Mauritius

At the heart of the Indian

Text:Thierry Seray

Year:2008

In 1841, a young 20 year old man embarked on a journey to Africa and the Orient. He stopped off on Bourbon Island (which was to become Réunion Island) and some time later arrived on the neighbouring island of Mauritius where he stayed for a little over two months. It is still said that this voyage was to have a lasting effect on both his mind and his work, stimulating his sensibility and his imagination. This young unknown was called Charles Baudelaire. A little less than two centuries after this illustrious traveller, whose schooner was nearly lost in a storm off the Cape of Good Hope, you can easily understand why the poet experienced such strong emotions there and he notably wrote: “It was a magnificent and dazzling land. It seemed as though the music of life flowed therefrom in a vague murmur; and the banks, rich with all kinds of growths, breathed, for leagues around, a delicious odour of flowers and fruits.” For a long time, this little dot on the map has been one of the Indian Ocean’s centres of gravity. Of course this success is partly down to the graphic beauty of the sites, the luminous beaches and the heavenly lagoons, but its appeal doesn’t end there. Mauritius is rich in a good many other things.

Offshore

The light is superb, and though the tradewind is light, it is nevertheless sufficient for us to slip noiselessly along offshore. Leaving Cap Malheureux, where we cast off early in the day, we quickly pass the island of Coin de Mîre to port and slink northwards. Already we’re far from anywhere. Aboard Ti’Camouad, a quiet Lagoon 38, we easily get into the special rhythm that those who go sailing are so familiar with. Time no longer matters. You’d swear that the passage of time itself had slowed. That’s doubtless the case. The wind, the sound of the water against the hull and the skyline are our new references. Ti’Pti, our Mauritian skipper calmly helms the boat. Gilbert, meantime, has begun to fish. As the week progresses we learn that they’re both as good at cooking as they are at crewing. A few hours later, the first anchorage, between Plate Island and Gabriel Islet, is a godsend. We’re alone, far from everything, bang in the middle of the vastness that is the Indian Ocean. The water is 26°C, the view is unrestricted and our programme is disarmingly simple: staying where we are at least until the following evening, we then climb a little further North as far as Ronde Island and then on to Serpent Island, before finally heading back towards Grand Baie. Ultimately we drop down towards the Morne headland to the extreme South-West. This time at least, we ignore the East coast, the latter being a lot more exposed to the wind and the swell from the high seas, along with being rather lacking in shelter suitable for yachts, and fairly tricky to negotiate due largely to the omnipresence of the coral belt.

The leeward coast

After this first night, we leave Gabriel Islet in our wake after a good coffee and do a tour of the two islands further to the North-East, before dropping back down towards Grand Baie. The tradewind isn’t playing ball in the morning but things sort themselves out later. Aboard the boat it’s stress free. Sailing to Mauritius is a sheer delight. The light wind isn’t complicated to handle and the superb beaches are followed by bays which are good for anchoring in. Indeed we knew that on this little jaunt, the quality of the anchorage would be at least as important as the course we took. It was as much about enjoying the calmness of the sea as the pure sailing. However, you do need to be careful as there isn’t necessarily simple access everywhere and sound knowledge of the coast is a must. Whatever the case, the rules stipulate that a Mauritian skipper, with a Pleasure Craft Licence, must be aboard any charter boats. The following day, we make a quick stopover in Port Louis. The town has changed a great deal since my first excursion to the island in the late eighties. It’s been modernised, but the market where the crowd wander about between spices, fruits, fabrics and products of all kinds, is still a high point which hasn’t been affected by tourism. With the main attractions being further South, we have even more success carving out our route over the following days as the wind decides to accompany us on our way. One evening we stop off in a quiet little bay and sample the local beer in the region’s big-game fishing club. A Frenchman has just brought back a large swordfish. He poses for the photo. On the wall, a series of black & white photos tell of decades of such exploits. The following day, still further South, we finally anchor in Tamarin. The village gained renown in the seventies after a surfing film entitled Santosha pictured a fantastic wave there. The images went global. The wave is still there but the opportunities to see it barrelling in good conditions are pretty rare. Far off the beaten track, the village hasn’t changed much and it also stands out through its superb backdrop, which notably features a mountain peak called the Rivière Noire (Black River), culminating at over 800 metres and whose form is reminiscent of the Matterhorn. We spend the night in the area and head for Rivière Noire itself. Offshore, we come across a school of dolphins. The area is renowned for it. Tamarin is also famed for being just such a place and the village is pretty authentic. We eat fish fritters and octopus sandwiches there for a few rupees and we watch the kids playing football, as they do pretty much everywhere in the world. All around are fields of sugar cane and the countryside is beautiful.

Le Morne and the heart of the island

We finally make the Morne Brabant, a block of rock standing 555 metres high, looking out over an immense, unforgettable lagoon. In times past it was a refuge for fleeing slaves and isn’t a place you should overlook. Today Le Morne is a familiar spot, with an internationally classed tube wave called One Eye, which was only discovered by the world of windsurfers a little over ten years ago. Today it also appeals to the kiteboarders who come here from Europe and the US. The top names film wave riding videos here. With the Lagoon, our ambition is more measured. We enter into the lagoon via one of the passes but it’s still rather perilous. Our beam and above all our draught are bordering on the inacceptable, but our attempt proves successful. We take a good series of photos and spend two nights there, making the most of the time to leave the boat and explore the whole of the still wild, southern coast, which is currently under heavy pressure from property barons. We thread our way along as far as Mahébourg to the South-East, the island’s former commercial port with its emerald bay, then we climb up towards Currepipe. The heart of the island of Mauritius draws you to spend as much time there as beside the sea. The island is a natural treasure begging to be discovered and it is also coloured by all the influences of those who have landed there – the Arabs, the Dutch, the English, the French and many others. All of them have made their mark on this land where the East, West and India collide. The population is a highly diversified melting pot: Indians, Creoles, Arabs, French and Chinese inhabitants share this land without tension, the rock measuring 65km from North to South and 45km from East to West. Around ten languages are spoken here and almost as many religions, while the predominantly Indian population remains very open and very welcoming.

Lost in the middle of the hottest ocean and wedged under the Tropic of Capricorn, Mauritius is more than just a dream island hemmed by white beaches. Though surfers have known about it since the seventies, sailors are only now learning to explore the delights it has to offer.