T Arrived - Reunion Island

The day before we wanted to leave Mauritius we talked to the coast guard and customs office which is side by side. They said we cannot check out ahead of time and also need to bring the boat over to the customs wall. So this meant we could not get an early start to do the 135 miles. Customs and coast guard are 24 hour but Immigration does not start until 7am.

The next morning, August 23, we motored over to the customs wall at 630am and waited until 735am until the immigration guy finally showed up. We had hoped we could leave at 4am to get to Reunion before 10 am the next day when the wind picks up in the marina, making it hard to maneuver.

We got under way by 7:50 am and after an hour of motoring the wind picked up and we were sailing but a bit slower than we wanted. As we left the lee of the Island a couple of hours later the wind picked up and we soon had 2 reefs in the main and were flying along nicely with the wind on the beam. The sailing was great though a bit lumpy. Around midnight the wind died completely for about 1.5 hours and then picked up again and we were back to 2 reefs in main. We saw about 8 ships on our passage and they were all following the same rhumb line we were. Two of them were almost on a collision course according to the AIS, so I called them up and they said they would alter course. I always hate to ask a big ship to alter course for little' ol us, so I just say that I see we are on a collision course and not sure which way to turn and they always say they will alter course. Which is great as often the sails are set and it is a pain to reposition everything and waste time going of course.

Late in the night we could see lights on Reunion island showing we were closing the coast. The next morning as we came along the coast the wind got light and came directly on the stern. So we fired up the engine to keep moving at a reasonable speed. The scenery was spectacular with big peaks that disappeared into the clouds and lush green hillsides with small villages scattered about, which reminded us of France. This Island is part of France and they have a french speaking population of about 800,000.

As we approached St Pierre harbor we called the port captain but got no response, we found out later he was on his 2 hour lunch. We motored in with no problem (see info below) and tied up at the harbor wall for customs clearance. A 20 knot wind was right on our tail making it hard to slow as we approached the wall, so we went a bit further and then did a 180 and came up into the wind to tie up, no problem. The customs/police people came by shortly for clearance and it only took 5 min and no paper work, just a passport stamp, easy. All these paranoid 3rd world country's we have checked into could learn something here. We moved over to a marina slip and could now relax. 
It looks like one of the niecest marina locations we have ever had, with the big walk way seawall behind and the huge crashing surf to view anytime and the mountains behind the town, and everything you need is nice and handy.

INFO

- St Pierre is the Southern of the two choices you have for staying in Reunion. From Mauritius we set a course to come around the South side of Reunion, for St Pierre. There is two sets of transits to guide you into the harbor. From out at sea the first set of transits are black vertical lines on white boards. You home in on these and then as you start to enter the harbor and come around the wall on your right, you see the second set of transits which are green. The charplotter seemed bang on and showed the transits as well. The water is deep until you actually enter the harbor and are out of the ocean. Then we saw it drop down to as low as 11ft and that was close to low tide. The tide range is only about a foot or two.

It is recommended to call the port captain(26206-9291-1721) in Reunion before leaving Mauritius if you are going to St Pierre to make sure the swell is not too big for entering and that there is room. There is no problem if going to Port De la Galets 35 miles to the North. Apparently to go to St Pierre from Port Galets you have the wind on the nose for a tough passage. Use the website "Wind Guru" and location, Ravine Blanche, to check swell height (recommended by port captain) the swell should be under 2.5 meters he says for a good entry into harbor. We had 2.3 meters and had an easy, calm entrance.    The next day I was watching the entrance and could already see swell heaping up a bit and wind Guru said swell was 2.9.  2.5 might be a good rule for entering.  Everybody says St Pierre is much nicer than Port Galet, but St Pierre marina does not have huge slips so probably not a place for 60 footers.

-St Pierre entrance waypoint , should be able to see outer transits by the time at this waypoint 21 20.92S   55 28.65S

-Waypoint at custom wall tie up is  21 20.639S     55 28.561E  wall is on your right as you enter the harbour.  So if come come around up into the wind it will be a port side tie, or a Stbd tie if go straight to wall.
-There are fuel pumps on the wall so easy to get fuel but can not get it duty free here.  I hear you can get it duty free in Port Galets but it is a bit of a hassle.
-The marina did not cost much more than Mauritius if you pay by the month, though still not too bad if you pay by the day, 15Euro a day. Water and power included.  I here you cant get propane tanks filled here, unless you buy their tank and fill yours yourself through a hose.