So here we are in another new place after the 350nm sail from Rodrigues, and first impressions are very positive.

It was a bit of a hassle leaving Rodrigues on Monday 24th August, as the supply boat came in at 0730 and all the yachts had to move out of the harbour – this was the bigger boat ‘Mauritius Trochetia’ which carries passengers, and the new Port Captain was taking no chances by letting boats stay at anchor. So we were up at 0600 and then re-anchored by 0800. We stowed the dinghy and very nice person, Chris on ‘Silver Girl’, took us ashore for our clearance at 1300. If we had been able to clear out beforehand we could simply have left early that morning but the arcane clearance and departure rule allows no flexibility: clear out and leave immediately. This would have stood us in good stead for our arrival in Mauritius as we could have made it in daylight.

Anyway, we got under way at 1330 and we had wind of 15-18kts for most of the way with the occasional short-lived increase to 22kts. The direction was ESE so it was poled out genoa with one reef and two reefs in the main as we were nursing a damaged headboard (now being replaced in Mauritius). Our spinnaker pole broke in two a couple of days before we reached Rodrigues but we fixed it in Port Mathurin by getting a piece of treated wood six feet long fitted inside and then dismantling one of our hatch anti-burglar devices and screwing four pieces of stainless steel bar across the break – stronger than ever but eight inches shorter. We will get a new pole in South Africa and probably go for carbon fibre.

We had a very comfortable sail and we did not feel under pressure as there was no way we could make Mauritius in daylight. The wind veered around midday on Wednesday 26th August and we brought the genoa across to the starboard side. This also brought the waves more on to our beam and it got a tad splashy. We left the small islands north of Mauritius to port as there are strong currents and the wind had picked up to >20kts. Our destination was Baie de Thombeau, four miles north of Port Louis, where we could anchor (20 06.129’S:057 30.198’E). There are submarine cables running into/out of the bay which are clearly marked on both C-Map and Navionics charts, but the difference is that C-Map shows the whole bay as a no anchor zone, but Navionics shows an area in the south of the bay outside the no anchor zone … we decided Navionics was more accurate … Mauritius Coastguard use C-Map apparently, because friends Richard and Susan on ‘Sea Bunny’ came in about an hour behind us and heard the Coastguard calling us up (we had turned off our VHF after anchoring at 0045 on 27th August). The Coastguard also called ‘Sea Bunny’ to tell them not to anchor but they already had the hook dug in.

We had an anchor nip (or two), turned in and then went into the port early on Thursday morning, tying up to some railings near the Customs and Port Control office. Clearing in was slow and Customs are on a bit of a mission since a boat came in recently with large quantities of booze that they didn’t declare and were subsequently found to have, so we declared our alcohol and then a Customs Officer came to the boat to seal it in locker. This was followed two hours later by five Customs Officers coming onboard to do a rummage search – it was done with an extremely light touch. So that was all good then.

We moved across to Caudan Basin where there are lots of people that we know, so it is all very convivial. For any sailors reading this and planning to come to Port Louis, please note that there is an unmarked rock in the harbour between the Customs dock and Caudan Basin – do not take the direct route, but stay to the north and then turn when abeam of the entrance to the basin. Five boats have recently hit this rock – C-Map shows a port hand buoy guarding a shoal but stay well away as there is no buoy and the position is not correct.

It was a good trip and so far we like it here. We will move to Grand Baie about six miles north and anchor there for a while and explore the island. Then on to Reunion and we are now debating whether to go to Madagascar or direct to South Africa. Watch this space.