Passage to Chagos and the Chagos experience ( 9th May to 10th June 2012)

On the 9th of May we left the West Sumatran, Mentawai Islands bound for Chagos (BIOT) 1800nm west in the Indian Ocean. Friends aboard SV Leto accompanied us until we changed course to Chagos. They were heading to Rodrigues.
We set off with blue skies and flat seas apart from large 4m swells rolling up from the SW. There were lots of flying fish and we sat on deck with our dinner and watched the sun setting.

On the second day we had squalls from the east, which meant rain cells and shifting wind, so we were able to fill our water tanks and do some motorsailing for brief periods. We had a spectacular display of acrobatics by a pod of dolphins, leaping about 12' into the air.

By the 5th day we were sailing well as we entered the SE trade winds. We occupied our time watching movies, singing and playing musical instruments, reading our kindles and enjoying hauling in fish. We caught mahimahi and tuna and enjoyed fillets freshly cooked. When a fish was caught there would be a cry of "Kindles below" and we would clear the cockpit of breakables and squabs and prepare to bring the fish in.

Cathy's brother Ralph with Mahimahi (Dorado or dolphin fish)

On the 9th day out our HF radio failed so we were unable to send email position reports or contact family but brother Ralph had a satellite phone with him and made regular contact with family.

We continued to have occassional squalls to 20knots and electrical storms, but they were very brief. We had some running repairs to do to the genoa (foresail) as the ring came adrift from the clew, probably due to poling out the sail and periods of flogging as the winds died, then changed direction with squalls. As the sails are 12 yrs old, stitching comes away due to exposure to the elements. Eric did a good repair job with some spectre cordage, which was ok for the rest of the trip
On the 12th day we started to see ships and Eric had an interesting conversation from a watch captain from the Phillipines who had been 9mths away from home between Australia, Singapore and was on the way to Africa. We had to be vigilant at night and were grateful for our AIS monitor.

These ships passed on Cathy's watch

 

On the 17th night a Booby bird landed on top of one of our solar panels and stayed the night. The next day we sighted land. The last 45nm we had calm seas and motored most of the way..We had bets as to how many boats would be anchored at the Salomon atoll. Eric won the bet, guessing 8. We made 9....


We arrived on day 18, tired but happy. It had been a pretty good crossing but we were keen to have a quiet still anchorage. The constant movement and noise at sea is not easy

Ralph raising the Chagos flag

celebration breakfast

A permit is required to stop at the British Indian ocean territories and only 2 areas are granted. Salomon and Peros Banhos with a charge of 50pound/week and limit of 1 mths stay. This is granted through London with boat insurance covering salvage and medical evacuation insurance a requirement.
We snorkelled over 2 submerged yacht wrecks and another from last year was on the reef/shore.

These noddy birds were unafraid of human presence and perched only a few inches from us

We went ashore to explore and walked around the island

The Boobie birds were nesting in the trees

and there were plenty of chicks

 The noddy birds were protecting nests in the sand

Cathy pointing to a turtle in the shallows. We watched a moray eel leap out of the water and slither across the rocks chasing crabs but weren't quick enough to capture it on film.

There were lots of coconut crabs

and hermit crabs

On our return we enjoyed cooling off in the shallows. The water temperature was refreshing
after such a long time in the tropical waters of Asia. We were wary of the black tip reef sharks cruising by

We put this one back after Eric hooked it!

 A visit from the BIOT fishery patrol was interesting. They were keen to know if we had seen any suspicious fishing boats on passage

Eric fishing off the beach

Cathy snorkelling with the kayak alongside incase of sharks

The water was very clear and the coral untouched. Some of the best we've seen. With little human presence, restricted anchoring areas and out of the cyclone belt it is pretty protected from sustaining damage

After 3 days at Ile de Fouquet and Takamaka we moved across the lagoon to Ile Boddam

Past cruisers have set up some washing facilities near a well so we able to wash all our salty and dirty linen and string them to dry between coconut palms.

Some of the boats at anchor

We organised a gathering ashore with fellow cruisers which was fun

Cathy cooking battered fish in the wok ashore

There used to be a settlement here with an excellent infrastructure, as there was in the other islands in the Archipelago, however the people were expelled from their homes in the 60's and 70's by the British government whot traded their islands to the USA for the cost of 2 polaris submarines.

It's incredible how nature has reclaimed back the cleared areas of the island and trees and roots have entwined the buildings

                  

The fishing was fantastic. A baited line was taken often before it had reached the bottom

Eric had a smoker made in Malaysia (pictured beside his head ) and he produced many tasty smoked fillets

After our 14 day permitted stay we set sail for Mauritius, 1300nm to the south

Cruiser notes.

Sumatra to Chagos.

We began this passage by following the route that Passage Planner recommended. We motored SW until we found wind at 7 degrees . Passage Planner had recommended 8 degrees. In hind site I believe that we would have found almost as much wind at 6 or even 5 deg . Getting way from the Indonesian coast seemed as important to get breezes as it was to head south. Staying north would have saved distance and made it easier to fill the sails. The biggest curse are as always the little rain squalls that puff up to 25 Kts and then there’s nothing until the light trades recover.

On the whole it was a slow but easy passage and we arrived feeling as though we had done a much shorter passage.

Chagos.

Amazing place. It is astounding how quickly nature takes over after humans leave. We lived on fish. We only met the fisheries patrol folk. The customs never visited during the two weeks we stayed there. We had a lot of moderate Northerlies while we were there. We had anchored clear of the reefs and the anchor held well. It would be well worth looking up the history of Chagos before visiting.