We plan to be in the Seychelles mid-year and would then like to head to the Red Sea either direct or via East Africa. Your opinion and any information re either route would be appreciated.

The best time to head from Seychelles for the Red Sea in late September/October at the end of the SW monsoon. If you wish to visit the African coast first, go earlier, but plan the passage to the Red Sea as above. Be very careful not to pass too close to Somali waters, and do stay east of Socotra island. I do hope you have my World Cruising Routes that gives details of any of those options (new edition out in March).

Good luck. Jimmy Cornell, noonsite

We are currently in Seychelles working on a yacht. We are looking to move elsewhere end November/December time, but we’re not quite sure in which direction is the safest. The program for the yacht is to be in Europe next year, so ultimately we want to head into the Red Sea but we are looking at spending Xmas somewhere other than Seychelles.

Our first plan was to head to Yemen, to cruise there for a few months. What does Noontsite know about Kamaran Is and the surrounding area? We are uncertain whether or not this is a good idea, safety concerns etc.

We are also aware that there is the possibility of Tropical Storms in November, do you recommend going from Seychelles to Yemen December time, or have any advice for that area? Our other ideas have been to head south from the Seychelles, Aldabra way or east to the Maldives; again both directions seem to have some risk of Tropical Storms.

Can you help us in finding a safe route to an interesting location for the Xmas period? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

I have been thinking about your dilemma, and I must admit there is no easy answer. As you know, from November onwards you have the cyclone season in the South Indian ocean, so going anywhere in that area could be risky.

Yemen as a cruising destination is out as it is not regarded as safe.

You could possibly attempt to sail to the Maldives for Xmas as by staying close to the equator you wouldn’t run the chance of being caught by a tropical storm.

Your best bet is that early in the year when the NE monsoon is well established (January or February) you sail for the Red Sea. If you stay in Seychelles and leave from there you must sail a cautious route that keeps well away from the Somali coast. If you sail from the Maldives, you just take the best route.

As you know there are some risks involved with the route across the Gulf of Aden so it may help you to go through some of the emails posted on our website. You may even decide to join some of the boats going the same way.

I suggest you take it easy in the Red Sea, stop in safe places, such as Eritrea, possibly Sudan, and Egypt, and arrive in the Med by late March or April.

I hope this helps.

Bon, voyage!

Jimmy Cornell, no onsite

http://www.noonsite.com/General/Piracy