Anchorage· Desroches· Seychelles

Desroches Lagoon Anchorage (Inside the West Channel)

5° 36.7′ S · 53° 36.9′ E · approximate

Desroches sits on the windward rim of a slightly submerged atoll 19-21 km across, and its lagoon is the calmest water in the Amirantes. A 1.6 km-wide channel through the deep west rim lets yachts, and even cruise ships, in off the open ocean.

Seychelles Inner Islands

Practical

The atoll rim carries 2-9 m on the north, east and south sides but 15-18 m on the west (Stoddart and Poore); Pub. 171 (2010) puts the entrance channel about 7 nm NW of the island, 1 mile wide with a least depth of 18.3 m, and says the drying reef shows on radar. IDC describes little depth variation inside, at around 25 m, and Stoddart and Poore give 18-31 m with an absence of patch reefs and knolls noted since 1936, so expect to anchor in deep water: carry plenty of scope. Once inside you can work SE across the lagoon to the north-shore anchorage off the settlement (22-24 m, 0.7 nm NW of the settlement, Pub. 171). Enter only in good light with the sun behind you; Shark Rocks on the N edge of the atoll have 3-6 m. No moorings, no fees published beyond IDC landing permission, and no services for yachts; the resort and IDC village are private. Coordinate is approximate: about 1.5 nm inside (E of) the west-rim channel waypoint, which is itself derived from the Pub. 171 bearing and distance from the island. It is not a surveyed anchorage; sound in.

Desroches Lagoon Anchorage (Inside the West Channel)

Practical

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