We would like to include Malaysia in our route around the Cape of Good Hope. Plan A would take us from Langkawi to the north tip of Sumatra (Aceh) and on to Chagos/Mauritius. Plan B is to sail from Langkawi down to Singapore, then on to Djakarta and out in the ocean through Sunda Straight from where we would head for Cocos Keeling/Mauritius. We are flexible as to the time of departure from Langkawi. How would you plan this trip?

Let’s start by presuming that you want to arrive in S. Africa at the end of the cyclone season – around November. So you can spend April to October in the S. Indian Ocean. If you plan to leave W. Malaysia during SE monsoon (May to Nov) your best bet is to go S from Singapore through the Sunda Strait and turn right for Cocos and Chagos. May is a good time to leave and the weather will be mostly good.

During the NE monsoon (December to April) a route via Maldives is much better. Leave as late as possible so as to be ready in Maldives in April for the short hop across to Chagos. Wait in Chagos for ESE winds to sail to Mauritius. Look up the new Chagos restrictions on noonsite.

After that: late Sept/early Oct; Mauritius. Late Oct/early Nov: leave La Reunion for Richards Bay (I did the same in 2004). Not easy to include Madagascar, so suggest you visit by air from Reunion as I did… but you could go from Reunion over the top of Madagascar to Nosy Be and then sail directly to Richards Bay.

Bon voyage!

Jimmy Cornell, noonsite