Nolhivaranfaru, North Thiladhunmathee Atoll, Maldives 06 41.722N 73 06.845E Tuesday 15th February 2011

Yachtsongster
Brian Palmer
Tue 15 Feb 2011 08:01
 It is a beautiful morning and just after 0800 we lifted the anchor to set off south to our destination of Nolhivaranfaru just 5 miles north of Kulhudufushi and on the eastern side of the atoll.    We knew from the pilot book that the entrance would be very shallow. 

 

Just 28 miles from Uligan we left in very light winds so motor sailed the whole way arriving at around 2pm when the light was good.    It was very shalow with plenty of current as we entered the entrance that is now marked with two sticks with the depth getting as low as 0.9m below the keel, perhaps if we had gone further to the east it would have been deeper as friends who arrived a few hours after us did not have such shallow depths and they kept more easterly.     On leaving we kept more easterly and the depths were around 4m under the keele.

 

It was the most beautiful spot anchored in the large lagoon and we regretted staying just the one night however it was disappointing to find there were no fish and the water was rather cloudy, presumably with sand washed in from the nearby sand island.     The island had a largish village which we sadly did not visit.

 

We had a peaceful and restful night.

 

Our plan is to catch up with Scorpio who is a few islands ahead of us.