Seychelles and Chagos

 This  is  a coconut called coco de mer. It is not from the sea. It is from a coconut  tree.

The pictures I just posted are all mixed.  Hope you enjoy them anyway.

This is what it looks like before the shell is taken off.

What a beautiful view from the tea museum. The bus we took to the tea museum

was also awesome. Every day we try to take the local buses on an adventure. It's  quite fun and cheap way to see the island.

Coconut crab and good eating. These next pictures are from Chagos where we spent a month.

This is where we did our laundry, fresh well water.

Every night we all met and sat around a camp fire and enjoyed each other's  company. Some time we brought food to cook and most always had fresh fish, which was abundant. 

This was called the yacht club which had been set up by other yachts.  At the time that we were there, there was four other yachts.

This is what it looked like when we got here.

 When the Chagoians  lived here they had a church 

,school, big cemetery,a hospital  even a 4 man jail. The structures are still standing, huge structures. 

We had sharks  swimming around the boat every day. They were harmless. 

A beautiful sunset while in Chagos. 

Back in Seychelles.  We went to the Botanical Gardens and this is just one of the beautiful flowers we saw.

A picture taken while we were at Eden Island Marina  as the clouds and mist were coming down the mountains. We are no longer at that Marina we moved to the other side of the channel at Angelfish Marina. 

Another picture of the clouds.

Solstice

The outer shell of the coco de mer. 

Seychelles and Chagos

 This  is  a coconut called coco de mer. It is not from the sea. It is from a coconut  tree.

The pictures I just posted are all mixed.  Hope you enjoy them anyway.

This is what it looks like before the shell is taken off.

What a beautiful view from the tea museum. The bus we took to the tea museum

was also awesome. Every day we try to take the local buses on an adventure. It's  quite fun and cheap way to see the island.

Coconut crab and good eating. These next pictures are from Chagos where we spent a month.

This is where we did our laundry, fresh well water.

Every night we all met and sat around a camp fire and enjoyed each other's  company. Some time we brought food to cook and most always had fresh fish, which was abundant. 

This was called the yacht club which had been set up by other yachts.  At the time that we were there, there was four other yachts.

This is what it looked like when we got here.

 When the Chagoians  lived here they had a church 

,school, big cemetery,a hospital  even a 4 man jail. The structures are still standing, huge structures. 

We had sharks  swimming around the boat every day. They were harmless. 

A beautiful sunset while in Chagos. 

Back in Seychelles.  We went to the Botanical Gardens and this is just one of the beautiful flowers we saw.

A picture taken while we were at Eden Island Marina  as the clouds and mist were coming down the mountains. We are no longer at that Marina we moved to the other side of the channel at Angelfish Marina. 

Another picture of the clouds.

Solstice

The outer shell of the coco de mer. 

THE SEYCHELLES

THE SEYCHELLES

JUNE 18 - ??

We arrived at the Quarantine Anchorage (04-37.097’ S; 055-28.491’ E) in  the Outer Harbor at 0936 hrs on June 18, 2016.  This is where all incoming yachts are required to anchor and await the officials for clearing and “Free Practique”.  Even though it was a Saturday and a national holiday, everyone turned up within two hours and we were cleared at 1154 hrs local time (UTC +4).  There were at least eight officials that came aboard but the process was friendly and straight forward. They gave us a Receipt for Harbor Master Dues in the amount of 300 SR (Seychelles Rupees) which, at the time of this writing, is about $US23;  13 SR = $US 1.00.  The currency is relatively stable and doesn’t fluctuate very much in the international market.

We had made arrangements for a berth at North Eden Island Marina which is one of the newest and most expensive marinas in the Seychelles.  We had no other choice because our manual windlass is not working properly and I have had to retrieve most of the chain by hand.  One has to be prepared for sticker shock when visiting the Seychelles.  It is the most expensive country we have visited thus far.  The Marina Fees, plus the whopping 15% VAT the government assesses for everything, came out to be $US49.60 per day.  That’s more expensive than Stateside!  On top of this, the Seychelles government taxes yachts at the following rates:  < 20 Gross Tons:  $US6.54 for each day for the first 5 days; $US5.46 each day over 5 to 10 days; $US4.38 each day over 10 days.  They have found a goldmine in transient yachts!

After 12 days of exorbitant prices, we were able to negotiate exactly one half that price at Angel Fish Bayside Marina which is just across the channel at less than 1000 ft.  We will stay here until the new windlass arrives from the States and then move down to Providence which is about 2 miles South of here where a shipyard called Gondwana is  located.  It will take about four days to install it and I have a few more things to be worked on.  After that we will start to visit some of the beautiful islands.  In any case, we are trapped here until the beginning of September when the SE Trades start to relax and the danger of gales diminishes significantly.  It will be an 800nm sail from here to Mayotte which is part of the Comoros but still under the French flag.  After that, it’s 200nm to Nosy Bee, Madagascar.

Other than the public busses ($0.40 cents), nothing is cheap in the Seychelles.  The economy is based on well-to-do tourism and fishing.  I believe that they have one of the largest tuna fish factories in the world at Port Victoria which is the capital of the island.  We are on the Mahe Island, which is the main island of the Seychelles.  It is mountainous with peaks rising to 3000 ft.  They are buffeted by the SE Monsoon and the NW Monsoon.  Right now the SE Monsoon is in full force so the temperatures are pleasant at 74-80 degrees Fahrenheit.  There are frequent brief rain showers as the SE’ly winds cool once they hit the steep mountains.  The showers are usually light and very brief.

The Seychelles consist of 115 islands spread out over 600nm apart.  The northern islands are granitic in nature, mountainous and show huge granite boulders and rocks with fringing coral reefs.  The southern islands are coralline, sandy and flat with palm trees.  Very few of the islands have inhabitants.  The total population of the Seychelles is about 90,000 people of which the majority live on the island of Mahe.  The Gross National Income is around $US 12,500 per year which puts the country in the wealthy class for African nations; Madagascar has a GNI of $US1000 per year, making it the poorest.  Still the majority of the Seychellois must struggle to make ends meet when everything is imported and very expensive.  Most of the creole food consists of fish, fruit and vegetables which are abundant on the northern islands.  It’s a multi-ethnic society where cross breeding between Africans, Caucasians, Arabs, Chinese, Indians, and others has taken place over the centuries.  The predominant physical aspect is a lighter chocolate brown and decidedly African/Creole. The country wasn’t settled until 1770 by the French who brought many African slaves with them.  Shortly thereafter, the British took possession of the islands and under the Treaty of Paris in 1814 assumed legal rights.  Slavery was abolished in 1835 by the English and this brought a new influx of immigrants from Africa.  Nevertheless, the language and customs remained French and continue to this day.  There are three official languages in the Seychelles:  Creole, English, and French.  This is the center for the Creole Language which is taught in school but most people can converse in English and French.  The Seychellois are friendly but can be a little reserved.  Races and religions are, on the whole, harmonious but I have a feeling that because the local Caucasians have fared better than others, and the fact that most of the tourism is white, there is some resentment amongst the Creole population.  The country is 90% Roman Catholic.  Crime and violence are on a very low scale.

Unique to the Seychelles are two phenomena:  Coco de Mer and Land Tortoises.  The erotic Coco de Mer is a double-lobed coconut which takes the exact form of a female pelvis and genitalia;  the island of Aldabra has over 150,00 giant land tortoises.  When first discovered, floating in the sea and cast up on beaches, the Coco de Mer was thought to have come from a tree that grew at the bottom of the ocean.  Its exact location was not known until French settlers discovered the Coco de Mer Palm Trees on Praslin Island which is about 20nm NE of Mahe.  Even then, the main concentration of these nuts were hidden in a valley of dense jungle growth and not discovered until modern times.  Today the Vallee de Mai is a  UNESCO World  Heritage site.  The Coco de Mer is protected under CITES from export without a permit.  The Seychelles government does export some of the fruit to Hong Kong where it is thought to be an aphrodisiac.  The Chinese seem to think that anything unusual might be an aphrodisiac:  they would do far better, and protect endangered species, using Viagra.

Victoria, the smallest capital in the world, has just about everything the cruiser or tourist might need.  It’s not a particularly beautiful city and the architecture doesn’t excite.  The Seychelles Yacht Club is a friendly welcoming place and serves good food and alcohol at better prices than anywhere else:  $US8.00 for a meal and $5.38 for a beer.  Eventually, we will take “Solstice” down there and anchor:  reputedly, the holding is not great.  I don’t want to do this until we have a reliable windlass.  Sometimes moorings are available without charge.

Once we start sailing around some of the more interesting places, I’ll update the blog with more info.   

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.   

  

ADDOO ATOLL, MALDIVES

ADDOO ATOLL, MALDIVES

April 27 – May 4, 2016

We arrived in Gan on Addoo Atoll on April 27^th and dropped anchor in a small lagoon off the Coast Guard dock (00-41-141 S; 073-08.647 E) in 18’ water depth.  The biggest problem in trying to anchor in the Maldives is that the water is very deep until it isn’t.  Upon leaving Hulumale, I had problems with the manual windlass and needed to find a shallow area for dropping anchor and making a repair.  Fortunately, a good friend and former chief engineer on Antares II was on hand to give me assistance.  Nothing major was found other than the chain stripper had moved over and was causing the gypsy to jam. Also, I was having problems with the engine cutting out.  This turned out to be a primary fuel filter on the Beta 50 engine.  Our friend walked me through this while we were offshore and the engine has been working fine since then.  I should have suspected this but the engine always worked fine when charging the Seafrost refrigeration system, however, when it came to a heavier load it would not deliver power.

The sail from Male to Addoo was, mostly pleasant, with the exception of a gale that we experience off one of the atolls.  We had to get about 4 nm offshore and make tacks back and forth using the lee of the atoll to cut down the seas.  It was an intense system with 35-40 kts winds.  Nothing indicated that a system like this was approaching.  We kept up a scrap of headsail and were able to use the atoll to reduce the seas.  The gale lasted about 36 hrs.

We dropped anchor in (00-41.141’ S; 073-08.647 E) at 0n April 27^th at 0830 hrs in 18’ water depth.  Most of the anchorages here in Gan are quite deep 60’-80’ water depth.  We don’t carry enough chain to anchor at that depth.  Also, I have a manual windlass that I have to crank up by hand.  It’s the one thing I regret not installing:  an electric windlass.

Addoo atoll is made up of several townships:  Gan, Feyadhoo, Hitahdoo, etc.  There isn’t much here.  The produce and groceries are minimal but sufficient to get the yachties to Chagos.  The one outstanding feature of our secure anchorage in the lagoon is the flies.  We have never experienced an onslaught like this.  From early morning until dark they are a misery.  We are talking about hundreds of miserable flies.  It takes the two of use with fly swatters busy and making no headway.  It will be a relief to leave here.

The one and only bright spot in Gan is the “Equatorial Village”.  It has a restaurant and bar for tourists.  It is an evening meeting place for those anchored here.  The evening meals are good and a buffet costs about $15US; beer $5.00; cocktails $8.00.  There is nothing else here.  The next township, Feyadhoo, has a supermarket, hardware store, coffeeshop, gasoline station, and ATM.  Also there is a place to sleep.  The rest is just sunbaked asphalt.

Everyone is anxious to get out of here.  There will be nothing at Saloman Atoll in Chagos but the misery of the flies will be gone.  I don’t think that I will be able to post until we get to the Seychelles.  That won’t be until mid-June.  It has been a hard go since leaving Langkawi and I don’t think I would do it again during this time of year.  We left to late to take advantage of the NE Monsoon and got caught up in the transitional period and onset of the SW Monsoon:  light winds, no wind, gale, SW’ly winds making it difficult to make landfall without an engine.  Hopefully, as we head further south, some of this will change in  Chagos but, I suspect, that squalls will be with us until the SE Trades establish themselves in June.

Chagos can be a dangerous place for yachts because the anchorage at Isle Bodam is all coral.  If the yacht drags anchor and cannot be checked up, it could go on the coral with massive damage or total loss.  There is nothing there to assist other than other yachts.  In the past, they have shown remarkable abilities to get yachts out of trouble and make repairs. Isle Bodam anchorage in Saloman Atoll, Chagos: 05-21.37’ S; 072-12.74 E. 

MALE, MALDIVES

MALE, MALDIVES

APRIL 5-21, 2016

Male is a shock to most cruising yachts after a long passage from Malaysia, Thailand or Sri Lanka.  The intensity of waterborne traffic is incredible.  There are more ferries, small cargo boats and sundry other craft plying these waters than we have seen anywhere else.  Added to that there are about 150 international and local flights arriving daily.  It’s a busy place!  Most of the tourists that arrive in the Maldives are booking onto “live-aboard” dive boats.  The remainder are the rich and famous that seek seclusion at resorts in the outlying atolls.  They arrive on international flights and are whisked away via seaplanes to very expensive and exclusive resorts.  Many of the resorts have leased the atolls so they are private and not welcoming to anyone other than their clients.  Paparazzi cannot gain access to the exclusivity and remoteness of these resorts.

Nothing is grown or produced on Male.  It is hub central for the other two hundred inhabited atolls (there are 1200 atolls in the Maldives).  Everything is imported from other countries.  Western food can be found in abundance along with produce from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and USA.  The country is very Islamic and prayers are called out five times a day; businesses shut down for twenty minutes to worship.  There is no alcohol allowed for Maldivians.  To be caught drinking in public is subject to a six month jail sentence.  The government is a dictatorship run by wealthy families.  The first,  last and only democratically elected president was expelled by a coup d’état and jailed.  Presently, he is in England undergoing medical treatment.

There just isn’t much here that excites me.  It all comes down to anchoring in remote atolls and diving/snorkeling the reefs.  The weather is unpredictable with frequent squalls.  It’s the hottest most humid place we have ever been.  If there is no wind it becomes a misery.  Everyday Phyllis and I take the ferry from our anchorage in Hulumale (04-13.266’ N; 72-32.138 E) into Male.  It’s a twenty minute ferry boat ride and cheap ($0.33 US).  These ferries run continuously 24/7.  We find A/C stores and restaurants to beat the heat; sad, but true.  We will try to get out of here as soon as possible.  On our voyage here from Sri Lanka, the fresh water pump on the Beta 50 engine developed a small leak. I am having another one sent from the UK as a backup.  Strangely enough, the fresh water pump has stopped leaking for the moment.  That is the only thing keeping us in “Hell-hole-Male”; I’m referring to the anchorage and not the Capitol.

The fresh water pump is, finally, delivered to the boat on April 20 and we make preparations to sail to Addoo (00-35.0’ S; 73-09.2’E) , the most southern atoll in the Maldivian group.  We depart from Hulumale anchorage on April 21, 2016 @ 1130 hrs.

The Maldives stretch some 800 nm from the North to the South.  There are three major population centers and a multitude of lesser villages.  Ulligan is in the North; Male (the Capitol) is in the center; Addoo is in the South.  The atolls are sparsely populated and have been subject to being ruled by foreign powers in their quest for the spice and silk trade of SE Asia.  The Portuguese stand out as being the most hated and cruel: looting, rape, murder, torture, and an attempt to convert the Islamic population to Christianity stand out in the annals of the Maldivians.  No foreign power was more hated.

I went to the National Museum in Male and learned a little of the history.  The atolls were ruled by a Sultanate and various Sultans.  The most profound influence was the conversion of one of the Sultans  to Islam around 1268 AD.  Since that time, the population and state religion is Islamic.  There seems to be some kind of Mosque Management system in place.  The actual “call to prayer” is sung out over loud speakers by an “live Imam” and not a recording as found in most other places.  The women are very conservatively dressed with all the younger girsl covering their head with a “hajab” and many of the older married women wearing the full “chadora” with or without veil; most do not wear a veil.  The coloring of most Maldivians is South Indian.  I have been told that they are a mixture of Indian, Arabic, Persian and various conquerors.  The language is, indeed, strange.  A look at a Maldivian map shows that the words are very long and difficult to pronounce.  The Maldivian script is written from right to left, as is the Arabic one, but is not at all attractive.  As a result of reading the Koran, most educated Maldivians can speak and read Arabic.  They are receptive to tourists, because that is where the money comes from, but not overly friendly.  Standing in a queue, a Maldivian gives no quarter.  The least hesitation invites someone pushing his way in.  The same goes for boarding ferries or public transportation.  They are not polite in the Western way but neither are they rude.  This all changes when it comes to those working in the tourist industry.  In the end, we are the infidels.

I find nothing outstanding with Maldivian architecture.  On atolls that, mostly, rise no more than ten feet above the sea level, too many storms and tsunamis have destroyed that which came before.  The country is very modern with utilitarian design.  Even the mosques are quite simple in their design.  If global warming continues, many of the atolls will have to be evacuated.  I see evidence that the Maldivians are preparing for this by building higher seawalls and barriers.  They have lots of heavy equipment to do this and one sees pipelines and seawalls going up everywhere. On a very personal level, I would not come back here.