17 August Ambodifotatra, Ile St Marie

Four hundred miles of downwind sailing from La Reunion brought us to our first anchorage in Madagascar, Ile Aux Nattes at the south end of the larger Ile Sainte Marie. We arrived at 3am and with some moonlight, Google Earth imagery and charts that matched up to the radar we felt it would be safe to proceed in to the lee of the island to anchor. We dropped the anchor a safe distance offshore in 15m but it was rollys. The next morning we were able to move in closer behind the reef finding shelter from the swell in 5m of clear water over sand.

The wetter east coast remained constant with rain through the night and the following day. It was welcome providing Jackster with a needed freshwater rinse. Late in the afternoon of our first day we went ashore for a walk, without local money we couldn't buy a beer or a meal. Ile aux Nattes is a tourist destination, a little island with hotels and bars, diving on the southern reefs and regular humpback sightings. We heard the lemurs cussing loudly but we didn't see them.

After resting we moved 6 miles up the west coast of St Marie to the main town, Ambodifotatra, to clear in. The order of business begins with two withdrawals from the ATM. The maximum amount is 400,000Ar (about £100) per transaction. Second stop was the police station for immigration and visas – a two month visa costs 100,000Ar which we pay to the Commisarat and a 50,000Ar contribution to the police pension fund. The Commisarat office is located across the small bay at the fish harbour. The man there takes our passports, adds more stamps to the half page of stamps we gathered at the police station, and gives us a receipt. This is a legitimate cost.

Next to the Fat Controller, aka Customs, who has a shabby desk in a dirty room infested with flies. He asks for two crew lists, stamps and signs one, files the second in a heap of paperwork on fly desk and asks for 70,000Ar because "having a stamp means power" Previous boats paid 60,000Ar. We paid 60,000Ar.

Last stop was the Coast Guard who looked at our ship registration document and gave us an official looking receipt for 60,000Ar. We were now checked in and it didn't take too long.