The main anchorage (19:40.72S 063:25.19E) is just off the commercial dock and

is a dredged turning basin for the large cargo ships that visit the island every week.  The anchorage is about 240 meters diameter, 10 metres deep and surrounded by drying reef, so you don’t want to drag very far.

The holding is interesting.  I think that the sea bed is soft mud over a hard clay, so at first, we had difficulty getting the anchor to hold because we were too aggressive in backing our anchor in.  The sea bed has garbage in the mud, so if you “plough” your anchor, you are likely to pick up something.  This happened to us on our first attempt when we picked up an old cement sack.

The technique that worked for us was to back the anchor in lightly; let it settle into the mud for half an hour, and then back it in hard.   The anchorage is 10 metres deep and we always had at least 50 metres of chain out.  Several boats dragged in the 30+ knot squalls, but we never moved.

We had strong 20-25 knot South-east winds for a week and the anchorage is subject to strong katabatic winds that howl down from the surrounding hills – the winds go from 10 knots to 30+ knots in seconds causing boats to veer about and snatch at their anchor…

When the ship is out, there’s the option of going alongside the commercial dock.  Only a few boats stayed there for more than a night or two.  Apart from the normal problems of huge black fenders and the one-metre tidal range, the strong winds created quite a surge in the bay and boats were snatching at their mooring lines.  Boats were also getting covered by black dirt blowing onto their decks.

The cargo ship comes in roughly once a week and all boats have to vacate both the commercial dock and the inner anchorage.  The outer anchorage is at 19:40.09S, 063:25.85E and is good holding in the sand about 15 metres.  However, in strong south-east or east winds, a big swell gets across the fringing reef and it can be rolly.  As soon as the ship is docked, there is an undignified rush back into the inner anchorage – it’s like the Wacky Races (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1cnit1irjY).  The cargo ship stays for a couple of days and then you have to get out again…

Clearing in and out is a doddle.  You can only enter the port in daylight.  The coast guard will contact all the officials on your arrival.  Health and Coastguard come out to the boat.  Customs and Immigration will meet you in a small office at the port entrance.   You have to pay about $30US for Health Clearance and pay overtime on Saturday afternoon or any time on Sunday.

You have to clear out to go to Mauritius, where you will get another visa stamp in your passport – goodness knows why it’s the same country.  Checkout is easy – arrange a time for Customs and Immigration and they will meet you in the small office in the port entrance.

The town and people are lovely – very friendly and the place reminds us of the French islands in the West Indies.  We’ve done a couple of nice coastal hikes by catching buses which run every 30 minutes or so throughout the day.  Locally, there’s a pleasant walk up to the cross overlooking the town and a longer hike up to the top of the island.  We hired a motorbike for a day and visited the excellent tortoise sanctuary.

It’s worth enduring the passage to Rodrigues.  You’ve GOT to try the Dhall Puri on Roti which the street vendors sell and the local speciality of Dried Octopus is interesting…

Our blog gives more detail:

http://www.thehowarths.net/alba-chronicles/2017-indian-ocean/527-june-2017-rodrigues-mauritius

Neville Howarth

Yacht Alba

www.thehowarths.net

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.