Shortly after arriving back at Nosy Sakatia I came down with a nasty lurgy - flu, which I can only assume that I acquired at Ambotolaoka, Nosy Be. I never knew so much mucus could come out of my head - astonishing. Odd that before coming into proximity to other people I was healthy - well it isn't really. Ambotolaoka is one of those places where one could acquire something venereal, probably incurable, without trying too hard. The natives are indeed very friendly or try to be. I'm happy to have a look and a laugh, but no touch. Going to a hospital in Madagascar is probably more detrimental to the health, as it is possible to end up more diseased, if not deceased, and with less limbs and body parts than before entering said, euphemistically named, medical facility.
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| Maki |
While on the subject of Madagascar. It is probably one of the poorest countries in the world. I was partly inspired to come here after watching the animated movie of the same name, with the likes of King Julian. Yes, I confess I enjoyed Shrek and Finding Nemo as well. I'd never really heard much about Madagascar before. As mentioned in the Lonely Planet Guide the Malagasy people do not regard themselves as African. There is quite a distinct Indian/Asian appearance in some. This however, has ended up with real mix of race, as over the centuries pirates, slave traders, followed by Portuguese, French and English colonisation have dipped into the population somewhat. Generally they are not an unattractive people and some have been spared the rather bulbous, facial features of the typical African. I have enjoyed the places I have visited so far - basically some islands around the north west of Madagascar. The weather at this time of the year near latitude 13 degrees south (winter) is almost perfect with temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees. The only real problem I have here is language, which is either French or Malagasy with very little English spoken or written.
While cruising one of the more tranquil islands I discovered I was near deaf in one ear. After the boat nearly ended up on the beach at Nosy Sakatia a few weeks ago I'd taken to using the anchor alarm on the GPS to avoid a similar nasty incident happening again. However, there are not that many satellites around the skies in that area. Probably, Madagascar does not represent any security risk or economic benefit to anyone. I think the reason was being so close the the mainland at Nosy Momoko the mountains blocked the few visible satellites there were. After the Fix Lost alarm went off for the third time in a night I decided to use the depth alarm on the wireless Tacktick instruments. I took the display to bed and while lying on my side set the alarm. When pressing the buttons there is usually a beep - all I heard was a low "tick". I lifted my head, pressed the button and heard the beep - interesting. I syringed the ears in the morning and have been using Aqua Ear after easing into the water for a wash. Looks like I will have to refrain from enthusiastically diving over the side each day to wash the body. The joys of cruising.
A pleasant time was had back at Nosy Sakatia. Going ashore at beer o clock and having a chat and drink with Des and Nell.
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| Sail repair on Sadiqi |
Maintenance on the boat
- Repairing the Main halyard - chafe.
- Stripping down the windlass and greasing.
- Repairing the Jib. Restitching the protective weather strip.
- Minor sewing jobs.
- Sealing vents.
- Passage planning for the next legs of the voyage.
- Completing the Tax Return.
- Sorting out Music ripping CDs.
- Cleaning the boat.
- Doing laundry itc.
Snorkelling near Sakatia - very good although the visibility is good for a short while between tides. Good fish life, corals, turtles, and painted crayfish.
Going shopping with Nell. I tried unsuccessfully to source a seal for the water pump on the Volvo in Hellvill. The water pump has been leaking for awhile. There are two, so called, supermarkets on Nosy Be. That I know of anyway. Shampinons in Hellville and Ahkum Olivier in between Crater Bay and Hellville. Most shops, banks etc close between 1200 and 1500 for lunch, very civilised unless you want to do something. The only alternative is to head to Mandipos pub for lunch and a beer. I am aware of only four ATMs, accepting VISA, on Nosy Be, these appear to only operate during business hours. Three ATMs in Helleville and one at Ambotolaoka. The amount of cash Ariary one gets out of the machine is limited to availability. The most I have been able to draw has been 400,000.00 Ariary ($200.00). Sometimes I have been limited to just 200,000.00 Ariary. Multiple withdrawals are permitted with the transaction charge each time. This has usually been around the weekends. Shampinions accepts VISA credit cards for payment.
By the middle of July, having done some work of the boat, it was time to move again as the moss was gathering. While hauling in the anchor I scrubbed the chain to get the weed growth off. If the weed growth is left on an unpleasant fishy odour will pervade from the anchor locker for days. I pointed Sadiqi, motor chugging, in the direction of Hellevill to get supplies and beer. The ever present John, of the Hellville boat boys, looked after the dingy.
Stupid-stitions - setting sail on a Friday. I was aware that I was setting sail to Nosy Mitsio on a Friday. I did not think I had much option after not having had the best nights sleep. on a lee shore, anchored at Helleville. I struggled to the haul the anchor, which I assumed had bedded itself well after the over night blow. It took some persuasion with the Volvo to finally move it. When working the manual windlass the anchor seemed unusually heavy. When the anchor started to emerge from the murky depths I noticed something hanging off it. It was another anchor chain; encrusted with black muck and rust. There may have been a good anchor on the end, however I did not want to risk the black muck on the decks. I managed to untangle the chain and dropped it without messing me or the decks.
There was very little wind so Sadiqi motored through the tricky passage between Nosy Be and Nosy Komba. There are three good fixed navigation transits, where I was able to verify the accuracy of the electronic charts, compasses - magnetic variation. The C-Map MAX charts on the Standard Horizon plotter were accurate. The Computer based OpenCPN program using CM93 charts had to be corrected..
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| Glassy seas |
The sea was like glass, reflecting the distant hazy blue mountains of mainland Madagascar, as Sadiqi chugged north west at 4 knots. I trawled a fishing lure behind. Toward midday I detected a change in the sound of the exhaust. The water pump impeller had broken. I was not altogether surprised as the impeller had done several hundred engine hours. Why it chose to break when I had chosen to set sail on a Friday I will never know. Fortunately the westerly sea breeze had begun to set and fill the sails. This was enough to move the boat while I replaced the impeller.
The next and third incident to happen was when I check the fishing line. It felt light so I pulled it in. There was no lure on the end! The 80 pound trace had been snapped. Hmmm, there is a message here somewhere and I didn't think I was stupid-stitious - much.
Sadiqi had a good sail in the 10 to 15 knot afternoon westerly sea breeze. I dropped anchor in the shelter of Nosy Mitsio bay just before sunset. There was one other Catamaran anchored in the bay.
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| Nosy Mitsio |
I woke in the morning after a good nights sleep to see gray and ominous looking skies. There were several rain showers during the day. The Catamaran left during the morning. The rustic sounds of cattle lowing near the beach, goats bleating on the over grazed hills, laughter and play of children near the beach. I rowed ashore late in the day to visit the village chief (Mpnjarka) to give a small gift (Cadue) of sugar, soap and fish hooks. No one spoke English so it was a stilted meeting. On the way to visit the chief I passed a empty tourist village with 6 rondavels. The place looked like had been put in mothballs and very incongruous next the primitive palm leaf huts of the Malagasy village near by. The wind blew strong all night up to 30 knots from the east. I had to get up several times in the night when I heard the chafe guard on the chain snubber work loose. The anchorage was sheltered from the waves. My fitful night was mainly caused by my thoughts of the anchor chain parting and Sadiqi ending up on the rocks. Parts of the anchor chain are very rusty and worn.
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| Nosy Mitsio Beach |
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| Nosy Mitsio |
The wind abated during the day and three other yachts arrived in the bay. I rowed ashore in the afternoon. The beach was not the typical beautiful white, squeaky, sandy beach. This is a relief as the dreaded Sandflies seem to occupy the more whiter sandy beaches. The walk in the hills - presented a beautiful vista of Nosy Mitsio and surrounding islands.
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| Nosy Mitsio |
On rowing back to the boat I visited Tom, Kim and Emily on "Emily Grace" a powerboat (small cruise ship), from east coast USA, whom I had briefly met in the Maldives. They passed on the devastating news that Sean on "Finnegan" had been lost at sea between Chagos and Madagascar. I had met Sean and crew Stephan in Galle, Sri Lanka and Addu, Maldives. Tom on "Emily Grace" had been contacted by the family as he had been one of the last to see Sean at Chagos. Apparently, the boat ended up in the Seychelles with only Stephan onboard. The reasons behind Sean's disappearance are speculation and conjecture, which I will not enter into. My condolences go to Sean's family. This brings home the sometimes stark realities of life at sea.
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| Nosy Ankarea |
On Monday, July 23 I pulled up the anchor and headed four miles across the bay of Nosy Mitsio to Nosy Ankarea - the tall sentinel of the Mitsio group of islands. I had been advised by Roy on "Sealoon", another solo sailor whom has completed three circumnavigations, that near the sandy beach was good anchoring and that that there was an interesting climb up the steep sides of the rocky cliff. The water was crystal clear. Being a lee shore, wind from the east, when I anchored I swam on the anchor to check it's holding. Also, in the clear water I took the opportunity to scraped off some of the moss that had grown on the hull and prop since leaving the Maldives. I went ashore to find the path that would lead me to the track up the steep rocky hill. This meant passing through quite dense rain forest. I did not reach the top as the higher I got the more concerned I became about the boat as I could see the wind rows in the water indicating the wind was picking up. I headed back to the boat and about five minutes after hauling the anchor the wind changed to the south west. I had a pleasant sail back to the anchorage in Nosy Mitsio Bay.
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| Nosy Ankarea |
Tuesday was a day of rest and chores as the muscles ached after the climbing steep rocks and snorkelling.
The following day Peter and Ulla on "Lovina" from Sweden swung by Sadiqi introducing themselves. I had seen "Lovina" in the Maldives just before leaving. They invited me over for tea and cake at midday. In the course of our chat about where we'd been and what we'd seen I mentioned that I was having trouble with the water pump on the Volvo. Water was starting to stream out of the weep holes. Peter said he also had a Volvo, all be it a larger one to drive a 43 foot steel boat, and may be able to help. I went back to Sadiqi I pulled the water pump apart to inspect the seals around the shaft. I took the pieces over to Peter to see if he had a seal that would fit. He didn't, but he did have an O ring that could replace the rusted, broken small spring the keeps tension on the shaft. While this was going on I was able to help Peter and Ulla with their computer to connect to wireless network. I returned to Sadiqi, addressed the Volvo, fitted the pump and started the engine. Much to my relief the water pump problem was fixed. I had though about trying to get new seals sent to Madagascar through DHL. This is a fruitless exercise as it is unlikely one will receive the parts.
I started the Volvo the next day to see if the water pump leaked. I was ecstatic it was still dry. I rowed over to Peter to give him the good news and thank him. Ulla provided coffee and cake and we chatted. Peter mentioned that he had been to Australia a number of times and to Forbes in NSW. I wondered about that as Forbes would hardly be called a tourist destination. When I asked him about it he said he had been there for hang gliding competitions. Peter, as it turned out, used to compete professionally for Sweden in the late 90s. It was amazing meeting another hang glider pilot in Madagascar. We compared stories, places and names in the hang gliding world.
On Saturday, July 28 I returned to Nosy Ankarea to explore further. Nosy Ankarea is uninhabited and has an abundance of bird life and amazing plants. It had rained over night and the day was fine with mild winds. Peter and Ulla on "Lovina" anchored near Ankarea shortly after I did. I dragged out the Powerdive unit (Hookah) to do some diving on the reef. The water was very clear. One does have to be a little circumspect about the names for things like "Hookah". People unfamiliar with the meaning in one country can easily misconstrue the meaning. I'd had a conversation about diving with Tom, Kim and young Emily on "Emily Grace", they asked if I dived and I mentioned that I had a hookah onboard. At the time I did not notice the moments silence after I'd said it. It was only a day or say later when I greeted them and the response was total indifference that I thought a little peculiar. A "Hookah", spelt with an "AH" is a underwater dive system where air is piped down to the diver with compressor. This takes away the need for scuba tanks BCD's etc. Sometime I get invited back after a gathering usually to apologise.
Peter and I decided to scale the rocky cliff. Ulla, wisely, abstained about half way up. It was quite a climb with spectacular views at the top. We would have liked to have explored more of the top, but the sun was getting low. Going down was a lot more tricky than going up as we did not end up going down the way we had gone up. It was with some relief that we made to the beach where a concerned Ulla waited for us.
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| Nosy Ankarea with Nosy Mitsio in the distance |
On Sunday I headed back toward Nosy Komba. The wind petered out not too long after leaving Nosy Mitsio and the Volvo rumbled away, fortunately not splashing water from the water pump leak any longer.
At Nosy Komba I hauled water to the boat and did the laundry. I had lunch and dinner at Chez Yolande - avoiding the Zebo Tartare this time. I met Madame Yolonde who has her own yacht anchored out the front of the restaurant. She said that I could take water and use the shower facilities. With the coming spring tide the boats roll around in the high tides - called the Komba roll. It is best to avoid Nosy Komba during the spring tides.
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| Laundry Day |
On Tuesday July 31 I headed to Helleville, less than an hours motoring away, to get provisions and fuel. The ever smiling Helleville boat boys Jimmy and John were waiting. Apparently there has not been as many tourist and cruise boats as usual. I met up with Des and Nell in town and had a beer with them at Mandipo's. It was then off the market to negotiate vegetables. I didn't use Abud's service as I don't require large quantities. Then it was off to Shampinions supermarket for beer and food stuff. This is all done before the shops close at midday. After 3 o clock I rowed ashore again with empty jerry cans, hired a taxi and bought Diesel. The Taxi's on Nosy Be are a riot - ancient Renault 4's that have not been production since the 1980's. The driver hot wired the car to start it. I was relieved no one smoked as the fuel tank was a plastic jug near the front passenger seat. To open the doors one has to use the outside handle. A fairly recent arrival in Nosy Be has been the three wheel Tuk Tuk's manufactured in India. The old Renaults have survived well specially given the state of the roads. However, they will all eventually ascend to the scrap heap in the ocean.
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| Nosy Be Taxi |
