Indian Ocean (Kenya Coast)

The Kenyan coast runs roughly 500 kilometres between the Tanzanian border and the Somali frontier, and the sailing here is genuinely unlike anywhere else I've dropped an anchor. From October through March the south-east trades have swung around to the north-east — the *kaskazi* — and you get steady 12–20 knot reaching conditions that push you comfortably up and down the coast.

The water is warm, visibility in the coral gardens exceptional, and on certain days the horizon simply dissolves into a flat blue nothing that makes the whole passage feel weightless.

Lamu Archipelago is the centrepiece. Work through the narrow channels between Lamu, Manda, and Pate islands by day only — the tidal sets are strong and the coral heads uncharted in places — and anchor off the Lamu waterfront in the evenings where the smell of woodsmoke and cardamom comes off the town. Dhow builders still work the beach here using techniques that haven't changed in centuries.

Further south, Watamu and Malindi offer marine park moorings over extraordinary reef systems; spend a morning snorkelling and an afternoon motoring into Malindi Creek for cold Tusker and grilled fish at the waterfront cafés.

Most visitors charter traditionally crewed *jahazi* dhows out of Lamu or Mombasa, which sidesteps the hassle of bareboat logistics entirely. Provisioning in Lamu town is adequate for a week but limited — bring your own passage food from Nairobi or Mombasa. Paperwork is straightforward on an East African Tourist Visa, though anchoring inside marine park boundaries requires a Kenya Wildlife Service fee paid at the gate office.

Experienced blue-water sailors should note that the approach north of Lamu brings you uncomfortably close to a historically active piracy corridor — factor that honestly into your passage planning.