The Seychelles

[brookiesailor]

We are working on a charter in the Seychelles. It will be our first time chartering. Unfortunately we are constrained by school vacation and the time we are supposed to go, end of May to beginning of April winds are light and flukey. Does anyone know what kind of current we are going to be looking at?


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[brookiesailor]

End of March not may


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[atoll]

prevailing ocean current through the islands is about 1/2 knot to 1 knot depending on the strength of the trades.

but more importantly you will have to deal with tidal currents if entering narrow passes into lagoons these are governed by the tide.......these are the same all year round.

the strongest occur at springs and can be quite strong in paases,so passage planning to enter at high water slack is recommended.

[brookiesailor]

Thanks atoll. I will look more into the tides. The charter company says nothing about them just prevailing winds.


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[atoll]

Originally Posted by brookiesailor

Thanks atoll. I will look more into the tides. The charter company says nothing about them just prevailing winds.


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the chances are you will do the majority of your sailing inside the outer fringing reef so narrow pass enterances will not be an issue.

inside the reef tidal currents are much weaker,but still care and good visibility is needed when rounding headlands and off lying areas of reef.

use of the tide tables and tidal diamonds will also assist if you are day sailing as the current flows both ways inside the reef ,north and west with a falling tide and south and east with a rising tide inside the fringing reef areas.

you also get smoother sea conditions when wind and tide run together!

if you do visit any of the offlying atolls(which is unlikely on a short charter) you can expect up to 4knots either side of slack in pass enterances.

one thing you will have to watch out for in march- april is radical wind changes,accompanied by rain squalls when at anchor,as this is the end of the NW monsoon period.

hope this helps

[brookiesailor]

Sure does, every little bit helps! There are six of us going, half experienced sailors, just want to make sure it is going to work before I plunk down money.


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[atoll]

Originally Posted by brookiesailor

Sure does, every little bit helps! There are six of us going, half experienced sailors, just want to make sure it is going to work before I plunk down money.


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you might want to do a bit more research on the weather in march- april as the weather then is hot,humid,rainey ,overcast a lot of the time,also it can be very unsettled if there are cyclones passing to the south, though not a lot of wind,but can blow quite hard NW if there is a disturbance near the itcz.

[LakeSuperior]

When we chartered in the Seychelles (June month) the islands that were within cruising range were not atolls they were rock and there were no barrier reefs. Tide and current was negligible.

The accessible islands by charter are known as the Granitic Seychelles
Seychelles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

It is a spectacular uncrowded area for chartering. One of the beaches we anchored off made the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition twice. We shared the beach with 2 other charters.

The only down side is much of the coral was in rough shape as they had some warm water that wiped it out.

[brookiesailor]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

When we chartered in the Seychelles (June month) the islands that were within cruising range were not atolls they were rock and there were no barrier reefs. Tide and current was negligible.

The accessible islands by charter are known as the Granitic Seychelles
Seychelles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

It is a spectacular uncrowded area for chartering. One of the beaches we anchored off made the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition twice. We shared the beach with 2 other charters.

The only down side is much of the coral was in rough shape as they had some warm water that wiped it out.

Bummer on the coral. It was like that in Thailand too. Best snorkeling we have had so far was in Zanzibar. Still looking forward to exploring the islands.
Our numbers are four definite, 8 possible. Makes it hard to book a boat. I think we are going for the larger boat and just hope that two more people commit.


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[brookiesailor]

I am still waiting to book this trip. We are down to just the four of us. So a small boat will be fine. Never having been there I am a bit concerned about conditions. The charter co is on praslin and the recommended itinerary has you sailing real short trips. We love the sailing part so are looking into a longer voyage to mahe. But we wont make that definite until we get there and see what the wind is doing. It should be an adventure no matter what happens!


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[LakeSuperior]

Be sure to post a review on your trip when you return. It is a special place.
Cheers!

[brookiesailor]

We have booked our trip and go in about four weeks time 28 March. I have found and alternate itinerary with another charter company that is much more to our liking. This being our first chartering experience is there anything in particular that we need to bring?


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[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by brookiesailor

We have booked our trip and go in about four weeks time 28 March. I have found and alternate itinerary with another charter company that is much more to our liking. This being our first chartering experience is there anything in particular that we need to bring?


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1. Cameras and camera back-ups
2. Money, it is not inexpensive there.
3. A laid-back attitude, you are on vacation in a beautiful place.
4. Your wits, there are places to hit bottom
5. Expedition mentality, you are in close proximity with friends and family, leave some space, do your share of the tasks

[brookiesailor]

Thanks Lake Superior!

It is just about a month until we go. Really excited. Life is good!


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