Sailing Nahoavideo
Sailing to MADAGASCAR!
26 November 2022 · 21 min · 90K views · Madagascar
Sailboat glides across deep blue ocean under clear sky.
What this video covers
Ben and Ashley depart Mayotte aboard Nahoa on a 30–35-hour passage to Madagascar, timing the departure at 11 am to arrive before dark — a plan that fails, forcing a night arrival at Nosy Lava, a small island with a former maximum-security prison and a history that keeps most cruisers away.▶ 14:31 En route, a near-miss with an AIS-less panga fishing boat running a long buoy string off Mayotte prompts a watch discipline reset.▶ 4:02 The passage runs at 6–8 knots with a code zero up; a dolphin pod joins briefly.▶ 5:41 Ashley downloads satellite imagery, cruiser write-ups, and waypoints before going offline for an estimated three weeks.▶ 1:56 On arrival, the crew visits a Malagasy village, distributes children's clothing and Polaroid photos, and encounters a sick elderly woman requiring basic first-aid assessment.▶ 17:59 Ben explains Madagascar's diurnal wind pattern — a sea breeze by day reversing to a land breeze around midnight, causing 180-degree anchor swings, with neither phase exceeding 15 knots.▶ 10:25 The broader plan is to hop south along the coast toward the Barren Islands, where drought, cyclone damage, and famine have left fishing communities in acute need.▶ 8:26 The windlass, repaired in the Philippines, continues to perform.▶ 3:06
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