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Cape Bojador (, trans. Rā's Būjādūr; , Bujdur; Spanish language and ; ) is a headland on the west coast of Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W (various sources give various locations: this is from the Sailing Directions for the region), as well as the name of the large nearby town with a population of 42,651. The name of the surrounding province also derives its name from the cape (Bojador Province).
The original name of the cape in Arabic language is Abu Khaṭar (ابو خطر), meaning "father of danger". Cape Bojador, Cape, Africa Encyclopædia Britannica. March 21, 2016 The Spanish pronunciation of "Bojador", /boxad̪or/, is similar. It is shown on nautical charts, media and academic research with the original Portuguese name "Cabo Bojador", sometimes spelled "Cape Boujdour". How Not To Sell A Mercedes In Africa NPR. March 21, 2016 It is said that it is also known as the "Bulging Cape", although no references to this usage are to be found in standard geographical references.
The cape is not prominent on maps but may be located by looking 220 km (120 nautical miles) due south of the south-western point of the hook of Fuerteventura, Canary Islands.
The reason for the fearsome reputation of the cape is not immediately obvious from maps, where it appears as the south-western point of a slight hump in the coastline, bounded at its other end by Cabo Falso Bojador, ten nautical miles to the northeast. Nor does what is said in the Sailing Directions sound terribly formidable:
Examining the Pilot Charts for this area, however, it becomes clear that the main concern lies in the changes in winds that occur at about the point at which Cape Bojador is passed in sailing down the coast. It is here that the winds start to blow strongly from the northeast at all seasons. Together with the half-knot set of current down the coast, these conditions would naturally alarm a medieval mariner used to sailing close to the land and having no knowledge of what lay ahead. In the end it was discovered that by sailing well out to sea—far out of sight of land—a more favorable wind could be picked up.
In addition, this is also believed to be the site where Captain James Riley and the crew of the U.S. brig , sailing at the time from Gibraltar towards the Cape Verde Islands, shipwrecked in August 1815. This tragedy is recounted in the Skeletons on the Zahara, by Dean King, which is set in this region of the African coast. King reports that any coastal map of Western Sahara is inaccurate because of the ever-changing physical features, due to the harsh conditions of the Sahara. It also mentions that the depth of the water surrounding Cape Bojador is deceptively shallow, and the color of the sand underneath the water is a "fearful sight". The cape had a fearsome reputation among mariners even prior to the wreck of the Commerce, as there had been at least thirty known shipwrecks between 1790 and 1806.
Sailors' fears were founded in what they saw, and the phenomena witnessed by the sailors of those days can be seen today. Any ship that has to pass those places makes sure to give a wide berth in order to avoid accidents. The reason for all this display is because Cape Bojador and its surrounding coast extends into the sea in the form of an underwater reef, and, when the waves break after crashing into unseen gullies, the water spouts furiously into high foamy clouds that look like steam, even on calm days. The sea in front to the Cape, and for approximately three miles from the coast and into the sea, is no more than six feet deep. Fish are abundant in the place, and shoals of sardines rise to the surface during the feeding times of larger fish. When this happens, the sea seems to bubble violently as if boiling, and, observed from a distance, the hissing sound produced by the fish flicking their tails on the water's surface adds to the impression that the water is boiling. The tremendous heat wafted westerly on lazy breezes from the desert heightens the impression of extreme temperature, to which the desert dust helps to create a mysterious darkness. Even the ferrous rocks make compass needles whirl erratically.Carlos B. Carreiro (author), Portugal's Golden Years, The Life and Times of Prince Henry "The Navigator", (Dorrance Publishing Co, Inc), p. 64 ISBN 0-8059-6854-7
As recently as 2004, the British Royal Navy's publication Africa Pilot warns that nautical charts of the coastline in the area of Cape Bojador are "reported to be inaccurate". The Cruelest Journey National Geographic. March 21. 2016
Spanish fishers were seal fur traders and hunters, fishers and whalers off the Sahara coast with several enclaves in Cabo Bojador, Dakhla and Ras Nouadhibou from 1500 to present, extending from the west coast of Africa to hunting and whale calves, mostly in Cape Verde, and the Gulf of Guinea in Annobón, São Tomé and Príncipe islands just to 1940. These fishing activities have had a negative impact on wildlife causing the disappearance or endangerment of many species, particularly marine mammals and birds. Actividad Flota sahara-news.webcindario.com The former range of the Mediterranean monk seal ( Monachus monachus) extended throughout the Northwest Atlantic coast of Africa and the Mediterranean and Black Sea coastlines, including all offshore islands of the Mediterranean, and into the Atlantic and its islands: Canary Islands, Madeira, Ilhas Desertas, Porto Santo, and others as far west as the Azores. Vagrants could be found as far south as Gambia and the Cape Verde islands, and as far north as continental Portugal and Atlantic France.
Spain claimed a protectorate over the coastal region from Cap Blanc, far to the south of Cape Bojador, to a point about 200 km to the north in 1884. In 1975, as Spain pulled out following the Madrid Accords, Morocco sought to gain control over the area, leading to disputes between Morocco and the Polisario Front, the organization which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in February 1976. In January 2016 it was announced that the Canary Association of Victims of Terrorism (ACAVITE) intended to sue the Polisario Front for committing "crimes against humanity".Hemidach, Amjad Spanish Association to Sue Polisario for 'Crimes Against Humanity'. Morocco World News. March 21, 2016
In the Tindouf region of Algeria, Daira de Bojador is a refugee camp for Sahrawis named after Cape Bojador.
In December 2015, the bodies of 11 drowned migrants were found 147 kilometers off Cape Bojador. Earlier that same month, the Spanish coastguard rescued 47 African migrants in a boat off the coast of Gran Canaria.Gálvez, J. Jiménez. "11 African migrants drown trying to reach Canary Islands by boat". EL PAÍS in English, March 21, 2016
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