Off Bassaruto, on our way to Bassas
2nd August – Leaving Mozambique
By 6.30am we were awake and lifting anchor. With Jackaroo close by, we went past Regal and said goodbye to Norman and Sam. Norman was going to remain in Bassaruto and pick up some charter work. He would go on to spend the next 6 years in Bassaruto and to this day, is still there!)
We tossed Regal a butternut as a leaving gift which they were very pleased with. It’s amazing how your priorities change and what little things can make you happy.
At the start of, what I call, a major crossing, (Ok, not that major but 5 or 6 days at sea at this stage of our cruising career, was long enough!) there is always a certain amount of apprehension. I was nervous about weather and getting it right and, of course, the family responsibility. That morning we had listened to Peri-Peri and the wind was confirmed as north easterly, however not too strong. It would then go south easterly in a day or two.
The first day at sea was heaven! No wind, no swell, just sunshine. We sat around chatting, sleeping and relaxing. Unfortunately the wind came up later that night and we battled into a NE winds, beating hard.
Unfortunately we had current and wind against us most of the way and we battled on towards Bassas heading in an easterly direction with south easterly winds! Jackaroo had gone too far north and could not make Bassas. They radioed us and informed us that they had decided to head directly for the Barren Islands.
As mentioned, Bassas de India is an atoll in the middle of the Mozambique Channel, some 240 nautical miles east of Bassaruto. Approaching it, was an amazing sight as this turquoise atoll slowly emerges out of the middle of the ocean! The first thing we saw was a great big ship wreck. Some poor captain obviously got it wrong, and we could see why! At high tide the whole atoll disappears besides a few rocks that protrude here and there.
The atoll must be some 4 – 5 nautical miles in diameter. In the center is this exquisite lagoon! Just like those TV ads again! Crystal clean and painted turquoise in colour! Really quite beautiful and special to witness this remote gem of a place in the middle of the ocean! However, it also has a hard, rugged feel to it. Stuck out in the middle of nowhere, you feel quite vulnerable in such a place. No place to hide in a storm out here!
One thing that Bassas is not short of is fish! Within 15 minutes, we had caught a Big Eye Travelli of some 7kg’s. Two more hits of the lure before the lure parted company with the line. With fish for dinner, we dropped anchor about 20 meters off the atoll. Interestingly, within 100 meters of the atoll, it depth drops off to some 600 meters and then on to 3000 meters!)
Later that afternoon, Paul and I went fishing and I caught a Kaakap. It was a beauty! This fish is also known as a Green Jobfish and / or Streaker.
Then it was back to Shayile with our catch!
B: I have to admit I never left the boat and slept off a headache. But this was a strange and beautiful place. We had heard stories about abundant sharks, quite believable, as the atoll is teeming with fish, like a hypermarket in the middle of the desert, which meant snorkeling off the drop off was not an option for us. There was no beach just sharp coral and washing water, the colour was almost unreal; it was so turquoise inside the atoll that it hurt your eyes. It made me think of Supermodels e.g. Naomi Campbell, perfect looking, but really dangerous up close and with a wicked temper. Anyway it was scary, not child friendly and the numerous wrecks above and below the water give it a forlorn air. It was fantastic to see but also great to know we were leaving.
On passage to Bassas – Jenna resting in her cabin
Listening to the weather later that evening, I realized we had a great run of SE winds approaching, which would take us to Barren Islands. In order to take advantage of these winds, I decided that we should leave immediately. (The plan was to leave early the next morning) Why wait, the wind was favourable and I was not keen to sleep off a great sailing wind. Besides, although Bassas is a very special place and the fishing is great, we needed terra firma and beaches for the kids! It was not a hospitable place.
Paul with a King Fish
And a Jobfish (Karkob)
We prepared Shayile and by 8pm, we were on our way to the Barren Islands.
Out this way the wind seemed to die during the day and blow at night! I kept asking myself the question, “Why not the other way? I still have no idea!!
During any night voyage, there has to be someone on watch at all times. We split the night into 4, three hour watches with each of us doing a watch alone. In the event of a sail change or assistance required, one of us would be woken up to assist. No one likes night watch as, with the old sailor saying, “If something is to go wrong, it will do so at night time!”
Although you can feel quite lonely out there on the ocean at night, there is a unique feel to it. On a clear night, it is quite special. With no light around, the stars come out in their billions! We would lie around trying to identify constellations and, even more difficult, trying to point them out to Dan and Jenna.
The heavens at night are quite incredible and one cannot help but ask the question – Why?
We are one galaxy (The Milky Way) within billions and each galaxy has 100 000 billion stars!! Within the Milky Way, our solar system is one arm with its 9 planets with other heavenly bodies spiraling around the sun.
And here we are on little earth, a rock within our solar system, within our galaxy, surrounded by galaxies! We are seriously quite insignificant in the bigger picture out there. By the way, our solar system is some 5 billion years old!
As I recall, Micheal Colins once explained that, whilst orbiting the moon and looking back on the earth, he was able to “erase” it by hiding it behind his thumb! One within billions and yet how special that one is, the one we call earth; our home.
And how fragile our home earth is, and how screwed up those that inhabit it are!
It was to occur to me more and more, as our cruising took us to more parts of the world, we are in the process of self destruct! Just like a drug addict spiraling out of control, were we not doing just the same thing? Soon there is a point of no return for that drug addict and I wondered if we had not reached that point as Homo Sapiens on our fragile rock called Mother Earth!
Arrival in Madagascar
It took us some 3 days to reach the Barren Islands from Bassas de India. On the way we had some exhilarating sailing topping 8.5kts. It was so good to hear the wind whistling through the sails, and the water streaming by over the hulls. We also had dead calm conditions with not a breath to keep us going. When this happened, I would turn on the motors.
B: I set myself a goal of seeing at least one shooting star a night. Well, too easy as they fall all the time! The challenge was to get Dan to look long enough to see one.
We worked on a rotating shift of 3 hours: 6-9; 9-12; 12-3; 3-6 we were only on one watch per night.
The weather was so perfect and calm… therefore with no wind we seemed to have ‘driven’ the whole way across the channel. The great thing was that we all got on so well. Meme Grant knew to send Paul to our rescue; he’s great fun and has the same sense of humour as a 6yr old. He and Dan bonded deeply on a shared sense of humour. His loud and upbeat nature is toned by Tams calm, quiet style and they are a both great crew.
Entering Nosy Lava, The Barren Islands
We arrived at Nosy Lava, Madagascar at about 9am, and anchored up next to Jackaroo who had got there in the early hours of the morning. (“Nosy” is Madagascan for “island”) On arriving, we immediately started on a yacht clean-up, scrubbing the cockpit and cleaning the interior. It’s amazing how much dust and grime accumulates over a week or so on board!
And then a special moment arrived!
Now all of us experience those extra special moments in our lives that stand out and will remain with us forever. An experience that is usually referred to as that once in a lifetime experience. Well, we got it!
We had visitors in the form of 2 Humpbacked whales.
Whale closing in on Shayile
We were anchored in some 6 meters of water and did not expect the whales to head in our direction, but they did. They got closer and closer to Shayile and finally Paul shouted he was going in to join them! Tam’s got her dive gear and soon they were both in the water. I got mine and Daniel grabbed the underwater camera for me, and with that I jumped in after them. Paul and Tams had the first encounter with the whales. I, in the meantime, was swimming frantically trying to catch up and sort out the camera. I soon realized that I could not swim fast enough and the whales were now past me. Looking up I caught sight of Belinda back on Shayile who was shouting “behind you!” I turned around to discover the whales had circled around behind us and heading my way again! I quickly dived under and began scouting the water around me. The water was not that clean with a visibility down to some 5 meters or so. Above the water I knew they were heading straight for me, however under the water, I could not pick them up. Then it happened! Out of the murky waters and heading straight in my direction was this huge whale! At first I saw its “smiling” mouth with its strainers and barnacle encrusted face. Absolutely incredible! I had no idea what its intentions were and I found myself backing off quite frantically. It was not one bit phased and slowly passed me on my left; this huge body gracefully swimming by. Next worry for me was its enormous tail! Imagine getting a whack from that, and I backed off again this time managing to swim alongside it. All too quickly it was heading off, and all this time I had no chance of getting a shot off with the camera. So what! It was a special moment and I had captured it, not on film, but in the memory file labeled “a once in a lifetime experience”!
With that, we swam back to Shayile. Poor Daniel was devastated! He wanted to dive with the whales and we did not hear the end of it for some time to come. Fortunately Belinda had got some great shots of the whales with Paul and Tams right next to them.
We reveled in the experience for some time to come.
Paul & Tam’s getting quite close!
B: I have to admit that I was scared to get in the water, Humpbacks are huge and Dan was determined to go, but I refused to let him. The upside was that I could shout to the others in the water and got some great photos. The whales made a beeline for Paul and Tam and doubled back twice to look at them and Rob. It was unbelievable and I was moved by it for days after. Of course the video battery died as they arrived! Truly up close and personal encounter. Wow!
The Barren Islands are about a third of the way up the Madagascan west coast. They are situated about 10nm off the coast and consist of 6 islands. No-one really lives on the islands but fishermen use them as a kind of camp whilst out fishing. Each island is special, with excellent diving and fishing on most of them.
Unfortunately, and these are my views, the islands are quite literally being fished out and stripped of their natural resources.
Listening to and chatting to others who have been here before, it seems there are more fishermen and less fish, and it would appear the real culprits are the Chinese. They supply the locals with great fishing nets and, in return, reap the rewards from these beautiful islands.
On Nosy Lava, some 10-15 fishing pirogues arrive each morning with their nights catch. The amount, and variety of fish they arrive with, is quite scary! They are cleaned, salted and hung out to dry. In the afternoon, with the on-shore winds commencing, the fishermen set sail for the mainland. On the way they set their nets and head on back to the mainland. Next morning, using the off-shore winds again, they retrieve their nets on the way back out to the islands. And so it goes on.
Once a week or so, a large pirogue arrives and loads up all the fish caught. The load is taken back to the mainland and, reportedly, leaves for China.
Can you blame the local fishermen? Certainly not. They are dirt poor and being incentivised by this type of commercial venture, is a way of obtaining a certain amount of wealth and improving their lifestyle. It really is sad to see all those fish being captured and killed wholesale. With the fish, we saw huge sharks lying on the beaches, cut up for their meat and fins. I also saw small sharks and even a small Hammerhead sharks on the beaches. Turtle shells were evident, octopus and sea cucumbers were being loaded onto pirogues each night. Now long can this last? It’s not a pretty picture and the ultimate casualties will be the locals. This area really needs international intervention via a body like WWF or Greenpeace to oversee the situation. Will this ever happen? Not likely.
Maybe I stand to be corrected and the real culprits are the large commercial boats with nets that are doing the damage. Time will tell.
Locals posing for a picture!
Fish drying out on Nosy Lava
Baby Sharks caught in the nets
Shark carcasses lying on the beach
Shayile & Jackaroo – Banc Simpson
After 2 days at Nosy Lava, we sailed down to Banc Simpson. It’s a beautiful sand bank that potrudes out at low tide. We anchored up and spent the day diving and playing with the kids.
That evening Paul and I went ashore to fish. I had my saltwater fly gear and we had fun with the Kingfish! We got involved in a number of excellent “fights”, with a few being landed. This was all sport fishing with no barbed hooks and all fish were released. With the water so clean and, because you cannot throw a fly that far, we could see the Kingfish stalking up and going for the fly! Finally there is a swirl, and your line goes tight. As the fish takes off at great speed, stripping line from the reel, trying to control the line and handle the rod is no easy task! Those first 10 seconds or so are not always easy and this is where most of the fish are lost. Once under control and well hooked, the real fight begins with the GT (Giant Travelli) likely to head straight for the reefs. Landing one after a great battle is very rewarding and satisfying. With a smile and a kiss, the fish is released back into the water, hopefully to fight another battle one day.
We both fished hard that evening with some great stories to tell back on Shayile!
Isn’t she stunning!
12th AUGUST 2005
From Banc Simpson, we headed up to Nosy Andrano, where we spent 2 days. Then it was off to Nosy Androtra.
A special day dawned whilst we were at Nosy Androtra. It was our 10th wedding anniversary.
Some local fishermen came past with 4 crayfish and we traded a few T-shirts. After a day of diving and swimming, that afternoon we went ashore for sundowners with Lin, Willie, Paul and Tams.
We made a huge bon-fire on the beach and relaxed with a few drinks as the sun went down. A very special evening, as we celebrated 10 years of marriage on a deserted island off the Madagascan coast.
Our 10th wedding anniversary party!
Cake on Shayile
10 years is a milestone in a marriage and I look back on it with nothing but fond memories and adventures with Belinda. We certainly have done a lot, experienced a lot and achieved a lot together and we really have grown closer over the past 10 years.
B is a very capable and strong willed person. She is very intelligent and I know exactly where the kids get their brains from!
To quote – “This trip is not easy, and I can think of no-one more able, capable and determined than B to experience this adventure with.”
That evening we went back to Shayile for a feast of crayfish. Out came Ben and Pam Pretorius’s farewell bottle of red wine and we all had a festive night out!
B: These white coral crayfish deserve special mention. They are like beautifully painted ladies! Green and blue spots on top and lovely coral pink on the base of their feelers. These were some 40cm long and had to be speared as they live deep in sharp coral holes, usually with a neighbouring moray eel. They were delicious and sweet with a creamy wholegrain mustard sauce over tagelatelle… fine feast on a great day!
Must say how proud I am to be married to such a wonderful guy as Rob. Ten years has flown by and I truly love him all the more with each passing year. After-all life is never dull when he’s leading the charge!
Dinner is planned!
As we were really enjoying Nosy Androtra, we stayed on for a more few days.
Willie and I did some “bubble blowing”. Willie had a compressor and dive equipment on board Jackaroo. Really an ingenious set up that he put together using a lawnmower engine and a few rubber hoses! (Ode to be skilled with the hands!) We loaded the compressor and equipment on the rubber duck and set off. Willie started the compressor and, with a demand valve each, and 20meters of hosepipe, we went over the side. What a great way to scuba! No tanks, BC’s, and other equipment needed to scuba. Really brilliant and highly recommended on a cruise boat!
B: The water here was crystal clear and had a huge “swimming pool”. A tennis court sized area just off the coral that was about 5m deep and sandy on the bottom so it had an unreal pale blue glow. I paddled over to it, towing the kids on their boogie boards and we spent the whole morning paddling, plopping, giggling and generally enjoying the pristine water and everything in it.
We now bath on the back step each night and just jump in to rinse off the shampoo etc. A quick spritz with the outdoor shower and we are done, nothing better, and tan lines get a bit fuzzy. If we had fresh supplies we could have stayed here a week. It was wonderful, but eventually it’s time to move on once again.
Diving Madagascar - Dan & I using Willies "hooker"
That afternoon, the surf was up! Looking out towards the southerly tip of the island, we saw a great wave breaking off the point. Paul, Tams and I grabbed our surfboards, jumped into the duck and headed out to the reef. I must emphasize that I do not rate myself as a surfer! Labeling me a surfer is an insult to those real surfers out there! I love it to bits but conditions must be right. Well, what an afternoon of surfing we had. We must have surfed for some 2 hours. Again, a really special day out there on the water enjoying the moment!
Local fishermen leave on their dowl
B: If you are easily offended skip this next section of “Toilet Humour”! This sailing life seems to revolve around three meals a day, as much for entertainment and creativity, as for hunger. We all have a great appetite and, of course, all this eating results in lots of poo’s, or not, as fresh fruit and veggie’s dwindle. Our neighbours even have a grading system from a solid A+ down to a gut clenching fan-shaped E-!! This they perfected whilst traveling overland through Africa.
You may not have realized it but everything gets pumped out into the sea. No flushing of toilets, but hand pumping! I have a callous on my hand to prove it. This may involve 50 up and down pumps, the toilet paper being the real devil that blocks up the works. One draw-back to crystal clear water is that everything you let down the drain or pump out of the heads (toilet) is visible for all to see.
Paul’s and Daniel’s below the belt humour is so well catered for. Paul used to actually send Dan to the back to watch his thrice daily offerings spew forth, much to Dan’s delight! Gross I know, but anything for entertainment on a yacht.
This utterly unashamed attitude has really helped Dan to shed is shyness about taking a dump and he’s no longer 3 meals ahead and 2 shits behind!!
Batfish even have a reputation for awaiting these offerings. All modesty is quickly abandoned when living in such a small space. There IS no space for secrets as all sound and smells carry right through the cabin!
Daniel with a Bat Fish
For anyone planning an adventure like this, a word of advice, if you don’t like preparing food, forget it. I spend a huge part of each day in the galley. There is no Woolies, Spar or even a stinky Shop-Rite. Restaurants are infrequent, take-aways non-existant, fresh produce is erratic and improvisation is necessary. I wish I had brought so much more. I miss my lemon squeezer, zester, garlic crusher, colander and large grater. I grated a whole coconut to make crunchies on a dinky little picnic grater! Food prep is such a large part of the day that I need all the help I can get. Of course Daniel is still permanently hungry.
The fight and …… 
..............the result!
Next morning, we upped anchor and headed for Maintarova on the Madagascan mainland, some 35nm up the coast. What a pity it was to be leaving the Barren Islands. What a special place and I really hope it can stay that way.
We arrived outside Maintarova late that afternoon. We dropped anchor and settled in for the night. The reason for stopping off at Maintarova was to get diesel and a few provisions.
Next morning we went ashore negotiating a tricky shore break in the duck. In the town, we exchanged some money at a local trading store, and bought the diesel. We then went to the market and bought fruit, veggies and other basic necessities. Back to the beach and a few trips later we had the diesel on board and we were ready to go.
The plan was to sail up the coast, around Cape St Andre and up to Majunga. Here Paul and Tams would fly back to SA.
Paul’s Sailfish complete with lure!
16th August – Up the west coast of Madagascar
We planned on sailing straight up to Majunga but, in the spirit of cruise sailing, we decided to stop off at Baly Bay for a day or 2. It’s basically halfway to Majunga and a break to the 170 nautical miles would prove worthwhile. Again we battled into an easterly wind and had to motor sail a lot of the way.
A highlight of this stretch of the journey was the Sailfish Paul caught. As the ratchet went, Paul grabbed the rod and fought the fish. Soon he realised it was no ordinary fish, but a “Saily”, as it jumped out of the water, eager to shake the lure!
As it came alongside Shayile, I grabbed my underwater camera and jumped in. Staying close to Shayile, I managed to click off a few shots of the fish as it swam by.
With no intention of keeping such a beautiful fish, we removed the hook and slowly set about reviving it. By holding the fish next to Shayile, and moving slowly forward through the water, it slowly regained its strength and with a sudden jerk of its body, it swam away.
On reaching Baly Bay we anchored off some Mangrove swamps. In the distance we could see a small fishing village. Within a few hours, a friendly fisherman arrived and after some trading of clothing, we had 2kg’s of prawns for dinner.
Later that day, we went ashore to the local village to greet the locals and see what was there. Getting through the muddy shore was the first obstacle and we sunk up to our knees in the most dreadful mud possible. Once ashore we met up with some of the local villages and ventured up into their extremely primitive village. With the intention of batering with the villages, we had brought along a few items of clothing. However these people were really poor and lived a basic life, and yet they seemed very happy people, content with their life and customs. They lived in grass reeded huts, which apparently only last one season. Their fish are dried out and, along with coconuts, that’s their staple diet!
We gave all the clothing to them and got 4 eggs in return. We were not keen to try out our negotiating skills as there was nothing we really needed and, more importantly, tey did not have a whole lot to trade!
After 2 days and a feast of prawns, we pulled up anchor and left Baly Bay, heading up to Majunga.
Again we had some great wind for the first 5 hours or so. It then died and we motored most of the night.
B: The unplanned stop at Baly Bay was a treat. The water was extremely muddy due to the mangrove swamps all around, but where there are mangroves, there are prawns. Giant prawns, so fresh the darn things were still wriggling and at R16 a kilo we ate all that the locals could bring us. Only one tiny kg made it into the freezer. Dan turned out to be the most dedicated fresh prawn peeler, not even bulking at de-heading live ones and was entertained for ages peeling and tossing. We had visits from many Yellow-billed kites and brightly coloured gar-fish that ate the scraps. Rob hooked a creepy eel on a prawn head and fishing was abandoned for a while after that. We went ashore at low tide to the local village and what a hoot! The mud was at least a meter deep and soft as margarine. Poor Willie stepped off up to his knees and lost one of his Rocky shoes but managed to retrieve it after much digging around in the chocolate water. We took some old clothes and traded for freshly laid eggs and freshly picked coconuts… the kid’s lunch as we weren’t trying too hard to convert them to prawns… more for us!
Bitten by a crab!
Baly Bay village
19th - 25th AUGUST 2005
After continual fresh north easterly winds (on the nose!), we finally motored into Majunga Bay. Majunga, Swahili for “Town of Flowers”, (although there are no signs of any flowers growing), is the biggest port on the Madagascan west coast. Unfortunately it has a bad reputation amongst cruisers for having ones boat robbed, so we were “on guard”.
We anchored up amongst the fishing vessels just off the ferry slipway. First things first and we did a quick clean up of the boat. (Always necessary after a few days at sea as everything seems to be scattered around Shayile)
Yacht Holm, a catamaran from Durban, was anchored not far from us.
As it was Friday, we went ashore not expecting to be able to check in. First thing was to get some local currency, so it was off to visit Hussein. We were given Hussein’s name by Meme and knew it was safe to change money with him. He owned a shop in Majunga. After a brief social chat asking him about various places and where to get what, Hussein changed some money for us. We thanked him and set off for the market in town and bought much needed fruit and veggies.
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