Myself, my daughter and my uncle have chartered an arab dhow for 10 weeks to travel from Dar to Lamu in Kenya. We intend to visit Mafia, Zanzibar, Pemba and any other islands we may chance across. No real fixed itinary yet except that we depart Dar round about the 25th June and hit lamu two months later. A single week's sailing would do the trip but we intend hanging around anywhere that takes our fancy. The boat is costing us €500 a day which includes a crew of six. She has 14 bunks so we could accomodate ten or eleven fellow travellers at any given time. Contact me if this sounds even remotely interesting.
1
jimr1
Wow that is a serious charter!
It sounds a lot more than remotely interesting, sadly I am far from the area so am unable to join you even if you had space.
Feel free to discard any or all of this, but having bobbed around the Indian ocean a bit I hope I can be of a little use. Dar to Lamu as you rightly state is not very far at all. With 10 weeks to spend you might find yourself doing very short hops, albeit to very nice places, but not that much time sailing.
If you find yourself getting a little bored after a week or so you could hit the Seychelles and back in that time, or if you prefer the traditional trade routes, perhaps Socotra or even mainland Yeman (al Mukalla would be the best port)
Anyway, enjoy!
2
malaika03
to be perfectly honest - somebody is ripping you off, big time.
why would you want to sail from zanzibar to mafia and lamu for 2 months, when this trip can be done in one day? the distances are not big, you will have problems with port authorities, and frankly speaking 500 euro per day in a country where most people are earning 50 euros a month, sounds quite amazing. i seriously dont know why you want to be doing something like that. and what do you mean by arabian dhow? i have not seen a dhow with 14 bunks around here. make sure you are getting what you believe you are paying for...
why not extend your trip to mauritius, madagascar, la reunion, les comores, or any of those islands? that sounds much more feasible to me, providing you hire a good boat.
3
rocksure
Damn good suggestions Jimr and we certainly considered the Seychelles one. Unfortunately several problems. The ‘Kusi’ will be blowing at that time of year and while we’re heading north, no problems. Having to make our way back down the Seychelles is possible but not straightforward. The charter is a ‘Boum’ type dhow and is essentially a cargo boat. No problem carrying 200t of cargo across any ocean. Unladen, she’s just like a cork. A cork as big as a large house but a cork nonetheless and not the most comfortable on a long open water voyage. Ideal for running up on a deserted beach or chilling out at anchorage near some island. The deck is as big as a good-sized garden. Socotra involves passing Somalia and I don’t believe the boat comes equipped with a deck gun. An option that we are keeping open is the Comores and eastern Madagascar but we’re not really into sailing, one day sailing every second or third sounds just about right. I’ve backpacked most of southern and east Africa and the intention now is to reach some of the more inaccessible spots, do a bit of fishing and diving. Hope also to take a launch up the Rufiji or Tana for a few of days safari.
Not too sure about being ripped off Malika, although I take your point about the typical wage. Typical Zanzibari dhow is 14 to 20 feet long and weighs 0.5 and 1.5 tonnes. I’ve travelled regularly on them and they can be hired from $20-$30 / day. Met two South African skeletons in Lamu in 2005 that had hired one in Bagamoyo and made the trip. They weren’t looking forward to the return leg. This one is 75’ long, 26' wide and weighs close to 150 tonnes. She was built in Lamu in 2004 and if the owner is to be believed, is the largest south of the Equator. I travelled on her last Christmas to a beach party on Manda Island and there were at least 75 other people stretched out on deck.
I’m sure you could do the trip in a single day, 1050 miles, but I’ve got to an age now where speed isn’t everything.
Pro tip
Lonely Planet
trusted partner
trusted partner