Maputo - Local Customs

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Description:

Maputo is the capital of Mozambique and lies about 70nm north of the border with South Africa. It is a major commercial port. Richards Bay is approximately a 320km (200 mile) sail away.

Entrance Notes or Cautions:

The official shipping lane approach to Maputo is a lengthy one (32NM if followed correctly). This is mainly for large ships with a draft of 10m or more.

The entrance to the Bay and in the bay itself, there are a lot of sandbars creating shallow spots and this is why the channel is well marked, however, with the average sailing vessel there are only a few shallow spots to worry about. These are well marked on both the Garmin maps and Navionics, so a much more direct route to the city can be navigated, cutting down on the time needed to get there, particularly when leaving and heading south.

Monohulls have to be more careful than catamarans as there are places that drop to 2m in the bay, but they are well marked.

Position:

25° 59.70'S, 32° 35.88'E (river entrance)