We Are In Mozambique!!!!
18 October 2014 | Linga Linga, Mozambique
Madagascar to Mozambique
We pulled anchor at 6:15 on the morning of October 6 and motored out of Mahajanga Bay and headed into the Mozambique Channel, destination; Richards Bay, South Africa, 1200 nautical miles mostly south and a little west. The first 24 hours the seas were rough but we made good time moving at between 6.5 - 7 knots. As we progressed west across the channel, we began setting our course more and more to the south/south-west. By the third day of passage, having pretty well crossed the channel, we were able to point more towards the south and pick up the Mozambique current which runs anywhere from quite close to shore to a number of miles off. It varies in strength and we were lucky at times to catch a 2-3 knot lift! The wind was from behind, north/north-east and we were sailing wing-on-wing. Our main sail was out as far as possible on the starboard side and our jib (most forward sail) was poled out on port. 'Poled out' means that it was being held out by an aluminum pole to stop it from collapsing if the wind were to sneak behind it. We were hoping to make it to Richards Bay in one go like our friends aboard s/v Smoke and s/v Mystic. Had we left one day earlier????.
We knew that s/v Ryhthm was nearby, as we'd heard them on the VHF radio. Michael had managed to speak with Peggy on one occasion but then we were out of range. We were however sending our position emails daily, so we knew where they were in relation to us. The main topic of discussion in all our emails was the weather. Here more than anywhere else, so far, wind direction and strength is crucially important. Why? We are running with a very strong south-setting current. Storm systems come from the south with wind speeds upwards of 40 knots. When opposing wind and current meet, the sea conditions become horrific with standing and breaking waves. So, we watch the weather very, very carefully.
Around day 5 of the passage, 500 miles north of Richards Bay, the wind forecasts began to show a very strong system coming up from the Cape of South Africa. Our speed south and the system's speed north would have had us meet a few hundred miles of our then current position. We knew that we couldn't make it all the way to Richards Bay and that we would have to find shelter along the way to wait out this strong system.
Our first 'hidey hole' as we call them, was the island of Bazaruto, Mozambique (Lat. 21? 34.75'S/ Long. 35? 26.77'E). Rhythm was there too, so that was an added bonus. It was beautiful there, but when the wind came from the south, the anchorage became very rough. We had another day before the big winds were to arrive so we decided to head another 120 miles to the south. Now we are at anchor in a river at Linga Linga (Lat. 23? 43.88'S/ Long. 35?23.38'E) near the city of Inhambane, Mozambique. We decided to come here because it appeared more protected and put us closer to Richards Bay.
Yesterday and today (18/10/14), we have been seeing winds between 15 and 30 knots and this anchorage has been great. Gromit is solidly anchored and we aren't moving much as the wind driven waves are minimal. The weather system is still blowing hard to the south of us, so we have a few more days here. We are trying to find a way of getting to the city - Inhambane, 10 miles south of us, so that we can explore a Mozambique city. With us in the anchorage are the following boats: Rhythm, Steel Band, Leu Cat and Solar Planet.