Vilufushi
Roam2
Terry & Fiona
Mon 25 Apr 2011 16:06
|
02:30.55n
073:18.19 e
after deciding first thing to head back north to Male,
we motor-sailed north through the atoll and crossed a rough Veymandhoo kandu
into Thaa atoll and across to Vilufushi harbour. the harbour is recommended in
Max Molteni's cruising guide, but in reality its only good for calm or N-SE
winds.
We arrived in a squall with winds from the NW
and were helped alongside by local fishermen in some
difficult conditions. We had to moor right opposite the entrance with no chance
to go anywhere else as all the other boats were stern-to with their lines right
across the harbour. During the night the wind changed to the SW pushing us hard
against the harbour wall making our berth almost dangerous. The locals kept
telling as we should leave and go to the reef anchorage to the north of the
island. There was nothing shown in any of our books or charts and the Google
Earth image did not show a clear entrance. Terry saw that a large dive boat was
anchored there. We managed to persuade a local captain to come with us to pilot
us in. We just got the anchor down when another huge squall hit us and bucketed
down with rain.
The captain of the dive boat 'Ocean Dancer' came over in his rib and kindly agreed to take our temporary crew back ashore and then invited us over for breakfast on his boat. David and Gaelle built and operate Ocean Dancer for diving and surfing 300 days a year and live on board. they sold us some beer, gave us some bacon and we had an opportunity to meet some of their guests. David also gave us some suggestions for safe mooring in the westerly winds as we head north. what kindness to a couple of smelly yachties! |