Passage from Madagascar to South Africa

We left Madagascar from Baly Bay, just north of Cap Saint Andre, on October 13 and arrived in South Africa at Richards Bay on October 20. We had several anchoring spots on the Mozambique coast researched and plotted since most boats are not lucky enough to get a weather window long enough to make the entire trip non-stop. The planned passage covered 1113 miles in seven days. Here are more details about our planning and experiences:

Planning the Mozambique Channel Crossing

Cyclones became a slight threat in northern Madagascar in November. South Africa was warming in the southern hemisphere Spring season and temperatures there were becoming more suitable for us. Some cruising boats made the crossing a month or two earlier and they encountered chilly air and somewhat stormy conditions. Jimmy Cornell's "World Cruising Routes" says the best time to go down this channel is October-November. Some South African cruisers also recommended leaving in November. We decided to leave Madagascar early before any chance for a cyclone.

The Agulhas Current is famous for its strength and for the tremendous waves which can be produced by winds blowing from the south against it. This current becomes important south of Madagascar's latitude, near the end of the passage to South Africa. Directly west of Madagascar a fairly weak current of 1-2 knots runs northward along the Madagascar side of the channel while the Mozambique Current of 1-3 knots runs southward near the African coast. Large ships apparently take advantage of these currents by traveling north on the Madagascar side and south on the African side. 

Some cruisers chose to work slowly down the Madagascar coast against the current as far south as Tulear but there were few secure anchorages south of Cap Saint Andre and we did not see any advantage in that route. We felt the best course was to sail west from Cap Saint Andre until we passed north of Juan de Nova Island where we hoped to enjoy the south-flowing Mozambique Current and then ride that down towards South Africa.

Typical winds along the Madagascar west coast were easterly in the mornings, westerly in the afternoons and seldom strong. This made for delightful coastal motoring in almost flat water. This wind pattern extended out into the Mozambique Channel and affected boats trying to sail the rhumb line from Cap Saint Andre to Richards Bay. The combination of light and variable breezes plus a slight northerly current resulted in very slow progress for some of those sailing boats. The two sailboats that left with us had very slow going and were forced to stop in Mozambique and wait.  We had a forecast of several days of light northerly winds when we started across the channel and we enjoyed flat water for the first 4 or 5 days towards Africa. Tropical latitudes usually do not have strong winds (excepting squalls and cyclones) so we had no worries about winds in the northern part of the Mozambique Channel. Below the Tropic of Capricorn the winds were often stronger. Low and high pressure systems constantly moving from west to east across southern Africa seemed to spawn fronts which swept up the channel about once per week. Most important to avoid were strong southerly winds blowing against the strong Agulhas Current.

Weather Forecasts

We seldom bothered with weather forecasts while cruising along Madagascar's northwest coast. Winds there were almost always light, usually blew from the land in the morning and towards the land in the afternoon, and waves were never large. When we needed forecasts for the crossing to South Africa we obtained GRIB files through Airmail and listened to SSB nets hosted by volunteers in South Africa. The passage from Cap Saint Andre to Richards Bay was over 1000 nautical miles. Extended weather forecasts for a week or more in the future were not accurate enough to insure good weather for the last part of the passage, the part where wind strength and direction was most critical for cruising boats. The best we could do was leave with what appeared to be a good "weather window" and be prepared to duck into emergency anchorages in Mozambique if the forecast changed.

The most-used SSB weather net was "Peri-Peri" on 8101 khz at 07:00 and 17:00 South African time (GMT + 2). The net controllers used BuoyWeather to get forecasts for the locations of calling boats. Another valuable net was the South African Maritime Mobile Net hosted by Graeme on 14316 khz at 8:30 and 13:30 South African time but we never heard him with our lousy radio.  We seldom called but often listened and found the Peri-Peri net very useful. We were very grateful to the dedicated South African volunteers who made sure weather information was available to cruising boats every day.

Madagascar to Africa

We raised anchor in Baly Bay and left Madagascar at 3AM the morning of October 13. Lovina and Daemon were going to wait for first light and be 3 hours behind us. The wind was a light, as usual, and we headed out into deep water before turning west. Along the coast we were bid a final farewell.

By midnight we were about 30 miles directly north of Cap Saint Andre and had already landed a 1 meter long Spanish mackerel and had enough fish for our passage.  

Alternator Troubles

Unfortunately, a gremlin returned with our main engine 200 amp alternator and once the batteries were full, the alternator output started pulsing.  I have a meter on my main electrical panel that shows the alternator output and I could watch it swing back and forth from 100 amps to 0 amps.  I suspected that it was a failure of the “sensing” wire between the alternator and the batteries but had no desire to spend extended time in the 130 degree engine room.  We also carry a complete spare alternator, but changing that underway was similarly not desirable.

Although this condition was worrying, it was not critical since the batteries were remaining fully charged.  The main concern was that these large current fluctuations were creating a lot of interference in my SSB radio and I could barely hear any boats or weather nets more than about 200 miles away.  Since my generator starting battery is completely separated from the house and engine batteries, I ran some temporary wires from the radio to the generator battery but saw no noticeable improvement.  Ultimately, we were unable to get any weather GRIBs or send in position reports during this passage. We figured that we could still talk to other cruising boats and would be able to hear the African nets as we neared Mozambique.

Over the first two days we made steady progress and were able to speak daily on the SSB with Lovina and Daemon. We still had not found the helpful Mozambique Current, but we also had no adverse current and we kept on moving.  We were visited by leaping dolphins and humpback whales and we fell into passagemaking mode.  Emily even did a regular watch after dinner until 9PM to shorten Kim’s normal watch.

Lovina and Daemon could not find good wind so they headed more westward and we slowly drifted apart and after 4 days we could not hear them anymore.  We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and continued southwest looking for helpful current. Two boats, Mojombo and Cats Paw, had left two days before us and as we caught up to them, we started communicating with them on the SSB.  They had good radios and verbally relayed weather reports, and we all decided to push non-stop to Richards Bay.  We passed our safe anchorages on the Mozambique coast and still had not found the Agulhas Current 60 miles off the coast.

Dirty Fuel

We had taken on almost twenty 55 gallon drums of fuel in Madagascar over our stay there and even though we had filtered it all, Tom noticed the vacuum gage on the primary engine filter steadily rising (indicating the engine working harder to suck through the dirty filter).  We do have two filters installed and simply changing two valves, we switched over to a clean filter and all was well for a few hours.  This secondary filter housing, however, must have a small air leak and we were getting air into the fuel that would cause the engine speed to surge as the air moved through the engine.  Tom managed to remove the old dirty filter, install a new one with the engine running in the 130 degree engine room in record time.  Unfortunately, enough air got into the fuel line and the main engine died.  The seas were relatively calm still, so Tom managed to re-prime the main engine and get her running again quickly.  He still carries a burn on his priming finger from the hot metal pumping handle on the engine-mounted priming lever!

Finally just south of Caldiera Island and only 20 miles from the coast, we started to fly.  Most of the next 2 days we had more than two knots of current and had speeds over ground of 7, 8 and 9 knots.  Emily had fun watching our boat speed go past 10 knots as we surfed down some of the steeper following seas.

As we got closer to Richards Bay, the seas got bumpier and more confused although not too big.  The last 20 miles were really bumpy as we had 25 knots of wind on the nose. We snuck ahead of both Mojombo and Cats Paw even though they had left 2 days ahead of us.  

Before entering Richards Bay it was necessary to call Harbor Control on VHF channel 12 (or 16) and ask permission to enter. They controlled movement of large ships in and out of this port. We were told it was the largest coal exporting port in the world, also exported large amounts of aluminum, chrome and wood chips and accounted for over half of all South African shipping. On October 20^th at 11AM, we motored to the International Dock area of the small craft harbor guided by friends on Erica who heard us on the VHF and guided us in.  We did not have long to wait for official clearance. Immigration and Customs officials arrived later that day to quickly clear us into South Africa with three-month visas. It was very nice to deal with professional officials who charged no fees and asked for no "gifts." We then moved into the Tuzi Gazi marina to take care of business, enjoy good Internet and telephone services, and begin our visit in Africa.

We had some outboard motor parts and a new mileage flag from the Nordhavn folks waiting for us at the marina.  Monkeys scampering across the docks gave us a hint that we are not in New England any more…

Tom

Madagascar – Month Two

Our second month in Madagascar was even better than our first.  We had most of the broken boat bits fixed and we could re-visit the best spots in the Nosy Be area.   

We met up again with Peter and Ulla aboard Lovina.  They had researched an inland trip to see more of Madagascar’s wildlife and we discussed logistics.  Since it involved multiple crowded cab rides, water taxis, arduous hiking and sleeping without power or running water, we knew that we had to go!

 I agreed to set our oversize anchor in Crater Bay and have Lovina tied alongside while they took the first trip to the park. I watched over the 50 tons of boat hanging on my single 120lb anchor while Peter and Ulla braved their trip to the park.  Once they figured out all of the logistical details, we would follow their footsteps and journey to the park while they watched the two rafted boats.  Since I am writing this now, somehow we survived and that trip demanded a separate blog post.

We saw more lemurs at Nosy Komba, bought more souvenirs at the gift shops and enjoyed some more SCUBA diving.  One particularly productive spearfishing session resulted in 5 fish for the dinner table and freezer.  

Emily got back into homeschool starting her 7^th grade work and she got some kid-time in with a Australian boat, Mojumbo that is home for Zeke (12) and Nina(10).  They are also headed towards Richards Bay and we expect to stay near enough for play dates along the journey.

We met several cruising boats including Daemon and Cats Paw 4 that were also heading to South Africa and it was nice to finally be on the right timetable. We all shared planning notes and those ahead of us are already sending back reports, tips and advice from Africa.  We stocked up with local rum and vanilla beans (2.2lbs for about $20), checked out of the country and started moving south along the western coast.

Returning to old spots like Russian Bay was made more enjoyable by meeting villagers that fondly remembered us.  Pollin paddled out with his wife to greet us even before we had our anchor down and deliver 10 mud crabs while ignoring the other boats in the harbor. 

Just south of Russian Bay, we spent a few days in Honey River.  We were led on a 4 hour hike by the school teacher, Daniel, and saw several villages in the hills and some nice views.   

We made the mistake of going at low tide, so we had several places in the river where we had to drag or lift the dingys across the shallow water.  For the last 100 meters, we left the dingys and waded through 18” deep, very sticky mud that sucked the shoes off our feet.  We had brought a lot of old clothes that were well received as we gave them out. 

 

And Emily made lots of Origami.

 

On our way back, we gave a local boat a tow back to the village that saved them two hours of paddling against the tide and wind. 

We bought honey for about $2.50 for 1 ½ liter bottles and traded for mud crabs that were delicious.  We also gave Daniel some school supplies and a soccer ball since we had heard that the library had burned down several months ago.  Mojumbo caught up with us there and Emily enjoyed a few more play days.

We did an overnight passage directly to Moramba bay bypassing some rolly anchorages that the other boats were going to day-trip to.  Moramba Bay is very protected and lined with ancient baobab trees and few villages.  We went with Lovina to Sacred Island in the center of the bay and saw a 1500 year old baobab tree with an erotic protuberance.  The Malagasy consider it sacred and several offerings could be seen at its base.  We saw hawks, eagles, parrots and white and brown “Zoomafoo” lemurs and plain brown lemurs.  We hiked around, had a beach barbeque and Emily once again played with the Mojombo Kids.

We had been carrying an inflatable canoe that were given by the crew of Mojo to give away since New Zealand and finally managed to give it to a poor family near our anchorage.  They had 3 children and were all smiles as they paddled away.  I even buckled one of the smaller kids into and old lifejacket even though they probably learned to swim before learning to walk.  We watched them carry their new possession carefully up the beach to a sheltered spot and cover it from the sun.

We made another overnight passage to Baly bay and anchored as far south as the depths would allow.  We found a nice area of about 20 foot depth, but it was a mile from a village to the west and 2 miles from the main village to the east.  The steering on our big dingy had died (frozen with rust) just after our return from Mayotte, so we were using our small “back-up” dingy with oars.  We did not re-commission our little back-up 2 hp outboard and were bumming rides when needed from our cruising friends or rowing.  We even had two longer oars carved for our small dingy (that cost $12 per oar) that work really well to replace the short aluminum oars.  In any event, we only got to shore here by the graces of Lovina and the other boats.  It was just as well since it was quite windy here and we got stopped by some of the local police looking to pad their pockets since we had already checked out in Nosy Be.  It worked out OK since our passports were all back on the boat and we were on our last provisioning trip before leaving for South Africa.

We have really enjoyed our time here in Madagascar, seeing the unique wildlife and interacting with the Malagassy people.  We have pondered whether it was the extended time we had invested here or simply the friendliness of the locals and have not yet decided.  We are in agreement, however, that we will not soon forget this country, its people or the unique wildlife.

Tom

Our visit Ankarana Park- By Emily

It was six o'clock in the morning and the sun had just risen. Mom, Dad, and I were taken to shore by Peter in his dingy. We said goodbye to our boat Emily Grace which was rafted next to Peter's boat Lovina. Once ashore, we took a taxi from Crater Bay to Hellville were we met up with the family from Mojumbo. From there we all took a fast ferry boat to Ankify. We were on our way to Ankarana Park in Madagascar. 

 

We waited in Ankify for Michelle who was going to drive us to our destination. Mojumbo, who was traveling with us, was a family of two adults and two kids. The parents were Vicki and Gary, while the kids were ten year old Nina and twelve year old Zeke. I kept everyone amused by making difficult origami, and Michelle finally arrived. The taxi-brousse wasn't very big, and when we left there were nineteen people plus a family of chickens behind my seat. It was a scenic, if bumpy, van ride, and once we even forded a river! The locals had made the water semi shallower by stacking a lot of rocks there, but there were still several inches of water under our tires. We watched villages at regular intervals with colorful markets, people walking zebu, and large rice patties and grazing fields. Halfway there we drank a free soda out of glass Coke bottles, typical of the 1950s. We drove through a village and one of the men in the van threw biscuits for the kids. They yelled and ran for the biscuits he threw to them, and it was like a race to be the first one there. Dad bought a bunch of fresh roasted cashews on the side of the road and we ate some of them on the way. After three hours of being jammed next to a fuel jug I was relieved when we arrived at our lodge.

After lunch we went on a tour with our guides Joachim and Simon. We weren't even in the park yet when Joachim said, "Ok, there is a chameleon within a two meter radius." Sure enough, there was. A big male chameleon, about 1 foot long, stood on a branch. Its alien eyes swiveled independently to lock each one of us in its gaze. The next creature we saw was also a chameleon, although this one was a Panther chameleon, the most colorful of all the 71 types of chameleon. We entered the park and a harrier hawk swooped above to welcome us. There were many green geckos, and they were quite pretty to see. Joachim showed us trees including the Sardia tree used for making canoes, Rosewood, and Sandalwood.

After a while we arrived at a cave and we donned our headlights. Great stalactites and stalagmites rose from the floor and ceiling. Bats flew round and filled the air with their high-pitched voices. When we exited, night had fallen and we got to see the forest at night. We saw a leaf gecko and the eye-shines of many animals, including a crowned lemur.

When we got back we explored the workings of our very basic lodging, and declared it... Interesting. There was a double bed on the ground floor with a shower and toilet, and there was a foam mattress in the loft above. There was a generator that ran from dusk to ten and that activated one light bulb hanging on the loft railing, other then that, no light except lanterns. But that was well with us because we were tired and fell right asleep as early as we could. There was no running water, but Simon had brought us buckets of water from the well. The toilet flushed by quickly dumping in water, and the shower was a bucket of freezing water that you poured over your head with a dipper. The beds were covered by mosquito nets and the pillows were filled with the natural kapok. We felt right at home on the very lumpy stuff that was used to make lifejackets. At three in the morning we were woken by the roosters, and we longed for the quiet nights on the boat.

The next day we woke early to have breakfast and set out at a leisurely pace. Birds called out and presented themselves one by one. We saw the Crested Drongo, Creole Bird, Greater Vassok parrot, and the Crested Cua. We saw a few Crowned Lemurs, still groggy, resting on a branch. We saw leaf bugs, which are so strange I can barely describe them. The young look like ticks with white fluff on their backs, but the adults were green moths. We saw more trees too; the Fikias tree (Which was huge!), a bottle vine (likewise big), and a sunburn tree that had a reddish, peeling bark. We got to the lookout point and admired the view of the forest and the Tsingy rock. Joachim showed us another leaf gecko with its weird, flat look, and we saw a long thin snake that Zeke had spotted. We got back to the lodge at lunchtime with the rest of the day to relax.

The last day of our stay was the longest. Nina, Zeke, and I were thankful for the car ride to the park entrance while the parents walked. When they arrived we started out with a couple other people. We saw a Crocodile Gecko to begin our hike and a big baobab with a trunk that had a 1 meter circumference. Our guide told us that a baobab was one hundred years old for every meter of circumference. The trail eventually left the forest and took the track of a dry riverbed. Joachim explained to us the water level could reach over ten meters high in the rainy season, and showed us a sinkhole that marked the entrance of an underground river. The underground river would carry the water away and come to the surface three hundred meters before the ocean. We also found fossils of shells in the rock.

We entered the woods again and saw a deadly bug. What was it? A scorpion. Simon lifted a couple of rocks, and there it was. After a few photos we moved on and saw a few more birds we hadn't seen, like the Magpie robin, Blue Vanger, and the Paradise Fly Catcher. The male paradise fly catcher had a blue back and a long white tail. The female was brownish red and didn't even look like she was the same species. Later we found two of Sanford's Brown Lemurs lying on a branch above us, regarding us with a bored expression. The female was gray, but the male had a white ruff around his face. Joachim explained that there were normally seven to fourteen in a group, so the others were sure to be nearby. Shortly after that we saw a Sportive Lemur snuggled up in the hollow of a tree. He was surprisingly smaller than the other lemurs we had seen, though his eyes were big and round.

Suddenly and abruptly the landscape changed from trees and leaves to sharp pointy rock formations. Gray, thorny plants and elephant Baobab were the most common plants we saw. We had arrived at the tsingy rock. Our guide showed us an ebony tree and a sun bird, which was small with a shiny blue back. Finally we reached our destination: Point suspendu, the suspension bridge. It was a simple suspension bridge, and we all went over it, one at a time, to have a snack on the other side. Zeke, Nina, and I had fun pointing out the dinosaur-shaped tsingy rock to the adults. Eventually we crossed back over and retraced our steps. On our way to lunch, Joachim showed us a huge 400 year old baobab, about four or five meters in circumference and very high.

Now, my favorite event that day was lunch. No, not the food, I liked the lemurs that tried to steal our food. As soon as we sat down and the containers were out, crowned lemurs started gathering around us. They perched on the wood that supported the roof over the eating place and waited for the banana desert that was sure to come. When the bananas were put on the plates we had to hide them behind napkins to keep the lemurs off. After our meal I delighted in watching the lemurs leaping from tree to tree as they departed.

Next morning we left, and went back to our boat. I must say that Ankarana Park was a wonderful place to see the wildlife of Madagascar.  Enjoy the video of some of the highlights of our trip.

Emily