Anchorages on the way south to Male

Sea Topaz
Duncan Briggs
Tue 24 Feb 2015 15:31
04.27.673 N 73.39.272 E
 
We are gradually making our way south through the atolls and reef. It was tricky leaving the lagoon, which we ended up doing at low tide as we had a full day to get to the next anchorage. We did hit the coral briefly, but not much damage was done. We had an excellent sail most of the day. Anchored off a reef between two resorts. It was still blowing most of the night, but the anchor held well. We left very early the next morning for another long day. The wind picked up to 20+ knots during the day and as we were in the open sea between atolls, the waves were big, but they went with us, not against. We got to Gafaru atoll late afternoon and had an exciting entry into the reef. Again we anchored off the reef and the anchor held well. We had strong winds through most of the night, so not very relaxing sleeping. The colours of the water and the reef were stunning though.
Today the wind was much less, but still enough to sail. We were inside Male North atoll most of the day and the sailing was great, with hardly any waves.
Anchoring were we are today was challenging with reefs and bommies, but we did manage to find a sandy patch eventually to drop the anchor. Again good bite. Duncan went of snorkeling and I had a swim. Again a stunning spot: off Ashdow Island.
Tomorrow we will make our way to Mala, where we will provision again.
 
 
Some of the beaches are not too pristine
Ashdow Island