petrol are available at the gas station near the market (stand at the roundabout, facing the port and it is the road on the left – you should see the sign from the roundabout) or via the boat boys. You cannot fuel up at the jetty, despite what the East Africa Pilot says. LPG is available but requires decanting unless you wish to buy/swap a bottle. The fitting is the Malaysian push-on style. The guy we used was very helpful – to find his store we turned left at the bottom of the street the Shampion supermarket was on, and he was on the left hand side. We bought a bottle from him (12kg bottle and gas was 112,000 ariary, the gas itself being 83,000 and the bottle 29,000), took it to the boat, decanted it and returned it to him and got the money for the bottle back.

Internet – Orange has the fastest service and fast 3G is available around the Nosy Be area. Outside Nosy Be/Komba/Sakatia, coverage is limited but the slow Edge service is sometimes available down the coast (Morombe and Baly in particular). There is an internet café in Hellville.

Souvenirs are good here, and at Komba. Items include inlaid wood boxes, wooden cars and carvings, embroidered and cutwork tablecloths and hangings and raffia baskets and bags. The Baobab shop north of the market on the right hand side has great postcards.

Nosy Komba

Anchored S13º26.51, E48º21.05 n 8 meters.

This is a delightful stop, very touristy, but fun. In a highish tide you can take your dinghy up to the wall at Chez Yolande and fill up jerry cans with water from a hose. Filter it before putting it in your tanks as it has some sediment. Along the waterfront there is a trough for doing laundry.

The highlight of Komba is a trip to see the lemurs, or maki, as they are known locally. There is a sign on a corner of the main path through the village with maki on it (the side road also has a sign for Gargotte Timo restaurant). This is different from the Maki Company t shirt shop. Entrance to the park is 2000 per person, and a guide will take you up the hill to the area where the semi-tame lemurs live. Stand there with a banana while he calls “Maki, maki, maki” and suddenly you are surrounded by black lemurs all intent on a banana feast. They will happily clamber all over you and perch on your shoulder to be fed banana, but are very gentle and well-mannered. Magic! There are also snakes (boas) in a walled pen, a chameleon and some land tortoises, ranging from the small local ones to an enormous one from the Seychelles. He likes bananas as well. All the tortoises go gaga if you give them a neck scratch.

It seems most of the embroidered cloth you see in Hellville is made here – everywhere tablecloths and hangings waft in the breeze, and groups of women sit sewing and cutting the fabric. A large table cloth is around 50,000 ariary, smaller around 40,000.

There are several restaurants here. We went to Timo’s, on the road to the lemurs and had excellent mud crab for 10,000 each. At Timo’s you get what he has at the time, so you need to enquire in advance what is available, there is no menu. We also went to Chez Yolande’s (Timo’s mum!) where the menu is larger, but it is more expensive although there are free digestifs. However since we were getting our water there, we didn’t mind paying the bit extra.

The downside of Komba is the dreaded “Komba Roll”, a roll which comes in at night causing a lot of discomfort, especially at spring high tide. It seems to depend a lot on what the wind is doing in the north, as we have spent good nights there as well.

Nosy Mamoko

Anchored S13º43.3 E48º11.17 in 13 meters
Very sheltered anchorage with no swell. There are lemurs here, a giant tortoise and a baobab on the point. It is polite to bring a gift for the ipanjaka (sp???), the local female chief.

RussianBay

Anchored S13º32.73 E48º11.17 in 7 meters and S13º32.13 E47º59.88 in 10 meters.

RussianBay is a very large, beautiful bay but because of the size, the outer bay does not give all-round shelter from the wind, although very little swell gets in. There would seem to be more protection in the inner bay, but we did not check there. There is a small restaurant in the bay near the entrance (second anchorage) but it was closed the day we were there. Snorkelling is reasonable on the reef near here. A local resident, Poulin (sp?) can take you for walks to the waterfall and show you the old Russian settlement remains, where nowadays they make the local pirogues.

BaramahamayRiver (HoneyRiver)

Anchored S13º42.79 E47º54.05 in 10 meters
The charts were considerably off here, our entrance showed us crossing the reef to the south of the bay. There is a sandbar extending from the north side at the entrance, but once you have passed this, the north side is deep and staying over there ensures you miss the reef opposite the main village, which extends from the south side. Avoid the temptation to anchor too far back into the bay if you arrive at high tide – there are drying sandbars.

Many people will want to trade with you here, and the main items are honey and mud crab. The current going rate is 10,000 ariary for a 1.5 litre bottle of honey. Mud crab is around 2-3,000 per crab.

Daniel the local school teacher is a nice guy, and speaks a small amount of English. If he is not teaching, he can take you on walks to the villages in the surrounding hills. Make sure you go at mid tide onwards, as the river drops to mud in the inner stretches at low tide and you will need to tramp through the mud carrying dinghies if you go at low tide.

Josianne has a small restaurant on the left as you land on the village beach. We had mud crab followed by fresh coconuts for 15,000 ariary when we were there. She also has beer, but if the fridge has not been on, they may be warm.

If a guy called Fidel, or Castro (born during the communist days of Madagascar) wants to sell you crab, be wary, as we have had reports of him agreeing to one price (2,000) then increasing it to 10,000 when he comes back with them. Martine was recommended to us for our crab purchases.

Pointe Berangomaina

Anchored S14º05.86 E47º54.33 in 10 meters

The charts were also badly off here, showing us further south than we were. Extreme care is needed on the entrance and in the bay, as reefs extend from the south and off the main village. Do not anchor closer to the village than this anchor spot. It would be easier to negotiate this bay when the tide is out so you can spot the reefs which dry. The bay is very sheltered.

Nosy Lava

Anchored S14º32.65 E47º37.15 in 8 meters

An uncomfortable anchorage, as the swell rolls around the top of the island and curls into the bay. The prison is no longer operating here, and the ruins are definitely worth a visit. All the prison records have just been dumped on the office floor and make fascinating viewing.

MorambaBay

Anchored S14º54.33 E47º20.66 in 7 meters

We anchored on this side as we had strong SE winds, but the north side looks prettier. This is a magic bay, lined with baobabs and inhabited by the large lemur, the indri. We saw indri in the bay to the SE of the anchorage and also in a tree on the path that leads to the village on the northern anchorage beach (which has a stone bbq spot mid-beach). On the large island in the centre of the bay there is a huge baobab, reputed to be 1500 years old. To find it, land at the centre beach on the NW side of the island, which has a rocky cove to the right and a good sandy beach for landing on. Follow the path towards the other side of the island (5 minutes or so) then turn left when you reach the other side and follow the path to the tree.

The family on the beach SE of the anchorage are very friendly. We traded for prawns with fisherpeople coming to the boat here.

From here we overnighted to BalyBay but other yachts day-hopped down the coast and enjoyed it.

Baly Bay

Anchored S16º04.53 E45º18.09 in 6 meters

BalyBay is by no means a comfortable anchorage. It is so large and so shallow in most places that you anchor a mile or two off shore, and the fetch is large. During the daytime sea breeze it can get very uncomfortable as the wind and waves come through the entrance, but by late afternoon the wind has usually tracked around enough for you to gain some protection again. The only consolation is that you have a lot of drag room! Some cruisers suggest using the anchorages at the entrance as marked in the East Africa Pilot, and shuffling between them during the day as the winds clock around. While this may be more comfortable, it is not practical if you want to visit the village for supplies.

The village of Baly on the west side of the bay has no provisions but Soalala on the east has a small market with basic vegetables and shops with a very basic range of goods and phone top-up cards. There is a beer shop! Water is available for washing from wells in the town and you may be able to arrange drinking water from the Swiss prawn farm/factory in the large building at the south end of the town. This involves security checkpoints but there are some English-speaking people at the plant. Try to visit the town once only as the Police had people on the beach on our second visit, trying to intercept cruisers going to the market to take them to the Police station where the Police Chief wanted to check documents.

If you do not need provisions or water, a more comfortable place to wait for the hop-off to Africa may be BoenyBay, north of Baly. Other cruisers recommended this as being very sheltered, although with a tricky entrance.

[yachtdaemon]

Madagascar to RichardsBay

Cruising Notes From Nell & Des (Gambit) with notes from Jill & Bruce (Daemon) in italics.


Gambit suggest sailing down coast to Cap St Andre and then heading W with current. (We didn’t experience a W current, but mainly counter current until we passed the sea mounts W of Juan de Nova) Once closer to Mozambique coast current will turn S and you can head to Bazaruto Archipelago. Enter Bazaruto Arc from the N and go to the 2nd anchorage on the chart then down to the “tide” symbol to anchor. Next day go down to Ihade Santo past 2nd sand bar, do at low tide so you can see the shallows. Then to Benguerra Lodge between WP 3 & 4. Call Norman on Regal to help you in. Lodge very welcoming and good for water and supplies.

Waypoints:
1) S21º46.029 E35º23.134
2) S21º46.992 E35º21.841
3) S21º51.279 E35º23.748
4) S21º50.753 E35º24.622
5) S21º50.080 E35º24.907
6) S21º49.148 E35º25.963
7) S21º48.921 E35º26.598
8) S21º48.253 E35º27.480
9) S21º48.020 E35º27.958
10) S21º48.253 E35º27.480
11) S21º47.787 E35º30.319


WP out of channel good can anchor in from WP 7 to wait for tide etc. Once outside pass head 106 T offshore to avoid reef off Ilhale Sante Isabel.

Next anchorage Baia De Ihmabane. If heavy SW coming anchor off Barrow Point S23º47.03, E35º31.08. Otherwise can go in to Linga Linga if winds are light and need a break. Chart accurate but to get in need incoming tide. Anchor off wreck once inside.

Waypoints across bar:
1) S23º39 E35º30
2) S23º41.3 E35º26
3) S23º42.5 E35º26
4) S23º44.5 E35º25
5) S23º44.5 E35º24
6) S23º44.15 E35º23.69

We anchored in Linga Linga in strong (25 knot) southerlies and it was a little uncomfortable, but OK. Make sure you are well dug in, and not too close to shore as the beach shelves rapidly. Check prices and exchange rate at the resorts if you plan to dine there – it can get expensive. US$ and rand usually accepted. Water may be available from the resorts and you may be able to get a lift to town for shopping.

Extra note: After doing a dinghy survey, we used the following waypoints to get through the sandbars up to a more sheltered anchorage off a very helpful resort (Agua Breeze, run by Emile and Betsy). You can get water from them and they will arrange for the locals to catch lobster/crab/prawns for you, and get someone who you can hire to do laundry. We anchored here in 35 knot southerlies with no problems. It is a very big anchorage with room for 30 boats. There is a town at the top of the bay where you can get supplies, but it alerts the port officials that you are there, leaving you open to the purchase of a transit visa for around US$60-70.

7) S23º44.08 E35º23.5
8) S23º43.90 E35º23.387
9) S23º43.584 E35º23.23
10) S23º43.204 E35º23.155
11) S23º43.018 E35º23.145
12) S23º42.896 E35º23.216
13) S23º42.789 E35º23.276
14) S23º42.718 E35º23.362
15) S23º42.700 E35º23.42
16) S23º42.595 E35º23.388
17) S23º42.451 E35º23.543
18) S23º42.265 E35º23.605
10) S23º42.187 E35º23.610

Off Carbo Des Correntes underwater reefs can cause upwelling, however this is not a problem to sail through

From Cabo Zavora head direct for Sodwara Bay to stay in Moz. Current and avoid counter current inshore. Will take 2 ½ days from Porta de Barra to Richards Bay. Leave with NE wind. Bolt hole is Ilha Inhaca if strong SW coming. Anchor off the light house on the NW transit line. Once wind swings to SE leave for Richards Bay.
Anchorage in N winds:
S25º58.710 E32º54.160
Anchorage in S winds
S25º57.100 E32º54.900

Richards Bay to Cape Town. A couple of notes:
Can anchor in Plettenberg Bay off Robberg. Good anchorage in SW
Haut Bay very good. Cheaper than Cape Town. Easy to get into and out of. Simonstown can be difficult to get out of in SE. Need to be patient if you are in there.
Saldona Bay N of Cape town good for haul out. Club Mykinos, v expensive. Port Owen further N also good.

[TOM]

Originally Posted by hooligan6a

Sailing to Kenya is fine, it is just the timing. you cross the North Indian
Ocean, March/april/May put you in Kenya in June. If you want to spend time in Kenya thats Ok. but you can't sail south till Nov. you can, but it will be against the current and wind, a long hard way.

KENYA IS FAR FROM FINE ! . Last time i looked its right smack bang next to Somalia you would want to be out of your mind to sail there . We did the Indian ocean in 2011 Thailand, Maldives, Chagos , Mauritius then Madagaskar . I would even be cautious about the top of Madagaskar ,the year we did it there was 2 attacks off Mayotte one only 160 nm from Nosy Bee.

www.byamee.com

[hooligan6a]

Tom, You maybe right but, I have not heard of any boats being attacked off Kenya. What were the attacks off Mayotte?
It seems now the whole East coast of Africa, down to South Africa, is pretty much up for grabs.

[yachtdaemon]

There are no guarantees of course, but we were comfortable heading in close to the northern tip of Madagascar (1/2 mile off) during the southern winter. If you were pirates coming down from Somalia it is a long way in head winds and big swells and as there is very little traffic it wouldn't be worthwhile.

As I mentioned, we had one ship pass while we were on passage from Chagos to Madagascar (we keep watch 24/7 and run AIS full time), so I reckon there would be some very seasick pirates sitting around in constant 20-30 knot winds and 3-5 meter swells on the off chance a boat would come along. I believe the attempted attacks near Mayotte were in the summer when the seas and wind are more favorable for the pirates to head south.

[cheers234]

Thanks for all the great info!

[Capn Morgan]

Great info yachtdaemon. Where are you guys now?

[mausgras]

I'm reading this thread with great interest. There is lots of useful information. Thanks to everyone that had been posting

[yachtdaemon]

Hi Cap'n Morgan,
We're in Richards Bay, South Africa taking advantage of the free dockage, power and water at the international wall, and using the free (!) slipway to do some anti fouling and bottom jobs. Great place for the budget cruiser.
Cheers,
Jill

[yachtdaemon]

And local scuttlebutt has it that the attempted pirate attack off the north of Madagascar was in fact a drug drop gone wrong when the dropper was late and the droppee tried to board the wrong boat in error. How true this is, I don't know, but sounds just stupid enough to be a distinct possibility.