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ZLYC ARTICLES
ITS
AMAZING OUT THERE! You get a chance to be with nature and stop and
smell the roses… Wow, what a feeling! Welcome back “Moonshadow!”
Jenny throwing a mooring rope to shore on arrival.
We are envious of your relaxed, content mode …., not
to mention the tanned bodies!
Firstly I'd like to apologise for the lack of communications, but
unfortunately they only have bush mail at the lodges and if and when you
get into a town, communication is a bit of a problem. Now with the
apology out the way, I can tell you that this has really been the most
incredible trip.
When we left Maputo
we had a two-day sail to Inhambane, where we anchored off at Linga
Linga. We met a chap by the name of" John the Greek", who
has a house on the island. He has been there for quite some time
now and insisted on inviting us over for lunch, which always ended up
being dinner, mainly because he does all the cooking and tells great
stories of his life and accomplishments. We decided that this man has
lived at least three lives in one lifetime - quite amazing!
We left Linga Linga for Bazaruto on 12 June; it was a stunning
cruise with lots of activity, bonnies jumping all around us, dolphin off
the bow and really great conditions. Bill caught fish which we
braai'd while sailing, and on arrival at Bazaruto had a VHF call from
Brett on “Privilege” to say ‘hi’. It was really nice to hear a
hometown voice. They were anchored off Benguerra Lodge and were leaving
for Barra the next morning. We came around the top of Bazaruto and
headed down towards Paradise
Island to anchor
off for the night. Wow!! Words cannot explain the beauty of
this little island. Turquoise water, top to bottom viz., white squeaky
sand and totally isolated, except for the WWF officials. You pay
them $10 per person for the duration of your stay as long as you don't
leave the Archipelago. You may fish as long as it's just for the
pot and definitely no spear fishing (they'll lock you up with no
questions asked). This place must have been absolutely stunning in
it's day. There is a hotel which still has a piano standing inside, a
small church and quite a few buildings, where people used to stay for
holidays, but now totally desolate and broken down.
We left the next day for Benguerra
Island, that has
two lodges on it. Naturally Benguerra Lodge, that advertises peace
and tranquility and Marlin Lodge that is where the action seems to
be. There is also a backpackers, called Gabriels. We anchored
off Benguerra Lodge, this is the best anchorage in the archipelago when
the southerlies come through. We spent 2 weeks going around exploring the
island, fishing, walking on the beach, checking out the flamingo's (Jen
has re-named them flaming-ingo's), and then we met up with Dale and
Denise from “Ocean Explorer”. They showed us places that we didn't
know about, like Pansy
Island and the
different anchorages in the area. Great couple and ever so helpful - took
us into Vilanculous for supplies. A local businessman has now
organised youngsters, dressed in blue shirts and black ties, to take
tourists into the market and to help get the freshest supplies and
negotiate prices. Interesting to know that the last place you can
get a head of lettuce is in Maputo
- after that you just get the leaves. We found that most things are
not too expensive but amazingly enough alcohol and cigarettes are cheaper
than home prices. Most of the lodges are more than happy to get you
supplies e.g. diesel, petrol and fresh produce when they send their boats
through to Vilanculous. Pansy
Island is on the
northern end of the gap between Bazaruto and Benguerra islands - it
definitely has the best shell selection of all the islands. It was
a great anchorage in the northerlies and just a stone’s throw from
Benguerra, if a southerly was due. It was also extremely close to 2-mile
reef for diving and snorkeling.
Bazaruto
Island has
many little inlets where you could anchor and go off on the duck to
explore. I found what I named "Conch graveyard", which
had the most incredible sand dunes and when we started walking through
them, there were enormous shells all tending towards fossilisation. Indigo Bay
is also situated on this island and although incredible (‘Lost City’ status), doesn't really fit
in with the other lodges, exclusivity on its own. They did the
Wonderbra shoot here and they also have what they call "one-horse
power wakeboarding" which is a horse, that pulls you along the beach
on a board. My highlight was being treated to breakfast at $17 per
person and wow what a spread! Fishing in the archipelago wasn't as
good as we expected, but according to the locals the water was too cold
and it was also due to all the seine netting going on. Crayfish and
Lula's (calamari) were cheap to purchase at R30kg and plentiful.
Magaruque has the most incredible reef surrounding it, with beauty
that words cannot describe! We decided to anchor off Marlin Lodge
and take the duck to check out the depth and currents before taking the
yacht across. Unfortunately this is where we had let down our guard
and had wondered too far off from the duck and had the contents of the
cooler box and towels stolen. It could have been more serious, as
our backpack with our handheld, video camera, wallet and cell phone were
also in the duck, but they left all this behind. I personally believe
that temptation was there and we had left ourselves wide open, hence we
were once again in vigilant mode.
We left the archipelago on 29 July for Bartholomeu Diaz (BD).
Conditions were once again excellent, we put up the spinnaker and had a
really nice sail. At this stage we had ‘Karibu’ with us and it was
great to have two Dean's sailing side by side. The island is not
anything like what's depicted on the chart and we had to go through the
surf to enter into the channel. The anchorage was amazing with
shelter from all sides. Our goal was to get to BD, and what a
place! We had the surf on one side and the channel on the other.
The local fishermen kept their distance although when they were poling
past, were always ready with a smile and very inquisitive. The one
even remarked to Bill: "one very nice dhow this" in his
broken English, and we laughed at the thought that all boats in their
eyes are dhows. Ten days later we left BD and anchored off the
mainland where we met some great people. There is a lodge called
"Lula's Paradise" where all
the Zimbabwean folk meet for a reunion once a year and this was really
festive. We were invited to join them for a crab curry evening and
were told their heartbreaking stories. These people have the most
incredible inner strength, with personalities second to none! There
is also a Club 15 just down from the lodge and these guys were getting
loads of fish daily in their high-powered ski boats. They invited
us to watch the rugby and have breakfast with them - what a wonderful
crowd. On leaving the mainland we had to re-negotiate the surf, but
once again my man made it look so simple. (His experience with reading
the surf is something I wish I had just a pinch of, no doubt, it takes
years!) We were on our way back to the Bazaruto archipelago, and
although conditions weren't great, they certainly weren't the worst we'd
been in. We anchored off at Indigo Bay
for the night and this is where we had the opportunity to witness the
oranges, pinks, purples and beauty of an incredible sunset, together with
the golden moon rising on the opposite side. I have never been in a
position to witness both at once from one place, it's always been one or
the other.
For those old enough to remember "Squad Cars", this is a
tribute to the WWF - "They prowl the depleted archipelago by day in
fast donated ski-boats - in drunken arrogance, seeking out innocent
yachties at every turn, to intimidate out of that last dollar: these are
the men of the WWF."
On 20 August we started making our way back to Richards Bay,
with the first part of the trip being from Bazaruto to Lunene Island.
Once again, another surf break to get through. These places are
quite amazing, the sea on one side of the sandbar and the tranquility of
a bay to anchor in on the other side - not really mono-hull
territory!! “Ocean Explorer” had shown us how to get in and with
Dale's contacts, managed to find us a lodge to watch the Tri-Nations
final. What an experience, after watching TV perhaps twice on
the whole journey, we were able to witness the Boks winning! We
spent three days at Lunene, until conditions were favourable to leave for
our next leg of the journey to Pomene. It was on this leg of the journey
where Bill caught his ultimate fish, a 48kg Ignobilis kingfish, and had
two marlin strikes, all within an hour. I must say that fighting a
fish of this size took some skill as the duck was up on the davits; the
outboard was also in the way and the wind generator made it extremely
difficult.I was on the helm trying to slow us down and in the end our
teamwork paid off and the giant fish was landed. There were whales all
over, breaching, sailing etc. and we had to change course on quite a few
occasions to avoid them, remarkable creatures - wonder how many we nearly
hit at night…?
Pomene's entrance had to be the hairiest entrance of all. It is ski
boat territory - line up with a tree on the shore, and once behind back
line follow the channel through until you get into the bay behind the
lodge. Once inside it's like being on a lake, surrounded by
mangroves and flamingos - truly worth every moment. The fishing off
the point was pretty good and the folk at the lodge extremely friendly
and willing to help with whatever were needed. The only problem
here is that they do not have fresh water and have to fetch from the
mainland. They were in the process of laying a pipeline to the
mainland, when we were there. Took a walk around the island and
there are lots of places going up: the thatch and log type that are
really pretty. Apparently the land issue in Mozambique
is really tricky, as there are often three owners to each plot and when
purchasing it is extremely difficult to get hold of the owners or papers.
If there are no markers on the property, the deal is apparently
worthless. Much money is changing hands for land but very few deals
are valid. There was even an ‘official’ staying on this island, who
was issuing holidaymakers with permits to drive on the beach for a fee,
while no receipts were issued. These people soon found out that all
driving on the beaches in Mozambique
is illegal and therefore had been ripped-off.
We left Pomene on 30 August for Barra Lodge. It seemed we
were through the back line when a rogue set picked up on us, very
daunting with lack of speed and maneuverability! Character building
stuff this, although the skipper says his character is quite fine, thank
you!
On the way down to Barra, we caught quite a few fish and had an
excellent run, when the wind picked up, we were doing 7-8knts o.g. The
whales were still around as well as turtles and jumping manta rays.
We arrived at Inhambane (Barra) at 15h00, which gave us time to find a
decent anchorage before nightfall. It was another breaking wave
entry, but not as bad as previous ones. We negotiated the channels
and anchored off behind Flamingo Lodge, which will be opening its doors in
November, this year. It's a beautiful lodge built on stilts, out
over the water. The moon gives this setting a
magnificent atmosphere, as do the drums in the background - it could be
the Okavango! To get to Barra
Lodge, we had to take the duck and then walk along a long wooden bridge
over the mangroves. The lodge itself is fantastic and it goes
without saying that the people there are the same. They arranged to
get our diesel, petrol and supplies and had it taken down to Flamingo
Lodge by vehicle, for us to collect in the duck. This was really
great as I really battled walking on the bridge empty handed, - let alone
with supplies. The lodge has encouraged the local children to form
a band and dance for the guests - this happens every Wednesday and
Saturday night with a buffet. What a wonderful experience. I learnt
to dance on two poles that were held horizontally, at shoulder level on
each side. We walked up to the lighthouse on the point and found another
backpackers; this one had the most magnificent view. The whole
island has lodges and established private beach houses. The
‘Imperial Countess’ stops off at Barra Lodge on its travels every
year. Awesome! We moved and anchored off at White Sands to
avoid being trapped by the tide, and to be able to negotiate the channel
before the tide got too low to head for Inhaca.
Conditions were pretty rough; it is amazing how conditions always
seem unsettled the closer you get to Richards Bay.
Had a reasonable trip with moments of anxiety when the whales were a bit
too close for comfort, had to change course on numerous occasions.
Crossing the bay
of Maputo,
conditions were awful with a lot of crashing and bumping - not too
pleasant! On reaching Portuguese Island
we anchored on the southern side. We had made Barra to Inhaca in
just over 32 hours, as Fred said: “we were flying!” (Cats do this when
winds are favourable). I battled with this part of the trip due to
tooth infection. Bill decided that I needed to get to a dentist
with urgency and we left the next day for Maputo. Had a good trip across
the bay and anchored off waiting for the tide. Can't believe who
was here in the marina -" Watussi" - Al and Anja from home!
I'd been given a contact number for a dentist by Paul's wife Sue,
who works in Maputo.
She felt confident that I'd be in good hands. While anchored
off outside the marina, I phoned for an appointment for the next day and
the assistant told me she would get back to me. Well, the returned
call came within minutes to say that the dentist would wait for me, that
I was to get a taxi as soon as we were moored. On arriving at the
rooms I was really concerned, because outside it looked really
crummy! Once inside it was a different scenario, just like home -
Oral B posters and SA info all over the place. Dr Tayob was really
great, he certainly went the "extra-mile", put me in his car
and took me off to get stronger antibiotics and then promptly delivered
me back to the marina. The people in this town are quite amazing, this
was not our first experience with someone going out of their way to
assist us.
We invited Al and Anja over for dinner and caught up on all the
news, and what their plans were. They would sail back to Inhaca
with us and then head north on the next southerlies. We restocked
in Maputo.
I got the most incredible feeling when I walked into a shop and was able
to pick up a loaf of sliced bread off the shelf, instead of making
it. It's amazing that when you don't have easy access to certain
things, you don't miss them but when you see them again it is all too
easy to buy instead of make/bake. What I'm still trying to get
over, is the fact that Maputo, yes Maputo, has a
Woolworths Food Emporium!!!!! Where's ours in Richards Bay?
Well, once stocked, we were ready to make the final leg home.
We left for Inhaca with" Watussi" and had sundowners with them
before saying our goodbyes.
Our first and last nights had to be the worst(!), but as Bill says:
“‘if it was all good, everyone would be doing it.” We had a
forecast of NE 20-25 knts. for 3 days, moderating in the evenings to NW
5knts. They got it wrong again - wind increased to 35knts as night
fell and we were averaging 8knts with genoa only. Near disaster off
Mbibi on 200m contour when speed suddenly dropped to 1,9 and the boat
slewed sideways. Large ropes, long lines were wrapped up around us
- horrific stuff! We managed to furl the genoa and started
the motors. As we put the starboard motor into gear there was a
terrible noise that sounded like the leg being ripped out.
Thank God, the prop cut the ropes and we drifted free! (Divine
Intervention!!) We never want to experience that again! The
wind was still increasing and we went past another two sets of lines with
large white buoys on them. It's difficult in conditions like these
to see them, due to the size of the swell and being night time with lots
of white water. You only see them when you're on top of them, racing down
a swell. Unbelievably, the wind increased to the 50knt mark and the sea
became "southern ocean like". Needless to say, in these
conditions we made it back in record time of 26hours.
On reaching Richards
Bay we had the most
incredibly warm welcome from those who had kept in contact with us along
the way. Those of you who came out to meet us on the wall - what a
warm feeling! The Club has warmth about it that is really difficult
to explain. After being away for close to 5 months, we really felt
‘loved’ when we came in. Thank you to all of you for your sms's,
emails and phone calls, it was truly an experience I will never
forget. We are now looking forward to the girls coming home next
month and then, hopefully, start planning next years trip.
Bill and
Jenny Watson.
Thank god, they
are safe!
Allan and Anja from ‘Watussi,’ had a
life threatening experience near Inhaca. During the bad weather of
late September, a huge wave caused their rigging to snap / they
virtually did a 360 (?) and lost both their masts! Consequently their
engine got saltwater in and failed. Thanks to Alistair Campbell and
Katharine Overton, who got the radio waves and telephone lines red hot
with their questions and requests, an airplane was diverted to the area where
their EPIRB went off. They were spotted and a motorboat went to fetch
them to the safety of Maputo
harbour.
We thank Miguel Aloy from
“Boucanier” who went by bus to Maputo
(at his own expense), to assist them. They limped back into ZLYC on the
morning of 2 November with a jury rigging. Hopefully when they are well
rested, we will get the facts straightened out. It is so good to
have you back in ‘one piece’ – belief us, a great relief…!
‘KRAKEN ‘ to do
the ‘MANGO TANGO’
Who would have thought that the lives of Pam and Graham Page-Wood
(“Kraken”) could change so rapidly! Patrice and Terry from
the visiting 60ft American yacht, “Mango Tango” needed a couple to
manage their resort ‘Mango Creek’ on the Honduran
Island, Roatan, in the Western Caribbean. Being in the right place
at the right time, they are leaving in December. We are all green
with envy but we wish you the most wonderful time of your
lives! The live-aboards on C walk-on will miss Pam’s soft
spoken ways and Graham’s dry humour dearly, but hope to visit…
Bon voyage!
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