The Equatorial Indian Ocean spreads endlessly blue before us, hiding Addu Atoll just over the horizon. With landfall just hours away, we stared ahead, searching for a sign of land. Finally, we made out a few buildings, coconut palms and the white crest of waves breaking on the fringing reef.

But land? The Maldives is a country quite bereft of land. Stretching 470 miles north and south on the Lakshadweep-Chagos Plateau south of India, the Maldives has no single piece of land more than five square miles or 2 meters high.

It is comprised of about 1,200 islands situated in 26 atolls. Not surprisingly, the ancient Maldivian word “atolu” gave rise to our modern-day word “atoll.” That the Maldives exists at all is due to its location on the volcanic plateau and the sacrifice of an incalculable number of coral polyps.

These same coral polyps have made the Maldives one of the world’s top dive destinations. And given that 99.9 percent of the county’s territory is Indian Ocean it could be a boater’s paradise. But restrictions make it an awkward place to visit.

We negotiated a pass into the southern-most atoll where the scent of frangipani sat richly over the briny scent of low tide. Sailing past a Gauguin-esque scene of white sand, coconut palms and pastel-painted concrete houses we paralleled a causeway that divided the deep blue of the inner lagoon from the pale aqua and brown of the fringing reef.

And over the causeway, like colorful wraiths, women in bright robes and flowing headscarves rode motorbikes to and from their jobs on the resort island of Gan.

Arab traders arrived in these islands about 900 years ago, bringing with them their Muslim faith. As legend tells it, at the site of a virgin sacrifice (a practice of the local inhabitants probably of Sri Lankan/Indian descent) one brave Arab stood in place of that month’s virgin and read from the Quran to drive away the demons. The king ordered a wholesale conversion to Islam, and the edict remains.

Today, with almost 100 high-end, exclusive resorts, the Maldives is not unknown to jet-setting leisure seekers and divers. But one hears almost nothing of the Maldivian culture or people. The recently ousted ex-President Gayoom (who ruled for more than 30 years) forged a policy promoting high-end tourism at dozens of resorts situated carefully on uninhabited islands to minimize the contact between his Muslim citizens and the decadent, heretical Western visitors. Forty years ago there was not one hotel on the islands.

In contrast to fly-in tourists, yachtsmen have many opportunities to interact with the local people. There are three ports of entry: the island of Uligamu in the far north, the island of Gan (Addu Atoll) in the far south, and the capital of Male, in central Maldives.

Clearance

A few dozen boats stop each year in Uligamu as they transit between Asia and the Red Sea. Clearance is straightforward and free, and once the officials leave your boat you are free to swim and walk ashore, but you are not allowed to move your boat.

You may have the chance to interact with a few local fishermen or families. Facilities for yachts are non-existent in Uligamu.

In Male, where you are required to have an agent to assist with clearance, bureaucracy has been honed to a fine art. Costs are higher than most other international ports: about $300 for agent and clearance papers, plus $250 for a cruising permit for one month.

This Department of Tourism permit defines your right to visit only a few atolls and islands in the designated Tourism Zone. For about $1,000 you can cruise the entire Maldives chain (with the same island restrictions) for three months. Permission to anchor off a resort must be obtained from the resort itself. These fees may vary depending on the tonnage of the yacht.

In Male, you can buy a variety of goods. Workshops can facilitate simple repairs or arrange air freighting of needed parts from overseas. All produce, with the exception of bananas, breadfruit, pineapples and papayas, is imported from India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Diesel, available in Male and Addu Atoll, is less than $1 a liter, a bargain in the Indian Ocean.

Clearance into and out of Addu Atoll, in the far south, can be done without an agent, and for only about $4, unless one stays more than 72 hours, in which case an agent must be employed for a fee of $50. No cruising permit is issued, but with customs permission you are allowed to sail to the other islands in the atoll.

Boats wishing to traverse the length of the Maldives, from south to north, can request an “Inter Atoll Permit,” which is free, but which allows no stops en route, not even in Male. Diesel and a few basic provisions are available.

Both Male and Addu Atoll are convenient ports for changing crew. There are numerous international flights into Male daily, and flights join the capital with Gan, on Addu Atoll, five times a day.

Capital of tranquility

No matter where you make your entry to the Maldives, the tranquility of life is striking. Male, the capital, is home to 80,000 of the country’s 360,000 citizens. From the anchorage near the airport, you can access the town (it’s hardly a city) by an inexpensive ferry ride.

In the bright, narrow streets you can find local restaurants serving Maldivian curry dishes, fish, and cool drinks. Muezzins call the faithful to prayer five times a day. Most everything is closed on Friday.

You won’t find many other tourists in Male; those who are there are likely awaiting pre-arranged transport to their resort or a flight out of the country. Many Maldivians speak excellent English, which they learn from first grade, and are eager to interact and help you find needed services.

The second largest town, Hithadoo, is located on Addu Atoll where 13,000 people make their homes of concrete and coral rock under the shade of coconut palms. Arriving by boat in Addu, we anchored over the clear waters of a tiny inner harbor, cleared in, and switched gears from ocean passage-makers to, well, a more Maldivian lifestyle.

When the British military leased Addu Atoll during the Cold War, it built the airport, established schools (which served the locals as well as British children) and created a unique feature in the Maldives: causeways between islands. Addu is the only atoll in the country where you can travel by land from one island to the next.

Both on foot and by motorbike we explored the ex-military buildings on Addu Atoll, the coconut plantations of Feydoo, and the town of Hithadoo with its sandy streets and curved coral walls. Local fishing boats with high, curved prows, called dhonis arrived at the quay with the day’s catch of tuna.

Along the waterfront road, under the shade of takamaka trees, men lounged two or four abreast in their joli, homemade seats formed by tying nets over a frame of PVC pipes. We found a few small, open-air restaurants, each with a surprisingly similar menu: curried fish, chicken or vegetables, noodle dishes, plus pizza and burgers. Main courses cost $3 5.

Being a Muslim country, no alcohol is served or sold anywhere outside of resorts but fresh fruit juices and sodas abound. These small establishments and a pocketful of “guest houses” now found on both Addu and Male herald a change in tourism from exclusive resorts only to catering to a minority of independent travelers.

Ten miles of land travel is about the extent of land-based entertainment in Addu. For many, the primary allure of the Maldives lies in the clear, calm waters of the lagoons, and the challenge of the surf on the outer reefs.

With a cruising permit you can visit dozens of world-class dive sites, or drop the surfers on some of the Indian Ocean’s best breaks. Yachts visiting only Addu Atoll can access some of the country’s best dive sites.

In 1998, an El Nino event bleached much of the coral of the northern and central Maldives. Addu Atoll, miraculously, was spared. Here, you’ll find hundreds of species of reef fish gliding amongst spectacular coral gardens. Just off the commercial port of Hithadoo in 110 feet of water lies an oil tanker that was torpedoed in 1944. Exploring the British Loyalty wreck is one of the highlights of diving the Maldives.

As we sailed away, the islands faded from view long before the after-images left our minds. There was a lingering scent of jasmine and frangipani, curry and wood smoke; the bright flashes of women in colorful clothing, flowing along sandy streets; the ululating song of the muezzins pre-dawn; the sight of men with embroidered hats intent on their chess or dominoes under the shade of coconut palms.

And below it all, on the silent side of the Maldives, the world of coral reefs, turtles, spinner dolphins and schools of bright fish darting in and out of the dancing anemones.

Sue Hacking and her husband, Jon, have been sailing their 45-foot Wauquiez catamaran, Ocelot, around the world’s oceans since 2001. To read more about their travels, visit http://hackingfamily.com. Comments on this story are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.