A Quick Trip South
22 April 2018 | Gan
Tom
After leaving “Paradise” we had a fairly quick (for cruisers) trip further South. We were starting to look towards our trip to Chagos and beyond and were beginning to count the days until checkout.
Our first stop was Dhangethi, a small village about 6 hours South. The entrance was over a reef with me one the bow, calling coral heads to avoid. The depth got down to 12 feet, safe but anxiety provoking. The anchorage was calm and shared with a number of safari (tourist live aboard) boats. We picked up a few provisions and stayed a second day due to squally weather. The further South we get (closer to the equator) the more unsettled the weather.
The next morning we headed for Mafassaru Kandu, a recommended stop to the East of us. Again after a trip through a field of coral we settle in behind a sandy reef in 25 feet of water. We immediately jumped in and checked out the reef in front of us as well as the set of the anchor. All was well so we relaxed on the boat for the rest of the day. We had initially planned to spend a few days here but the call of heading South had us up the next morning, retracing our path through the coral and off on an overnight sail to Maahva.
Our initial plan was to anchor off a small reef in the centre of the the South Hadhunmathee Atoll. However flexibility is an essential part of cruising and as 15-20 knot winds and associated waves were coming in from the West the admiral (Kim) suggested an alternate anchorage behind and sheltered by the West side of the atoll near Maahva.. This required a bit of navigating to avoid a couple of large reefs but overall it was a much better choice (the skipper, initially unhappy with any change in plans had to agree). However by morning the wind had shifted 120 degrees and left us in a position of being pushed up onto the West reef. Again flexibility prevailed as we made a quick exit when the depth under our keel shrunk to under 5 feet!. What was to be quiet day snorkelling and resting turned into a trip across the atoll in 25 knots of wind and a second overnight to a small protected bay in front of a small town, Thinadhoo. This provided a well appreciated rest with no reefs or swell to worry about. The next few days were spent relaxing and provisioning for our upcoming trip to Chagos. We also topped up the diesel tanks and changed the engine oil.
One last overnight has got us to Gan, the most Southern part of the Maldives. The trip was not without a few torrential downpours! In fact we delayed our entry into the anchorage after arrival due to blinding rain and 20 knot winds. This was to be bettered by 37 knot winds once we were “comfortably anchored” within two boat lengths of two other yachts (was Neptune getting back at us perhaps for not sharing our dwindling supply of alcohol as we crossed the equator the night before?)
After the weather improved we found Gan and associated villages to be great. We had been given the name of a local (Mulla) who went out of his way to help us. We also had a great lunch with the crews of the two boats we anchored so close to. Now just a couple of days of provisioning and weather routing and we will say goodbye to the Maldives.