Hello Africa! Sailing through a Southern Buster from Mayotte to Tanzania

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We made a quick decision to leave Mayotte because we saw a southerly buster coming up the Mozambique Channel. For weeks I had been watching the weather patterns via Predictwind, and because we are in transition season, the winds to the coast of Africa looked dismal…like we may as well own a motor boat, not a sailboat. This southerly buster of 25-30 knots, while it represented rough seas, it also offered us an opportunity to SAIL to Tanzania, instead of motoring, saving hundreds of dollars of diesel, not to mention wear and tear on the engine.

So just as this strong system was flying by Mayotte, we put on our gear and out we went in to the storm. As we headed out the channel, I had second thoughts as big waves were crashing at our stern. But as we got further away, the washing machine eased, and we got in a good rhythm. We had already put on our biggest sail, and we knew we would have current with us, heading straight almost downwind, so no need to even take the mainsail cover off. For 3 days and 2 nights, we never had less than a glorious 20 and often 30…so perfect and manageable downwind! Knowing it would be A bit rough at times, I had already put on a half of a scopolamine patch.  Lily layed in bed for 3 days straight getting up only to eat and use her litter box, and then it was straight back to her bunk. That was pretty much all I did too, at least for the first 24.

But we faced a big problem on this passage that hadn’t happened to us before. Patrick had forgotten that he’s not on a catamaran and set a full cup of cooled down tea on the table across from where I was resting. You guessed it…a big wave hit us, and the settee, me, my iPad…well we all got soaked in tea! I suppose that’s better than salt water.  I switched bunks…and hours later, another big splash down the companionway made its way in to that bunk! Luckily my tea soaked bed had dried by then!  But it really put a “damp”er in my mood!

With the big Genoa out, the 1-2.5 knots of current, and 20-30+ knots of wind behind us, we made such fantastic time! We expected 5 days and 4 nights, but it was 3 days and 2 nights to go just under 450 miles! Two of three days we made our record 24 hour distances…174 and 180 miles in just one day! We usually see 4-6 knots of speed…we most often had between 8-10 knots for this trip!

The day after we arrived, the wind abated. Whew…no diesel used! And we arrived in time. Instead of being behind the wind, steadily falling further and further behind it, we were right with it.. I would get the Predictwind weather updates and comment to Patrick…keep sailing as fast as you can…behind this is NOTHING for wind… And by golly, Patrick would squeak another half knot out of the sails and before long, it was behind us! We had outrun it!

We sailed right in to the anchorage! Not even any hot water for a shower! But I can not complain! A local came by and was very surprised to see us…he asked in English…where did you come from? When we said we had had a nice fast sail from Mayotte his eyes got big. The winds here had been so big that they had shut down all the ferries, and a big local sailboat had dismasted and was in the process of being towed in. In the following days a lot of people asked us, how did you manage such a small boat through the winds that have been battering these shore for the last week!?! When we explained “down wind”, “downcurrent”, and because they are all sailors here, they shook their heads in understanding, but were clearly impressed.

A new continent!  Africa! With safaris, and new birds, and different culture, ancient history, new language, and new friends to be made! Now, finally after 11 years, we are finally three quarters of the way around the world!

We made our usual arrival in to a new anchorage in a new country on a new continent just before dark! Thank goodness for “kap” charts and Ovitalmap charts to double check accuracy of our Navionics and Cmap Charts! We hunted and pecked for just the right spot and anchored in 40 feet of mud near the port. The next morning, we completed a very simple clearance in to the country with smiling and welcoming officials, and no hint of corruption or extra fees, just the standard visa fees that one would get at the airport. Even with that charge, they apologized profusely, and issued a reciept before we even paid it. Regardless, we physically kissed the money goodbye to visibly show them that we too considered it a very large sacrifice! These officials we so nice that in fact each one of them let us know that they are our hosts and caretakers and then if there is ever any question about anything at all, or if we feel uncomfortable in any way, to please contact them for assistance. Just in the first few days, we have seen them around town and they always make a point to stop their cars or stop walking to greet us and ask us how we are enjoying their town and if we need help with anything at all. Everyone we have even made eye contact with, which is mostly everyone, when we see them a second time, they greet us like friends. The people here, though we haven’t totally caught on to the nuances of their good natures, are very quick to smile, and always fast to make a joke. I find myself laughing here more often than in most countries, simply because everyone around me is laughing!! Share a piece of your bubblegum with them, or sit down and have a soda with them, and they are so warm and open. Even the small children smile with a warmth and welcome that I can’t remember seeing so pronounced since Bermuda.

A walk around the dusty town introduced us to country living in Africa. It took hours to square away a SIM card and internet, and then after a dismal lunch at the only restaurant apparent to newcomers in town, we had a nice slow walk back to the port in the African heat.

Now we are committed to learning a little bit of Swahili! We are still a little confused about when to say Jambo and when to say Mambo..and what the next 3 things everyone says after this basic greeting are, but we are learning, and laughing. And I’m sure the locals are having good laughs at our expense too! Please and Thankyou, and How are you… Tafhadali, Asante, and Habari. Thats about as far as we have gotten so far! Just as we were picking up a tiny bit of French, it’s time for another language. Sometimes we even respond in Malayu or Indonesian…and sometimes even Spanish! Hard to keep all these languages straight sometimes!

But much to our liking, many many people speak excellent English here and we are once again finding great enjoyment in having conversation beyond How many Children do you have? or What is your work? Many are also college educated. We are learning a lot about the people here, much faster than in the past countries this year. We feel so fortunate to have the time over the next year to immerse ourselves in this culture. There isn’t a single other boat here, so we are not distracted with the excitement of seeing yachtie friends…we can concentrate solely on interacting with the locals which is really fun and fulfilling!

There are a number of other yachts 10 or 30 miles away though, so I am sure we will have neighbors soon enough, and that will be fun too.

We have lots of things to see and do here, and I am sure will have posts about our adventures soon! Til then, know we are safe, comfortable, well looked after, and feeling pretty enthusiastic about our next year here!!

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