Seychelles arrival
NORDLYS
David and Annette Ridout
Sun 8 Jul 2007 12:26
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Anchored in the Seychelles
4:37.5S 55:27.6E
Arrival and first few days in
Seychelles
As I said in the last webdiary we are
not hard to please. The weather decided to be nice and for the last
few days the wind blew out of the south at between fifteen and twenty
knots and perhaps more importantly the seas settled so we enjoyed a
fast beam reach to our destination. Even the entry over the Seychelles
bank was almost uneventful. Here the sea bed goes from being some
three km below the keel to just about fifty metres. This happens in
less than four miles. The sea shortened but despite there being
several spikes of only thirty metres depth near us at no stage was it
worrying. The moon shone making the scene almost like an eerie
daylight and with a knot or more of current with us we sailed on.
Regular readers will know that we usually manage to get to places in
the dark and often have to wait. This time it was perfect and we
dropped our anchor in the quarantine anchorage off the port of
Victoria at 0800hrs local time. We had taken just two hours less than
six days for 1015nm. At 0930 we were boarded by no less than five
officials and with much jollity and endless form filling we were 'in'.
Since then we have been anchored in
the small area off the yacht club surrounded by fellow water
travellers, a tuna cannery, commercial docks and an American Frigate.
The latter bristles with radars atop a slab grey superstructure in
which large doors can be seen. Apparently they open when the missiles
are fired. Over us tower the granite cliffs and green jungle which are
topped by the peaks known as the trois freres. The only thing that we
have been unable to find is any signs of international news papers or
magazines. We are told there is no hard currency available to import
them. The BBC world service is however on a FM relay. The two
contacts we have here, both young men working in the environmental
world have come up trumps and we have learnt a lot about the place. In
a few days we will begin a slow sail round Mahe and then head out to
the islands. It all promises to be most enjoyable.
When the odd jet comes flying past the
cliffs as it does a rather Hong Kong type approach to the airport it
brings back memories. I was last here in 1981, with Annette on the
trip, when the attempted coup took place. Mad Mike Hoar's last folly.
One thing that has not changed is the Seychellois. They are always
very friendly and helpful. The girls are a delightful mixture of Afro
and European and range from quite black to very pale. The results are
often spectacularly lovely to look at. I am sure Annette would say the
same about the men, I have not noticed.
Some Chagos Wildlife
 Booby hovers just above my head
 Noddy tern at speed with the wreck
of a fishing boat in the background.
The reef edge can clearly be seen.
 Noddy terns will let you get to within a few metres
but then enough is enough
and they are off.
 Two hermit crabs with nowhere else to go! Or 'I am
the king of the
castle and you are the dirty rascal'.
 When you get too big and cannot find a shell you
have to make do with an old coconut
shell. Apparently after that you die!
 The only tree of any size to grow on an atoll apart
from the palm is
the Takamaka. The Boobies use these as their nests
and roosts.
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