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One Captain described Seychelles as "Magnificent scenery, a fantastic climate, some of the friendliest people one could hope to meet; that’s the Seychelles. Imagine the Virgin Islands, double the size, cancel the hurricanes, take out the crowds and you have the Seychelles... as close to paradise as you are likely to get."
Stretching from 4o South to 10o South, the Seychelles' geographical position and climate makes a 12 month season perfectly feasible. You could cruise the full 700 miles from the Main Island of Mahe to the Aldabra Atoll (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) whilst island hopping though the other 115 without having to go through a single immigration check. Seychelles comprises 115 islands spread over a wide area of the Western Indian Ocean, with over 700 nautical miles separating the most northern and southern islands. Broadly speaking Seychelles comprises three groups – the main islands of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue with their various satellite islands, the Amirantes, the Alphonse group and then the most southern islands comprising Aldabra and the Farquhar group. The main islands on the Mahé plateau are granitic oceanic islands, a unique feature. All the other islands, including Aldabra, a World Heritage site, are corraline.
Most of the population live on Mahe, where the International Airport is located, Praslin and La Digue . Some of the smaller islands remain in private hands and a number are government owned and operated by the Island Development Company. Activities on these islands vary from luxury resorts to prawn farms and specialised fishing with some remaining uninhabited in a virgin state.
The main islands are 4o south and as such do not suffer from tropical cyclones. Seasons are split by the SE and NW trades, the former running from around May until late September, early October, when the NW takes over until around February. March and April tend to be doldrum months. The seasons arise from the north/south movement of the ITCZ (Doldrums), which lies in winter north of the islands and in summer across or south of them. South of the ITCZ are found the SE Trades and north of the ITCZ are found the NE Trades which, when they cross the equator, become deflected and blow from the N to NW.
British Admiralty charts are the primary charts for the Seychelles. There are only five charts, nos. 721, 722, 724, 740 and 742. The horizontal datum is WGs 84 and GPS derived positions seem to be pretty accurate - in the central group of islands at any rate. |
 » Year Round Cruising |
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