Grande Baie, Mauritius (July 2012)

On the 21st of July we left Riviere Noire (Black river) for Souillac in the south. We had planned to circumnavigate Mauritius. It was a tiny anchorage behind a reef on both sides with a small tongue of land for shelter. It was protected from the seas but there were signs that if the swell came in it could be hazaardous. The wind was due to change in the night so we decided not to risk it. The next anchorage possible would have been on dark and negotiating a reef entrance then was out of the question so we sailed back to Riviere Noire for the night.

The next day we sailed to the northernmost anchorage of Grand Baie. There are many luxurious resorts here and many charter catamarans

In amongst all this activity there are ski boats, local fishing boats and the tourist catamaran fleet coming and going at a great many knots. No speed restrictions here!

On the 27th of July we celebrated Eric's birthday. After breakfast at the Grande Baie yacht club we set off for a day of exploring on scooters

Local fishing boats at Grande Gaube Bay

We rode down the NE coast on small roads off the beaten track

Riding through the National park was great fun. It was shaded with a canopy above and the windy road is great for bikes.

The coast is very rocky from the past volcanic lava flow with an outer reef

This road took us over a very fertile valley between two of the smaller mountain ranges. There were alot of banana and pinneapple plantations and sugar cane

Sugar mill

The fuel refinery at Flacq

Eric in the lead

Our next adventure was a day sail out to the islands 10nm to the north.  It was a sunny start to the day as we passed Coin de Mire

Then several quick squalls came through as we approached Ile Plate.

The popular tourist day trip is to the lagoon between Ile Plate and Ilot Gabriel as shown here on Google

We approached carefully and watched the catamarans going in over the reef. Although we only have a draught of 1.3m with the centreboard raised we felt it was too risky. The sun was in our eyes and the entrance appeared tricky.

We could only photograph the lagoon from a distance and decided to anchor for the day in the lee of Ile Plate

This island has a rocky shoreline and as their was a swell breaking on the rocks we couldn't get ashore in the dinghy. The picnic Cathy had made we had to have onboard and we could only look up at the lighthouse and imagine the view!

Coin de Mire was very photogenic on our way back to Grande Baie

Eric had his fishing line out but caught no fish. The birds were waiting in anticipation too.

As we entered the bay we got a rain squall with a beautiful rainbow

We have done alot of sightseeing. Now it's time to do the maintenance chores aboard. Eric has started sanding  the toerail cappings ready for a re varnish

Cruisers Notes

Grande Baie:

The yacht club gives you a months free membership. The facilities are good and clean. Petrol, diesel and water are on the wharf if you are shoal draft. There is a small service fee for fueling and it is a little more expensive than direct from the service station, but convenient. There are bins for rubbish. There is a dinghy dock around from the main wharf.

Most people anchor close to or amongst the moored boats in the East of the harbor as it is not prone to a swell.

Be aware and aghast when you find that local tourist water sports dinghy sailing, wind surfing, paddle wheel boats, charter boat movement and water skiing all weaves and wizzes through the moored and anchored boats.
A sevice station is just across the road from the beach which makes easy access for jerry canning it to the boat.
There is a large shopping complex ( Super U ) within a 5 min walk from the beach.