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On the east coast of Africa, wooden boats are used, whose triangular sails create a unique silhouette.
By Ginanne Brownell
Report from Lamu, Kenya
There’s almost a beer at sunset.
As we made our way to Pate Island via Dhow, the ubiquitous classic sailing boat along the East African coast, the captain opened my Tusker, a Kenyan beer, and handed out vegetarian and meat samosas. I settled into giant white cushions and ate the savory delights, and reflected that life is better with an appetizer.
About half an hour earlier, at Manda Bay, the chic and rustic hotel on the island of Manda where we were staying, I had put on the colorful plaid kikoy I had bought the day before and my husband had put on his suit so we could just walk around. the Indian Ocean and board the dhow that was comfortably carrying the captain, his first mate, and the two of us.
Dhows have sailed in the Indian Ocean for thousands of years, and their triangular sails create unique silhouettes. Made from woods such as teak and mahogany, the boats range in size from small fishing boats to spacious versions over thirty meters long.
As for Manda Bay, it was the Italian musician Bruno Brighetti who opened it in the 60s under the name Blue Safari Club. It was sold to Kenyans more than twenty years ago. Today, its thatched-roof bungalows, with wooden swings on the porches, line a wide private sandy beach (oceanfront rooms charge $540 a night for singles).
It takes about an hour to fly from Nairobi to the small airport on Manda Island, and then porters take your luggage to the pier for a 30-minute boat ride to the hotel on the island’s north coast. Everyone from wealthy South African tech executives to members of the British aristocracy has stayed here over the years. (Lady Viola Grosvenor, sister of the Duke of Westminster, owner of an elegant part of London’s Mayfair community, married the son of the Kenyan owners in 2022, and part of their wedding celebrations took place at Manda Bay. )
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