Port Elizabeth to Simon’s Town

We enjoyed our 48 hour stop-over in PE. The Algoa Yacht Club was a friendly place; Spar supermarket was within walking distance; there were two chandleries in the port and good food and beer in the marina restaurant. What more could a cruising sailor wish for? The only downside was the coal loading bay across the harbour, which sprinkled coal dust liberally over the marina when the wind was in a certain direction. Sara II now has zebra stripes on her furling genoa!

We left PE on Wednesday afternoon, 2^nd December. Soon we were surrounded by lots of dolphins, perhaps 100, and many more gannets and other seabirds, all enjoying a feeding frenzy. Regular readers of this blog will know what the dolphins came to tell us. The strong winds arrived the next day, blowing force 7, and it was surprisingly chilly. The following SE wind gusted to gale force and the 3m swell had breaking waves on top, which sent splashes into the cockpit. There were many fishing vessels to avoid and a fair number of ships in the area south of Mossel Bay.

Breaking Bad south of Knysna

 We had no problems rounding Cape Agulhas, which is the most southerly point of South Africa. We chose to pass between the six and twelve mile banks as the wind and swell had eased considerably. We had been goosewinged but as we turned towards False Bay, John took the pole holding the genoa down and we were able to sail on a reach with the wind abaft the beam (apologies to non-sailors). 

Cloud over Cape Point

Later in the night the wind strengthened as we passed between Danger Point and Cape Point at the entrance to False Bay. Here Table Mountain has a local effect on the wind. Jeremy decided to move our course away from a narrow passage inside rocks in order to have more sea room. Fog came down soon afterwards, so it was just as well that we were well clear of rocks and shoal patches.

The end of the line: False Bay YC, Simon's Town

We tied up in our reserved berth in False Bay Marina at 0750 on Saturday 5^th December. John called Bullnose, the South African Navy, on VHF as they operate the marina, which is next door to the naval base. We were welcomed at the yacht club and given free temporary membership. It wasn’t long before we made use of the hot showers, the cold beers and the restaurant. Our passage from Pangkor, Malaysia to Simon’s Town, South Africa was over.

Returning from a hot shower

Jeremy and I left Sara II on Monday 7^th December and intend to do a little sight-seeing before meeting up with Jeremy’s cousin, Barbara, in Fish Hoek.

We fly home to Suffolk for Christmas on 15 December.

Durban to Port Elizabeth

We left Durban at 0720 on Saturday 28^th December. There was a small exodus of yachts as a suitable weather window of NE opened up. Soon there were several yachts calling each other on VHF to ask if anyone had found the infamous Agulhas Current that flows in a southerly direction at 3-6 knots. We followed the example of Wandering Dream and motorsailed seawards. We found the current and we stayed in it, recording speeds over the ground up to 11.9 knots. We maintained 10+ knots for most of the trip.

Sometimes the wind was light and we motorsailed; at other times it was fresh to strong and we sailed downwind goosewinged. During both nights we had to gybe, which involved taking the pole down and transferring it to the other side.

Soon after turning away from the current towards Port Elizabeth, the wind died as though someone had switched it off. We had to motor the last 50 miles. At dawn a thick fog descended, so we had to keep a careful watch, using AIS and radar to assist. Fortunately, as we approached the harbour the fog lifted. John called Port Control and we were given permission to enter. He then called Algoa Bay Yacht Club and we were told a berth was available.

We tied up at 1130 on Monday 30^th November. Checking in was easy – just one form to complete. We were made very welcome and made good use of the hot showers, the bar and the restaurant.

We intend to leave PE today (Wed 2^nd December) and hope to sail all the way to Simons Town assuming the weather stays favourable. SE winds are forecast.

Still in Durban

Although there have been no gales, the wind has blown from the southerly sector, which means we would have been bashing into the waves in the south flowing Agulhas Current. So, we’re still in Durban. We’ve used the extra days here to explore some of the city’s attractions. Enjoy the photos.

Pleasure cruise around Durban Harbour

Durban Marina and Water Front

Kathy on top of Moses Mabhida Stadium

Kathy inspecting the Presidential Suite

Kathy and Guide on the pitch

Muti Market, Durban

Khululiwe Nxele, our Durban Gude, and guess who?

Marina view from De Roma revolving restaurant

Durban City view including harbour entrance from De Roma's

We’re hoping to leave on Saturday 27^th November with northerly winds, at last, which should take us to East London and, maybe, beyond.

Richards Bay to Durban

Tuzi Gazi Marina in Richards Bay had suffered considerable damage during a storm that whipped through it at over 50knots about a week prior to our arrival. Repairs to the pontoons were well underway but there were no vacant berths. We tied up in the international harbour alongside a catamaran called Ballyhoo. Paul, the owner, was very helpful and gave John a lift to Meerensee so that he could fill his diesel cans. Jeremy and I needed some exercise and walked for 45 minutes to the supermarket for provisions. We didn’t buy much as there was a choice of about 5 restaurants in Tuzi Gazi, all of them offering reasonably priced meals. The laundry washed our clothes, Wi-Fi was available in the restaurants and there was no charge for the berth, electricity and water. We had to be careful using the water as this region of South Africa was experiencing a severe drought.

We tried to leave Richards Bay on Friday 13^th November (not an ideal date) but we were unable to complete the lengthy clearing out process before the five offices closed for the weekend. The next weather window was 16^th November. John had completed the Flight Plan and a taxi took us to all the offices until we had 5 stamps and permission to leave. We started the process at 0800 and finished about 1030. We left Richards Bay that afternoon and motored out of the harbour and into a big, long swell with light winds. We passed through a ship anchorage for the first 10 miles

The wind went round to the north and freshened during the night. John and I poled out the genoa and we ran before the wind with the mainsail on a preventer goosewinged. Jeremy put a companionway board in as the following sea rose higher and waves started to break behind us.

Boat crane, Durban Harbour

We approached Durban Harbour just before 0600 the following morning.  John called the port on VHF 09 and a very friendly controller took our details and sent a launch to guide us into the small boat area. We were given the phone number of Durban Marina so that we could book a berth. Someone answered John’s call, even though it was only 0630, and told us we would be telephoned at 0800 and helped into a berth. We anchored off and had breakfast. The phone rang as we’d been told, a berth was allocated and several members of the marina staff helped us tie up. I suppose there had to be a glitch and there was. Minutes after tying up we were asked to move across to an empty berth opposite. We did this and tied up again. After about an hour when John was ashore, a very apologetic berthing officer asked us to move to the adjacent berth. They used a launch to pull Sara II over and Jeremy and I secured the lines for the third time in as many hours. Thankfully, we are still in the same berth after 5 days.

There are many warnings about the dangers of walking in Durban, so we are careful not to show wallets, handbags, phones etc. and we keep to the busy main streets. It seems to us to be just as it was 3 years ago. Both yacht clubs, Point YC and Royal Natal YC, are friendly and we have joined them for free for 2 weeks. Both clubs have Wi-Fi, showers, bars and restaurants, so we are very comfortable.

We have been out twice with Jeremy’s cousin, Pat, enjoying lunch at the Pirate Arms on Wilson’s Quay and in the huge, out of town, Gateway Mall. It was great to catch up with each other’s news.

We are now waiting for a 48 hour weather window so that we can sail further south to East London. This is proving to be elusive, but there is a chance that we can leave here late on Sunday 22^nd November.

Reunion to Richards Bay, South Africa

The 12 day passage was much better than the one we experienced in Sal Darago 3 years ago. We had no gales. Occasionally, we had gusts of wind up to 35-40 knots. However, we did have strong winds right on the nose, a 2-4 metre swell with waves breaking over Sara II and one of them half filling the cockpit.

We also experienced following winds and would have made good progress if we hadn’t had a 2-3 knot current against us. As a result we did not make the waypoint 150 miles south of Madacascar before the winds changed to SW force 6. After several hours of making no progress against the wind, we tried motor sailing for 20 hours and got to within 34 miles of the point where we could turn more north and start sailing again. Unfortunately, it was decided to stop motoring and heave to. Fourteen hours later, having drifted backwards quite a distance, Sara II began to sail SE. Soon enough, we were able to tack back to westerly and passed the waypoint 20 hours later. We made good progress for a few days before the wind died and we motored for 60 hours. On our last day the wind started blowing from the NNE from 0800 and we arrived at Richards Bay with 30 knots behind us. Twelve hours later a SW gale hit the area. We were pleased to be in port.

During the worst of the winds, as darkness fell, two birds attempted and then landed on Sara II. They were soaking wet and shivering with exhaustion. We made a nest out of a cardboard box, but one of the birds flew off in fright, while the other decided to stay for B&B. Fully rested, the following morning, it said farewell and flew off to who knows where?

The bird says goodbye to John

Sweating in Richards Bay, we are waiting for a 24 hour favourable wind to take us to Durban.