Location: Alphonse Group Seychelles
Vessel: SH Diana IMO 9921740
Itinerary: Paradise Isles of the Indian Ocean
Tiny Bijoutier Island is a stereotypical sandy atoll straight out of a shipwreck movie. It is about half the size of a soccer pitch, and just a couple of lonely palm trees hold the sand together.
Diana is anchored just over a kilometre off what little shore there is thanks to the wide expanse of seagrass beds and coral outcrops surrounding the tiny island. We come ashore in familiar Zodiac Mk5s (the 5m ones typically equipped with 50hp tiller outboards) where our shore party has set up snorkelling zones and stand-up paddleboards. I can see that stand-up and fall-down paddleboards are identical and wonder how I am going to be able to tell them apart.
While our 100 or so passengers wander the shoreline, swim, snorkel or fall off their paddleboards, I do a quick 10-minute lap of the island, being careful not to encroach on the centre where we are told some shearwaters are nesting.
Little Bijoutier (Jeweller) Island is situated in the channel separating the two main atolls of the Alphonse Group, 400km southwest of the capital, Victoria, where we boarded Diana. Known for their relatively pristine natural environment, the islands attract a small number of nature-loving tourists.
Back aboard, we meet Captain Svein-Rune Strommes from Norway and his senior team, which includes members from Venezuela, Italy, Ukraine, India, and the Philippines. Out of a capacity of 192, there are about 130 passengers in total, as well as 140 staff and crew. Our nationalities include mainly Brits, Americans, Canadians, and Russians, along with a sprinkling of other nations.
Our expedition team of 11 (above) reflects a similar spread of nationalities with an even wider range of specialist subjects from marine biology to destination experts.
Please visit the blog regularly as we explore this amazing destination and this elegant and capable vessel.
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