Sometimes in life, you are lucky enough to have an experience that touches your soul, lifts your spirits, and leaves a lasting memory. Our 3 ½ weeks anchored off the island, Ile Yakamaka in the Salomon Atoll, of the British Indian Ocean Territory (also known as Chagos) was one of these experiences.

But first we had to get there. It was a relatively short passage of about 300 nm from Gan in the Maldives, which took just over 2 ½ days, and during which we had a bit of everything – some very nice sailing, a few squalls and rain, a period of little wind, and a fishing boat that was heading straight for us. We think they were looking for alcohol or cigarettes, and we waved them away but they kept coming until we got the phone out and started taking photos of them, which soon had them turning around. We arrived in the Chagos anchorage around midday on Wednesday 16^th May – my mother’s 92^nd birthday, and the day after our permit commenced.

The next morning we went for a walk on the island Ile Foquet, just next to Ile Yakamaka. It was one of the most peaceful moments I have experienced as I walked along a narrow white sandy beach, under the shade of coconut trees, with no noise except the sounds of nature – birds, wind in the trees, and the distant surf crashing on the other side of the island – in the knowledge that I was far away from “civilisation”. I know that this will sound corny but I could literally breathe in the peacefulness.

In the afternoon, I was invited to do a drift snorkel in the pass between two islands with four other women. This involved walking along the edge of the island and wading out into the pass, so we could then drift with the incoming tide, and end up back inside our atoll. The coral along the edges of the pass was fairly unremarkable, but right towards the end we were rewarded by seeing several large schools of reasonably sized fish. The current was running fairly quickly by then, so there was no stopping to idly admire the fish. Later that evening everyone in the anchorage gathered on the shore for a drink and nibbles as the sun set. Our first day had been a perfect introduction to this paradise.

Before I go too much further, some background will help in conveying the experience of being here. Chagos consists of 6 major atolls and a number of smaller islands. An atoll is basically a barrier reef where the original island has subsided underwater, leaving the reef. Sand then builds up on the reef to form a ring of low lying islands around a central lagoon. The British acquired Chagos from the French in 1814. In 1965 they signed a lease for one of the atolls, Diego Garcia, with the Americans who established a military base there, and this still operates today.  At that time there was a coconut plantation on the islands in Salomon Atoll (where we were anchored), the owners of which had brought people from nearby countries to work on the plantations.  In 1966, the British acquired the plantation and its land and proceeded to forcibly remove the plantation workers and their families, even though some families had lived there for several generations. They were sent to Mauritius and the Seychelles. Salomon Atoll currently has 10 islands, one of which Ile Boddam, was the site of one of the settlements. Salomon Atoll is one of two atolls in Chagos where yachts are permitted to anchor. We are not allowed to go anywhere near Diego Garcia, the site of the American base which is about 120 miles away from our anchorage. Chagos and its surrounding waters have been declared a conservation zone, and so there are a number of restrictions for yachts visiting here.

There are no settlements here, apart from the American base, no shops, no internet, no services of any kind. The scenery is just gorgeous, especially the colours of the water: pale green, emerald green, tourqoise, browns (where the reefs are), and dark blue. The islands in the Salomon atoll are all low lying, covered in coconut palms, and have small white beaches which are more exposed at low tide. There are usually white fluffy clouds in the very blue sky, and pretty sunsets. Salomon Atoll is inhabited by birds (lots), crabs (lots), fish (lots), sharks (lots), and turtles (some), and in the winter by a group of yachts which has varied from 8 to 14 while we were there.

 

There were lots of different species of crabs – some hermit crabs used old coconut shells instead of sea shells as their home

 

We were there for close to 4 weeks, and loved every minute of it. The weather was very settled so we were able to make the most of the island life. We walked around a few of the atolls at low tide, walked along the beaches, explored the atolls, and snorkelled in various locations.  I love walking on beaches, so many mornings saw me walking on Ile Foquet. The windward side of the islands is quite different to the leeward (that is the protected side) side which is where we are anchored. As you might expect, the windward side is a bit more wild looking, with the sandy beaches replaced by rocky outcrops and exposed reef at low tide. The surf breaks along the fringing reef. It is noisier too, with both the wind and the surf, added to the raucous cries of the many birds here, and the crackle of the millions of crabs as they run away from you and hide under the rocks.

Windward side – you can just see the surf break; These fellows hard to catch on camera

The snorkelling was good but not outstanding. The effects of the coral bleaching events are evident here as they are in other parts of SE Asia, so there are some areas of damaged coral. However, the fish life is relatively prolific. In addition to the usual small and very colourful reef fish, we have seen lots of large fish too – parrot fish, grouper, and many others I don’t know the names of. Often these are in medium to large schools which is quite spectacular to see. There are lots of sting rays, and manta rays have visited the anchorage on several occasions. We have seen black tipped reef sharks, and the occasional grey nurse. There is a wrecked sailing boat lying off Ile Foquet, and we have snorkelled around that too – very creepy in my opinion. The reef next to it was much nicer.

With all these fish around, you would think the fishing here would be good – and you are right. Most times, Phil has caught a fish within 10 minutes of putting the line in, with the exception of a couple of frustrating days of trawling in the dinghy with no result.  We have had a couple of small tuna (which are not all that great eating), some sort of trout, and a carpet cod. Fish cooked in a variety of ways is a common menu item for the pot luck lunches, dinners and sundowners here.

The fishing is also good for the birds. It is not uncommon to hear lots of loud splashing near the boat and look out to see a flock of birds in a feeding frenzy as the small fish are forced to the surface by schools of larger fish, which are having their own feeding frenzy on the small fish. The boat is usually surrounded by fish, especially at night when they are attracted to our deck light. In fact some nights it has been downright noisy with all the fish action going on underneath the boat.

We went across to Ile Boddam a couple of times in the dinghy, which takes about 20 mins or so. The first time, we went together with most of the others that were here, and shared a pot luck lunch under the trees in a small clearing (there are not many cleared areas on these islands). There is a “yacht club” – a shack which had been constructed by yachties in the past, and then of course it accumulated all sorts of junk. The authorities were not very happy about this, and now the rules state that we are not allowed to erect any kind of construction ashore.

Pot luck picnic lunch on Ile Boddam- no coconut crab on menu as they are protected

It was interesting to explore the ruins of the former Boddam settlement, and reflect on the lives of the plantation workers and their deportation. We found the old church, cemetery, jail, large wharehouses, railway lines, old machinery, and ruins of houses. We also saw some very (very) large coconut crabs.

 

 

We came back to Boddam a couple of other times to do our washing as there is a well, and lines for hanging the washing to dry.

As soon as a group of yachties accumulate in an anchorage, particularly a remote one such as this, the socialising starts. Most boats have an “open door” policy so dropping in for a chat is always welcome. Sundowners on the beach was a regular feature in the social calendar. There was usually a bit of radio chat in the mornings as people organised their activities for the day, and then the dinghies would be zipping back and forth between the various boats. We had a very nice party on the beach to celebrate the full moon. All the boats went, and brought some food to share. It was a great success- every boat at that time was a different nationality so we had a range of food – fish cakes, rice paper rolls, savoury muffins, rice, fresh fish cooked in the coals of the fire, pasta salad, pizza, potato salad, and even a dessert of custard and stewed apples (which was very yummy). Phil made some damper dough, which we took ashore and cooked in the coals of the fire. It was a real hit, and some of the yachties even tried vegemite with it. One of the boats brought a jug of pina colada to share and Phil made us a coconut shell cup each to drink out of. Someone brought tables, someone brought a light and someone else brought some music. It was a great evening and the moon did make an appearance through the clouds.

Pina colada? Yes please

Later that night around the fire

A highlight celebration for me while in Chagos was my 60^th birthday. I had a fabulous day starting with phone calls from our sons, my mother, two of my closest friends, and my brother, and lots of e-mails. Phil made me a card and gave me a box of oil paints and a blank canvass, so that will be a challenge for me to do a painting! I made a birthday cake, Annie from one of the other boats dropped in for coffee, and then later Phil and I, and three others went for a good drift snorkel through the passage between the two islands just in front of all the boats- saw lots of big fish and a couple of reef sharks. Then back to the boat to make some hummus and pita bread, have a shower etc and over to the beach for sundowners – all the other boats came (7 boats) except one that had arrived yesterday afternoon. Everyone brought some food to share, Annie had made a second cake, and Margrit and Neils sang happy birthday in Dutch. Cheri gave me a very nice necklace and bracelet that she had made from beads, and a “crown” to wear for the evening. Neils and Margrit gave me a block of chocolate (very precious cargo in these parts) in a bag tied to three balloons. As the sun went down we sat around the bonfire on the beach and chatted. It was a gorgeous calm and starry night so the dinghy ride back to the boat was lovely. I felt very lucky – how many people can say they sailed to a remote coral atoll for their 60^th birthday? The only thing that would have made it absolutely perfect is if my family and friends could have parachuted in for the day.

The sun goes down on the last of my fifties

 

I don’t often mention food in my blogs but food was a definite theme here. Phil got right into collecting the fallen coconuts and making coconut milk for his cereal, desiccated coconut (for making sambal, and other things), and just coconut pieces for eating. When we were in Sri Lanka we bought a coconut grinder which worked a treat to grind the flesh out of the coconut halves. Then there was the fish- catching it, cleaning and filleting and then cooking it in various ways. We also had to monitor our remaining fresh food daily for signs of spoilage, and make sure we used it before it was too late! As time wore on, and everyone started to run out of various things, people got very inventive with creating nibbles for sundowners – my favourite was lentil balls with dipping sauce.

 

We had been in Chagos for 9 days by the time the officials visited the anchorage to check in the boats that had arrived since their previous visit. They are British (we thought that the work of checking us in might have been outsourced to the Americans). Their main job is to patrol the waters of the territory looking for illegal fishing activities so they are actually wildlife officers. They are based on a ship, and spend three months at a time stationed on the ship. They go into Diego Garcia (the US base) for re-fuelling, provisioning, and to drop off and pick up crew. Diego Garcia is very much British territory. British law prevails, and there are British police, jail and court house on the island. They do however drive on the right hand side of the road. One of the boats here had made a mistake with the dates on their permit and had asked for one for June rather than May, and then didn’t check the dates on the permit when it was e-mailed to them. Unfortunately for them, it meant they were here with an invalid permit, so they were required to leave, after having been here for about a week. Fabio (the skipper) actually called the office in London in an attempt to get a reprieve but no go, so they had to be out by 9am the following morning.

While preparing for the Indian Ocean crossing, I had thought we should have some projects lined up for our 4 weeks in Chagos, as we both thought that it might get a little boring and we would want something to do. So we had lined up some boat sewing (new covers for things), dressmaking, learning Spanish (for me), polishing the stainless steel, researching our next destinations, learning to play bridge (I had downloaded some instructions from the internet), and reading (again downloaded some novels onto my ipad kindle app). Boy were we ever wrong about how much spare time we would have. We did get the boat sewing done (new covers for instrument panel and BBQ), started on the stainless polishing, and researched tourist destinations in Madagascar. The remaining projects are still on our list. In our defence though, we did spend a couple of days stitching up some more tears in the mainsail, and doing a few other boat maintenance jobs. Phil also spent a bit of time helping a couple of boats with their HF radio problems.

All too soon though, we were down to our last couple of days. On our second last night, a Canadian couple with a large catamaran hosted a pot luck dinner on their boat, so on that day there was a lot of fishing going on and of course fish featured heavily on the menu again. It was a fun night though with almost all the boats in the anchorage attending – about 28 people (yes, it’s a big boat). The weather had been a bit ordinary (windy) over the previous few days, but early the day before we were going to leave, the wind dropped back to a more comfortable strength and the last day was another perfect day in paradise. We had our friends from Anthem over for breakfast and spent a lively couple of hours discussing all sorts of things. Then we completed our last few preparatory tasks, went for a last walk around Ile Foquet in the late afternoon, and had dinner under the stars in the cockpit.