Durban to Hout Bay

After 10 days in Durban there was a weather window of two days for the passage to East London. This stretch of coast is known as the Wild Coast and so it proved to be. We left Durban about 9.00pm to find the wind hard on the nose and a big swell. Soon we were in the Agulhas Current recording speeds of 10 knots on the GPS. The sea was rough and conditions were wet and unpleasant. I was sick before breakfast and started taking Stugeron. After two hours’ sleep, I was feeling much better and did not miss any of my watches. A number of large ships passed. One altered course at our request on the VHF radio. It was dead ahead and closing fast. A block broke on the genoa sheet giving us a scare. The sail was poled out at the time but, thankfully, there was no damage to the pole, mast or us! The next day we recorded 32 knots of wind blowing up the stern. It was time to leave the current and head for East London. The engine cut out as we motorsailed towards the harbour. I sailed with a reefed genoa trying to slow down, while Jeremy had his head in the engine compartment clearing a blockage in the diesel fuel pipe. This time the blockage was nearer to the tank and the pipe could not be removed. Ever resourceful, Jeremy found the old dinghy pump, made a narrow end for the hose and pumped air in to clear the blockage. We were quite close to the harbour entrance by now and very relieved to hear the engine start. We motored into the calm and quiet East London harbour and anchored next to Orca, an American yacht we had been behind in Richards Bay.

Buffalo River Yacht Club was very friendly and helpful. Our friends on Tagish arrived and two World ARC yachts. BRYC opened on evenings when they were normally closed. We could use all their facilities including their braai(BBQ) and well-stocked bar. There were no club or harbour fees. We did have to visit the police station across the river and fill in a simplified flight plan. This was the only paperwork required. We shared a taxi with Dorothy and Brian from Tagish to go to a mall for supplies. Sadly, it was not considered safe to walk into town.

Two days later we were off again with a 24 hour weather window which gave us enough time to reach Port Elizabeth. I took Stugeron straight away. Once again, we took advantage of the Agulhas Current, reaching 9 knots through the water. Sal Darago usually averages 5 knots. There were dolphins in the harbour mouth as we left and 25-100 more on the passage. We caught up with the faster ARC boats. Generally, the wind was under 24 knots and the sea more comfortable on this passage. We left the ARC boats and headed to Port Elizabeth. Tagish joined us there.

The manganese loading dock at Port Elizabeth

Once again the yacht club was friendly and we were able to use all their facilities eg marina berth with water and electricity, showers, restaurant, bar. A flight plan had to be filled in at the office and a payment made to the club of R80 per day. The only drawbacks were the upwind manganese loading dock, which can cover your boat in black dust, and the surge in the marina. We were able to walk to the left of the port gates but not to the right, owing to the risk of being mugged. We found a Spar supermarket and ATM and enjoyed a visit to the South End Museum, where we had a free guided tour of the thought provoking displays from the apartheid days. The happy community of different races and religions at South End was forcibly removed to segregated locations and their houses were bulldozed.

The next weather window came two days later and this time we could expect more settled conditions along the south coast. Tagish decided to go as far as they could, perhaps all the way to Cape Town and we decided to go to Knysna, a town on the “Garden Route” situated on a lagoon with an entrance once described by the British Navy as the most difficult harbour to enter in the world. It was important to enter an hour before high water. We motored in sunny and calm weather for 7 hours, then sailed gently with the wind behind us to the entrance to Knysna. We had studied our sailing directions. We knew we had to keep on the leading lines and keep close to the rocks on the port side, but it was still a scary experience, but not half so scary as our exit three days later an hour before low water.

Enjoying refreshments on board Emily Grace

Short cut from a road bridge

Kathy cycling down a railway track

Jeremy and bikes at Brenton on Sea

Knysna is the nearest thing to a Scottish loch that we’ve seen in South Africa. It is a beautiful place but it’s very built-up on the surrounding hills and busy with tourists at this time of year. We met John and Karah from Orca again. Emily Grace arrived the next day and we all had coffee, desserts, nips and chatter with Tom, Kim and Emily in their spacious motor boat. We’d hired bikes that day and cycled for 6 hours on racing saddles, so it was good to rest our sore backsides on comfortable cushions.  Again, the yacht club was friendly. On arrival, the President gave Jeremy a lift to the nearest garage so that he could fill his containers with diesel. We anchored just off one of the channels in the lagoon so we had no fees to pay and no flight plan to complete. Had we stayed any longer, we think we would have been asked to pay park fees for anchoring. The minimum charge was for 30 days.

Two days later we were off again on a rare day sail to Mossel Bay. We chose to leave Knysna at low water slack tide at 8.30am. However, the tide was still running out of the narrow passage and steep waves were breaking over the shoal ground on our port side. I sat facing backwards with my eyes glued on the leading lines telling Jeremy where to steer. He was looking at the big waves ahead in disbelief. We cleared the rocks and reached the open sea safely. It took a while for our heart rates to return to normal.

The weather was so calm that we motored the 45 miles to Mossel Bay, helped on our way by a knot or two of current. Tagish was anchored outside the harbour along with Mojombo, an Australian yacht and Magalyanne, a French yacht. We spent one day here exploring the fascinating Bartholomew Dias Museum, which houses the replica of his caravel that the Portugese sailed from Portugal to Mossel Bay in 1988, to commemorate 500 years since the first historic voyage. Dias was the first European to sail round the Cape of Good Hope looking for a sea route to India.

Paddle steamer at Knysna

And now for the BIG passage….The next leg of our trip took us round the most southerly point of Africa, Cape Agulhas, and the world famous Cape of Good Hope. The weather was surprisingly settled, but for how long? We needed two days. We left in drizzle and poor visibility, motorsailing. The day became sunny and we had good views of the coast as we motored along without any reefs in the sails and a knot of current pushing us along. At night, pods of dolphins swam towards us like silver torpedoes in the phosphorescence. We passed Cape Ahulhas at 5.00am. The GPS told us we’d sailed 6,800 miles since New Zealand. Then the middle lazy jack, which holds the mainsail in place when it is folded down on the boom, snapped. Jeremy mended it later giving him a chance to practice his splicing skills. We were able to sail without the engine for twelve hours with no mainsail and just a poled out genoa. We had made good time and rounded the Cape of Good Hope at sunset in ideal conditions. Thank you, God, for answering our prayers. Hundreds of birds descended on the ocean to feed. It was a glorious sight and I felt privileged to witness it.

Some issues caused us concern. We did not have a berth booked at Hout Bay and we either entered the unknown harbour at night against the recommendations in the sailing guide, or hove to and stayed out in the open ocean where the weather conditions might change at any moment. We could not agree. I went off watch and when Jeremy called me up, the engine was on, the pole was down, the genoa was furled, shorelines were ready and fenders were attached. We were entering Hout Bay. As we entered, winds up to 27 knots hit us from the surrounding mountains. We avoided fishing vessels and used our chart plotter programme and charts to help us locate the marina. There were no lights on the entrance breakwater. Jeremy steered in and with the help of our spotlight we saw a double berth just ahead of us. I jumped on to the pontoon and we tied up in Hout Bay. It was 45 minutes past midnight. Two men from the catamaran, “Moonjoos”, brought us most welcome cups of coffee. I think we’re going to like Hout Bay.

Sunset at the Cape of Good Hope