05 Apr - 10 Apr 2008 Gan


Indian Ocean
Laccadive Sea
South Asia
Republic of Maldives
Addu Atoll
Gan
Small-craft Harbour
SY "Kamu II" at anchor, at 4 m depth, on sand.

Click below for an interactive satellite view of our very protected anchorage:
S 00° 41.14' E 073° 08.64'








Konni: Meeting Neptūnus aka Poseidon himself, the god of the oceans, and receiving a hearty line-crossing ceremony thus commemorating my first crossing of the equator on a sailing ship and turning into a seasoned and honorary shellback, hooray!

Entering the Addu Atoll from the north through Kuda Kandu at entrance waypoint S 00° 36.54' E 073° 08.26', later entering uneventfully the small-craft harbour of Gan at waypoint S 00° 41.04' E 073° 08.75' and bringing SY "Kamu" eventually to anchor at S 00° 41.14' E 073° 08.64'.

Refuelling with 78 litres of diesel fuel (MVR 11.95 or US$ 0.92 per litre) and 41 litres of petrol (MVR 11.85 or US$ 0.91 per litre) from a tanker truck which conveniently came directly to the dinghy jetty from where we could easily refill our own jerry cans.

Topping up our provisions with canned Maldive Fish aka seeni sambol (deliciously smoked and cured Maldivian tuna with tropical spices) and all kind of fresh produce (mostly veggies and fruit from Mohammed “Mullah” Saeed’s reasonably priced Two-Plus-One Shop +9606892761 at Feydhoo) thus stocking up for our upcoming three-month long stay on Chagos.

 
Meeting an interesting and diverse bunch of experienced international yotties and wanna-be circumnavigators: Deena & Jacob from New Zealand (SY “Crimson Tide”), Vic & Greg from the United States (SY “Erin Brie”), Yolanda & Ralf from Switzerland (SY “Moana”), Bea & Thede from Germany (SY “Jolly Celeste”) and Ursula & Eckhardt from Austria (SY “Azimut”). 

Relaxing at this comfy and fully protected anchorage, taking our own sweet time, listening to Eileen Quinn's What Do You Do All Day?, watching both fruit bats and passenger planes from the nearby Gan Airport (the ex-Royal-Air-Force base) sharing the airspace above our two masts and preparing mentally for the upcoming three months of exile on Chagos.
 
 
Clearing Gan's invisible immigration and customs (for a total of MVR 50.- or US$ 4.- for so-called “entry charges” including an official port-clearance certificate for Chagos) with the help of our friend and loyal yacht agent Masood +9606893433 (US$ 25.- for his expenses) and realising that the people from the southern Maldivian atolls (especially from the Addo Atoll) do have quite an independent streak (they even speak differently from the people of Male and in the 1960s they declared the - short-lived - independence from the Maldives as the “United Suvadiva Islands” under the presidency of Abdulla Afif Didi).
 

Click below for a summary of this year's travels


Recommended books - click below for your order from Germany

For your order from the United States click here
For your order from Canada click here
For your order from the United Kingdom click here
Destination: