Lady Blue

A Tanzanian Stopover

Having set sail from Mauritius, the crew of Lady Blue are now exploring the shores of East Africa. This is their chance to discover what Tanzania has to offer.

Lady Blue

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Published 26/01/2024

By Gilles Ruffet

Issue: 194

Published: mar. / apr. 2024

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Who: Astrid and Bryce (skippers), Abby & Hector (deckhands), & Skye (little cabin helper)
Where: Tanzania
Multihull: Outremer 45 (first generation)
Blog: www.ladyblue.live

We arrived in Tanzania from the south, at Mtwara. A few sailors we’d spoken to had praised the administrative facilities in this region, and we weren’t disappointed. We arrived directly at the Mikindani Yacht Club where we were welcomed by the manager, Emmanuel. His service is impeccable and his Yacht Club very friendly: he even arranged for SIM cards to be brought in so that we could have internet without having to go anywhere. There’s not much to do in Mtwara, but for sailors, it’s an essential stopover. If I had to recommend activities, I’d suggest visiting the market, which has plenty of fruit and vegetables for stocking the refrigerator, and the old town of Mikindani, which is steeped in history and has a small, well-organized museum. As well as the Yacht Club for lunch or dinner, Emmanuel also runs ‘The Old Boma’, a boutique/hotel/restaurant associated with the NGO Trade Aid, which enables young Tanzanians to be trained and then find work in the restaurant or hotel trade. We were also accompanied by Abdoul, who is currently undergoing training with Trade Aid.
The government imposes a half-day holiday on the last Saturday of every month. On this morning, all the inhabitants clean up the streets and around their houses, and each year a prize is awarded to the cleanest city.
We set off to explore Dar Es Salaam. We moored Lady Blue at the Slip Way shopping center and then at the Yacht Club. Both anchorages are convenient with well-stocked supermarkets and dinghy services that take us ashore and back on board.
We then continued on to Zanzibar: we’d been looking forward to it. We visited Freddie Mercury’s house, which has been converted into a small museum. And to finish on a high note, we spent two nights on Kwale Island, where at low tide you can enjoy the enormous sandbank that disappears completely at high tide. It was definitely our favorite part of Zanzibar! It was already five months since we had left Mauritius.
So long...