Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Sailing With Senta: Africa calls
    Sailing With Senta: Africa calls
    Sailing With Senta: Africa calls
    Ebook124 pages1 hour

    Sailing With Senta: Africa calls

    By Faith Van Rooyen

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Having spent two months living on board Senta in the uninhabited Salamon Atoll of the Chagos Archipelago in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Faith and Pierre had a decision to make. Where to now? Eastwards to Malaysia and Thailand or Westwards to see the new millennium in with family and friends in South Africa.
    They chose the latter. This book, the third in the series, describes their final months at Chagos, the homeward journey via Madagascar and their subsequent return in 2000 to Chagos via Madagascar, Mayotte, Zanzibar, Tanzania and Seychelles.

    Colour photographs and charts help tell the story.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFaith Van Rooyen
    Release dateDec 27, 2013
    ISBN9781311773586
    Sailing With Senta: Africa calls
    Author

    Faith Van Rooyen

    Born 1938. Educated at Yeoville Convent, Johannesburg High School for Girls and Witwatersrand University, all in South Africa. Worked for more rhan 35 years in the computer software industry, designing and writing and implementing systems for business on mainframes and personal computers. Retired in 1995 to fulfil a life-time dream of cruising with her husband Pierrre on their forty foot Armel sailing boat, Senta.

    Related to Sailing With Senta

    Titles in the series (7)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Travel For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Off The Beaten Track

      Oct 10, 2019

      Off The Beaten Track
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Hidden Gift

      Feb 13, 2024

      The Hidden Gift
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Life Well Sailed

      Sep 10, 2020

      A Life Well Sailed
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Voyage Of A Lifetime

      Sep 13, 2022

      The Voyage Of A Lifetime
      4 min read

    • Article

      VOYAGE of HOPE

      Jun 19, 2019

      VOYAGE of HOPE
      5 min read

    • Article

      Offshore In An Open Boat

      Nov 21, 2019

      Offshore In An Open Boat
      4 min read

    • Article

      In Cook’s Wake

      Oct 20, 2021

      In Cook’s Wake
      5 min read

    • Article

      Campout Deluxe

      Nov 20, 2023

      Campout Deluxe
      7 min read

    • Article

      Buccaneer Adventure

      Oct 9, 2022

      Buccaneer Adventure
      7 min read

    • Article

      Wild and Three

      Feb 11, 2020

      Wild and Three
      6 min read

    • Article

      A World Away

      Oct 5, 2021

      A World Away
      7 min read

    • Article

      Skip Novak

      Sep 8, 2022

      Skip Novak
      3 min read

    • Article

      Bula Vinaka!

      Dec 14, 2023

      Bula Vinaka!
      8 min read

    • Article

      Summer Migration

      Dec 16, 2019

      Summer Migration
      10 min read

    • Article

      Patagonia Dreaming

      May 28, 2020

      Patagonia Dreaming
      5 min read

    • Article

      Rite Of Passage

      Jun 28, 2019

      Rite Of Passage
      8 min read

    • Article

      A Voyage Of Madmen

      Jun 16, 2019

      A Voyage Of Madmen
      3 min read

    • Article

      Under Pressure

      Apr 28, 2022

      Under Pressure
      7 min read

    • Article

      Mozambique’s Grand Magic

      Feb 25, 2022

      Mozambique’s Grand Magic
      8 min read

    • Article

      Summer Crews

      Apr 16, 2020

      Summer Crews
      7 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Oct 1, 2020

      What an inspirational article (Saving Falanda, PBO October 2020). A interesting and educational read about how a set of mariner parents raised their daughter on the briny and instilled in her the self-reliance that only that element demands, as most

      6 min read

    • Article

      Down For The Count

      May 14, 2020

      Down For The Count
      9 min read

    • Article

      Pleasure And Pain

      Feb 10, 2021

      Pleasure And Pain
      10 min read

    • Article

      Enchanting Woody

      Jan 6, 2021

      Enchanting Woody
      8 min read

    • Article

      Free Ranging In The Kimberley

      Jan 23, 2020

      Free Ranging In The Kimberley
      6 min read

    • Article

      Crossing Wide Bay bar

      Jun 8, 2023

      Crossing Wide Bay bar
      7 min read

    • Article

      South By Southwest

      Feb 11, 2020

      Last summer, I was delighted to be invited to join two of my girlfriends on a sailing trip—my third, no less! This trip would surely herald my promotion from nautical novice to savvy seafaring expert. I was to join them on a charter in Southwest Flor

      7 min read

    • Article

      Remote Beauty

      Jul 26, 2023

      Remote Beauty
      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Sailing With Senta

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Sailing With Senta - Faith Van Rooyen

      Sailing with Senta - Africa Calls

      By Faith Van Rooyen

      Copyright 2013 Faith Van Rooyen

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Table of Contents

      Other Books in this series

      Acknowledgements

      Chapter One Homeward Bound

      Chapter Two Madagascar Meanderings

      Chapter Three Madagascar to South Africa

      Chapter Four In South Africa

      Chapter Five South Africa to Madagascar

      Chapter Six Madagascar to Zanzibar

      Chapter Seven Zanzibar to Tanzania

      Chapter Eight Tanzania to Perhos Banhos

      Appendices

      Glossary

      Other Books in the Series

      Sailing With Senta - Eastward Ho!

      Sailing With Senta - Across Coral Seas

      Sailing With Senta - Africa Calls

      Sailing With Senta - Tropical Dream

      Sailing With Senta - Borneo Here We Come

      Sailing With Senta - Playtime in the Philippines

      Sailing With Senta - Small Boat Voyaging

      Acknowledgements

      Many thanks to

      Judith Ryder, long time friend in Wakkerstroom, South Africa, who has spent a decade managing our affairs while we sailed among Indian Ocean islands.

      All the new friends we made along the way who helped us find out how wonderful the cruising life style can be.

      For Pierre, Brett and Ingrid.

      -------------------- ooo --------------------

      Chapter One Homeward Bound

      Pierre and I had spent the previous year sailing across the coral seas between Chagos and the Far East. It was time to wend our way home to South Africa to greet the new millennium with family and friends and to plan and prepare for our next cruising adventure.

      We had to wait for the south-east trade winds to arrive, probably towards the end of May, so we still had some time to enjoy life with our fellow cruisers at Salamon Atoll in the Chagos Archipelago.

      Towards the end of April we went for a dinghy ride with Colin and Glyn to Isle de Passe, about six miles away, where most of the French boats were anchored.

      The main object of the trip was to buy copies of the 'East African Pilot' from the author, Delwyn McPhunn (Poon) who was staying at Isle de Passe with his friend Sylvie in her boat Gavilan.

      There are no rats and hence no mosquitoes on Isle de Passe and the island is cooled by the onshore south east wind. The only negative factor is the small area for good anchoring and the proximity of reefs and coral heads.

      Colin and Glyn took the dinghy out through the pass and within an hour were back with two 10kg yellow fin tuna, a kingfish and a coral trout. Most of the fish were left behind for the Isle de Passe residents, as they had not caught fish for some time.

      Fish for the French at Isle de Passe.

      Back at Boddam Island Andy from Sara organised a dance and party on Sunset Beach starting at five in the afternoon. Andy played the music on her piano accordion There was square dancing and a great time was had by all. We were tired from all the loafing around in paradise so did not go. The next day when asked where we had been, I replied that we were Calvinists and our religion did not allow us to dance, or even be in the presence of other people who were dancing. I am obviously a good liar, because most people believed me and were quite embarrassed until I laughed.

      The yacht Pagan arrived with Jerry, Manuella, four year old Jack and two year old Jessica on board. There was a problem with the gearbox on their engine. Investigation and help from the engine experts in the anchorage showed that a new clutch plate was required as the inner workings of the old one had completely fallen apart. This was a problem in such a remote spot. But Gallivant, Christine and Trevor Winer's boat had satellite communications and commercial e-mail. So the part was ordered from the USA and sent via a United States air force base to Diego Garcia, an atoll in the Chagos archipelago, about 130 miles from Salamon. From there it was brought to Salamon on board the fisheries patrol vessel, the Pacific Marlin. All within a fortnight. This willingness of cruising folk to help each other solve problems was something we had not anticipated, but encountered often.

      At the end of April the South African yachts organized an afternoon of hermit crab racing. For days yotties scoured the islands looking for fast moving hermits, an oxymoron if ever there was one. The selected crabs were decorated in the racing colours of their owners, and training commenced in earnest.

      Hermit crab race.

      When the day arrived excitement ran high. Everyone inspected the competition. Some abandoned their runners and went quickly in search of new ones, if they thought theirs might be too slow. Claire from Brumby would not show her steed in advance. He was kept secret in a large cardboard box.

      The track was prepared. The sand on the volleyball court area was levelled and swept clean. A circle about five metres in diameter was drawn on the sand and the centre carefully marked. The centre was to be the starting point and the circumference of the circle the winning post. A second circle was drawn a metre outside the inner circle. All spectators and crab handlers had to stand outside this outer circle, to prevent interference with opposition crabs. Entry fees consisted of something small and spare to be given away as prizes.

      Colin was the starting official. He asked the owners and trainers to put their crabs into a blue plastic bucket, which he then turned upside down on the centre spot. After a minute or so to let the crabs turn themselves the right side up the basin was removed and the crabs scattered in all directions egged on by much shouting from their supporters. First across the circumference of the inner circle would be the winner.

      Start of a crab race Pierre on the right.

      Claire's entry was revealed and there were shouts of 'Protest!', 'Call the stewards!', 'That's not fair!', 'He is a coconut crab, not a hermit'. But Claire insisted that her large maroon creature to whose back she had attached a small white shell, did qualify as a hermit crab. The judge's decision was final. I was the judge and had received a substantial bribe from Claire in advance, so the entry was allowed. But all to no avail. The large, lazy coconut crab took after Pooh Bear and was a crab 'of very little brain'. He did not catch on to the game and either wandered aimlessly around inside the circle or sat watching the frenzied activity of the other crabs. By the end of the twelfth and

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1