The Yachting Year 2018

78 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2018

additional 250SR overnight anchoring fee, which includes

use of a barbecue area by the tortoise sanctuary, behind

the beach.

e winds were wrong for us to stay at Curieuse so we

motored back to Praslin. I cannot supply the co-ordinates of

our overnight stop as the clearance over the bar and reef was

only 30cm under the keel and you need local knowledge but

alternatives are Anse Petit Cour (004° 18.4’S, 55° 43.9E) or

Anse Volbert (004° 18.5’S, 55° 44.7’E).

We set o early the next morning, again in winds too

light to sail (3kt true), for the island of La Digue, where

we anchored in front of the small port (004°

20.6’S, 55° 49.6’E), with seven or eight other boats.

La Digue has a bit more of a hippyish vibe than the other

islands, and a population of just 3,000. It’s quite basic, with

most people preferring bicycles over cars. Roads, where

there are any, are rippled poured concrete reaching up into

the hills. Watch out for slow-moving tortoises!

Shapely stones

e highlight of this island is L’Union, a beach and

plantation where, aer paying a 100SR entrance fee (£6)

we learned how coconut is farmed and the oil extracted.

But the real draw of this place is the access to the beaches,

which are freckled with more of those impressive granite

boulders, soened and shaped by wind, wave and time

into impressive alien shapes. ey dot the beach here like

punctuation marks, creating tiny little private beaches

walled o from the eyes of passers-by. ere was even a

wedding taking place on the sand behind one of these

natural rooms.

Our nal morning in the Seychelles we woke to a bit of

wind and, halfway through the ve-hour cruise back to

Mahé, it was enough to unfurl the sails and turn o the

engine. And no sooner had we done that than a bonito bit

onto the line we’d been trawling for the past few days. A few

minutes later we had another bite, then another, then

another: four decent-sized sh, all within the space of an

hour.

No matter where you go, as a sailor you’re always at the

mercy of the wind gods. Luckily there is plenty to keep you

occupied – beautiful beaches, uncrowded anchorages and

clear waters with plenty of sea life to keep you entertained.

Add gentle winds, dolphins o the bow and supper being

plucked straight out of the turquoise ocean; cruising

doesn’t get much better.

ABOVE A perfect

beach scene on a

trip ashore at Mare

Anglaise, Seychelles

Useful Facts

Wind Two opposing trade winds generally govern the

weather pattern: the north-westerly trades blow from Octo-

ber to March when wind speeds average from 8 to 12 knots

(the Seychelles Sailing Cup, an international sailing event,

is held in January); and the brisker south-easterly trades

blow from May to September with winds of between 10 to

20 knots, bringing the cooler and windier conditions ideal

for sailing. The periods of calm between the trades produce

fairly warm and wind-free conditions throughout April and

also in October. Conditions for swimming, snorkelling and

especially diving are superb during April/May and October/

November when the water temperature sometimes reaches

29ºC and visibility is often 30 metres plus.

Tidal range 1.7m neap tides to 2.4m spring tides.

Port Launay on Mahé is the only place in Inner Islands

where you can anchor in any wind direction. The alternative

is Baie Sainte Anne, Praslin, where it will take you only 30

mins to get from one side to the other if the winds change.

Admiralty charts for the area date from 1980, and there is

coral growth and land reclamation projects, so sail by day.

As well as Eden Island, there is Praslin marina at Baie st

Anne, with room for 15/16 boats. You can fill up with water

at the marina for 200SR or at the jetty for 250SR.

Restaurants: Bravo! Eden Island marina, Mahé; Bonbon

Plume, Anse; Lazio, Praslin; Fish Trap, La Pass, La Digue

(their fish tartare in passion fruit marinade was spectacu-

lar). Jardin du Roi, Mahé.

Charters in the Seychelles with Sunsail start from £4,221 a

week on a Sunsail 404 Premier Yacht, including yacht

damage waiver and fuel. A skipper is £128 a day.

Flights from the UK via Dubai with Emirates emirates.com

Tourist information: seychelles.travel

Other charter companies include:

Dream Yacht Charter dreamyachtcharter.co.uk

Seafarer seafarersailing.co.uk

If arriving by your own boat, Victoria is the port of entry.

Radio your boat’s registration number to Eden Island Mari-

na. It will give you a position to anchor, o¢ the Victoria jetty.

Immigration will visit you. The Seychelles are visa-free. You

are given one month’s stay on arrival but you can extend to

three months for free. You can pay to extend further. Hold-

ing tanks are a must until you are more than 12nm o¢shore.

About the author

Emma Bamford, for-

merly deputy editor

of Sailing Today, has

cruised from Borneo

to Beaulieu and has

written two books

about her adven-

tures, Casting O

and Untie the Lines.

TYY4 Seychelles.indd 78 06/12/2017 17:17