Ahh, three months in the beautiful Maldivian atolls, and it was officially time to look forward and start our next leg across the Indian Ocean. And this one had a pretty cool destination: the remote and wild islands of Chagos! So… roughly 300NM, two nights, and three days—let’s dive into Part Three of our Maldives to Chagos passage!
Related:
Indian Ocean Crossing: Part One – Thailand to Sri Lanka
Indian Ocean Crossing: Part Two – Sri Lanka to Maldives
Sailing in the Maldives: Our Top Stops from North to South
Surfing in the Maldives: Our Top Spots from North to South
DAY ONE: 29/04/2025
Around 4:30am we were all woken up by Dad starting the engines. We sleepily crawled out of bed, got the anchor up, and were underway by 5am. We raised the mainsail even though there wasn’t much wind, then headed back to bed while Dad took the first watch, guiding us out the pass and pointing our bows toward Chagos.
I woke up a little while later at 7:30am and took over from Dad. We had been sailing slowly, but now decided to furl the genoa and motor sail with the main, as we could see squalls in the distance. Sure enough, an hour later we had 20 knots of wind on the bow and rain. Not the best start—but what can you do?
It cleared after a couple of hours and we were back to no-wind motoring. It stayed that way most of the morning. I went down for brunch and a rest around lunchtime, and when I woke up the engine was off—we were sailing well! Hurray.
After a movie and some reading, we’d slowed down again. Dad decided we may as well go for a swim, so we threw out a buoy. Trust me—2.5 knots feels a lot faster when you’re being dragged behind the boat!
Later we tried sailing with Purple (our spinnaker) and the main, but the wind dropped to 4 knots, and it was pretty hopeless… beeeep—engine back on.
Heading into the first night, we dropped all sails and motored on. The sunset was a good one, but the clouds ahead looked ominous. Thankfully they passed in front of us, and the first night was uneventful—though that also applied to the wind. But hey, tomorrow was a new day and it wasn’t a terrible start to on our Maldives to Chagos passage!
DAY TWO: 30/04/2025
Dad woke me up around 4am to jump on a meeting back in Aus. It had been a super chilled night of motoring, and this morning was much the same.
As the sun rose, we had about 6 knots of wind from behind—still not quite enough for sailing. This Maldives to Chagos passage was definitely a slow one, with lots of motoring and just enough wind to get the sails up here and there. So the morning drifted by, and we just went through the motions.
After lunch, we put Purple up again and managed to make about 4 knots SOG. That was good enough, especially since we had plenty of time to arrive in daylight tomorrow.
We went for another swim, but socked the spinnaker before dark and fired up the engine again for the final night at sea.
ARRIVING: 01/05/2025
At 5:00am, I was up just as the sky began shifting from black to grey and into sunrise hues. We’d had another quiet night—no squalls, no wind.
I brought us past the first atoll, though it was just reef, so still no “Land ho!” moment. But the wind picked up a little around 7am, and I woke Dad up. With the little two, we raised the white sails and turned off the engine to sail the final 12NM.
As I was helping hoist the main, I spotted land! Our excited “LAND HO!” shouts woke Mum, and soon everyone was up, watching eagerly as we crept closer.
We reached the “pass” (a gap in the islands where the reef is deep enough for us to go over), dropped sails, and motored through.
We dodged bommies as we made our way across the atoll and found two monohulls already anchored. Picking a nice sandy patch we dropped the anchor—we’d made it! And wow… this place is nothing like we expected. It has a wild, remote, untouched feel that’s unlike anywhere we’ve ever been.
MAIN TAKEAWAYS
- Prepare to motor – There’s just not much wind on this route. You’re only just below the equator, so it makes sense.
- We went a bit slower than our usual average, but it worked out fine as we planned to arrive in daylight.
- We were lucky—no major squalls. A boat that left a day before us had a rough first night.
- Chagos is AMAZING.
CHAGOS
So, where even is Chagos?
It’s around 300NM south of Addu Atoll, the southernmost atoll in the Maldives. It’s part of the BIOT: British Indian Ocean Territory.
And it’s a very different kind of place to visit.
- There are no international flights.
- There are tons of rules, since it’s a nature reserve. Things like drones, spearfishing, and kitesurfing are all prohibited—mostly for environmental protection.
- There are designated anchorages only, and you can only visit two atolls if you’re sailing in.
- You have to apply for permission to visit, with a set entry and exit date—and it’s expensive.
All of that makes it sound tricky, but being here is surreal. It’s remote, raw, and beautiful. Like I said: crazy.
You can go read more about it for sailors here. And if you want the official lowdown on where Chagos is and why it’s so protected here’s an overview from the BIOT government site.
SUMMARY
This Maldives to Chagos sailing passage was a good one overall. We burned more diesel than we hoped, but it was safe and smooth. We’re stoked to be on the move again!
Here are some of the platforms we use for weather and planning for anyone interested: Windy and Predict Wind.
Now we’ll be here in Chagos, eating coconuts and naming any surf breaks we can find, while we wait for a weather window to head to Seychelles.
Got questions? Thinking about doing this passage? Let me know in the comments—I’d love to chat!
Geez! never heard of it. Great exploring!
Yes, amazing exploring 😊
Sounds amazing Bella! I thought Seychelles may be your destination based on the Sailing with Six Insta reel of the map. Hope when in Africa, there is a safari or two on schedule for everyone. Lived and worked there for 5 years – an amazing experience. Wishing you all safe passage.
Hey Sandra, Seychelles is next after Chagos, and then yeah, on to Africa! Everyone’s super excited. Amazing that you spent some time there, safaris are definitely on the cards 😊
Whanau get together in South Africa, you reckon?