FORCED TO STOP in the AMAZON JUNGLE | French Guiana... Ep 460

SV Nandji II rests in the calm brown waters of the Maroni River, moored 15 miles upstream from the sea in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni on the border of French Guiana and Suriname. Following a transatlantic crossing of more than 5000 nautical miles from Africa—crossing both the Prime Meridian and the Equator into the North Atlantic—the crew behind Sailing Nandji – Frothlyfe made an unscheduled detour to evade an offshore rocket launch exclusion zone along the coast.

After months of rolling swells at sea and in roadstead anchorages, the flat river basin allows skipper Yosh Laver, Bonnie Herewane, and their daughter Tallula to rest on still water. With a new baby on the way and several hundred miles remaining to reach Grenada in the Caribbean, the crew uses the stopover to refit systems, restock stores, secure pet health clearance, and explore the riverfront before outbound tides.

River Mooring Security and Tender Mechanics

Tying up in a dynamic river requires vigilance regarding ground tackle and currents. The mooring field at Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni sits tucked behind an abandoned shipwreck whose hull is overgrown with jungle trees, serving as a breakwater against river flow. Although the moorings carry a certified rating of 50 tons—exceeding the 20 tons gross displacement of their 1996 Tayana 47—Yosh approached the tackle cautiously after an earlier mooring failure in Thailand drove the yacht onto a reef.

Before trusting the river tackle, Yosh load-tested the mooring using the ship’s engine:

“There’s one thing about moorings. Well, you know, we don’t really trust them, but I put a couple thousand RPM already on the engine in reverse and tried to rip this bad boy out of the ground and she survived.”

While the mooring held against a couple thousand RPM in reverse, the yacht was initially attached by only a single rope. Aware that heavy river flow and friction can quickly sever synthetic line, Yosh rigged a secondary line for redundant security:

“So, we got to get us a second rope cuz you got to have backup for the backup, mate.”

With dual pendants secured, Yosh turned to tender maintenance. The dinghy’s two-stroke outboard engine had developed a sticking choke that failed to disengage. Yosh removed the choke mechanism entirely, setting the outboard to start at 50% compression. The adjustment restored dependable starting for regular trips between the boat and shore.

Tropical Morning Routines and Outfitting

Adapting to river life meant managing tropical humidity. Heading ashore at 8:00 in the morning, Bonnie walked the family dog, Marley, along the riverbank before peak heat. Despite heavy downpours over the previous two days and nights, the riverbank was remarkably free of mosquitoes, leading the crew to speculate that municipal vector fogging had taken place.

Walking while Tallula rode along on a scooter, Bonnie maintained the fitness routine she has prioritized throughout her pregnancy. Maintaining exercise between ocean passages proved challenging compared to her previous pregnancy, but stretching her legs on level ground provided welcome relief after weeks at sea.

Aboard Nandji II, preparations began for the passage to Grenada. Bonnie cleaned the galley refrigeration units, defrosting compartments after stores had shifted during Atlantic crossings. With Saint Helena and Brazil offering scarce provisioning during earlier legs, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni provided vital French supermarket access.

Monday morning brought full ship logistics. The crew replenished diesel fuel, dropped off laundry, and stocked provisions at the supermarket, finding fresh baguettes and craft beer. Marley visited the local veterinary clinic for booster shots and an official export health certificate required for entry into Grenada, satisfying pet requirements with one month remaining on his existing vaccinations.

Cycling Saint-Laurent and the Suriname Border

To explore the area, the crew hired bicycles equipped with a child seat for Tallula from the local tourism office. Yosh anticipated electric assistance, only to discover manual pedals outside the office:

“This whole time I’ve been walking past the information center and they got these green looking ebikes out the front. Mom’s gone and hired them. Turns out they’re not ebikes. Now I got to go pedaling.”

The bicycle route followed the Maroni River, which forms the frontier between French Guiana and Suriname. Wooden pirogues crossed between both banks, transporting passengers and goods without physical maritime barriers.

The town exhibited a distinctive cultural mix, combining French colonial administration, tropical jungle, and Asian cuisine. Seeking respite from midday heat, the crew stopped at a local Chinese restaurant for lunch before riding toward the historic quarter.

The Penal Colony Ruins of Camp de la Transportation

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni holds a significant role in French penal history, serving as the arrival hub where more than 70000 convicts shipped from France were processed before transfer to jungle camps or the offshore Salvation Islands. Entering the stone gates of Camp de la Transportation, the crew explored preserved cell blocks and execution grounds.

The facility preserved a severe carceral structure. Collective barracks held up to 80 prisoners in single chambers with a solitary sanitation bucket. Outside, the courtyard once held the guillotine, positioned directly facing cell doorways so inmates viewed the block continuously.

The penal regime enforced the statute of doublage: convicts sentenced to less than 8 years were required to remain in French Guiana for an equal number of years following release, while those sentenced to 8 years or more were permanently exiled from France.

Inside the disciplinary cells, a guide demonstrated the punishment apparatus. Prisoners sentenced to solitary confinement were chained to wooden bunks by iron leg shackles, enduring 3 days without food or water.

Within the punishment pavilion, the crew visited the specific cell once holding Henri Charrière, known as Papillon. Charrière’s name remains carved into the floor near the iron bed frame, documenting the facility’s most renowned escapee.

Casting Off and Mooring Chafe

With maintenance complete, a favorable weather window opened for the 15-mile passage down the Maroni River toward the Caribbean. Yosh and Bonnie planned their departure for the morning ebb tide, which swung seaward at 7:00 in the morning.

Dropping the mooring pendants revealed an urgent reminder of why redundant rigging matters. Friction against the metal mooring ring had severely chafed the primary nylon pendant:

“Look at that. That’s cut through one whole strand. So, it’s only hanging on by 2 and 1/2. Hectic.”

The primary line had worn through an entire strand, leaving the boat secured by only two and a half strands in the river current. Had the secondary backup not been rigged, the yacht could have broken loose.

Free of the mooring, Nandji II motored down the main channel with the outgoing ebb tide. Navigating through the muddy rainforest corridor offered an uncommon experience for an ocean-going crew, who scanned the dense banks for wildlife, spotting toucans in the trees.

Navigating the River Bar and Dropping Anchor

Approaching the mouth of the Maroni River presented complex pilotage through shifting sandbanks and varying currents across a two and a half meter tidal range. Carried by the outgoing ebb tide, Nandji II made 6 knots over ground.

Soundings revealed that the main fairway averaged depths of 4 meters, with a minimum high-water passage measuring 3.8 meters. Over shallow banks near the town mooring, the sounder had previously read 1.6 meters without grounding, reflecting the transducer offset beneath the yacht’s nearly 2-meter keel draft.

Operational challenges intensified near the coast. Local artisanal fishermen had strung fishing nets across the navigation fairway, marked by perimeter flags and floats that required sharp avoidance turns. As the river met open water, the boat encountered a 25-knot northeast wind blowing directly against the ebb current.

The opposing wind and current created steep chop across the shallow approach. With 5 miles remaining to clear the mainland and an additional 10 miles of exposed bar fairway ahead, attempting the bar at mid-tide introduced severe grounding risks.

Yosh decided to seek shelter in an adjoining tributary creek:

“I think we just drop anchor rather than risk the biscuit and we’ll just wait 24 hours because it’s going to be a super calm morning tomorrow.”

Turning into the side creek, the crew dropped anchor in calm water fringed by jungle, sighting two toucans in the canopy. Waiting 24 hours for morning high water and lighter winds protected ship and crew before beginning the voyage to Grenada.

Navigation and Channel Passage Metrics

| Passage parameter | recorded metric | operational context | | :— | :— | :— | | Fairway transit upriver | 15 miles | Distance from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni to river mouth | | Ebb current velocity | 6 knots | Speed over ground motoring with outgoing ebb tide | | Channel minimum sounding | 3.8 meters | Shallowest recorded sounding along the channel fairway | | Main fairway depth | 4 meters | Prevailing sounding across majority of navigable channel | | Headwind at river mouth | 25 knots | Northeast headwind generating steep chop against ebb current | | Side creek anchorage layover | 24 hours | Wait time for lighter morning wind and high water over the bar |

Frequently Asked Questions