March 2025
Suz ( plus another lady who wishes to remain anonymous and as such, will not be mentioned any further throughout the relevant blogs ) arrived at the Harbour Security gate at 09.30 on the 1st March and Ally, Shawn and their agent, Achintha, met them there to complete the paperwork to get both of them security passes. Once that was done, they all (not Achintha) went to Imagination to get Suz orientated and settled in before going to “The Shack” for lunch. Ally found it rather amusing that all the ladies had chosen to wear colourful, floaty dresses that day and so of course, a photo had to be taken. After a relaxed lunch it was time for the inevitable. This time, though, it was a mega chore as Suz is onboard continually until the 25th May and so in order to make the most of the cheaper prices and availability here than in the Maldives, they bought as much as they possibly could for the trip. The remainder of the shopping was done on the morning of Sunday the 2nd and the afternoon was spent at The Shack where the sun gradually disappeared and the clouds built up. The wind became stronger which indicated it was time to return to Imagination and it wasn’t long before the thunder, lightning and rain started which went on well into the night. It was overcast on the 3rd, but dry and everyone met up with Achintha at the Immigration office at 9am for clearing out. Imagination was made ready, the final rupees were spent and they cast off from the dockside at 10.50.
The 4 day sail, wasn’t actually a sail, it was mostly done under motor with the sails put up/out for varying periods of time when the winds picked up sufficiently enough to hold them out. Unfortunately, with what little wind there was coming in on the nose, it meant the spinnaker couldn’t be used. At 1am on the 6th, they had a visit by dolphins and it was so wonderful to watch them playing on the bows in the calm water in the warm glow of torch light….that was a first! The following day they had a couple of brief encounters with Pilot whales that weren’t at all interested in interacting at all. The conditions remained calm and pretty windless and they arrived at Uligan in the Haa Alifu Atoll, Northern Maldives at 17.30 local time on the 7th March, Unfortunately, just as they were ready to drop the anchor, the windlass switch failed and Suz had to reach behind the seating in the saloon to short to wires together to drop it ( the switch was successfully replaced on the 8th!). It was good to be on anchor and they were informed by a messenger who came across on a speedboat, that as it was Ramadan, and that the clearing agent, Asad, would come onboard with Customs and Immigration at 21.15 to clear us in ( after they had all eaten)! Ally and Shawn were not expecting that haha. They ate dinner and enjoyed a drink and at around 21.30 Asad and the officials arrived. Clearance was simple and there was much humour…they are very welcoming and happy people, which Ally had read was the case once away from the Capital of Male which is very heavily populated. Everyone was ashore at 11am the following morning as arranged, to meet Asad and his colleagues to talk about various matters with regards to their stay in the country and refuelling etc. Maldives is 100% Muslim and it was Ramadan so the village was very quiet. Despite that, everyone obtained SIM cards to get online again and Ally, Suz and Shawn found somewhere to buy a Magnum ( maybe a little cheaper than the UK, very surprisingly!) – it’s ok for Muslims to sell and buy, but not eat/drink, food/beverages, and they are forbidden to offer food or drinks to visitors/guests etc during daylight hours, but as non-muslims they 3 of them could enjoy their Magnums before they melted in the intense heat amongst the concrete buildings. They then went for a snorkel to the South of the Island a little later – apparently Mantas frequent that area but they didn’t see any, however, they did have a fleeting, close encounter with a dolphin before they jumped in the water for a reasonable snorkel, with Ally getting her wish of spotting a large Clown Triggerfish!
The 9th was a lazier day with a late morning snorkel by all on a closer reef which was healthier than yesterday, again with many fish. Shawn and Suz did another snorkel mid afternoon and then diesel was delivered direct to the boat from a neighbouring island via speedboat early evening. On the 10th, everyone went ashore at 9am to meet up with Asad again to obtain the required tracking device, cruising permit and to pay the fees before picking up anchor at 10.35 to move to a small, uninhabited island, Govvaafushi, just 5nm away. It was lovely to be back in clear, turquoise, shallow waters again. They were hoping to go for lunch at a nearby resort island, but permission to anchor and go ashore there wasn’t forthcoming so they stayed where they were for the rest of the day. Everyone swam ashore…Ally did her first decent shell hunt in a very long time and the others snorkelled for varying amount of time. Suz even circumnavigated the island snorkelling! Soon after they had all swum back to Imagination, dolphins passed close in front and so Ally, Shawn and Suz all got back in the water. Ally caught a very brief glimpse of them before they disappeared into the deeper water. The following morning, they left for a 5 hour sail with the spinnaker to Dhapparu in Haa Dhaalu Atoll where Suz went for a snorkel. Ally thought she’d leave it for the next day, but late in the day the clouds rolled in, the rain started soon followed by thunder and lightning. All day on the 12th it rained and so everyone remained onboard.
With the weather much improved on Thursday 13th March, they sailed for 7 hours to Rasfushi Reef in Shaviyani Atoll. The anchor went down as the light was getting low and it felt like they were in the middle of nowhere as there was no land close by, but with the brilliant sunshine the following day, the surrounding reef and turquoise waters of various depths were plain and beautiful to see. Everyone was eager to get into the clear blue water and they did a warm, shallow snorkel on a reef with some very pretty areas, which meant being able to get close to many of the numerous species of fish living there. During the afternoon, Shawn and Suz enjoyed a dive on the outer, deeper reef.
There was once again very little wind on the 15th which made for a 10 hour motor sail to Farukolhu, still within the Shaviyani Atoll and it became apparent over the next day or so that dolphins pass through the area very regularly. Try as Suz did to swim with them, they kept themselves just far enough away not to be seen lol. This uninhabited island was great to spend a day snorkelling and spending time ashore enjoying the shallow, warm water, chatting and relaxing on the 16th, however. It’s funny to think of the how the Maldives is imagined to be with the reality being that there are several rotting resorts that never even reached completion before being abandoned due to lack of funds/investors disappearing with all the cash and the effects of COVID-19, and the uninhabited islands are strewn with the usual odd flip flops, plastic bottes and other odds and sods of manmade waste. Having said that, the Northern atolls are not visited as often as the Southern ones and on the whole….. it is beautiful here and the water is just divine!! It was off to Dholhiyadhoo ( still within the Shaviyani Atoll) on Monday the 17th, which is one of those resort islands that never got completed due to someone running off with all the funds….it looks like it would have been lovely had it ever reached completion and there was some very pretty snorkelling just in front of the overwater accommodation.
After a couple of days here, they moved to the Raa Atoll, which is far more popular with tourists and most of the many islands either have resorts on them or are inhabited. The first destination here was Madivaafaru, a tiny island just 1nm away from a Resort Island where they considered for going for lunch. The resort was contacted and they a sent a menu for everyone to look at but Suz, Shawn and Ally were gobsmacked when they realised the prices were in $US, not local currency. At $60US for a burger and fries, and with the cheapest item ( some fresh fruit) at $25, plus then of course the drinks, the 3 of them quickly decided that they would rather not visit. They all enjoyed time relaxing in the warm water off of the beach for an hour or so, and they discovered 2 guys live on the tiny island, taking care of it for the owner, but they were warmly welcomed and invited to enjoy their time there. The following day, there was a fair bit of cloud around, but they headed of to find some snorkelling. The first attempt was abandoned due to a strong current over the top of the reef, but the second. around the back of the island, was more successful with a baby nurse shark and a red octopus being spotted.
The anchor was up by lunchtime ( 20th) and they visited a couple of spots looking for Manta Rays, with Suz jumping into the water with snorkel and fins to check out a few areas – unfortunately, no Manta’s were found ( it’s a little early in the season). As the anchor went down just off of the inhabited island of Inguraidhoo ( Raa Atoll) at 15.45, there was a big wall of black cloud, heavy with rain and associated lightning and thunder heading straight for them. There was a mad dash to get all the shades down and out in time for the weather to hit, which rather disappointingly after all of that effort, was very short lived! On the 21st, everyone dinghied into the harbour with the mission of getting rid of garbage and buying some fresh produce, but they had forgotten it was Friday ( holy day for Muslims) and Ramadan, so the island was very quiet and the majority of the few shops were closed so after a short walk around ( they were successful in finding bins to dispose of the garbage), they returned to Imagination.
They picked up the anchor, and arrived at Veyofushi , in Baa Atoll at 16.50 having managed to sail with the spinnaker all day!. This anchorage isn’t an island, it’s a reef system between several resort islands and throughout the day on the 22nd, there were many seaplanes coming and going with guests arriving/departing from the resorts. Over the course of the day, they all spent time in the water on the reefs. On the 23rd, they were able to buy some groceries and personal bits and pieces when they visited Daravandhoo ( Baa Atoll) and Ally, Shawn and Suz all enjoyed a chicken burger and fries with excellent, cheerful service at the Daravandhoo Garden Restaurant. Afterwards, they moved 4 nm to a beautiful anchorage at a sand spit, Hanifarurah ( Baa Atoll) and they all went to the island where the water was just perfect and they chatted and bobbed the afternoon away. After a rather unsuccessful attempt at snorkelling on the windward side of the island where breaking waves were washing over the shallow reef on the morning of the 24th, they moved again to another remote “reefy” anchorage near to the resort island of Dhrnikolhu ( Baa Atoll). The water here was thick with plankton and Suz reported that the snorkelling wasn’t that brilliant due to reduced visibility ( she’s always keen to get wet, loving spending time in the ocean at any/every opportunity) and so the rest of the day was spent relaxing onboard/taking quick dips to cool off. With the water still too murky on the morning of Tuesday, 25th, the anchor was taken up earlier than planned for the 19nm motor (no wind) to just inside the pass of Horsburgh Atoll where the anchor went down in the clear turquoise water, using balls to float the chain to prevent damage to the few coral bommies – it’s been quite a while since they’ve had to do that! Of course, Suz and Shawn were in the water almost immediately to see what they could see on the nearby reef and on their return, Ally joined them for a float and chit chat in the oh so warm water between the hulls, out of the blazing sunshine. Total and utter bliss! More snorkelling followed the next day with black tip sharks and Napolean Wrasse being encountered, and another late afternoon float ‘n’ chat was enjoyed.
It was time to leave this wonderful spot at 08.15 on the 27th, and the day was filled with a motor and spinnaker sail down to Rasfari Reef in North Male Atoll. Having applied to visit the British Indian Ocean Territory, Chagos ( aka BIOT) at the end of December, Shawn finally got notification today that the permit had been issued! Fantastic news indeed, especially as it is very soon going to be handed over to Mauritius. It was too late in the day for a dip on arrival, but on the morning of the 28th, Suz and Shawn went to find somewhere they could swim in both shallow reef and in the deeper outer reef waters where they hoped to see Mantas. Due to having a bit of a sore ear, Ally decided to remain on Imagination where she had an unexpected close encounter with dolphins as they passed by in the shallow waters at the edge of the reef very close to Imagination. They were on the move again late morning, to another area of reef 4nm away with Suz going to check out the snorkelling. She reported that, with the land reclamation and building up of a small nearby island, the visibility was very poor due to the churned up seabed. So, it was time for another mid afternoon float ‘n’ chat for her, Ally and Shawn. There was a 10 hour relaxed, peaceful spinnaker sail on the 29th, which took them down to Vaafu Atoll ( nr Dhiggiri) where they anchored just after 16.00 near a reef known for it’s nurse sharks. The following morning, Ally remained on board as her ear was still a little sore while Suz and Shawn went to the area where many day boats were anchored. They found that the reason so many sharks gather there is because these boats arrive daily and feed them…not just a bit…alot! They continually throw food in so that their guests can have their photos and drone footage taken with the sharks. One boat operator attempted to intimidate Shawn, telling him that he shouldn’t be there as he was losing him money and spoiling it for his guests who had paid a large sum of money to be there and that he should respect his country. In a very calm manner, Shawn reminded him that it isn’t his reef, they are not his sharks and that he was also paying alot of money to sail in the Maldives and they had as much right as anyone else to be snorkelling with the sharks. When Shawn asked the guy how he was losing him money, he couldn’t answer and after Shawn had taken photo’s of his boat, letting him know he would be talking to the Asad, the yacht clearing agent, the guy backed down. Monday 31st was another early departure to get across to Dhigurah in Ari Atoll. The anchor went down just before 3pm and, although there was a fair current, Ally, Shawn and Suz relaxed in the water for a while, holding on to fenders/ropes tied on to Imagination. There were many boats of various sizes coming and going and it was clear something was going on, and so they planned to visit the area where the boats had been loitering the following morning.
