The weather has been unseasonably wet and unsettled. The SE trade wind has been blowing strongly and consistently at 20kts or thereabouts which might be expected but the rain is unusual at this time of year. Sony, who was trying to fix our AIS issue with the plotter, went on a family holiday to Dubai. When I asked why anyone from the Seychelles would go to Dubai for a holiday he said to get away from the shitty weather! On several occasions it has been hotter in the UK than in the Seychelles!

Global cooling?

Towards the end of August we had completed all the necessary work on Vega. We settled our account at the marina, ordered a new strop for attaching the preventer lines to the boom (we think being able to detach the preventer line not in use will be a better arrangement but both will still be adjustable from the same side of the boat and from the cockpit) and headed off for the inner islands of Praslin and La Digue, about 28nm to the north of Mahé. Heading north with a south easterly wind should be a comfortable genoa run but in view of the 20kts+ wind we planned to pick up a mooring in Praslin harbour rather than anchor out. Praslin harbour is at the eastern end of the island which meant sailing to the north east and also there was more easterly to the wind than we had expected. This, combined with the two metre waves that were running meant we would have a rough six hour sail and no certainty of making the harbour on one tack. Neither fun nor necessary so we turned around and anchored just off the marina, in line with Hecla and Endorphin, where it is both very sheltered and good holding.

With strong wind forecast for the next couple of days we decided to hire a car and see if we could find the artist that Annie had visited forty years ago. Lo and behold Michael Adams and his wife Heather are still here producing the silk screen prints that have made Michael a Seychelles celebrity and for which he has been awarded an MBE. Son and daughter are following in Michael’s footsteps and are producing similar work that is now an iconic Seychelles style of painting. Michael was at art college with David Hockney, about which he has numerous anecdotes, and is now working on a book of pen and ink portraits that are remarkably perceptive (and good!). We are still tempted to go back for something that might grace the cabin of Vega.

Following an early morning check of our engine mountings by engineer Gustave we set off again for Praslin armed with the advice received from a local yacht skipper. This was to head for the western end of the island which would give a better wind angle and then to work our way along the good anchorages on the north coast. Good advice as it turns out and we had a fast run across, anchoring in Anse Lazio five hours after leaving Mahé. Sadly I forgot to pick up the new boom preventer strop before we left.

After three days of dodging the showers but enjoying the wonderful beach we backtracked to the island of Cousin. This is a nature reserve set up to protect endemic species and in particular the Seychelles Warbler. We motored across in fairly rough conditions but were pleasantly surprised to find the anchorage better protected than we had imagined. At 10.00am the rangers arrived to ferry people ashore from the gathered boats. This involved a fast run between waves straight onto the gently sloping beach. As we suspected in Chagos, coconut plantations (and also in this case cinnamon) are planted at the expense of natural woodland and reduce biodiversity. Conservation focuses on removal of the plantations to allow the re growth of the  natural woodland. Conservation does not include the beautiful bright orange red Madagascan Fody that is beloved of tourists on the other islands. On Cousin island they have been eradicated. With no natural predators seabirds are nesting in the trees, on the ground, in any available hollow or just on a branch, no nest required. Giant tortoises roam at will and lizards and ghekos are everywhere, gorging on the dense clouds of mosquitoes that in turn were gorging on their human victims. It was worse than the Amazon. Mosquitos prefer dark colours so woe betide any visitor wearing black.

During the rainy weather I have perfected three fail safe techniques for predicting the onset of the heavy showers. The first - get into the dinghy for going ashore. The second - finish morning coffee ashore and start to go for a walk. The third - start to launch the dinghy at the beach before heading back to the boat. 

We have now visited another nature reserve. This time on Curieuse Island where, on a calm day you can anchor on the southern lee shore and dinghy to the beach to join all the day trippers from the resorts. After an hour all the day trippers had wandered off towards a barbecue lunch and we were left to enjoy the giant tortoises. Or rather they to enjoy us as they lumbered across the closely cropped grass like tanks on a mission to bully us out of anything vegetable we might be eating - my banana for example. A bit intimidating because on the one hand they will stand quietly and enjoy a neck stroke for as long as you have the energy while on the other their teeth appear to be fused into sharp boney plates that could, presumably, do a lot of damage. There is a wonderful walk through the coastal mangrove, some of which is on a raised boardwalk, and a profusion of wildlife that careful watching will reveal. At the destination beach we sat and enjoyed our packed lunch while the hoards enjoyed their barbecue.

In Baie St Anne harbour we picked up a mooring as the wind howled and we took comfort from the thickness of the mooring line which is clearly intended for boats larger than ours. A commercial ferry was moored next to us each evening that fortunately had lines both fore and aft so that it didn’t swing. We do swing of course but so long as the wind stayed in the south east we didn't seem to swing into the ferry. Nevertheless I lowered the solar panel and put out the big round fender as a precaution. We also picked up another mooring from the side of the boat to reduce any swing towards the ferry. 

When we arrived we had been met by Robert who manages the moorings. He gets a glowing review from August of this year in the Navionics chart information for the 300 rupee per night fee, the meals his wife will cook for you on request at €20 a head, and for his enthusiastic guidance on Praslin’s facilities (users can input comment for other Navionics users). We were a bit taken aback therefore to be asked for 500 rupee per night and to be told that his wife doesn’t cook and isn’t here anyway! Eventually he agreed to 300 rupee per night for three nights and recommended a takeaway food outlet as our best bet for food. The following morning he appeared with a gift of creole sauce he had made himself so we seemed to be on good terms. Unfortunately I misunderstood his instruction to cut the sauce by mixing a small amount with tomato paste, coconut milk or whatever. I took it that these were included in the ingredients. Annie and I ate the whole jar in one go with prawns, tears streaming down our faces and swallowing only possible between gulps of water.

We took a taxi to the Valleé de Mai to walk in the ancient palm forest that is home to the coco de mer palm tree with the rather suggestive female buttocks shaped coconut that is the national symbol of the Seychelles. A fabulous walk along well maintained tracks and strikingly beautiful with the dappled sunlight penetrating the palm trees. Annie’s leg pain seems to be under control so a double bonus.

Then over to the nearby island of La Digue for four nights. It is a bit exposed and rather rolly in the anchorage which is outside the small harbour. Usually you can go into the harbour and moor Med style, stern to the beach with anchor at the front and lines ashore from the stern. However this is not possible at the moment while harbour repair work is being undertaken. 

La Digue is considered by the locals and other yachties to be the must visit island and for good reason. Beautiful woodland cover for the most part, wonderful beaches with spectacular granite rock boulders and formations, no private cars and lots of bicycles.

The good news on the equipment front is that everything seems to be working. With the new Duogen regulator there doesn’t seem to be a conflict between the charging from the solar panels and from the Duogen. We ran the freezer successfully for a week and were still able to fully charge the batteries. The UV level must be very high here as the solar panels can cope without the Duogen when the sun is shining. The Duogen can keep the charge level above 95% if the wind is blowing at night (and support the solar panels during the day). The rigging seems to be ok in the windy conditions, the engine and propshaft are vibration free and smooth sounding. We plan to change the engine control panel before we leave and to give the engine mounts a final check. Apart from that we just need fuel, to fill the empty gas cylinders, provision and wait for a favourable weather window!