Boat International – September 2019

SOCOTRA

Alargeislandcoveringmorethan3,600square
kilometresofarid,rockylandoffthenotorious
HornofAfrica,SocotraispartofYemen,which
isknee-deepinaviciouscivilwar.Butexpedition
organiserPelorussaysthattheislanditselfissafe.
“Socotrahasnotseenconflictonitsshores,”says
co-founderGeordieMackay-Lewis.“Thelevel
ofmarinetrafficpassingmakesitaperfect
potentialyachtingdestination,andonethatwe
arereallyexcitedabout.”
Healsosaysthatthethreatofpiracyinthe
regionisnotassignificantasithasbeen.“The
areaismuchmorestable[now].Butweworkwith
partnerssuchasVeritastoensurewehavethe
correctlevelofinformationandsecurityatall
times.”Thereisnoyachtinginfrastructureyet,
butPelorusworkswithlocalgovernmentsto
ensurethenecessarysupportisinplace.
Theislandoffersthetenacioustraveller
astonishingfloraandfaunafoundnowhereelse
onearth,andisparticularlyverdantafterthe
Septemberrains.Topofthelistarethedragon’s
bloodtrees,aswellasaloesandtherareSocotran
pomegranate.“Thedestinationalsooffers
spectaculardiving,white-sandbeachesand
beautiful,dramaticrockpoolsinthehighlands.”

DJIBOUTI

SandwichedbetweenSomalia,Ethiopiaand

Eritrea,DjiboutiislocatedinEastAfrica,notfar

fromthepiratewatersoftheGulfofAden.Its

coastlineandtherichnessofitsmarinefaunais

therealdraw.“Djiboutiisincrediblyinteresting

andagreatspotforwhalesharks,”saysNick

DaviesofCookson.“Butitisoffgrid.You’dwant

tothinkcarefullyaboutgoing.”

Somalipiracyisstillathreat,butitisvastly

reducedcomparedto 2008 to2012.Accordingto

figuresfromtheEUNavalForceSomalia,one

pirateattackhasbeenreportedsofarthisyear,

andthereweretwoin2018.Thishasemboldened

sometodeclarethatitnolongerrepresentsa

threat,althoughsuperyachtsintheregionarestill

stronglyadvisedtofollowBMPprotocolsand

manystillcarryarmedguards.

SKIPPER’SVIEW

JuanKoegelenbergiscaptain

ofSuri,a63-metreexpedition

yachtwhoseownersare

focusedontheIndianand

Pacificoceans.Heisaboutto

embarkonhisfourthtripto

PapuaNewGuineaandsays

successisallaboutplanning.

“I’vecircumnavigatedthe

globeafewtimesover 17

yearswiththesame

employers.It’sexcitingtogo

totheseplacesandmakeit

work.Forsafetyinthese

remoteplaces,youneed

contingencyplansinplace.”

He’slookedatorganisinga

triptoMozambiqueand

MauritiusintheIndianOcean.

Therisksthereareallabout

theregion’sremoteness.“My

planwastobringsmallplanes

infromSouthAfricawith

provisions–itwilldefinitely

bequitechallenging,”he

says.“Safety-wise,thatarea

isnotsucharisk,butIwillbe

preparedwithsomesecurity

onboardandamedic.”

Thedistinctive

dragon’sblood

treesofSocotra

and(right)an

anemoneinthe

seaoffDjibouti

Whalesharks

appearoff

Djiboutibetween

Novemberand

Februarytofeedon

crustaceans

09 2019 boatinternational.com