Gromit Sailing
28 September 2014 | West Coast of Madagascar
Picture taken by Rose from s/v Smoke.
It is wonderful to be sailing with friends and not only for the camaraderie, potlucks, sun-downers and hours of chatting, but for the fact that we now have fantastic pictures of Gromit under sail!
We've been making out way south along the west coast of Madagascar with our friends aboard Smoke, Mystic and Rhythm. After our stop at Honey River, where we bought 6 litres of the golden ambrosia, we sailed to the next bay south called Berangomaina. On the north shore was a small village where we had a quick game of baseball with a bat and ball we were giving to the village kids. Peggy and David from Rhythm and all the Gromits, walked the surrounding red hills and were awed by the beautiful vistas. On our way back through the village we gave the children pads of paper and coloured pencils. There were a couple of grandmas weaving reed mats who motioned that they would like some t-shirts. I had tucked some into my back pack before leaving the boat, so was happy that I had them to give.
By noon, we were all on our way to the next anchorage at Nosy Lava. Our plan was to stay the night and then head off to Moramba Bay where Mystic was. So, anchors down, dinghies down and off to the beach to stretch our legs. There we found the most amazing little beach sheltered by rocks, trees and a huge rock wall. It isn't often you find such a fantastic place, so we decided right there on the spot to stay another day.
We walked through the abandoned penal colony and up through the hills behind. Again the views were stunning. That evening we met on shore for a BBQ. Ben from Smoke and Liam set about to build a fire for everyone to cook their dinner.......and what a fire it was!
Just before dark a few local men came by selling lobsters. I've never seen such enormous lobsters in my life..... and beautiful, their shells were absolutely stunning.
After dinner, around the fire, we three boats decided that we would sail 8 miles to a village on the mainland the following day, to try to find some fruits and vegetables, stay the night and then head to Moramba Bay to catch up with Mystic.
By the time we got to the town of Analalava, the on shore wind was basting. It was already mid-afternoon and it was Saturday so when we got ashore, thanks to David of Rhythm who dinghied 5 of us in, there was not much available. We found two vegetable tables along the side of the red dirt road that ran through the centre of the village. We bought some over-ripe tomatoes, greens and sweet potatoes. Peggy and Rose bought the same plus some eggs and rice. By the end of the day, the winds had settled and we had a relatively comfortable night.
The great thing about sailing the west coast of Madagascar is that there are consistent winds. In the mornings, the winds blow from shore out to the sea. Around 11 am, there is a period of calm and then the off shore winds pick up to between 10-15 knots. This makes it easy to plan a day's passage.
Moramba Bay was a great sheltered anchorage where we spent 6 days exploring, swimming, celebrating Peggy's birthday, windsurfing (Zoe), kayaking and generally spending fun time with our fun friends. Here there were fantastic baobab trees and maroon and white lemurs leaping like upright bunnies through the trees.
Mystic left a day before us, so we hope to catch up with them in Mahajunga or Baly Bay farther down the coast. We are all starting to look more closely at weather for the right time to cross the Mozambique channel to South Africa.
I'm hoping that in the city of Mahajunga, I will be able to access internet strong enough to post some photo albums.