Windless Maldives
Wildfox
Anthony Swanston
Wed 18 Apr 2018 08:30
Good
anchorages are few and far between in the Maldives. I potter around and get a difficult anchorage
near a resort which welcomes me. At $7
for a beer, $30 for a burger and $170 for a massage I am not surprised that
they welcome me. But many of the resort islands
are unwelcoming and you are just not allowed to anchor. And then I get a tooth problem.
So it is back to Male with the inconvenience of a customs
inspection. Not to say the expense - US$
150 for the guy to poke around for 10 minutes.
The
anchorage at Hulhumale is busy and tight but not nearly as bad as
reported. It is a completely artificial
island; everything is modern and new. There are proper shops and restaurants
and an ice cream parlour to die for. But there is no wind. And none in prospect. I have had my fill of motoring and if I go
south the distances between anchorages increases. So the motoring would increase. This leaves me in a bit of a quandary. The south west monsoon should be
starting. But it isn’t. Anyway the dentist wants to try medication
for about a week before he starts doing anything structural. This is the second spin off problem from root
canal fillings I had done in New Zealand.
So here I stay for the time being. Meanwhile my ignition key breaks in situ.
It takes me three seconds to get the broken bit out; but two hours
to work out how to get the broken bit out.
The boutique
cruise boats, of which there are hundreds, normally have 10 double cabins, a
good chef and a dive boat; diving being the main attraction here. It is cheaper
than a resort – typically $1,500 a week against $750 a day at a resort. I meet
up with Mylaine, a Filipino girl who works at a mega resort 30 miles north of
me. Next week they have the Saudi Royal
family staying. On Google satellite I
see that they have a lovely sand shelf on the south west of their island. I ask for permission to anchor there. They refuse.
I am sure that the Saudi Royal family would like to see Wild Fox…