GPS track, French Guiana to Suriname

As you can see, I eventually did manage to sail to Suriname. 30 hours from anchorage to anchorage, but a trivial sail nonetheless. Just aim to make a nice neat arc out to the 20 meter depth contour!

The Surinamese fishermen are the only navigational difficulty (and the reason for the occasional zigzag in my GPS track). They have a habit of stringing their three mile long gill nets across the main shipping channels, or better still, attaching one end to navigational buoys. Some have been dragged miles from their correct position. Sailors beware!

Yacht obstacles off Suriname!

I had the pleasure of having this particular fishermen place his net across my path just as I approached Paramaribo. I wonder if he understood why I was forced to follow him for the next two miles as he laid his yacht trap!

Sailing under the bridge in Paramaribo at night.

I arrived at the safe water mark at sunset and while it should have been a simple matter of following the lit buoys in to Paramaribo, Suriname’s penchant for towers with blinking red lights atop makes this an exacting task. Start by aiming for the green ones (lights that is), and take note of the following GPS coordinates (marking my boats position as I passed each buoy), for a trouble free night entry.

I had to wait for this odd localized squall to pass before making my final approach!

Squall over Paramaribo delays Eileen’s arrival.

6º 04.988 N        55º 12.820 W  Safe water Mark
6º 03.235 N        55º 12.905 W
6º 01.876 N        55º 12.897 W
6º 00.443 N        55º 12.923 W
5º 59.022 N        55º 12.934 W
5º 57.537 N        55º 12.120 W
*            5º 57.120 N         55º 11.384 W    (I anchored here temporarily to await the tide)
5º 56.619 N        55º 10.692 W
5º 55.932 N        55º 09.594 W
5º 55.195 N        55º 08.413 W
5º 54.330 N        55º 07.155 W Red
5º 53.296 N        55º 06.143 W
5º 53.356 N        55º 06.023 W
5º 52.013 N        55º 05.535 W White Flashing
5º 50.284 N        55º 05.791 W Red
5º 49.697 N        55º 06.177 W Red
5º 49.350 N         55º 06.649 W Red
5º 49.091 N        55º 07.342 W Red
5º 49.080 N        55º 08.232 W Red
5º 49.010 N        55º 09.532 W Wreck BEWARE
5º 48.333 N        55º 09.833 W Bridge
5º 46.846 N        55º 09.341 W
5º 46.418 N        55º 08.975 W
5º 45.598 N        55º 08.171 W
5º 44.842 N        55º 07.405 W
5º 44.115 N        55º 06.691 W
5º 42.229 N        55º 04.851 W anchor here!

More obstacles for the unwary sailor.

Take special care of the wreck indicated above! It’s unlit, and I didn’t see it at all on my way in… I’m claiming ‘t was the “luck of the Irish” (Eileen’s heritage) that spared me from probable collision.

Domburg anchorage at dawn.

It’s a long way from the mouth of the Suriname River to the anchorage at Domburg. It took all night!!! Not as easy as I was led to believe (from what’s published on the Internet) either….

More on that subject later…