270 miles of pleasant sailing separate Tenerife from Dakhla. " In the moonlight, we discern a group of dolphins that accompany us despite the hum of the machines. "Cetaceans are omnipresent in this southbound descent towards the tropics.
Terrible backwash in the harbor
The reception, at the quay in the fishing port, is operated by a real "commando". Customs officers, border police and the port captain make up the reception committee! Reasonably nice and courteous, they inspect the boat with meticulousness. Once the formalities are completed, we leave the dock where a terrible surf is brewing, to anchor 100 meters from the dock.
What are these circular black dinghys?
On our way in, we noticed some guys wading, strangely clinging to a truck inner tube, frogmarched in the rocks of the pier. We were told that their hobby was to catch octopus. On land, the country seems poor, disorderly, not very clean... People do not seem to be miserable, nor particularly unhappy. Hundreds of small stores sell everything.
Tailors' shops make clothes under your nose with their sewing machines. Carpenters assemble tables and furniture by the light of a modest 40-watt bulb. Guys repairing bikes and mopeds in greasepainted rooms, so black on a dark background that you would think they were only made of grease.
It is full of people in the streets, on foot and by "cab". The sketchy dwellings of the neighboring district give it the appearance of a slum. They are all topped with huge satellite dishes. The atmosphere is rather serene and one does not feel insecure...
This morning, the sky is gray and low ceiling...
The twenty knots of wind that settled during the night raised a rough chop. This makes anchoring uncomfortable, even dangerous, as the rocks of the jetty are not far away. Inside the harbor, behind the small riprap, it is not much better. The fishing boats, of which there are more than ten in a row, are forced to leave immediately, before crashing into each other.
Everyone "clears out", but to go where? Nowhere. Just stay in the bay, but outside the docks! The waves are as hard as inside, but at least there is room. It's even hugeâeuros!
Surprising "bad weather" provisions, to say the least
I don't know if it's that they don't have an anchor or what, but a lot of boats stay adrift, engines idling. Then, after a while, they come up to windward. They spend the day driving side by side, across the breeze, ballooning like corks in this natural bay with its swirling chop! Curious port that we can only visit when the weather is calm and that we have to leave when it gets a little rough.
The titanic deepwater port project, located 40 km north of Dakhla, is progressing slowly. This vast complex will include a commercial port, another dedicated to coastal and deep-sea fishing, and an area for the shipbuilding industry. Delivery is scheduled for 2029.
Fishing activities are of paramount importance in the local economy. Dakhla also has the first oyster production site in Morocco.
Agriculture is also part of the region's resources
The agglomeration benefits from plans to support the expansion of small-scale agriculture in accordance with the rules of sustainable development. It exports market garden products such as tomatoes, melons, etc. grown in greenhouses. Animal husbandry is also one of the main sources of income: goats, dromedaries... and even ostriches. The setting up of a seawater desalination unit and a vast wind farm should soon contribute to promote agro-industry.
This city, between sea and dunes, attracts more and more tourists
For those who are willing to spend some time, an expedition in the desert will allow to contemplate, in breathtaking landscapes, migratory birds, wild cats, fennecs... As for those who take the sea towards the South, on their way to Senegal, they will cross, in a few miles, the mythical Tropic of Cancer. This will give rise to a memorable ceremony of induction in the respect of the secular maritime traditions...
