Island Hopping to Male

We left Nilandhoo in the afternoon a couple of days back. The timing of high tide and the shallow depths we were anchored in dictated when we moved – needing both high tide and high sun. Initially, we had anticipated leaving in the early hours of the morning but the high tide was at 5.30 am and we were not convinced there would be enough light to safely navigate our way back out of the harbour channel. We had taken the dinghy out on a trial run at 6.30 am the previous morning to check the light and had snorkelled the channel to check for underwater obstructions. On our arrival, we had got down to 2.4 metres through a harbour channel that contained coral heads and sandbanks so trying to get a better understanding of the underwater landscape would help us on the exit. In the end, we opted for an afternoon departure. The 40 NM to the next destination did not really warrant another overnight passage, but the light was better and at least we could hit the rising tide rather than a falling one.

One of the challenges in the relatively clear waters of the Maldives is the ability to judge depths. When exiting and leaving harbours or atolls, I stand on the bow of the boat communicating with Bryan at the helm via our handheld VHFs. We wear Polaroid sunglasses which help pick out the different shades of blues, greens and yellows in the water that indicate where coral heads (or bommies) lie. Our pattern of communication involves Bryan advising what our current depth is and I will advise where I see shallower patches and give hand signals which direction I want Bryan to head. Our electronic charts are inaccurate and many times we have found islands in the wrong place or, in some instances, completely non-existent. We have anchored on what the chart tells us is ‘drying height’ (i.e. above water at the lowest tide) but found in some instances this has been as deep as eleven metres and doesn’t ‘dry’ at all. Leaving Nilandhoo and entering Dhangethi as is turned out, would give us our shallowest depths of the entire trip. With a boat that needs two metres for clearance of the keel, sailing over coral and sand that is only 0.4 metres below that really makes your heart skip a beat. We can’t get it wrong. If we hit a shallower patch at best we would bump/scrape the bottom of the keel if it is sand. But it is a different story if we hit a patch of coral. Typically a very shallow patch of coral looks yellow from the surface. Slightly deeper coral, maybe 5-6 metres, is usually dark blue or black. The same depth with a sand bottom is usually the picture-postcard azure blue. Deeper sea, usually over 30 metres is a dark blue. The underwater profile here can drop from a few metres to 30 metres like the side of a cliff edge. At times we have passed over a seafloor that to me looks only a few metres deep, yet Bryan will be recording a depth of 10 metres. This is why we have adopted the VHF radios as a means of communication so that we can share what we are seeing to reach a decision about what route we opt for.

Arriving at Dhangethi, we entered the atoll (Ari) via a narrow channel, with reef either side of where we wanted to pass. From outside the lagoon, it looked deceptively like there was no gap at all, so we got as close as was safe to do to confirm there was indeed a route in. Once inside the atoll, we needed to enter the lagoon that runs the full west side (inside the atoll) of the island. The lagoon is surrounded by the yellow coloured water that indicates the shallow coral heads. With only a stick to indicate a likely pass through, plus some information from a previous boat that had anchored here, we inched through as Bryan counted down the depths… 20, 10, 5, 4, 3 meters… At this point, I shut my eyes and held my breath!

Inside the lagoon, and in the darker blue water, we were back in depths of 8 to 10 metres and found a spot to anchor. We plan to stay just a few days before making the final 50 NM overnight passage to Male. As with all the islands we have visited, Dhangethi has a different feel to the others. Ari Atoll has more tourist resorts than other atolls so Dhangethi caters more to the tourists that visit on day trips from the local resorts. Consequently, our presence attracted less interest than it has at the more remote islands. The island itself is neater with hardly any graffiti on the walls and far less litter on the beaches surrounding the island. The main strip from the jetty into the island has a series of souvenir shops and the island’s only restaurant charges five times what we have become accustomed to – ouch! The visiting boats are the local dhoni boats heading to and from the resorts, and the safari dive boats.

Ramadan is restricting our movements a little. We are tending to stay on the boat more during the day and head to the islands in the evening after iftar (the dusk breaking of the Ramadan fast). It has been very overcast again since arriving in the atoll and on our arrival yesterday it rained for several hours, which at least gave us a chance to top up the water tanks and get some washing done. We did get the chance to visit the island’s cultural centre, which is a purpose-built heritage village depicting how islanders would have lived some 500 years ago. It is well done and was an interesting visit.

ARRIVED MALE. 30 Aug 2009

We left Dhangethi at 7.30 am yesterday morning. What was initially intended to be our last overnight passage within the Maldives turned into a great days sailing. We had average winds around 11 knots off our beam and reached speeds around 6.5 knots; nearly our hull speed. Our only major concern was reaching Male before sunset though, for once, we knew we had reliable chart data for the Male anchorage so, at a push, could anchor in the dark if absolutely necessary. As it was, we were in the anchorage and anchored with fifteen minutes of daylight remaining.

A bottle of bubbly was retrieved from the ship’s supplies as another arrival celebration. Considering the sad depletion of most of our food supplies, it is a wonder we had managed to save some quality beverage but glad we did.

The kids and I fly out in three days so between now and then we will spend time relaxing and topping up provisions for Bryan’s two week sail back to UAE. We are hoping to spend the day at one of the only hotels in Male with a decent pool, though we have just had a downpour and not sure if there will be more.