The Yachting Year 2018

76 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2018

I

love Greece. I totally understand the appeal of the

blue waters, the fresh food and the easy line-of-sight

sailing from one little taverna quay to the next.

Equally, I love the Caribbean: the vibrant culture, the

heat, the stunning beaches. But sailing holidays can

get a bit samey – Med in the summer; Caribbean in

the winter. What do you do if you want to go away in the

shoulder season? Or if you just fancy mixing it up a bit?

Well, if it’s a friendly welcome you’re a er with gorgeous

waters, empty beaches, fresh seafood and no-stress island

hopping, you could give the Seychelles a whirl.

 e Seychelles is a group of 115 islands and coral atolls

500nm-1,000nm east of Kenya and Tanzania, in the Indian

Ocean.  ey are divided into two broad groups, the Inner

Islands, characterised by towering granite peaks, and the

low-lying coralline Outer Islands.  e Outer Islands are

largely o the agenda for charterers (Sunsail for example has

a 60nm from Mahé rule, so that its boats are always within

four hours of mechanical or medical aid if needed, and a

Seychelles ban on charter yachts visiting the islands was due

to be li ed in 2017), but own-boat cruisers who are still

happy to sail the Indian Ocean can visit. With only small

 shing settlements and copra farms, expect nothing in the

way of facilities, though, not even water – so you’ll need a

watermaker on board.

I was invited by Sunsail to spend a few days exploring the

Inner Islands, which have more than enough to keep you

busy on a two-week charter holiday. We picked up our boat,

Dou Reve IV – a new Sunsail 404 40 (12.2m) catamaran,

which had four generous double cabins, two in each hull,

with a shower and heads in between, and a lot of outdoor

lounging space – from Eden Island Marina.  is is a

superyacht-grade facility with services including fuel,

chandlers, ATM and supermarkets, set under the impressive

towering topography of the island. I didn’t know it at the

time but Tracy Edwards’ Maiden was there, waiting for the

British yachtswoman to bring her back to the UK. (See

sailingtoday.co.uk for the latest on this story).

Equatorial setting

Being so close to the equator, the islands are always warm

but have a monsoon climate.  e SE monsoon runs from

late April/early May to October and the North monsoon in

the other months. I went in late November and there was

very little wind, as the seasons were in transition. Of the

four days, it rained hard for a few hours in one a ernoon,

we had one mixed day and then over lunchtime on

another day. I wasn’t plagued by mosquitoes.

A er a taxi tour of some of the island’s sights, our skipper

Jeremy Bossy, a Seychellois, collected us from Port Launay

beach and we motored for about an hour to Baie Beau

Vallon (004° 36.5’S, 055° 25.6’E) and anchored in 5.6m, with

8kt coming from the east, o the island, and with only two

other catamarans and a monohull for company.

We tendered to shore and stopped o at Didier’s  sh

shack, just behind the beach, for a takeaway dinner, Mahé

style: charcoal-grilled red emperor  sh with spicy yellow

Creole sauce, rice and salad for 150 SR (Seychellois rupees,

about £9). Restaurants in the Seychelles rightly make a point

of showcasing the local seafood, with smoked  sh a

speciality.

Tropical idyll

 e next morning, we motored for three-and-a-half hours

in light beam-on winds from the SE and  at seas, heading

NE to Praslin (pronounce Pra-lan, with a French roll on the

r), the second largest of the Inner Islands. From leaving

Mahé we could see Praslin in the distance, with the smaller

Cousin Island, a bird sanctuary, in front of it. We were

accompanied by  ying  sh shooting out of the water ahead

of us and by dolphins playing 100m o our beam. Tropic

birds bobbed on the deep turquoise water, their distinctive

and elegant tails raised in the air, and frigates wheeled

overhead.

We anchored in 6m at Anse Lazio (004° 17.6’S, 055°

41.9’E) and were immediately visited by a pod of cartoon-

like bat sh which hung around the stern, accepting like

ducks pieces of bread from our  ngers. We snorkelled to the

beach, passing rays and blue damsel, angel, soldier and

needle  sh. Juvenile lemon sharks nosed about in the

shallow breakers. Ashore, the beach was backed with

verdant jungle and to reach the sand we had to swim

between large pink granite boulders that looked out of

place, like they had been strewn about by giants. Smoothed

by the sea, they give the place striking character.

Praslin is famous for its Coco de Mer palms, the giant

seeds of which weigh up to 20kg (44lb) and are like a giant

double coconut fused to resemble a woman’s derriere.  e

only two places where they grow naturally in the world are

Praslin and neighbouring island Curieuse. At the UNESCO

world heritage site of the Vallée de Mai, a primeval

rainforest park, we strolled in the shadow of 6,000 giant

palms, some of which were 30m tall and hundreds of years

old.  e park is also the only habitat of the endangered

black parrot.

Friendly tortoises

From Anse Lazio it was just a half-mile motor to

neighbouring Curieuse, a small island managed as a

bio-reserve by the Marine Parks Authority. It was a leper

colony for 136 years, which meant that human in uence

was kept to a minimum, so the endemic species are largely

untouched. We spent a happy hour hand-feeding giant

tortoises here. In just over one square mile of land on

Curieuse there are 150 tortoises.  ey are aged by the size

of their shell and the oldest one here is estimated to be

115. You must pay a 200RS (£12) landing fee to visit
     Curieuse and can anchor at Baie la Raie in NW winds
     (004° 17.2’S, 55° 44.0’E) or just o the Doctor’s house at
     Anse St Jose (004° 17.5’S, 55° 43.3’E) but there is an

INDIAN OCEAN

AFRICA SEYCHELLES

Mahé

Baie Beau

Vallon

Curieuse

Praslin

La Digue

Robertson

and Caine

Sunsail 404

Dou Reve IV

LOA: 32ft 8in

(10.0m)

LWL: 30ft 0in

(9.2m)

Beam: 10ft 11in

(3.3m)

Draught: 4ft 9in

(1.5m)

Sail area: 51.5m^2

(554sq ft)

Engine: 21hp

FACING PAGE

Wildlife is abundant

on the shore

including the giant

tortoises of Curieuse;

local markets are a

highlight; Emma

enjoys some of the

most spectacular

beaches in the Indian

Ocean

TYY4 Seychelles.indd 76 04/12/2017 15:51