Moved again. North side of Nosy Be
04 September 2015 | Baie De Befotaka
Bill/ slight breeze
We moved again this morning early to take advantage of the high tide at 0745. A quick breakfast of cereal(Tracy) and Cream Crackers with Orange Marmalade(me) and up came the anchor. According to Navionics, the water was quite shallow(less than 10 feet) where we were passing through. Instead, we had depths of 22 feet or more so no problem. We were in the channel between Nosy Sakatia and Nosy Be(Nosy means Island) last night with, depending on the tide, we'd swing with the bow facing up the channel or down the channel. This morning, we were facing south, down the channel. That was fine as we wanted to go north so the current would push us along giving us some extra speed. We move slowly through the channel till the depth sounder let us know we were past the "shallow" water area the chart indicated.
We slowly moved along with the wind hitting us pretty much on the bow so no sails were going to be used again. Sure glad the engine is working great, but it's not going to be pretty when we need to fill up the tanks. As we passed between Nosy Sakatia and Nosy Be, the hillsides remind us of our sailing days in New Mexico. Lots of scrub brush of some kind and low bushy bushes. The big trees of Madagascar disappeared many years ago. Large swaths of empty land dot the hillsides where trees used to grow. We've seen lots of dugouts(hand cut trees hollowed out to make a small boat)all around the areas we have visited. No clue how old they are but we haven't seen any trees around that you could make a new one out of. From what we have read, Madagascar used to have plenty of woodlands but most of it was cut down for fire wood or to build houses or simply exported back to Europe.
We dropped the anchor at just about 1000 in 23 feet of water where our charts tell us should be 4 so the charts we are using are not really accurate. A good depth sounder is really important out here. With the tide still going out, we will loose another 7 feet under the keep so we made sure to drop where we will be safe at low tide. We didn't want to get if really close to shore as there is a big resort at the head of the bay and we don't like to intrude. Plus we like our solitude. We did have three boats anchored nearby last night but none closer than a couple hundred yards.
With a resort nearby, we have decent internet for a change. Once we head back to Russian Bay, we will loose it. Right now, we plan on circumnavigating Nosy Be to see the countryside. It's really quite lovely other than where they have stripped all the trees. Wonderful people stop by to trade fish or fruit or what ever they can for what ever we can give them. So far, we'd made several happy with hats and fishing equipment. We even stocked up on cooking oil as we had heard it was hard to get and quite expensive. Yesterday, we heard from Night Fly that they had given away bottles of water and had been invited to one of the locals huts to meet his wife. From what Night Fly told us, water is scarce and to get some bottles of it is a real treat. We'll stock up on some the next time we get to Hellville.
This afternoon, I'll be going up the mast again as I need to mark the forestaysail halyard for using our "storm" jib. We loaned out our normal forestaysail to Night Fly for the trip to South Africa as they had lost the use of their big head sail when their roller furled blew apart during the trip here from the Seychelles and using ours will make it an easier trip. They are on a 33 foot boat so using a sail off a 45 foot boat should help them along. We'll be pulling out our "storm" jib and fitting it on this afternoon.
It's now 1400 and low tide here in the bay. The bow is facing out of the harbor, pointing Northwest. Normally by this time of day, we should be pointing Southwest with the prevailing winds from the same direction. Not today. It's one of the few times the wind has shifted. Fishermen utilize this winds everyday to leave the bay early in the morning when the winds are from the east and come home from fishing in the afternoon when the winds are from the west. Well, not today. With the winds coming from the Northwest, it's blowing right into the bay keeping our stern pointed at the shore. We're anchored a good mile from shore so should something happen and we drift backwards, we have a long way to go before we would be in any danger. Because of this, I let out extra anchor line and really pulled Zephyr backward to set the anchor. We aren't going anywhere.
The skies are a nice shade of blue with few clouds but rain is in the forecast for tonight. Actually, it's in the forecast just about every night but with it being the "dry"season, we rarely get any rain. We had a short shower about a week ago as we left Russian Bay and not much of anything since. I do close the top hatch in the main salon before going to be though, just in case.
We had a nice lunch of Korma Curry Chicken on a bed of rice. A nice tasty treat now that we are in another secluded anchorage. We may be here two days, not yet sure as there is another bay on the Northeast shore line we want to see in our circumnavigation of Nosy Be. So far, not another boat in sight and I doubt we will see any. Not may boaters come up here. Most stay near Hellville and Russian Bay.