Madagascar (August)

Back at Nosy Sakatia it was time to do chores and fix the boat - still.

Shopping with Des. Des offered to take me in a Pirogue (dugout canoe) a short distance between the islands to Nosy Be to do shopping. Des, armed with a very detailed shopping list from Nel, Rebbu - Malagasy worker and myself set off. Des and Rebbu rowed I bailed - continuously. There was quite a chop on the water from the North East wind, which made for a somewhat damp trip. It did not help that Des had not satisfied his nicotine addiction having run out of cigarettes the night before. The return trip, loaded with shopping, was just as damp as the south west sea breeze was in. The pirogue will not sink as it is made of wood, however it could fall apart - they appear to leak like a sieve too. I'd helped Rebbu bind the out-rigger float to the beam before leaving Sakatia. There are more pleasant and dryer methods of going shopping.  

Having enjoyed the space and serenity of Nosy Mitsio I ventured back there toward mid August. It was a good sail beating into a gusty 15 to 20 knot north east wind. It was good to use the sails again. I listened to the easterly wind howl all night. I did not venture ashore the next day. Rowing the inflatable dingy in windy conditions is quite a challenge.

Several yachts, mono hulls, arrived in the bay during the day. I met John on "Aquila" who arrived from Chagos originally from Durban, South Africa. The other 2 yachts, German and Dutch, I think had sailed from Mauritius. Several days after later "Daemon" with Bruce and Gill on board originally from New Zealand arrived at Nosy Mitsio having sailed from Chagos.

Nosy Mitsio Transport (Pirogue)

 There is no electricity, piped water, phone lines, mobile phone services, cars, motor bikes, or even bicycles on Nosy Mitsio. I never saw and aeroplane or even a contrail over the islands. The locals either walk or travel by Dhow or Pirogue (dugout canoe). This is my third visit to this group of islands. I enjoy the solitude and going for lengthy walks over the hills. The locals, pretty much, leave me alone.

Charter boats, mainly catamarans, turn up regularly to Nosy Mitsio Bay. After a hard days motoring or fishing - they don't seem to use the sails much - up goes the volume on the muzak, out comes the mirror ball and on go the flashing disco lights. The people on board, after awhile, start shouting to be heard over the music and each other.  Admittedly, this only happened twice, it was amusing as it was so incongruous. Ah, to experience the peace and tranquillity of a Malagasy nosy (The packaged charter).The charter boats generally leave quietly the next morning with only the Malagasy crew visible. The near by resort that I thought was in moth balls became occupied with tourists for a few days. The small resort is probably an outpost for one of the larger 5 star resorts nearby.

Nosy Ankarea

 When the wind abated I sailed to Nosy Ankera again - an enchanted island. I had the island to myself and was able to wander the beaches and forest. I did chance upon some fairly recent abandoned buildings, the land on which nature was successfully reclaiming. There is some odd flora about - very prickly trees with pretty white flowers. 

The Beach

The forest

Weird prickly tree

 By midday the wind had picked up and Sadiqi was anchored on a lee shore. I hauled anchor and ventured toward the beautiful looking long beaches to windward - part of Nosy Mitsio. I enjoyed a very long walk along the beach, weary of the dreaded Sand fly/flea that may lurk in squeaky white sand. Fortunately there were no sand flies/fleas. I still have the scares on my legs from my last encounter in Indonesia with these dreaded little insects.

Wednesday, August 22 I departed Nosy Mitsio and headed to Nosy Komba to do the laundry and load water and visit the cute Lemurs again. When I left Nosy Mitsio it was blowing 20 to 25 knots, with gusts up to 30 knots from the east. Several hours later the wind dropped and I had to start the motor. Nosy Be and surrounding Nosys seem to enjoy a favourable micro climate. This is probably due to the topography of the mainland over which the prevailing south east trade wind blows most of the time.

Not much fishing was done after having been relieved of a number of fishing lures, by what I can only assume were very large fish.

Nosy Mistio

  I met up with: Roy on "Sealoon" and Bruce and Gill on "Daemon" at Nosy Komba. I had purposely anchored off Nosy Komba on the Neap Tides to try and avoid the dreaded Komba roll. I loaded up with water and did the laundry. Roy joined me for a walk around the village and to the lemur park. Before Roy set of sailing more than 20 years ago he had been a zoologist and was able to tell me interesting facts about growing vanilla. Madagascar is apparently the biggest producer of vanilla in the world. The vanilla bean is produced from an orchid and has to be pollinated by hand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla

Early on Saturday morning after nearly four hours of rolling around the boat I decided I'd had enough and left the anchorage and headed to Helleville.

Helleville

Helleville

I had a pleasant few days at Hellville to do the provisioning and shopping, leaving the Dingy with the Boat boys. On several days I had lunch at Nandipos Bar - they cook a mean pizza and the blue cheese zebu steak on mash potato was superb. 

Nandipo

 Thursday, August, I Cleared out of Helleville. This was relatively simple. However, I was left with a sour taste, as the port captain decided to subsidise his meagre income, by charging 35,000 Ariary for the clearance certificate. I know this was not legitimate and tried to ague the point. The police/immigration had my passport and were not likely to return it to me if I did not have the port clearance papers - checkmate! I found out afterwards that Roy on Sealoon did not pay the port clearance fee - he can speak French. The only other charge was Customs and again I could have skipped that. So for the price of a little more than a carton of beer (24xcans) I cleared out of Madagascar. 

The Lofrans anchor windlass decided to seize when I tried to haul anchor at Hellville! Not much notice as I was just about to depart the country. I hauled in the anchor manually. This was not a difficult job as I had removed 20 metres of chain due to rust and wear, also having rowed every where in the dingy I had more strength. I attempted to repair it with help from Bruce on "Daemon". 

I headed to Nosy Sakatia to say good bye to Des and Nell then headed south west. I was sad to leave Madagascar having really enjoyed my visit there. 

Sad news on the missing yachtsman Sean on "Finnegan":

Missing British Yachtsman 

 

The adventure continues. It is with some trepidation and apprehension that I start each long voyage or leg. It is usually an anticlimax on nearing the destination having got used to the routine and solitude. I enjoy the solitude of the voyage and also the mental stimulation. Keeping the mind and thoughts in check, or attempting to, has been, and will continue to be, the constant real challenge.