Wind observations from ships along the sea-lane off the Somali coast are used for estimating the seasonal increase in wind stress during the southwest monsoon. The stress has a relatively large maximum (~4--6 dyn cm-2) in the region between 8¿N and 12¿N during June, July, and August. Maximum values of the zonal wind stress curl occur about 6¿N--8¿N. During this monsoon period a large-scale eddy (~600 km in diameter) or eddies occur in the Somali basin. Wind stress averages (1922--1972) for the northwestern Indian Ocean are also given. Yearly southwest monsoon averages for the region subjected to the strong monsoon winds show that stress components may vary from year to year by nearly a factor of 2.