BAZARUTO - EAST AFRICA – following the dhows south continued. Soon it was time to leave again and set out to sea. Our next stop was to be the Bazaruto Archipelago 500 miles away. We would be following the stronger Mozambique Current as it cut across the bight of Beira . The first half of the crossing was characterized by light easterly breezes which generally died to a flat calm by midnight and only really picked up again by midday . The familiar thud of the diesel engine was our companion during these spells and progress was slow down the rumb line. The routine aboard included reading, reading and more reading, spiced up by the odd card game. The fact that I managed to get through The Da Vinci Code in just over 18hours was miraculous for me and tells a story itself. The second half of the crossing was remembered by fresh North- easterly breezes which of course allowed us to hoist our colourful spinnaker. Shortly before our arrival at the northern tip of Bazaruto it parted company at the head and spent the rest of the trip stowed away in its bag, fortunately we hardly had use for it again. The Bazaruto Archipelago consists of 4 main islands Bazaruto, Benguerra, Paradise and Margaruge. The area which separates them from the mainland is generally shallow and requires attention while navigating to stay in channels. On arriving we anchored off the northern end of Bazaruto in the lee of a sand spit called ‘Ponta D.Carlos. Arriving at night is always complicated and selecting a good anchorage based on information on electronic charts is always a bit harrowing. One is never sure of exactly where you are and how much faith you can put in your electronics – your GPS position may be accurate to 20m but one never knows whether with the charts you are using are not half a mile out, especially in less traveled locations. It is always a relief in the mornings to see that you are still floating and that you are not perched on top of a coral head or something equally ridiculous ! The Islands and surrounds have been designated a National Park and are generally uninhabited except for a few small villages near the luxury lodges. We decided to head for Indigo Bay Resort which lay 12 miles away. The weather was unusually thundery and a large dark cloud bank was building ahead of us. The temperature dropped and soon we were motoring into the teeth of a stiff 25 knot breeze that whipped up white caps in seconds. Innisfree barely made progress and I was thankful that the wind did not build. It only lasted about an hour but was a welcome change to the oppressive heat that we had been experiencing. The associated rain was solid and soaking. Indigo Bay is a 5-star Resort on the southern end of Bazaruto Island with all the bells and whistles one would expect. Situated on the side of a hill it has a magnificent view across the bay towards the mainland. Accommodation is in wooden chalets nestled amounst the lush vegetation. They are connected by elevated wooden walkways that wind between the palms and bougainvilleas. We enjoyed lunch under the swishing fans and after having been fantasizing about ice cream for days - were finally able to indulge. The pool and wet bar also made up for days of saltwater showers off the stern and it was great to not feel salty when crawling into bed at night. A massive sand dune extends the full length of Bazaruto – its seaward side plunging directly into the sea and the mainland side giving way to savannah type vegetation dotted with fresh water lakes (reported to be filled with crocodiles). We decided to take a walk to explore and picked up a few kids from the local village who were intent on showing us their massive sandpit. From a distance we could not really comprehend the lunar landscape that awaited us. We did not even imagine that we would be able to get all the way up, but our efforts were well rewarded with sweeping views in all directions. The rain had helped and the surface of the dunes was relatively hard which made walking less tedious. Luckily for us the temperature had cooled enough to make it pleasant as well. We snorkeled on a small reef close by the hotel the next day and spent another night at Indigo Bay before leaving early the next morning for Inhambane. The weather pattern was still disturbed and the sky was a dull grey turning the world into a subtle mix of hazy blues. The channel between Bazaruto and Benguerra Islands in places is only 2 m deep and all of 300m wide. As we rounded the southern tip of Bazaruto we could see a thunderstorm to our north. It was difficult to judge which way it was going but it looked pretty ominous and I was hesitant as to what course of action to take. We were motor sailing out the channel and had about 2 miles to go before we reached the open sea. At our speed that meant 30 minutes. To our right lay 2 mile reef. Our original intention was to anchor off 2 mile reef and snorkel before continuing south – hence our presence in the canal at low tide. As the sky darkened, the snorkeling idea was quickly abandoned and we decided to push on. he Squall arrived sooner than expected and before we knew it we were down to 3 reefs in the main with only a handkerchief of Genoa unfurled. Visibility dropped to a few metres and it bucketed down. Not the perfect situation to be in with 2 mile reef appearing and disappearing in the spray to our lee. Nervous moments ensued as we made slow progress upwind. An hour later we reached the open sea and turned south - thankfully unscathed. |
