Year 3 -17 May 2026 –Arrival in Mauritius-after 1266nm from Chagos
I finished yesterday’s blog handing over to Keith and Erika motoring as the wind had died and was in the wrong direction. However, I understand it returned back to normal later and we continued to sail. When I woke up about 7.15am Carolyn and Joyce were on watch and we were sailing well and fast in the right direction. I took over at 8.00am and I had planned to get to Port Louis, the main port at about 10.30am -11.30am.
By this time we could see land and the outlying islands off the North coast of Mauritius. It was a grey horrible wet day. We then began to see the outline of Mauritius with its ridge of hills in its centre. The rain came and went causing increases in wind and reduced visibility. It was almost as if nature did not want to make it easy to get there.
We sailed/motor sailed when the wind lowered and as we came closer we could see the ridge and peaks of the ridge of hills/mountains which form the backbone of this island which is 65km long and about 45km wide. We could see the buildings and developments on the coast and as we got closer the urban sprawl and container port of Port Louis became clearer. At about 12nm off we called up Port Control to ask permission to enter the port and they told us to call again when we were just outside the port. I contacted our agent and let them know of our progress and position and they said they will be waiting for us at customs dock.
There were several large cargo ships/tankers anchored around the port and in docks within it. We called up Port Control again and they gave us permission to enter the harbour and to proceed to the customs dock.
We entered between the port and starboard entry markers and kept to the centre passing cargo ships/tankers/fishing boats. It was not a pretty port but an industrial one. We motored down the centre and toward the end there was a wall opposite some restaurants which we were asked to moor against.
We were met by the agents representative and he took the passports and went to get them stamped. He said we then had to wait for customs. We had moored up but there was quite a surge and there were no rings to moor up to -just stone pillars. The problem was that with the surge the ropes were chaffing on the stone. The location was not suitable for mooring and the depth was 2.6m and we draw 2.5. I talked to our man and he said the customs were at lunch!. During one surge one of my black mooring ropes snapped.
The customs man eventually came and he was sympathetic to our situation and asked me a few questions and gave me my documents and said we can go. Normally they search the boat but decided not to do so.
We eased off the wall and luckily had only one broken rope. My mooring ropes are showing wear now and I think I will get some new ones in Cape Town. We motored round to the Caudan Waterfront Marina which is a small basin off the main waterway and apparently someone will meet us to show us where to go.
We entered the basin and there were a few catamarans but no one met us and so we took a spot just inside which I thought would be sheltered. We sorted ourselves out and then I plugged in to the electricity, which worked first time and we were here.
The passage had been 1266nm since Chagos and had taken us 7 days and 5 hours and so an average speed of about 7.3kts. It had been quite a hard passage in that we were mostly on a close reach or close hauled which means heal and a slightly more uncomfortable motion as most long world passages have the wind mostly from behind. We had had 3m plus waves on our beam mostly a lot of the way and an unhelpful current trying to push us West when we wanted Southwest. It had also been a wet passage with lots of spray and waves on deck and a number of growlers which got us in the cockpit. The star of the show was Stormbird who just got on and bashed through it, looking after us and advancing us to our destination. Passages like these can be quite hard on boats but she had done very well and I could not have asked for a better boat to have done this journey in.
Once settled in the basin we had our first celebratory beer on the aft deck and in addition it is my 64th birthday today so a double reason to celebrate. It was great to speak to and have messages from family and friends who I miss. After a couple of small beers we tidied up a bit and then had a well-earned rest. Keith Watty will fly back to the UK tomorrow so we planned a good supper onshore. Keith and Erika went off to get some bacon for our last breakfast with him.
The basin is in the centre of town with a large Waterfront complex of restaurants and bars.
The lady from the marina came to ask us to pay so we said we would come to the office on the way out. After our rest we got on our glad rags and went to the office to sort out more paperwork and pay. £12.75 per night for Stormbird was quite reasonable including electricity and water and rubbish collection.
We then went to the Waterfront complex where a live band was playing and found a nice Italian restaurant. After several months without, I can now go to a bar which is legal!. In many countries I had visited you can only get a drink in a hotel/resort. We had a great meal and were happy that we had arrived in Mauritius safe and sound. We obviously have jobs to do but look forward to exploring Mauritius.
The picture of the day is our approach to Port Louis. You can see the hills behind.
Need/Opportunity Year Three
I will be going shortly from India to the Maldives and then on to Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK.
I am currently in need of potentially 2 crew from Mauritius to Cape Town from about 10 June 2026 and we should arrive in Cape Town on about 25-30 July 2026. If at all interested contact me on my email below or WhatsApp +44 7931360372.
The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com