July 18, 2002 - CHAGOS REVISITED - THEN AND NOW

It hardly seems like 2 years had gone by since our last trip to Chagos. We sailed into the North Pass at Peros Banhos Atoll about noon on February 6th, and it was like coming home. We knew the island names, we had explored some of the anchorages, we pretty well knew what to expect. Or did we? By now we've come to realize that every visit to a "known" place still brings changes, differences and surprises!

MORE BOATS

We arrived a full month earlier (February) in Peros Banhos than we did Two Years Ago (2YA). 2YA we were one of just three yachts in the whole atoll, and it was another 3 weeks before the next boat arrived. 2YA the maximum number of boats in Peros we saw at any one time was 15. Usually there were only about 8. Our friends over in Salomon Atoll told us there were 30 yachts there at the peak time, but usually about 20 hung out there.

This year there was an average of about 24 yachts in Peros up until the end of April when it had dwindled to 18. The boats were generally spread out along the west side of this 10 mile diameter atoll, so it never seemed crowded. (The northern and eastern half of Peros Banhos is a strict Nature Reserve, and yachts are not allowed to anchor there.) By contrast, the BIOT officials reported there were 51 yachts over at Salomon Atoll at the end of April. It's a much smaller atoll than Peros--just 2 miles in diameter, and must've looked like Marina Del Rey in there!

(Sideline: I think there were just lots of boats everywhere this season. During the yearly migration into Langkawi there were between 70 to 80 boats at anchor in front of Kuah town each day, with plenty of comings and goings. Normally we have about 30 and that increases to 50-60 at high season. And would not include the increase in the number of boats in the marinas. Also, friends going on to the Red Sea this year reported bumper crops of boats enroute: like 22 boats anchored in tiny Ullugamu Atoll in the Northern Maldives at the end of January! And another friend who told us that there were 39 boats in Salala, Oman, with 23 more on the way! That was so they could gather in strength for convoys up the Red Sea.)

WEATHER

The biggest difference in our two visits has been the weather. 2YA the weather pattern was very regular with the winds slowly veering from NW and W through the SW and eventually into the SE at which point we moved over to Salomon Atoll. 2YA we had no major weather disturbances to worry about, just an occasional squall that put the winds out of sync.

This year the weather has been quite different. One French sailor who has been to Chagos 8 times in the last 12 years said he had never seen a season as confused as this one. Winds were all over the place; light and variable, which was OK, but who needed squalls to 48K! Just when you thought the winds had settled into a pattern, it would change again.

Sometimes that change would have us hanging on a lee shore, the reefs MUCH too close for comfort. More than once we upped our anchor and headed for a different spot when the chop became untenable. With reefy patches all over the lagoon you had to hope the need to move happened during daylight hours so you could see to navigate. We learned to keep a GPS position for each anchorage; twice that paid off when we had to move in marginal light conditions. At other times the wind shifts would swing us broadside to the ever present SE swell. Then it got very rolly and very uncomfortable and away we'd go changing anchorages again.

Toward the end of March we had a brush with Tropical Cyclone Ikala. It was well to the south of Chagos, but packed quite strong winds and covered a large area. We were hunkered down with 8 other boats in an anchorage with good protection given by the reefs and small islands. It blew steady 20-25K with frequent squalls of 30-35K, and a few whoppers with gusts in the 40's. Between all the wind, the resultant choppy water, and constant rain and drizzle, everyone was pretty much boat bound. Cabin fever was rampant!

	Collecting rain from the awning.

RAIN

We remembered that 2YA getting enough drinking water had been a constant concern. We only had three really good tank filling downpours during our 3 month visit. Often you could see the rain, with all the water you needed, falling about a half mile away in the lagoon. We learned to be conservative with our drinking water. We carry about 150 gallons which will last 4 to 5 weeks with care. We used water from the island wells to do the laundry chores and for cleaning and bathing aboard. This year it rained just about every week. We could keep the tanks topped off and nearly always had all the water jugs and buckets full on deck too. I think I only did laundry at the well about 3 times, and then only because I had really heavy stuff to rinse.

MORE TO EXPLORE

2YA we spent the majority of our time in Peros at anchor at Ile du Coin. It suited our purposes: fresh water well, good company, and protection from the weather we had that season. This time we have been rotating between 8 or 10 comfortable anchoring spots and getting to know some of the other islands this year. We could compare the reefs, the snorkeling, and the fishing at each. Generally speaking, the snorkeling is much better everywhere now than it was 2YA; it seems the coral reefs are making a good comeback from the El Nino bleaching disaster of a few years ago. Fishing has been as good, if not better, than it was before, although there has been a noticeable lack of yellowfin tuna caught this year.

RADIO LINKS

Perhaps it was because there were fewer boats overall during our stay in Chagos 2YA that nobody thought to set up radio schedules. VHF traffic works within the two atolls for boat to boat contact, but Peros and Salomon are just far enough apart that good VHF signals didn't work. A lot of the boats had been using SSB 4483 to communicate at various times during the day while they were on passage. This gradually coalesced into one radio "chat show" in the morning at 8am. Boats would check in that were underway and give positions; likewise, their friends at Addu or in Chagos could advise them on particulars of entry, anchoring, and current weather conditions. News was passed regarding mutual friends--gathered via Email or from the ham radio nets. Fishing stories told. Maintenance and repair questions addressed: "does anyone know how to..." Notice of the arrival of the officials at one atoll was relayed over to the other. Those of us in Chagos could ask boating friends in Addu to bring us certain items of need, like fish hooks, or food items, like a cabbage or some eggs.

BIG BROTHER

The Chagos Archipelago is the sum and total of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). Every few weeks a contingency of British Marines comes around to handle yachting paperwork, check out what's going on, and collect the mooring fees, currently $80 for 90 days. The island of Diego Garcia is leased to the United States and there is a well established US military base there. Yachts are NOT allowed to visit Diego Garcia.

We were surprised to see a US Navy airplane flying patrol over the atolls nearly every day. We don't remember that happening 2YA. I'm sure the patrols were a fact of heightened security due to the Afghanistan situation, and the fact that US B-52 bombers were flying out of Diego. We could hear the patrol planes on VHF 16 challenging ships in the surrounding waters for identification. Often the Navy P-3 planes would come in fairly low over the atoll for a look at the yachts at anchor. I bet it was a pretty sight! Sometimes one of the crew would put out a blanket call on the VHF to the yachts at anchor. I spoke with the guys on occasion; they were always interested in what we were doing and how we handled certain things, like provisions, drinking water, and mail. Now and then we had jet fighter planes buzz the fleet doing wing waggles or a barrel roll. Our own private air show!

YELLOW FISH

Last but not least. 2YA we were constantly amused by a school of small yellow fish that hung out under the boat while we were at Peros. They moved with us when we sailed the 30 miles to Salomon, but then gradually dispersed. We hope. This year we only had one yellow fish over in Peros for about a week and then it was gone. Now we have been in Salomon for almost a month. We have aboaut 6 little yellow fish, one black and white striped fish, and 2 remora fish!