THE FUNKY SAILORS ARE BACK ON THE BOAT !

DAY 1 : The Marina

Trip starts in the Eden Island Marina.  We will be sailing a Moorings 4000 katamaran, pretty big I tell you ! The guys get the briefing, the girls go shopping. Takes about 2 hours, the guys were already slightly worried we took off with their credit cards. Got everything from the list, cost a small fortune, and just a few minor mistakes, coke zero instead of normal coke and one other bad one, will tell you later. Thank God for the guys with the golf carts who helped us get everything to the boat.

DAY 2 : Eden Island Marina to Anse Major – 24 NM

We leave through the St.Anne channel. The anchorage at Ile Cerf looks cool, will stop there some time later, for now we are headed for Beau Vallon and Baie Ternay on Mahe’s NW coast.

It is very choppy as we leave the protected harbor, glad we took our pills. After we pass St Anne Island we head north and set sail. Rolf holds todays speed record at 8,4 knots. This was while us girls were lying down, so no guarantee, but skipper Jürg was there and he is so correct it is probably true. I only got a 7,8 damn. The wind is strong, we get up to 25 knots, and coming from SW instead of SE, our luck again, it should be steady from SE until November…

After a rather late lunch we move on to the west to the tiny Anse Major. Just as we arrive all the tourist boats start to leave so we have it all to ourselves, wonderful. Celebrate our first real landing with an anchor drink, a good sailor tradition, something like a sundowner in Africa, but the sun goes down only once, where as we can do more than one stop = drink per day, ha ha. 

The only minus is it is pissing with rain.

DAY 3 : Anse Major, rainy day – 0 NM

A peaceful nights sleep in a tiny deserted bay, to wake up to another day in paradise. Except it was pissing with rain all night, and the morning is grey, misty and cloudy and it still rains. You can‘t even see Silhouette Island which is only 15 NM to our north and rather big. Not so paradise-like at all ! We take it easy, decide to stay here, not much wind anyway. 

It keeps on raining, so what the heck, we go snorkeling, the water is a constant 27-28 degrees so it is warmer than the air. We swim ashore, the perfect little beach has a small beach bar hidden behind the trees, nobody there though. So we just sit in the bar in the pouring rain with our masks and snorkels on our heads. It is a beautiful spot. Must go ashore when it clears to do some photos. 

It didn’t really clear and the one „dry“ hour we had we put the dinghy in the water. Ultimate luxury cruise this time, it is suspended on a frame, you only press the button and it is let down by a lever, and up for that matter, so easy ! Time for some serious drinks, followed by dinner and a round of card games, it is still raining.

DAY 4 : Anse Major – Beau Vallon Bay – Baie Terney : 15 NM

Bugger still grey, but at least it is not raining. The sun comes out, nothing can go wrong now, (that’s what we thought), Silhouette here we come.

We leave around 13:00 and it did go wrong, very wrong. Soon we set the main sail which is easier said than done. The wind is a bugger, gusts come from all directions, then no wind at all, but  somehow we get going, takes at least 15-20min to get the sail up. The further west we go the rougher it gets, waves of 2-3m, current against us, wind at 25 knots. We have to sail a 260 course, a 330 would have gotten us a direct line to Silhouette… when we turn with this bloody containership we will be at 20 degrees meaning it will be two laps of 10 NM each in the wrong direction, we will never get there at this speed. So plan B, we change direction and head back to Mahe, Baie Ternay if possible, if we don‘t like that we will motor back to Beau Vallon.

As we slowly enter the bay and drive to one point they say we can anchor, a small blue and white boat shows up beside us, this is a marine park, can’t anchor there. We’d figured that out by ourselves, depth is still 30m. The guys tell us to follow them, they will show us a good spot. It is perfect, just beside one of those magical rock faces, the reef and corals mere meters away, and we are in sand with good holding. So put our snorkeling gear on and hop into the aquarium. There are so many different fish here. I am no great fan, but this is cool. After that it is time for an anchor drink, Aperol-Spritz this time, not too bad !

For dinner it is fish from the grill. It took some effort to get the grill going untill I had the brilliant idea to use some of the petrol we had put aside from the dinghy jerrycan (in case they would try to steal the petrol, we would have some spare petrol). Well that got the fire going ! Now the timing…. Dinner is brilliant.

DAY 5 : Baie Terney, Mahe – Anse Mondon, Silhouette : 19 NM

Yes, welcome to paradise ! Finally the sun is shining from an almost cloudless sky. The guys jump into the aquarium before breakfast ! After breakfast we head towards Silhouette. Lucky us, the wind is from SW instead of the supposed SE, which makes it possible to sail a 300 degrees course, almost directly towards Silhouette. We take turns at the wheel, it is rather boring, wind of 8-10 knots, which is nothing compared to yesterdays 25, and we creep along at 4-5 knots speed. But we get there.

Anse Mondon is even better than we remembered ! A perfect little bay, rocks, palm trees, white beach, and hills going straight up behind it. We are alone, this is bloody good. A few people on the beach soon leave and we have the bay to ourselves. After a quick lunch we take the dinghy to the beach for a photo session in which the guys reluctantly participate. It is fun anyway. 

DAY 6 : Anse Mondon, Silhouette – Beau Vallon, Mahe : 10 NM

As predicted there is almost no wind, so no chance of getting to Praslin. Again we have to do our plan B : head to Beau Vallon probably under motor. Us ladies we refuse to cook, we want to go ashore and go out for dinner ! There is so little wind we have to keep the motor on the whole trip, with that we make good progress and reach Beau Vallon after 2,5 hrs. It is beautiful ! A long white beach, palm trees, rocks and the sun is shining from a clear blue sky. We have a drink, a swim, then go ashore for provisioning. After having a shower we head for land again, the Beach Shak, a cool relatively new beach bar, positioned perfectly to watch the sunset whilst having a really good cocktail and listening to live music.

The cocktails are so good we take another, the Island Rum Punch is my favorite, but the Rasta Mai Tai was also really good ! From there to the Baobab Pizzeria for the best pizza on the island and after that a coffee back on the boat. Great day ! 

DAY 7 : Beau Vallon – Ile Moyenne : 13 NM

Another gorgeous morning when we get up around 08:00. The sun is shining and the ocean is as calm as a lake. We do a new photo session „jumping from the boat“, after that it’s “under water swimming”.

After breakfast we set course for St Anne Marine Parc just across from the Eden island Marina. We motor our way up north, try to set sail, but at 10-12 knots wind we hardly get a 3,5 knot speed when sailing. So sails down and motor to our anchorage just north of Ile Moyenne, in the St Anne Channel.

So we go check out the little island called Ile Ronde, if we can have dinner there. A very nice manager promises to book us a nice table for the evening, creole night, yummy ! Then to Ile Moyenne, there seems to be some sort of beach bar on the island, so we are dropped there and the guys, guess what… go snorkeling and don’t return for ages. The bar wasn’t very cool, the snorkeling was.

 Sundowners on the boat are just as nice, so we quickly return to our SALTY. Around 6pm we leave for the little island and the JA Enchanted Island Resort. Dinner is very nice, a fish soup, different salads, followed by beef and chicken curry and a tuna that melted on my tongue, brilliant. The music is really good as well. Another brilliant day.

DAY 8 : Ile Moyenne, Mahe – Anse Lazio, Praslin : 25 NM

Too sick to sleep…. I wake at 5am because the boat is rocking like mad. At 6am I get up to take a pill, don’t want to be seasick before we leave ! Today is the big crossing, we get up at 7, have breakfast, prepare our famous tuna sandwiches and by 8:30 we leave. 

The wind is steady from SE at around 16-18 knots which is good. After 30min, away from the rocks and reefs we set sail, we do about 6 knots per hour and are headed straight for the northern end of Praslin. The only not so good thing is the  2-3m waves which come in from the side, but once we’ve set all sails it is quite bearable. Still glad I took my pill.

As we round the northern tip of Praslin the waves are „miraculously“ gone, the wind stays but that is no problem. We anchor in Anse Lazio, in front of a beach so white and bright you have to squeeze your eyes half close to look at it, the bottom is sand so the ocean is a bright light blue and every 10 seconds or so, a big roller crashes on the beach. This will be a challenge for our dinghy landing tonight ! 

Around 5pm we go ashore, take the drinks and our dry clothes (in the drybag) with us. The landing goes rather well. Rolf jumps out rather soon and starts pulling us towards the beach, all goes well, we all jump out elegantly, before  the next breaker comes. Sounds easier than it is, it takes some practise and good timing. Going out is even more difficult ! An anchor drink ashore, something new ! A friendly lady offers to do a shot from the four of us. Looks like drinks in paradise, which it is ! 

DAY 9 : Anse Lazio, Praslin – Anse Jose, Curieuse – Anse Petit Coer, Praslin : 8 NM

Rise and shine ! The sun is shining from a clear blue sky, the waves are thundering on the beach, a boat leaves early and the anchor chain chatters, other than that it is silent and peaceful. The swell, and with it the rocking motion, is getting worse so it’s time to leave anyway.

After breakfast we head for the island of Curieuse where they have a tortoise breeding station. We anchor right in front of the beach and take the dinghy ashore. That‘s easy here, no breakers, just a lot of boats. We hike for about 30min, through the forest, up a hill and down again, over the boardwalk through the mangroves and finally we get there. There are dozens of turtles walking about, and even more people. 

They just walk up to you, until their noses touch the lens, too close guys. Since they don’t back off, they don’t seem to have a reverse gear, I do, to get the shot. Then the whole walk back, it is by now 1pm and nice and hot, we are such stupid tourists…

Since there seem to be no boats at Ilet St Pierre we head that way. The anchorage is protected by the tiny island and is a bit less bumpy than at San Jose, so we will have lunch there. As we get closer we see that there are no sailing boats, but about 10 small motorboats with tourists. More people in the water than there probably are fish. So we have lunch and hope they don’t have as much endurance snorkeling as our boys. Suddenly a cry : sharks, just small 1m ones, but we even see them from the boat, about five of them. Well, end of lunch, the guys now want to get in the water. Turned out they were just big „vegetarian“ fish with a fin, no sharks here.

This is cool, there are thousands of little silvery fish swimming just below water level, the sardine run ! Incredible, they don’t move, even if you swim right into them, they just give you a little space. So I get Jürg to take a photo of me swimming through the silvery fishes, me the super diver, ha ha. We motor to our anchorage right round the corner from Anse Volbert, in front of another deserted hotel in the little bay called Anse Petit Coer. It is very quiet and peaceful and no waves or swell at all. We enjoy a beautiful sunset as we have our anchor drink, the last of our rum and gin, we must  go shopping ! We play cards before dinner, then enjoy a chicken curry and a bottle of wine. Lovely spot here !

DAY 10 : Anse Petit Coer – Baie St. Anne, Praslin 12 NM

We take it easy today, that was the plan. So we slept late, had a nice swim before breakfast. Finished all the supplies, and the milk is sour as well, so we really must go shopping now. For that we head for Baie St Anne, not the prettiest spot if we remember correctly, but the best for provisioning. Towards St Anne in the south of the island the wind and waves get worse and worse, we are bumping about like mad, I am so glad I am at the wheel, or I think I would have been sick. The entry to the bay is a narrow corridor between red and green signs, to the left its rocks, to the right a reef at 1m depth, breakers all along the line we are going. Wouldn’t want to go in here at night and am really grateful for the GPS ! But we make it, and after a call Mr. Robert is there to greet us, and help us tie to a mooring, 500 rupies please. He stays a bit and tells a story/joke, we don’t really get it but laugh along and he is happy.

We hike to town, which isn’t really a town, and take the bus back. No cool restaurants close by so we cook our own dinner once again. The harbor at La Digue is closed since they are renovating it, so the plan for tomorrow, was to take the ferry to La Digue. But it is abandoned, the return time is much too late, so we will leave early tomorrow for La Digue, anchor somewhere, spend the day on the island and leave there for Anse Volbert around 3pm.

DAY 11 : Baie St Anne – Anse Volbert – Anse Petit Coer : 13 NM

Yes, La Digue here we come ! The ocean is almost flat and we cross in 50 min. Anchor north of the old harbour which is being renovated/ remade.

Barely ashore the bicycle man is there to welcome us, and rent us out some lousy bikes, still as lousy as 10 years ago. Who cares, we head south straight to the Source d’Argent beach. We walk along as far as possible, at the end is a cool fruit bar. The guy mixes us a super mixed fruit drink, healthy and fine ! We almost had to buy a drink after we used all his furniture for photoshoots, a swing, a blue bench, the fruits, him behind the bar etc. 

After lunch we do some more cycling and beach photography, then it is time to get back to the boat. With the wind and waves in our back, the crossing under motor is easy and fast, we make it in little over an hour and anchor behind the little island in Anse Volbert.

DAY 12 : Anse PetitCoer, Praslin – Beau Vallon Bay, Mahe : 31 NM

Today is the toughest day, against wind and waves back to Mahe. Up at 7 leave at 8:30. Before we pass the headland we set the main sail, easier when there is not so much wind. Then pass the Cousine and Cousin Island on their north side, set Genua and off we fly. It is awful bumpy but we make good progress, mostly at a speed of around 7 knots, wind 20-25 knots and 2-3m waves. I get the speed record at 9,1 knots, but only very shortly in a gust of 27 knots wind. 

By 1:30 pm we reach Beau Vallon, and we didn’t get sick ! Okay us ladies we took a pill but only the second navycap this trip, and we had our share of bumpy rides this time ! Maybe its because we spent the first few days on the boat in deserted bays, so we did get used to the motion.

After skipperwife’s famous tunasandwiches and a beer for lunch all lie down for a nap. The guys say because they are tired, (don‘t know of what, here we normally sleep from 22:00-8:00, that‘s 10 hrs, so way more than at home), the girls because the pills are kicking in and we almost fall asleep whilst standing. Then we go ashore and hit the Beach Shak for drinks. Rumpunch it is, those are really really good here ! We’ve worked our way through the drinks menu but this is my favorite.

DAY 13 : Beau Vallon – Baie Terney : 4,5 NM

Again we take it easy today, have breakfast, a swim, and then leave for Baie Terney, the national park where there is the best snorkeling. Will do nothing and relax a day, before we have to head back to the marina tomorrow. As we pass Anse Major it is of course raining again. Hopefully tomorrow there will be sunshine when we pass it, would love a sunny photo from that beautiful spot. Baie Terney wasn’t much better, one rainstorm chased the next with brief dry intervals. So we sat on the rear deck, on the one dry spot there is. The guys go snorkeling after lunch, we sit and read a book and take the towels in for the 14th time, then we give up, they will not get dry today. 

We play cards, have a drink or two, until we run out of alcohol. We create our own Takamaka spritz with rum, Aperol, tonic water and lime juice, not bad at all (could have used some more rum). Finally the sunset shows itself from its best side, and gives us a nice light show with threatening clouds over Silhouette, the sun barely peeping through. Jürg does some brilliant drone shots. 

Time for dinner, again a spaghetti evening with all the leftovers we have, and two bottles of South African wine. We play cards until very late, almost midnight before we go to bed, well, what else to do when it is pissing with rain. Shit, with all the windows closed even I am sweating down in our cabin and the ocean isn‘t as calm as we had hoped, it‘s like sleeping in a very damp, hot, rocking chair.

DAY 14 : Baie Terney – St Anne channel – Eden Island Marina : 21 NM

Time to get out of here ! At least it isn’t raining during breakfast, but soon it is drizzling again. At least not the downpour of yesterday evening. Our last day on the boat. Okay it is a house boat not a sailing boat, but it was very nice having so much space ! The guys go snorkeling once again, hoping to get a good look at a stingray. Instead they find a group of squids, which is just as cool. After 11am we slowly head back towards the marina. 

We do a last lunch stop at St Anne Islands Anse Cabot, last clear blue water, last palm trees… then it’s time to finally head to the marina. After filling up at the petrol station, which is still as  small and impossible to reach as 10 years ago, we are back where we started. It was again a brilliant trip ! I am no beach bum, but the beaches here are to die for !

For our favorite photos: Go to gallery