It doesn’t get any more gorgeous than this. We had sailed from Diglipur to stunning Sound Island in the southern end of the bay that encloses Maya Bunder, on Middle Andaman Island.
The water was so clear where we anchored (in ten metres!) that we could see the anchor chain all the way down to the bottom.
On the beach the sand was soft and white and there were baby stingrays darting around in the shallows. Rocks on the beach were layered like broad steps and we could see from this that the island had been affected by an earthquake in the distant passed.
Our walk along the beach was interspersed with stops to examine the amazing patterns made by crabs (do they make this wonderful art in a conscious way?) and puzzle over footprints of strange animals.
The following morning we left at 7am and interrupted a large pod of dolphins catching their breakfast. They were quite a way from Bali Hai but came up to Yantara to frolic and show off their swimming prowess and stayed with the boat for quite a long time. (Photo credit Yantara).
We made our way back to one of our favourite spots in the Andaman’s, North Button Island. That evening the crews of Bali Hai, Yantara and Beach House had a great candlelit barbecue on the beach.
Just as we were going to bed we saw a boat lit up like Christmas tree that was hooting like it was going out of fashion. We had literally switched everything off – lights, (except anchor lights) radio etc and as the vessel was quite a long way off and we were happily tucked into an anchorage near the beach we just decided to go to bed and ignore it – it was after 11 pm after all. The next morning it occurred to us that it could have been coastguard but at the time we just didn’t think to put radio on. We had heard that other boats had been called up late at night by the coastguard but I don’t think they can expect a response when a boat is legitimately anchored at that time of night.
Before we left for Havelock Island the following morning we had a beautiful swim in the crystal clear waters off a gorgeous beach. We were anchored in 18 metres and were amazed to see the chain resting on the seabed when we pulled up the anchor.
That evening we had another fabulous meal at our favourite restaurant “Something Different”. The chef excelled himself with delectable tandoori fish and chicken and an assortment of vegetable curries. As always the service was great.
We left Tadman Bay for Port Blair at 8 am the following morning. It was sad to think this was our last Island stop before heading on to Malaysia in the next few days. We had such a great few weeks in the Andaman Islands!
If you would like to read more about the inaugural Andamans Yacht Rally and our trip up north follow the link below:
Salty tales from Bali Hai on Sunday 
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