by Judy Handley | Jul 12, 2010 | Madagascar, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 259, Year 5 More Rain, More Snorkeling
Date: Monday, July 12, 2010
Weather: Rain Overnight, Partly Sunny Day
Location: Nosy Sakatia, NW Madagascar
As predicted by John Sheppard’s cook, we got heavy rain just around mid-night and it rained for a good two hours. The local lore tells us that if you are going to get rain in the dry season, it will be on the four days of the new moon. Well, that is what is happening. John thinks we will have even more rain tonight, so we shall see. Unfortunately, the rain catcher we made in Chagos doesn’t work very well, so we are not able to take advantage of the unexpected tears from heaven. Ed and Lynne, on the other hand, have a good rain catcher and they were able to collect about ten gallons of water last night. We are just relying on our water maker.
It was still mostly overcast at 9 am this morning, but it was slack tide so we decided to snorkel, sun or no sun. We wear our dive skins which are about 3 mils to protect us from the sun and from anything that stings, but today we were glad we had them on to keep us warm. Eighty degree water with little or no sun feels quite cool. We took the dinghy over to the headland by Sakatia Towers and did our snorkeling there today. We were amazed by the amount and variety of soft corals, even more anemones than we saw yesterday, and anemonefish that are definitely at the large end of their growth expectancy. Mark focused on getting video of the beautifully swaying soft corals and anemones today, but he captured a few good shots of the small fish. We didn’t see turtles or large fish, but we did see our first parrotfish in Madagascar. Tomorrow morning we pull up anchor at 6:30 am to head out to Tani Keli which is only nine miles from here. We will have current against us at that time of day, but we want to get there to snorkel before the turn of the tide and the arrival of hordes of tourists around 11 am. Tani Keli is a marine reserve and is said to have the clearest water and most abundant fish on the west coast of Madagascar. We hope the reports are correct. After snorkeling and possibly doing a walk on land, we will up anchor and head another twelve miles south to a more protected bay for the night. The holding is not good at Tani Keli, so we don’t want to chance staying there. Our goal for tomorrow night is Nosy Kisamani. So our venture south is about to begin.
Late this afternoon, Mark and I went in to Sakatia Towers to peruse some of John’s books on Madgascar and Africa. As always, John had so much information to share with us. He is just good company, but we cannot express how grateful we are to him for being so helpful. We are going to miss our forays up to the Towers, but we will be back here in a month and can once again enjoy talking with John. He told us this afternoon that if we would sit on his deck for an entire day, we would see about twenty-six different species of birds. So that is on our list for the return trip. We stayed late enough this afternoon to witness the circling of the bee eaters (birds) as they returned to the mangroves for the night. We were able to watch this event up-close and personal from the jetty where we tie our dinghy when visiting the Towers. This is a wild and unspoiled land and we appreciate it more and more every day.
Mark has written a “Captain’s Ramblings” on dinghies. It is being posted today and follows this log.
by Judy Handley | Jul 11, 2010 | Madagascar, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 258, Year 5 Raining, Snorkeling, Dining
Date: Sunday, July 11, 2010
Weather: Rain Overnight-First Real Rain in Madagascar
Location: Nosy Sakatia, NW Madagascar
Overnight, we got our first real rain since arriving in Madagascar. While in Apanasia Bay at the top of the island we had a few light showers on June 18, but since then it has been dry. But during the night last night we got a good rain that washed the boat. Thank you, rain! It was still cloudy this morning, but regardless we decided to begin our day by snorkeling. We were so excited to find some colorful coral, lots of anemones, and many interesting fish. We saw four-inch long pink anemonefish, the biggest we have ever seen, some two-banded anemonefish, more anemones than we have ever seen in one place, and some beautiful crinoids that look like underwater feathery flowers.. The water was clear, but certainly not the crystal clear that we had in some Chagos locations, but we saw a number of small fish that we have never seen before and that made it certainly worth the snorkel. In fact, we have decided to stay here another day just to snorkel again. Ed and Lynne aren’t snorkeling with us, but they have decided to stay anyway. We will both move on Tuesday morning.
I spent my afternoon baking and cooking things to store for use later while Mark read. Late in the afternoon we called our daughter Heather and had a great conversation while Sam streaked through the room every few minutes telling us he misses us and loves us. Jonah was a quiet one today, but we learned that his hair has gotten even blonder and that despite all efforts to screen him from the sun, he has become a little brown biscuit. I think he has more than his share of Handley in him as that is definitely a Handley trait. Mark and I can be in the same sun for the same period of time and I tan a bit while he turns brown.
We picked Ed and Lynne up as the sun went down and headed over to Sakatia Towers for dinner. Ed had zebu while the others of us had prawns and rice after a delicious tomato, avocado, and citrus salad. We had freshly baked bread and a delicious green pepper sauce to pour over our prawns. Dinner was delicious and we once again enjoyed the company of John Sheppard. Shortly after dinner, he was headed to Sakatia Lodge at the southern end of the island to watch the final World Cup game between Netherlands and Spain. He was wearing his orange shirt and rooting for the Netherlands, but the owner of Sakatia Lodge is from Portugal and John expected some good spirited fun once he arrived. We’ll check in with him tomorrow evening to find out the outcome of the finals.
by Judy Handley | Jul 10, 2010 | Madagascar, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 257, Year 5 To My Sister–Happy Birthday!
Date: Saturday, July 10, 2010
Weather: 21th Gorgeous Day Although Slightly Cloudy
Location: Nosy Sakatia, NW Madagascar
Today is my sister Patsy’s 77th birthday. Other than my Aunt Ethel who will be 95 in September and certainly looks like she is no older than 77, Patsy is the youngest looking 77 year-old I have ever known (she’ll kill me for giving her age). She is beautiful inside and out and I miss being with her today so very much. Maybe next year we can be together on July 10th. In the meantime, Patsy, enjoy your special day.
We spent most of the day on the boat working on our respective computers. Mark was working on the financial end of things and I was writing long over-due emails to friends. Mid-afternoon we took a break and walked up rocky hillside behind Sakatia Towers and went over the top and down the other side to the western coast of Sakatia. Ed and Lynne went with us and when we returned they stopped by for drinks, conversation, and our first tasting of home-roasted Madagascar peanuts. You buy the raw peanuts by the cup at the market and then pan fry them in just a bit of olive oil, shaking the pan as you would if popping popcorn. You then drain them on paper towels, salt them, and enjoy. They are really good.
Tomorrow morning we will try snorkeling at low tide which is early in the morning. We are not sure what tide level is best for snorkeling here, but we do know the water is clearer before the tide starts to come in, so we will give it a try. Ed and Lynne have some strange 3-4 meter creature hanging around under their boat. I’m curious, but not sure I’m curious enough to want to see it. But I am assured that I will see anemonefish here, so I’m looking forward to that. And a couple of turtles would be nice as well.
by Judy Handley | Jul 9, 2010 | Madagascar, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 256, Year 5 The Watering Hole
Date: Friday, July 9, 2010
Weather: 20th Gorgeous Day; Cloudy Evenings, Clear Nights
Location: Nosy Sakatia, NW Madagascar
Just as animals gather at the watering hole, people seem to gravitate to comfortable places to socialize. Sakatia Towers is one of those ‘watering holes’ for people. Here on tiny Nosy Sakatia, John Sheppard has built a small resort that is a magnet for world cruisers as well as his guests who come to enjoy the seclusion of a small island in Madagascar with no roads, no stores, no nothing but beauty and a little speed boat to get you to the main island of Nosy Be. Sakatia Towers is a few cabins built with traditional materials, a main building with a bar, a kitchen, a library of used books, and a great deck overlooking the water, a generator to supply a little bit of electricity, a walkway from the dock to land made of sticks – really, and a very friendly staff of locals. It is nice but it is rustic and that is its charm. This is not the Hilton, and it is certainly not a tower, but we are loving our evening trips into the Sakatia Tower’s deck for sundowners and the chance to meet whomever is there that evening. Tonight Peppe and Bob of Far Niente who we first met in Chagos were there as well as a man named Bert, a South African who now lives here and sails a monstrous catamaran with Admiral Marine written along its side. Admiral Marine makes catamarans in South Africa but we are not sure of Bert’s association, but he is a wealth of information, as is John Sheppard. However, tonight’s main attraction was Olivia Wray. Olivia is John’s ten year-old step-daughter visiting here from Cape Town. John and Olivia’s mother, Heidi, were married just four months ago, and Heidi and Olivia have been here during the South African winter school holiday. Unfortunately they leave early in the morning, but we feel fortunate to have been here while they were visiting. Olivia, Mark, and I had a great conversation about schooling in South Africa and we made tentative plans to visit her school, the International School of Cape Town. Olivia made sure we knew that her school is different from the American International School of Cape Town and we had a good laugh over me writing today’s date as 7/9/10. In the US that would be July 9th, but in the rest of the world that would be September 7th as the month is always written first. We hope to keep in touch with her via email and meet again in South Africa.
Our morning was spent on a whirlwind shopping trip in Hell-ville. The Sakatia Towers speed boat picked us up at 7:15 am and took us across to the closest beach on Nosy Be. We were met there by Anatole who drove us to Hell-ville and helped arrange all of our purchases. We were buying food and drink for the next month, propane fuel for cooking, and more phone cards for long distance calls and internet. The afternoon was spent putting all of that away and now we have a couple of days to sit and relax before heading south. Olivia told us that we really should try snorkeling here as there are some interesting fish, and there is also a trek from Sakatia Towers to the long beach on the north end of Nosy Sakatia, so we will fit those activities into our weekend schedule.
by Judy Handley | Jul 8, 2010 | Madagascar, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 255, Year 5 A Love Affair
Date: Thursday, July 8, 2010
Weather: 19th Gorgeous Day; Cloudy Evenings, Clear Nights
Location: Nosy Sakatia, NW Madagascar
Slowly and quietly we have fallen in love with Madagascar. We have had just wonderful experiences every where we have been. It was certainly windy far up north, but we loved seeing our first baobabs in bloom. We moved south to Andranoaombi Bay and had our first trading experiences with the local villagers. The best trade was a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for two of the best mud crabs we have every eaten. Our visit to the upscale Tsara Banjina resort was lovely. Our time in Nosy Mitsio was very special, especially our walk across the island visiting various villages and seeing how the local people live their everyday lives. And buying four beautiful spiny lobsters for $6 US wasn’t a bad deal. Anchoring here at Nosy Sakatia is so comfortable. We can go ashore to Sakatia Towers, sit on the deck with a beautiful view of the anchorage and on across to Nosy Be, and talk with John Sheppard, the owner, who is just brimming with information on Madagascar and Africa. Nosy Komba was the highlight to date, however, because we got to play with the lemurs. We will see lemurs in the wild in various locations, but only on Nosy Komba are the lemurs so acclimated to humans that they will actively play with you. Add to all this the chameleons, the birds, the fantastic weather, and the gracious people, and it adds up to a love affair.
Tomorrow we will be picked up at 7:15 am by a little speed boat that will take us across to Nosy Be. There we will be met by John Sheppard’s driver, Anatole, who will take us into Hellville for a four hour shopping spree. We are going to purchase propane cooking gas, fresh food for the next month, canned and packaged goods to supplement what we already have, beer, wine, and a few boat supplies. We will then spend the weekend here getting ready for a month’s cruise south of here. We will then return here in mid-August, do our inland travel, and head back up north to try and see the mother and baby humpbacks. By mid-September we will be back in this area to visit Nosy Komba and the newly born lemurs. Our three-month visa will be up the end of September and that is when we will check-out and head south once again on our way to Richard’s Bay in South Africa. At least this is today’s plan.
by Judy Handley | Jul 7, 2010 | Madagascar, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 254, Year 5 Happy Birthday to Mark
Date: Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Weather: 18th Gorgeous Day; Cloudy Evenings, Clear Nights
Latitude: 13 degrees 18.113 minutes S
Longitude: 048 degrees 10.707 minutes E
Location: Nosy Sakatia, NW Madagascar
Mark had a very happy birthday. He got an early morning mail from Heather and a mid-day call from Justin. This made him a very happy man. We learned that we can receive Skype calls that do not charge our cell, so that is very good news. We moved from Nosy Komba to Nosy Sakatia, had a great Mexican dinner aboard Constance to celebrate Mark’s birthday, and hope to spend a few days here just relaxing and planning our next adventures.
