SAILING IN THE ITCZ FROM CHAGOS TO THE SEYCHELLES

SAILING IN THE ITCZ FROM CHAGOS TO THE SEYCHELLES

JUNE 4-18, 2016

We departed Saloman Atoll at 1330 hrs on June 4^th, 2016 bound for Port Victoria, Seychelles about 1000nm distant.  All of this voyage was going to take place in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) which lies on bothe sides of the equator and is known as the doldrums in the Atlantic Ocean.  This doldrums’ belt is not so distinctly defined as in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean because it is influenced by the monsoons.

The winds and weather of the entire Indian Ocean are dominated by the monsoons which have a bearing on the South Indian Ocean.  The NE Monsoon prevails when the sun has a southern declination and the SW monsoon when the sun’s declination is north.  As the sun moves north, it becomes winter time south of the equator.  There is a transitional period which coincides with the movement of the ITCZ which separates the air masses of the northern and southern hemisphere.  This is an area which is inherently unstable with frequent squalls, gusty winds and calms.

Most vessels that intend to make this passage try to time it when the SE Trade Wind is starting to push north towards the equator.  This movement usually happens in the mid-May/June period but it’s difficult to time it and it varies from year to year.  That is what was happening with the five yachts moored in Chagos:  waiting for the SE Trade Wind to make itself felt.  It just wasn’t happening.  Several different government meteorological agencies publish GRIB’s which show the movement, speed, wave height, precipitation, etc. of air masses.  These can be downloaded onto a computer and analyzed.  Every yacht in Chagos and Addoo, Maldives was assiduously doing this but the SE Trades were still 8-10 degrees south. Saloman Atoll is at 05-21’ S.  One would have to sail south for over 200nm to find them which would necessitate departing from the rhumb line that distance and then making it up again.  Instead, there is a compromise where the modern yacht either carries enough fuel to motor sail a huge portion of the distance or is forced to lie ahull and wait for wind.  Phyllis  and I were in the latter category because we didn’t have enough diesel to motor sail any great length of time.  We had never been faced with the windless conditions we found on this passage.  This forced us to lie ahull in confused seas and wait for wind – any wind, whether it was coming from squalls or just lasted a few hours and died out.  It wasn’t comfortable and took quite a long time to make the voyage but it worked.  We arrived in Port Victoria, Seychelles with about a half tank of diesel.  I couldn’t judge this accurately in the confused seas and the electronic fuel gauge was acting strangely and couldn’t be trusted.

Here is a look at the log for the voyage:

June 4^th 1230 hrs to June 5^th 1200 hrs = 131 nm in SE wind 12-15 kts

June 5^th 1615 hrs – June 6^th 0300 hrs:  No wind/hove to (10h-45 min becalmed!)

June 5^th 1200 hrs:  we only made 36 nm in a 24 hr period.

June 6^th 1430 hrs to June 7^th 0800 hrs:  No wind/hove to.  At 1200 hrs we had only managed to make good 19 nm!  The current was actually setting us back in the direction we came from!  Depressing.

June 8^th 1200 hrs:  we had wind and made good 70 nm for the 24 hr period.  Slow

June 9^th 1200 hrs:  116nm made good.  We had very strong wind from the NNE at 25-30 kts.

June 10^th 1200 hrs:  80 nm made good.  Frequent calms and light wind mixed with squalls.

June 11^th 1200 hrs:  88 nm made good.  Same bag of calms, squalls and light NNE’ly wind.

June 12^th 1200 hrs: 18 nm made good.  There was not a breath of wind for over 14 hrs.  I thought it had gone away for good!

June 13^th 1200 hrs:  42 nm made good. A mixed bag of being becalmed and a light E’ly wind.

June 14^th 1200 hrs: 26 nm made good.  Mostly becalmed but, at times, a very light SE’ly wind at 5kts.  Big swells out of the south.

June 15^th 1200 hrs:  52 nm made good.  Wind was from the SW-SSW at about 10-15 kts and then slowly started to die out but never actually did which allowed us to continue sailing.

June 16^th 1200 hrs:  112 nm made good.  The SE’ly Trade Wind finally started to make itself felt and was blowing at about 15kts.

June 17^th 1200 hrs: 121 nm made good.  The SE Trade wind is blowing from 10-20 kts and gusty.

June 18^th 0936 hrs:  85 nm made good.  I shortened sail to arrive at the  designated Quarantine Anchorage in daylight (04-37.097’ S; 055-28.491’ E).  The SE Trade wind was starting to blow 15-20 kts.

1154 hrs:  “Free Practique” granted by Seychelles officials.

1215 hrs:  Weigh anchor and U/W to North Eden Is Marina.

1336 hrs:  All fast at North Eden Island Marina: (04-38.398’ S; 055-28.471’ E).

The total calculated distance made good on this voyage is 977 nm but it was over 1000 nm with set and drift while being becalmed.  It took us 333 hrs = 13 days 21 hrs with an average speed of 3.0kts.  This is about what a person can do on a fast walk!  The lack of wind combined with the confused seas and big swells coming from the south made this a particularly uncomfortable sail.  It is very difficult to keep wind in a battened mainsail if the wind is very light and the sea is big and confused.  The seas cause the wind to roll out of the sail and it begins to flog back and forth.  This can damage the sail so it has to be taken down.  The only way we have been able to sail in these light winds and confused seas is with a poled out Genoa.  This is a headsail on a special pole that is attached to the mast and adds control and stability to the sail so that it doesn’t collapse.  It doesn’t provide the best balance to the overall motion of the yacht and has a tendency to cause it to roll.  Nevertheless, we haven’t found a better solution yet.

What adds to the difficulty of this passage is that the Equatorial Counter Current is setting against you.  It meanders mostly to the East but has a North and Southerly component at times.  When we were becalmed, which was a lot, I was able to plot it out and could see the direction it was setting.  It’s strength, at 06 degrees south, was 0.75- 1.5 kts per hr:  That’s 18 – 36 nm a day!   This is not such an important consideration if the SE Trade wind is blowing as it is easily overcome but to be becalmed and drifting becomes crucial.  There were times when we were becalmed that we were set back 8nm to the East, North or South.  I thought the S’ly set was more favorable as it was sending me in the direction of the SE Trade winds.

“In days of old,

When ships were bold,

And engines were not invented.

They set their sails,

In Trade Wind vales,

So frequent calms were prevented.”

A limerick that came to me during all the calms we suffered through.  For any yacht that wishes to sail this route instead of motoring, it is well worth while to wait for the SE Trades to establish themselves or sail south to find them and the favorable west setting Equatorial Current.  It’s what the great wind ships of yore did.  Outside of that,  carry enough diesel to motor most of the distance on the rhumb line.

GAN ADDOO, MALDIVES TO SALOMAN ATOLL, CHAGOS ARCHIPELAGO

GAN ADDOO, MALDIVES TO SALOMAN ATOLL, CHAGOS ARCHIPELAGO

MAY 5- 8

SALOMAN ATOLL MAY 8- JUNE 4, 2016

Gan, Addoo is the most southerly atoll in the Maldives.  It doesn’t have much to offer outside of a service station and supermarket.  It does have a decent restaurant called the Equatorial Village that serves a good buffet in the evenings.  The atoll is low, flat, hot and dusty.  Being very close to the equator, with the SW Monsoon establishing itself, the Wx is unpredictable: strong winds, no wind, squalls, etc.  Other than a small fly infested lagoon where we were anchored (00-41.143’ S; 073-08.657’ E), the outside anchorages are quite deep and require more chain than we carry.  The only advantage that Gan provides is the fact that it is about 300nm from the Chagos Archipelago and about 1000nm from the Seychelles or 800 from Rodrigues and Mauritius.  Most cruising yachts try to get a permit from the British Indian Overseas Territory Administration (BIOT) to visit Saloman Atoll and Perros Banhos.  This year has been especially difficult to get the required permit so many yachts were refused the opportunity to stop at these beautiful places.

We departed Gan on May 5, 2016 at 1000 hrs for Saloman Atoll (05-18.296’ S; 072-14.522’ E) about 300nm distant.  What I did not realize for this voyage was that the Equatorial Counter Current, which sets to the East, was so strong and would require lots motoring due to the fact that the SW’ly winds would not allow us to sail the S’ly course that was required.  At times the ECC was setting at more than 2kts to the East;  that’s 48nm in a 34 hr period!  Phyllis and I have always been able to lie ahull and wait for favorable winds but not with a current of this magnitude.  Many yachts that try to make Chagos are set so far to the East that they just give it a miss and continue on to Rodrigues or Mauritius.  As a result of all this motoring, we were going to be short on fuel for the 1000 nm Seychelles voyage.  That would mean that we would be forced to lie ahull on that voyage.

On May 8, 2016 we entered Saloman Atoll Entrance Pass and anchored between Isle Takamaka and Isle Forquet in on a sandy spit in 15’ water depth (05-19.954’ S 72-15.916’ E).  This would be a decent anchorage in established SE’ly Trade Wind conditions but those we did not have.  Early in the morning of the May 9^th, we had  SW’ly squalls which gave us some concern since Saloman Atoll is strewn with coral heads (bommies) and reefs.  The anchor held and the following morning, on May 9^th, we worked our way down to Isle Bodam which was about 3 nm to the South and picked up a mooring at (05-21.190’ S; 072-12.465’ E).  The passage to Isle Bodam requires good visibility because the it is strewn with coral heads and reefs:  this is strictly “eyeball navigation”.  Phyllis was at the helm and I was on the bow giving hand signals.

The existing moorings are from a time when “yachties” were allowed to stay as long as they wanted.  Some stayed 3-6 months at a time and would return year after year.  They carried chain and mooring lines to set up secure moorings.  The chains were wrapped around coral heads and the chain and mooring line floated on buoy.  Alas, these moorings are starting to show signs of corrosion and disintegration.  It is necessary to dive on them for inspection and upgrade with new chain and mooring lines.  The five yachts that were there all had to do this.  To break loose from a mooring during the night, in a squall, would mean the loss of the yacht because there are so many “bommies” in the immediate vicinity.  Isle Bodam is a beautiful place and well protected but can be dangerous if the yacht “breaks free” of its mooring.

Isle Bodam is “downtown central” of what was once a copra plantation.  In the early 70’s, the local plantation workers, known as “Chagosians”, were forcibly removed and relocated to Mauritius or the Seychelles.  They were not landholders but had been there since the 1850’s.  No consideration was given to them other than a small monetary compensation:  loaded up on boats and shipped off to Mauritius or the Seychelles.  The remains of the copra plantation, cemetery, church,a four man jail, a small jetty, and other mysterious buildings are slowly but inexorably being taken over by the jungle and “strangle fig” trees.  All the buildings are hewen out of the coral that forms the atoll.

Today, the “Chagos Yacht Club” is the evening meeting place of any yachts that are moored.  It’s an abandoned coral stone building with a camp fire place in front.  Yachties meet drink and prepare BBQ food in the evenings.  There are hundreds of “Coconut Crabs” that come out at night.  These crabs are huge and measure up to 12” across the carapace:  they are very good to eat but are protected under BIOT regulations.

It’s a haunting place with all kinds of mysterious objects.  There is abundant water, in several different wells, so everyone does their washing and showers at the local well.  The fishing is unbelievably fantastic is this protected Marine Reserve: Snapper, Grouper and others are there for the taking.  The Black Tip Reef Sharks are everywhere but present no danger to the swimmer.  A magical place because it is so remote and inaccessible without a yacht.  A BIOT boat patrols these waters, for illegal fishing and permits, but the workhorse is the “Spotter Plane” that flies over the area checking on permits and illegal fishing boats.  One is privileged to have had the opportunity to visit this most unusual place.

A little history:  In the late 60’s and early 70’s, the Americans contracted with the British government to establish a Military Base in the Chagos Archipelago on the atoll of Diego Garcia.  This was a Copra Plantation and home to several thousand Chagosians.  The Americans insisted that they be removed from, not only Diego Garcia but all the outlying atolls.  This was a time of the “cold war” and Diego Garcia was strategically located in the Indian Ocean.  The lease was granted for a period of 50 years with renewal options.  As a matter of fact, it was just renewed this year: 2016.  The plantation workers were given no consideration in this deal and were viewed as hired or indentured workers even though they had been there since the mid 1800’s and built churches and filled graveyards.  The first round of forcibly removing them involved killing off all their pets.  Next came shutting down the food supplies that were shipped to the outer atolls.  Finally, they were forced to board transportation vessels going to Mauritius and the Seychelles where they were unceremoniously dumped off on the docks and wharfs to fend for themselves.

The Chagosians or Illois have fought a  long legal battle to return to their homeland.  The British government has done everything possible to prevent this from happening.  They declared all of the Chagos Archipelago to be a National Marine Park:  no fishing, no inhabitants.  Only the military base on Diego Garcia has a shifting population.  No women are allowed to give birth on the island.  Once pregnant, they have to return to their respective countries. Most of the workers that are not with the military are from other countries but do not include Chagosians.  Within the last few years, the British Courts have upheld the Chagosian right to return to their homeland but the way has been blocked by feasibility studies and other obstructing maneuvers.  Also, with the exception of Diego Garcia, the infrastructure to repopulate Saloman Atoll, Perros Bahnos and other atolls doesn’t exist.  Additionally, the remaining Chagosians are aging.  It’s doubtful if the younger generation would want to return to the primitive lifestyle of their parents.  My guess is that they will have to be adequately compensated for the wrong that was done to them and offered a very limited amount of work on Diego Garcia.  No other possibility exists outside of letting some Exclusive Resort come in and rebuild the necessary infrastructure.  This is anathema to the BIOT administration.  They, only reluctantly, grant permits to “yachts in transit” for a maximum period of 28 days at a cost of $75 per week.

The “Chagos Yacht Club” is a place where the visiting yachts gather every evening to BBQ or bring prepared food.  There is a campfire, several lawn type and plastic chairs and a few logs for sitting.  It’s just in front of the beach and to the SE of the old jetty with the remains of a former coral block building and the sign “Welcome – Chagos Yacht Club”.  Almost everything there is from a time when yachts were allowed to stay as long as they wanted.  Many returned year after year and occupied some of the existing buildings.  There is a Volley Ball net and court they used.  One South African couple spent 1-1/2 years on Saloman Atoll after having their boat sunk during a squall.  Their tale of refloating the boat and finally sailing out of there is told in “Shipwreck or Shangri-la” by Peter Lickfold/Sheridan House.

It’s a stunningly beautiful place and the lagoon is filled with fish and coral.  Part of the legendary status of Chagos comes from all the former yachts that spent so much time there and the remoteness of the atolls.  Today, the area is patrolled by a BIOT vessel called “Pacific Marlin” and a spotter plane “Direct Four”.  Their main purpose is to keep illegal fishing boats out of the marine reserve but they check on any yachts moored to make sure they have valid BIOT Permits.  We spent 28 days moored at Isle Bodam.  That was quite sufficient and enjoyable.  The credit goes out to all those former yachties who made this place what it is today. 

We departed Saloman Atoll at 1215 hrs on June 4, 2016 for Port Victoria, Seychelles.