French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana
Cruising Guide
to
French Guiana
The three Guyanas: French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana, formerly known as French, Dutch
and British Guyana respectively, are reasonably crime-free, and certainly violent crime-free,
compared to much of the Caribbean or to Brazil, and there is no danger of hurricanes. Hence
they are becoming more attractive as a place to spend some of the hurricane season for those
who would normally be based in the Caribbean.
This document is a short cruising guide to French Guiana by James Collier and Fiona Knights
who cruised here during 2016 on the sailing yacht “Awelina of Sweden” and is available as a
free pdf download for members of the Cruising Association.
The authors will be pleased to hear of any errors, omissions or updates.
Version 1.2, 23rd November 2017
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General Information
La Guyane Française (French Guiana) henceforth Guyane, is part of France, with the same
formalities for customs and immigration including requirement for visas. No stamp in a
passport is required for EEA citizens however the next country one visits, be it Brazil or
Suriname, will nonetheless insist one has such a stamp, and also ask for evidence of customs
clearance. Hence both Customs and immigration need visiting on arrival in French Guiana and
again on exit and one may have to insist on a stamp in one’s passport. Convenient ports of
entry / exit are Dégrad des Cannes, Kourou and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. Yellow fever
vaccination is mandatory, not so much because certificates will be asked for on arrival but
because the next country visited will not let one enter if coming from Guyane unless
vaccinated.
The plus point for La Guyane is that it’s the France of 30 years ago: the language is French,
with extremely little English or any other European language being spoken, and habits as
regards meal times, tipping etc are all as in France. Shopping and restaurants are excellent
and a vast range of goods and foodstuffs imported from France are readily available. The
minus point is that it’s the France of 30 years ago: all leisure facilities shut for lunch, on
Sundays, and on any conceivable holiday, or if there’s a strike.
Water is potable and electricity and sewerage are reliable. Electric plugs are standard
European 220V round pin plugs, and the Voltage is 220V, 50Hz. Internet speeds are generally
good and there are several mobile phone operators, in particular Digicell, with good 2G and
3G coverage although as of 2016 there were no 4G networks.
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The health service is good for this part of the world and European health cards are accepted
entitling any EU citizen to free medical care. The standard of doctors is high, essentially that
of France, so it is a good place to be ill and require an operation, but nursing care is more as
one would expect this close to the equator. There is some danger of malaria (palourdisme in
French) in the interior but not in the coastal regions so normally no prophylaxis is required by
those visiting by yacht.
Navionics charts are on the whole quite accurate and can be used with reasonable
confidence, although the positions of buoys in the channels do move and so one should
proceed with caution. The coast around the old port of Cayenne is however currently subject
to very rapid movement, and the coast-line has moved by more than 1km over the last 25
years, so no charts can be considered very accurate. The time zone is UTC -3, and there is no
summer time. French SHOM charts can be obtained in Cayenne, but these only cover the tiny
fraction of the coast which has been surveyed recently and must be considered an expensive
luxury which can only be obtained once one no longer needs them.
In contrast the IGN produce an excellent series of detailed (1:25,000) maps, of which:
- 4713: Cayenne & Dégrad des Cannes
- 4702: Saint Laurent du Maroni
- 4701: Awale-Yalimapo
- 4703: Mana
- 4711: Kourou
- 4717: Kaw
may prove the most useful. Curiously, the Iles du Salut are not on any of these. Maps for Tom-
Tom are also available and can prove useful, not only when driving but in fact show the creeks
more accurately than do Navionics!
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Dégrad des Cannes
HW: Iles Du Salut +1:06. LW: Iles du Salut + 1:12
MHWS MLWS MHWN MLWN
2.6m 0.1m 2.1m 0.6m
SWM: 04° 57.18’N, 052° 09.40’W
Entrance. Dégrad des Cannes lies on the N bank of the Fleuve Mahury. To enter the river it is
essential to first find the safe-water mark ‘DC’ (red and white vertical stripes, Racon), and
then follow the buoyed channel on 222° into the river: it is dredged with least depth
maintained to 4.2m in the centre of the channel and is extremely well marked. There are daily
broadcasts (in French) on ch79 at 09:30, 13:30 and 17:30 LT giving weather forecasts and
navigation warnings with details of the latest buoy positions. Navionics charts are generally
accurate except perhaps for the latest buoy positions.
Offshore dangers. Either side of the buoyed channel, about 2.5 miles apart and 3.5 from
shore, lie Les Îles Remire, both about 100m high, comprising the pair of La Mère to port and
Le Père to starboard. An adventurous sailor could nose out the anchorage, in about 2.5m, on
the west side of Le Père but otherwise they are easily avoided.
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The 54m high islet of Le Grand Connétable lies 15 miles ESE. This has an exclusion zone of
radius 2 miles as it’s a nature reserve with strict regulations about visiting and it’s best to take
a licensed tourist boat if determined to go. Les battures du Connétable, a patch of rocks with
least depth 1.4m, lie about 6 miles NxW of Le Grand Connétable. Neither hazards are lit and
should be given a berth of at least 2 miles, and to pass between the two would possibly be
foolhardy.
The commercial port is
on the north, ie
starboard bank. It is the
main port in Guyane,
with plans to extend in
order to accommodate
oil exploration support
vessels following the
recent discovery of
offshore reserves, and
the marina, which is only
about 200m further on,
is under threat as it is the
logical place for the oil
exploration base to be
constructed.
Port of Dégrad des Cannes
Marina
Pontoons. The marina comprises a couple of
pontoons with a strong live-aboard community. A
visitor is unlikely to get an alongside berth as
there is little turnover (few, if any, yachts here
are sea-worthy) but there is plenty of space to
anchor. The marina manager, M. Réginal Valcide,
is notionally around between 08:00 and 09:00
and again between 12:00 and 13:00 each day. His
telephone number is +594 20 94 43.
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Anchorage. Visiting yachts anchor just off the marina or a little way upstream in about 4.5m
(avoid anchoring just off the slipway). There is a strong stream but good holding in mud.
Toilets and showers are to be found in the portacabin
nearby (see left), and water and electricity are available on
the pontoon but no laundry or other facilities on site, and
none locally either. Some of the live-aboards set up a
domestic washing machine on the pontoon from time to
time.
Chandlery. There is a quite well-stocked chandlery,
‘Marine et Loisirs’, 1.5km away just outside the main gates
of the commercial port on Rue des Enteprises, telephone +594 35 97 97. It is open 08:30 –
12:30 and 15:00 – 18:00 on weekdays and 08:30 – 12:30 on Saturdays. Opposite the chandlery
there is a bar/restaurant which opens infrequently.
Fuel and gas. Despite the main bottled gas depot for the country being in the adjacent
industrial estate, neither gas nor fuel are available near-by.
Customs. The customs office is also close by (see
Douane on the plan opposite). Between the marina
and the port is an industrial estate with a saw-mill /
timber yard and the main botted gas plant for
Guyane.
Slipway. One could get hauled out by crane – which
would have to be come specially from Cayenne and
so would not be cheap - but several yachts lie ashore
having been so hauled out. It is in fact the only place
in Guyane with the space to store a yacht ashore in
any kid of security and with room to work on it.
There is a large area of hard-standing at the head of the slip. One yacht can be seen at anchor just off the pontoon
Facilities. To access any facilities, indeed to exist here at all, a bicycle is probably essential. It
is ~8km along the scenic coast road (the D1) to Montjoly where there are several restaurants,
particularly along the beach front, and a few shops. Along this road one passes the historic
Fort Diamant. From Montjoly it’s a further 5km into Cayenne proper.
Supermarket. If one takes the same coast road inland about 4km to the suburb of Rémire
there is a large and excellent Super-U supermarket.
7
Cayenne
HW: Iles Du Salut +0:32. LW: Iles du Salut + 0:22
MHWS MLWS MHWN MLWN
2.6m 0.1m 2.1m 0.6m
CA buoy: 05°02.72’N, 052°18.20’W
Anchorge: 04°56.16’N, 052°20.63’W
The entrance is still buoyed to some extent, with the RWVS safe-water mark ‘CA’ being the
outermost. From there proceed on about 205° with extreme caution looking for the series of
green port-hand buoys C2, C4 and C6, and thence to the anchorage. However the way is
shallow and the best water lies ½ a mile to the east of the buoys C4 and C6, ie pass them on
the ‘wrong’ side. Good weather, local pilotage advice and / or a very shoal draft boat is nearly
essential. Apart from being shallow, the main offshore danger is the reef, with lighthouse Fl
4s, known as L’enfant perdu, which is about 2 miles W of ‘CA’.
The official anchorage is in only about 1.4m and yet is still 300m off the quay and is completely
exposed to the north so it is better to nose in towards the shore. Alternatively one can
proceed up-river where, after further buoys, deeper water (about 3m) can be found in the
centre of the river. Navigation is blocked by a road bridge at Le Larivot, 2.5 miles up-stream
from Cayenne. There is a quay at Le Larivot with deep water alongside which is still used by
some fishing boats but there are numerous wrecks, yachts are not welcome and besides there
are no facilities near-by.
Facilities: as befits a capital city, Cayenne has everything of the modern world including the
usual French big brands and shops as well as light industry, restaurants, bars, museums etc.
But it is very spread out, with much of it in big shopping malls on the RN1 quite far out of
town. The historic city centre has disappointingly few old or distinctive buildings apart from
The Iles du Salut are a group of three closely spaced islands: Ile Royale which is 65m high, Ile
du Diable (Devil’s Island) 44m high and Ile St. Joseph 30m high. They lie about 8 miles off-
shore and can be seen from 15 miles away. They are all densely wooded but as one
approaches buildings can be seen on Ile Royale and Ile St. Joseph. There is a lighthouse on Ile
Royale, Fl (2) 10s, with a nominal range of 25 miles.
There is a current of about 2 knots generally running W or NW all the time which makes it
dangerous to pass between the islands so when approaching from the West one should pass
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round South West of Ile Royale, approaching the WPT on a bearing of 150°T which clears the
shoals to the north (Banc d’Alouette and banc de la Motte Piquet), or if coming from the East
one should pass around the South East of Ile St. Joseph having approached the WPT on a
bearing of 235°T. The islands and associated anchorages are easy to approach in the dark,
and Navionics charts are accurate, which makes the islands a very good land-fall if coming
from Brazil or from across the Atlantic. Leaving, unless going to Kourou in which case one
should proceed directly to the SWM (~190°T), one should take the reciprocal courses.
Anchorage. It is quite likely that a ship will be anchored just S of the islands as the US Sailing
Directions (En-Route) says “The anchorage at Iles du Salut is the most important anchorage
along the coast of the Guianas, this being due to the few ports along this coast capable of
affording shelter to ships of moderate size”. It goes on to say “depths of about 9m soft mud,
good shelter from the swell, and good holding ground”. And indeed the local tanker, Kerfons,
anchors here very frequently, lying about 500m West of the southern edge of Ile St Jospeh.
Mooring buoys and pontoon. There are a number of substantial mooring buoys in both
anchorages, as ever in these situations taking up the best spots. They are for the tourist
catamarans which bring people every day from Kourou and so are invariably empty at night.
If one was in difficulty a buoy could doubtless be borrowed during the hours of darkness.
There’s a small jetty and pontoon landing on Ile Royale (see above left), but this should not
be used by visiting yachts. Among its functions it’s the monitoring point of the tide station for
Guyane. Visitor’s tenders are usually tied to one of the ladders on the stone wall some 70m
NW of the pontoon.
Formalities. There is no means to check in or out here, despite a Gendarmerie on Ile Royale,
but it is accepted that yachts will stay a few days to unwind after a passage, especially if
they’ve come from afar, before going the 10 miles to Kourou to check in properly. One should
probably fly the Q flag as from time to time the customs launch may come by but it’s very
low-key and relaxed. In fact, a number of yachts, particularly from South Africa, call here
before going on to the Caribbean and do not check in at all: this seems to be tolerated.
Facilities. All facilities, such as there are, are to be found on Ile Royale. There are rubbish bins
ashore, and in the centre of the island there is an auberge with bar and restaurant (and a gift
shop). But nothing else: there are no supplies to be bought or water to be had except what
one could, in extremis, beg from the auberge.
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History. As one wanders around it is startling
to discover how dark is the past of Les Îles du
Salut: a blot on the history of France. The ruins
are those of the infamous ‘Bagne de Cayenne’,
a prison for political prisoners where
conditions were particularly barbaric and from
which few ever returned. It was in its heyday
when Dreyfus was sent here after being
unjustly tried and wrongly convicted of
treason, but it continued for a further 60 years,
through the second world war when it was
blockaded by the United States during which
90% of the prisoners were allowed to starve to
death, and was only closed down in 1953. It
was the subject of the famous novel ‘Papillon’.
Various panels describing La Bagne and its
history can be seen in the buildings on Ile
Royale.
Swimming from the boat is possible, which is
useful for scraping the hull especially after
the very high fouling which happens in the
river Kourou. Water visibility varies with the
tide but is never very good. There are sharks,
but as long as one stays close to the boat all
should be well.
Anchorage viewed from Isle Royale
Rocket launches. Yachts are chased away
(extremely politely) by the gendarmes
during Ariane launches as the islands are
both a video tracking station and in the
direct path in the event of a misfire.
Announcements are made on VHF
channel 16 in both French and English
warning of a launch and of the all-clear
afterwards. One doesn’t have to go far,
only about 5 miles, but one should bear
in mind the incessant west-going current
which could carry the unwary rather far
west thus making it a hard slog back.
Ariane seen from Artemis (courtesy of Alison Lofthouse).
Rockets are launched about once a
month.
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View of Devil's Island from Ile Royale. The passages between the islands are dangerous for navigation.
Ambience. Notwithstanding the past, it is actually very difficult to retain these grim thoughts
today. Despite the ruined prison buildings and the better-preserved governor’s and officers’
quarters it is a singularly charming place, especially in the late afternoon after the tourist
boats have gone. In fact, a little piece of tropical paradise with coconut palms, flowering
shrubs, monkeys, parrots and agoutis. In the square near the auberge, church and
gendarmerie one will see peacocks and parrots, and perhaps a caiman in the old pond. The
overwhelming impression is of tranquillity. And there are no mosquitos!
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Kourou
Tides: Iles Du Salut HW+0:20, LW-0:10
MHWS MLWS MHWN MLWN
3.3m 0.8m 2.5m 1.3m
SWM: 05°13.60’N, 052°36.99’W
Anchorage: 05°08.88’N, 052°38.80’W
Entrance. First find the SWM (RWVS, iso-phase white, 4s), and thence the channel is
extremely well buoyed with pairs of buoys all of which are lit. It is dredged to 2.3m but it’s
hard to stay exactly in the channel, particularly if one meets the dredger or a ship. Because of
the shallow banks either side it is usually flat water but there are strong cross-sets which have
to be allowed for. However, the least depth at the channel edge is around 1.2m (found
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between buoys K11 and K12) so even if swept a little off the dredged channel one should still
have at least 3.5m if within a couple of hours of HW. The entrance to the river proper is
between Pointe Guatémala on the south side, which is wooded, and Pointe des Roches on
the north where buildings can be seen. After this point the depths increase to about 3.5m,
and one should carry on as far as buoy K21 when the pontoons and anchorage can be clearly
seen on the north side.
Extract from SHOM chart showing the pontoons near K21
It has everything which a sports fishing boat might want, including outboard motors, anchors,
windlasses, navigation lights etc. plus ropes, shackles and other normal small sailing yacht
spares. No charts.
Hardware. There is an extraordinary array of hardware and fishing tackle at GuyaBrico, 7 Rue
du Marché in Le Bourg, or on a more industrial scale at GAC on Rue Gustave Eiffel in the Z.I.
de Pariacabo. (GAC is a chain throughout Guyane and has an excellent range of tools,
fasteners, paints, plumbing, hoses and general industrial equipment: it is possibly the only
place to purchase stainless steel bolts to A4/316).
Car hire. Pretty much all the usual companies have an office here, including Hertz, Sixt,
Europcar, Speedy etc. All are in the Z.I. de Pariacabo, except that ADA also has an office in
town near Le Bourg on Rue des Freres Amet in the Zone Artisinale de Cabalou, as well as a
larger site adjacent to the Total garage in the Z.I. de Pariacabo, www.guyaneokaz.com, +594
32 39 22. The same company has an office in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni so if planning to hire a
car there as well it can be convenient to get onto their computer.
Industrial. In Kourou there is significant industry supporting the space centre plus general
light industrial activity such as metal fabricators and welders of Aluminium and stainless steel,
timber yards, battery specialists, truck & agricultural diesel engine repair and spares, and
much more. Most of these are on Rue Marcel Dassault or Rue Denis Papin in the Z.I. de
Pariacabo. In particular, STMG (www.foselev.com, +594 32 83 60) do welding and Alutech
(+594 32 70 77) supply and make structures in Aluminium.
Restaurants. Hôtel des Roches is on the headland of Pointe des Roches and has a swimming
pool and restaurant, and of course rooms if one fancies a night ashore. Several more
restaurants and bars, including L’Aigrette bleu which has good food and where one can dine
indoors in air-conditioning or outside looking out to sea, can be found along the beach front
on Avenue de l'Anse near the tourist office. In Le Bourg, and so nearer ‘home’, Le Flamingo
serves creole food and local game (try ‘tatou’, which is banded armadillo) and behind the
market there is Sabor Brasiliero which specializes in Brazilian food and grills meat over a wood
fire.
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Days out. Kourou is the site of the Centre
National d’Études Spatieux (CNES). Note that
the pronunciation of this acronym is not “say
enn euh ess” as one would expect, but with a
hard C, as “k-ness”. Trips around the space-
port can be arranged in advance, and there is
a museum on site.
Further afield one can go walking on the sentier (trail) de la Montagne des Singes which has
trails through rain-forest to a look-out point, as well as an arboretum with panels describing
the tropical hard-woods, their growth and uses. There are a variety of picnic benches and
shelters. Alternatively, Cayenne is only a 75-minute drive and makes a good day out.
Above left: view from the top of the Montagne des Singes
with Les Iles du Salut visible in the background. Above:
rainforest seen from the path to the summit.
Left: Farmland on the way to Cayenne.
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Fleuve Mana
Tides as Fleuve Maroni entrance
MHWS MLWS MHWN MLWN
3.3m 0.9m 2.5m 1.6m
Approach: 05°51.80’N, 053°51.74’W
Bar: 05°44.0’N, 053°50.5’W
See plan for Fleuve Maroni.
Entrance. Fleuve Mana is approached from the same SWM as for Fleuve Maroni, but from
there one heads a little E of S towards the mouth of the river (which is not visible from
offshore). The US pilot directions state that one enters between Pointe Française and Pointe
Isère but the area in front of Awala-Yalimapo has now silted and one needs to go further east
– see sketch map – and find the river mouth which is less than ½ a mile wide. The depths in
the entrance range from 0.3 to 1.2m so vessels should not cross the bar within 2 hours of
either side of low tide, and really the port is now restricted to boats drawing less than about
1.5m. One should also avoid approaching the S bank of the river too closely as it is
encumbered by tree trunks which are immersed at HW and are dangerous, making local
knowledge highly desirable, if not essential.
Once past the bar there is 2.5m or more in mid channel, but pass S of the islet which is about
4 miles in. Mana lies on the W bank of the river about 9 miles above the mouth. There is a
distinctive church which provides a landmark and a derelict landing stage with 5.8m alongside
but it is probably safer to anchor in mid-stream. Half a mile above Mana there is a road bridge.
Mana is famous for its church and for the ‘Buffalo’ restaurant (closed on Tuesdays) which is
reputed to be the only place in Guyane to get a proper South-American steak. There are
variety of small shops, local restaurants and a bank with ATM. The river is apparently very
well stocked with piranha, so swimming is not recommended!
Acknowledgement: the authors have not themselves visited Fleuve Mana by boat and the
pilotage information is provided courtesy of local yachtsman Davide Matelicani of Marina
SLM, from whom it would be prudent to obtain more up-to date information.
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Fleuve Maroni
HW: Iles du Salut +0:35. LW: Iles du Salut +0:31
MHWS MLWS MHWN MLWN
3.3m 0.9m 2.5m 1.6m
Safe-Water Mark: 05°51.80’N, 053°51.74’W
Pointe Française anchorage: 05°44.44’N, 053°57.17’W
Crique Coswine anchorage: 05°41.4’N, 053°58.1’W
Anchorage nearing town: 05°30.9’N, 054°00.8’W
shallows
Approximate
course to Mana
shallows
Pointe Française
Anchorage in the pool at Arouba Nord Little piece of paradise nearing Saint Laurent
After Crique Vaches one carries on to the WPT at 05°35.59’N, 054°00.16’W and again one
hugs the east shore, past Crique aux Boefs Lamentins near 05°34.43’N, 053°59.90’W and on,
past some dwellings, to the town of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. There is a green port-hand
buoy M18 (not on Navionics) before the long-term anchorage near 05°30.9’N, 054°00.8’W,
which is some 600m downstream of the town. There are no facilities near this anchorage.
Just downstream of the moorings in Saint
Laurent one should make sure to pass outside
the ruins of the pier which project 60m from
the bank.
Pointe Française
It's my mango Jaguarondi This Stick-Insect was fully 15cm long
and was fishing in the moving water!
Also at Camp Voltaire is the very pretty and
welcoming Auberge des Chutes Voltaire
which has a few double rooms as well as
several thatched shelters (‘carbet’s) in which
one sleeps in a hammock under a mosquito
net. It serves excellent local food (mostly wild
game) which all guests eat together sitting at
a communal table. It was constructed 30
years ago as an eco-lodge by the parents of
the proprietress, Eva. Much recommended
for a couple of days on dry land for a change!
Reservation is only possible by email. Some of the gardens at the Auberge des Chutes Voltaire
If sleeping in a carbet you have to bring your own hammock, bedding and net, see
www.aubergechutesvoltaire.com. Contact: reservation.aubergevoltaire@gmail.com.
If slightly more adventurous one can carry on past the falls for another 10km or so, navigating
through the jungle as best one can by compass and GPS as there is no defined path, to the
giant slab of granite called Inselberg. This rises 100m above the rainforest canopy and so once
one has climbed up there are stunning views. It is possible to take a guide, but we met a
couple doing it unguided with a small baby in a papoose, a toddler in hand and grandmother
bringing up the rear.
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Awala-Yalimapo are a pair of adjoining Amerindian villages at
the mouth of the Maroni, a 30km car journey from Saint
Laurent. Yalimapo has a beach one can swim from – albeit
with the usual brown and turbid water – and various picnic
tables as well as a snack bar and some craft stalls. At dawn
and at dusk one should avoid Awala and Yalimapo however;
the mosquitos are reputed to be the worst in Guyane, and
even at midday it’s best not to stray too far off the beach! In season (January to April) you
may see turtles coming to the beach to lay eggs (it’s a protected nature reserve for this
reason) or, if lucky, a crab-eating raccoon.
On the way there and back one passes through the small town of Mana, which is worth
stopping at as well (see section on Fleuve Mana).
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Creeks adjoining the Fleuve Maroni
Shallow patch
The creeks (criques in French) on the east side of the river Maroni between Saint Laurent and
the sea form a rewarding cruising ground in their own right. Being part of the greater
Amazonian river system one can indulge in the adventure of an Amazonian cruise but at a
much friendlier scale: setting off on a Saturday morning one can be back in time for dinner at
a French restaurant on Sunday night without difficulties either with authority or with people.
Apart from an absence of fresh-water dolphins or tapirs, one may see any of the same fauna
one would see in Brazil, including Jaguars, Howler monkeys, Sloths, Parrots, Toucans, Red Ibis,
Anaconda and Caimans. The geology of Guyane plays an important part in the experience; it’s
30
granitic bedrock with a very thin covering of mud (and rain-forest). The creeks are a ria, i.e. a
set of sunken rivers, and are surprisingly deep. Depths go up and down, changing from 20m
to 6m and back again in a boat’s length, indicating that the bottom cannot be mud but is in
fact granite boulders, which has to be borne in mind when choosing an anchorage: look for
an area of even soundings and preferably near a river junction where there will in all likelihood
be a patch of mud or sand with reasonable holding.
There are no official charts but where depths are shown in the plan they were measured by
the author in November 2016 and are shown reduced to LAT. Where no depths are shown it
should not necessarily be assumed shallow, just unexplored. It would be as well to buy a copy
of the IGN map number 4701 on a scale of 1:25,000 if going further than shown in the plan in
this book.
Generally, the water is fresh but obviously is more brackish the nearer one is to the sea.
Currents are mostly tidal, running at a knot or so. The water is a bit less turbid than in the
Fleuve Maroni which makes for more enjoyable swimming but there are piranhas so it would
be unwise to put food scraps into the water at any anchorage where one might subsequently
want to go swimming, although attacks are extremely unlikely. Nonetheless men are best
advised to wear swimming trunks.
There is no particularly logical order to a passage through the creeks, so what is described
here is only one suggestion.
Crique aux Boefs Lamentins. The first 6.8km meander first to port and then a long bend to
starboard followed by a straight section of about 800m. Mean depths are about 10m. The
creek then divides in two and becomes much narrower. One takes the turning to port where
depths are still of the order of 10m or a bit more. This section is 7.9km long and winds
somewhat, terminating in a straight section of about 1km running NNE where it joins Crique
Vaches. At this point one could go either to port or to starboard, but most yachts turn to port.
Crique Vaches. To enter from Fleuve Maroni, the best water lies 1/3rd of the way from the
north bank where one should have about 6.5m. It is then about 11km in depths between 9m
and 14m to the junction with Crique aux Beufs Lamentins. It is wide and easy to navigate, and
one could easily go on a couple of km further, certainly as far as the junction with Crique
Rouge which branches off to the south. Coming from Crique aux Beufs Lamentins it is usual
to turn downstream however, passing the two criques of Petit Ben Amar and Grand Ben Amar
after 3.6km, and turning to starboard into Crique 1900 after another 2.2km.
Crique 1900 has depths between 7m and 13m and, while narrow - so watch out for leaning
trees - is straight forward. After about 3km it joins Crique Canard.
Crique Canard runs between Crique 1900 and Crique Coswine, and is 9.7km long. It mostly
has depths between 7m and 12m but has one shallow patch of 2.0m which forms a tidal gate
for deep-draft yachts. On joining the creek from Crique 1900 turn to starboard, ie E, and go
about 4.3km following a long meander north and then back south and then south east. Near
05°38.22’N, 053°57.42’W there is a small creek joining from the south: it is useful to find this
point as a reference before going further, and in fact the mouth of this little creek is a good
spot to anchor and have a swim if waiting for the tide, or wanting lunch.
After another 250m Crique Canard widens into a small lagoon, and it is here that one has to
hug the north bank, staying only about 10m from the trees and going dead slow. At around
05°38.20’N, 053°57.19’W the depth will reduce to 2.0m plus the tidal rise, so if done at mid
tide one should have 3.5m or more. It is clear on the echo sounder once one is past this
31
shallow patch as depths increase again to between 7m and 12m for the rest of the way to the
junction with Crique Coswine, 4.7km further on.
Crique Coswine is wide and easy to navigate with depths up to 20m in places, but mostly
around 7m in the stretches downstream of the junction with Crique Canard and 12m or more
upstream. There is however a bar at the entrance with least depth around 3.4m.
Arriving in Crique Coswine from Crique Canard one has a choice of up or downstream. The
trip upstream winds gently for 6.8km until one reaches a lake about 0.6km long and 0.3km
wide. One can anchor for the night in this lake in complete calm and isolation (but test the
anchor has held); the best place is near the head of the lake where tall forest trees come right
to the water’s edge on the west bank as most of the rest of the lake is bordered by mangroves.
Safe navigation is possible for at least 2km further. There is excellent fishing in the lake.
Going downstream from the junction with Crique Canard it is 3.5km at first north and then
west to the Amerindian village of Ayawande where there is a pontoon landing. Yachts anchor
just downstream and of this in around 7m, but one can take a dinghy and go ashore. People
are very friendly but there are little or no supplies to be had. It is a further 3.2km to the
anchorage described on p19 and another 400m to the bar at the mouth of the creek. After
that proceed as described in the section on Fleuve Maroni.