Simon’s Town, South Africa

 

A view of the marina from above Simon's Town

I am writing this on a cold, wet and windy day in the UK. Fortunately, we are in the warmth and protection of our own house! The floor is no longer moving and we don’t need to secure any mooring lines.

 

At the Naval Museum, Simon's Town

We woke up in Simon’s Town on 5^th November. There were no fireworks, just lots to do such as checking in with Chantelle at Simon’s Town Marina Office and introducing ourselves to False Bay Yacht Club. We were given electronic cards for entry to the yacht club premises and the pontoons. The daily charge for our marina berth is 220 rand (approx £11). This includes membership of FBYC, with its hot showers and toilets, restaurant, lounge and bar. Our neighbours on our pontoon, Grant and Venita, gave us lots of helpful information about Simon’s Town and the surrounding area. We met Americans Jack and Jackie in the yacht club and they recommended a reliable taxi driver. We would use Marlin for our trip to Cape Town International Airport. It was safe to walk around Simon’s Town and beyond to Harbour Bay Mall, where there were supermarkets.

 

Made in Sumderland!

We spent the rest of the morning back on SD researching and booking flights to the UK. British Airways fly direct from Cape Town to Heathrow. Our flights were booked for departure on 16^th November. Our UK family was delighted that we would be home for Christmas.

Simon's Town Marina from the Middle Gun Battery

Jeremy sent an email to our friend, Dale. She used to own a property in Simon’s Town and had visited many times. She put us in contact with her friend, Rachel, who lives nearby and happens to be a tourist guide. We would meet with her soon.

Remembrance at the Middle Gun Battery

In the meantime, there was much to do e.g. laundry to take to “Bubbles” in the town, lockers and bilges to check and clean, sails to wash, halyards and sheets to change and wash and charts and cruising guides to be sorted. Some would stay on board and others could go home with us.

One of the views from Table Mountain Nature Reserve

We had time for a little bit of sight-seeing. The main attraction here is the African penguins at Boulder Beach. We have seen them before and they are worth a visit. This time we walked the Historical Mile and explored the Naval Museum, where we found an anchor made in Jeremy’s home town of Sunderland and learnt that parts for Westland helicopters were manufactured in my home town of Blackburn.

Walking in Table Mountain Nature Reserve

Remembrance or Armistice Day is not generally celebrated in South Africa. Simon’s Town has been home to the country’s navy for many years and they remember in a spectacular way. We decided to take part. First, we walked along the road and halfway up a mountain to the Middle Gun Battery. We bought metal poppy badges. Paper poppies and earplugs were given out for free. A small crowd gathered, speeches were made and the large gun was loaded with gunpowder. At 1100 the gun was fired with a deafening noise, followed by a bugle call and two minutes of silence. It was very moving paying our respects as we looked out to sea from the mountainside.

Swimming at The Dam

The next day Rachel and her daughter, Jasmine, picked us up near FBYC and drove us to Silvermine in Table Mountain Nature Reserve. We walked on narrow paths through vegetation to the top of a ridge with super views out to sea below us. After salami sandwiches at the top, we descended to a dam, where Jeremy, Rachel and Jasmine swam. I had to be careful not to contaminate the healing wound in my leg, so I kept an eye on our bags. Back at SD for a cup of tea, we entertained Rachel and Jasmine with videos of our passage across the Indian Ocean and answered their many questions. I think we’ll all meet up again in January. Rachel appeared on Channel 4 as I was writing this. Here’s the link:

https://www.memorabletv.com/episodes/you-wont-believe-this-episode-1-tuesday-22-november-2022-channel-4/

Pool practice in the bar at FBYC

There was just enough time left to check out the chandlery in the marina boatyard and buy a few items for SD. We had to compare a number of eateries in Simon’s Town as well. It would be rude of us to leave without a visit to the club bar, so we took the opportunity to practice our pool skills (not the swimming sort!) Jeremy beat me three times! More practice needed.

Lunch in Tesco Supermarket, UK

Marlin arrived to take us to Cape Town International Airport the next day. After a 12 hour flight and a 3 hour drive in a hire car (with a stop at Tesco on the way) we arrived home. It was raining.

Reunited with Ben, Emily, Ellie and Sophie

We return to Sal Darago in January to continue our sailing adventures.

Have a happy Christmas everyone and a healthy New Year.

East London to Simon’s Town

Spirit Seafood Restaurant looking upstream

 

 

 We stayed on a trot mooring at Buffalo River Yacht Club, East London, for a week. It’s a 

very friendly and welcoming place. The bar is open every day. Once a week, hot food is 

available in the clubhouse and it is quite likely that the fire will be lit for a braai one 

evening. In addition, there are hot showers, toilets, a washing machine and a clothes 

line. Most visitors tie up to the walk-on pontoon. Alternatively, yachts can lie at anchor.

We were given lots of information about the club and East London by Peter the Commodore, who lives aboard on his catamaran. Judy, the Communications Secretary, is also very helpful and kept us informed about anything that was going on in the club. We would recommend that all visiting boats stop at East London, especially as there is no longer a yacht club at Port Elizabeth.

Spirit Seafood restaurant looking downstream

We needed to source a new temperature sensor for our engine. A club member called 

Jarpi, took Jeremy in his car to a number of motor factors. He also took Jeremy to a 

garage where he filled up several diesel cans. Sadly no sensor of the correct type could 

be found. We were told we were the first international boat to arrive this season.

It is important to take local advice on where it is safe to walk or shop in East London. We used the Bolt app and the link to Go taxis and found them reliable and inexpensive. There is a seafood restaurant and bar called Spirit just up river of the bridge. This was easily accessible by dinghy and the food was good.

The first weather window that opened up for us had gale force following winds and a big, sideways swell. It would only last long enough for us to reach Port Elizabeth and would be a very wet and uncomfortable passage. I was not keen. A few days later a longer weather window opened up giving us time to reach Mossel Bay and possibly Simon’s Town. However, we still had following winds gusting to gale force at times until we were west of Port Elizabeth. Nothing is ever perfect, so we went for it, leaving East London as early as possible when the SE winds calmed and the barometer peaked.

Early morning cruise ship

On Tuesday 1^st November, at 0445, we prepared to leave East London. The first hazard after exiting the river was a cruise ship called Europa 2, for which Jeremy took avoiding action. Then he saw a whale between Sal Darago and Europa 2. The whale chose to follow SD for the next 15 minutes.

Breaching whale near SD. Best photo ever for Jeremy

As expected, the wind rose in the evening. The mainsail had been taken down earlier and the genoa poled out to port. We were being whisked along by the Agulhas current with our one sail well reefed and a following wind gusting to gale force. We saw seven or eight ships on the AIS. Fortunately, only one was on the same course astern of us. The officer on duty responded to my call on the VHF radio and altered course to avoid us.

The wind moderated once we had passed Port Elizabeth, although there were still winds of 18-24 knots from the ESE and the seas were big, with thundering, breaking waves surfing down on us at times. Then early on Thursday 3^rd November everything suddenly went quiet. There was no wind and no ships, just a misty haze as we motored along feeling like we had entered a parallel universe.

Rough sunset

Jeremy had been able to get a weather forecast on his phone as we neared the coast. The SE wind would continue and we should make it to Simon’s Town in False Bay. The visibility dropped to less than three miles and we were 95nm from the most southerly point on our passage, Cape Agulhas.

Gradually the wind returned and the sea became boisterous once more as we sailed with just the poled out genoa. After passing Cape Agulhas, we had to motor for a while until just before the entrance to False Bay at Cape Hamilton. It was exciting sailing into False Bay with hazy views of the Cape of Good Hope to port. We had about 30nm to go to the marina at Simon’s Town.

Hazy Cape of Good Hope

Jeremy was able to email Chantelle to let her know we were arriving 10 days early. He said we would anchor off until the morning. The wind strengthened to gale force as darkness fell. The genoa was furled and the pole stowed. We motored towards the anchorage, but it was soon obvious that anchoring in the current conditions was not tenable.

Simon's Town Marina

Chantelle sent a message to say our marina berth was available. With some difficulty I kept SD to windward while Jeremy struggled to find shore lines down below. Gaining shelter from an anchored ship outside the naval dockyard, we managed to put fenders on. Jeremy steered while I went forward with a spotlight to find our starboard-to berth. Another vessel was tied up there. We had passed a vacant berth, which was port side
to. Jeremy turned SD around while I moved our centre line to the other side, tying it on with a bowline in the dark. Two men were on the pontoon to help us in. The wind was blowing at 35 knots. It was 2100 on 4^th November and we had arrived at the marina at Simon’s Town.

Richards Bay and Durban

The morning after our arrival at Richards Bay, South Africa, we were met by Natasha from OSASA (Ocean Sailing Association of South Africa). She told us Immigration would come to the boat. Afterwards, she would take Jeremy and two crew from Endo2 to Customs and then to a mobile phone shop to buy SIM cards. She also advised that walking the pretty coastal path to Meerensee was not safe as people were living in the trees and you were likely to be mugged. The area around Tuzi Gazi and Zululand Yacht Club was safe to wander around during the day.

There was an ATM nearby, a grocery shop and several restaurants and cafes. Boat trips were taking place all weekend and there was a party atmosphere with groups of people, friends and families celebrating birthdays and other special events at the restaurants. Loud music pounded out from the other side of Tuzi Gazi unti 4.00am on Monday morning. During the week, it was very quiet, especially as Endo2 moved to Zululand YC on Sunday. The Dutch yacht, Lucipara2, with Floris and Ivir on board arrived on Sunday morning and also moved to Zululand YC later that day. We felt a little vulnerable on our own on the main wharf, so we moved to the central wharf, away from the wide walkway used by the general public.

Drinks at RNYC, Durban

Eric, the taxi driver recommended by Natasha, picked us up on Monday morning and took us to Zululand YC to collect a Flight Plan. We had to complete the Flight Plan for our passage from Richards Bay to Durban, present it to the Police in Tuzi Gazi for approval, before returning it to Zululand YC later in the day. Eric then drove us to Meerensee, where there were two shopping centres across the road from each other. We shopped at Spar Superstore and returned to Tuzi Gazi in time to have lunch at Dros.

Durban Marina and CBD

We walked to Zululand YC in the afternoon, handed in our flight plan at the office and waited about 20 minutes, while the details were sent to the various officials electronically. The reply came back that we had been cleared to leave Richards Bay the following day.

On Tuesday 18^th October, we motored out of Tuzi Gazi. Port Control gave us permission to leave Richards Bay and we were on our way. The waves were quite big at the breakwater, but settled down as we turned on to our course for Durban. There were many ships, some moving towards the port and others anchored off or drifting, waiting for a pilot to steer them to their berths. In addition, humpback whales were blowing and breaching inshore of us; relaxation wasn’t an option!

Some healing is taking place

In the morning, we approached the ship anchorage north of Durban. It was my watch and dawn had broken, so at least I could see the many ships. I spent two hours avoiding them, with the genoa poled out and a following sea. There were so many on the AIS that it was better to watch by eye than keep checking distances on the machine. It was a relief to wake Jeremy with only two ships to go and the port of Durban just six miles away. Port Control told us to proceed to enter and we tied up to the international small boat dock at 0840 on Wednesday 19^th October.

On passage from Durban to East London

The staff at Durban Marina were very helpful. We were allocated a berth on one of the long pontoons where we met a number of friendly local boat owners. Everyone’s advice was the same: avoid walking outside of the marina and yacht club areas; if you have to cross the road, do not wear a back pack, watch or mobile phone; use a taxi to take you to and from recommended shopping malls. We took the local advice and only ventured across the road to go to the laundry, Barnacle Bill’s chandlery and the ATM and grocery shop at the petrol station.

Following sea

Both yacht clubs (Point YC and Royal Natal YC) were friendly and welcoming. Unfortunately, Point YC’s bar was temporarily closed but they had a restaurant and hot showers. RNYC welcomed us with a bottle of wine! We were given free membership of both clubs for two weeks.

Nine knots in the Agulhas current

Durban had recently experienced severe flooding. Mistakes had been made in the infrastructure and raw sewage was spilling into the harbour. It did not smell, except at low water. However, we were advised to wash our hands after handling lines and fenders.

My leg had not been healing. When we mentioned this to Mrs Naido in Durban Marina office, she strongly recommended us to see Zack in the Citi Pharmacy next to the Shoprite supermarket that we were not meant to walk to! Jeremy and I braved the 300 yard walk without incident. I was rewarded with a cream with which to dress my leg wound twice a day (much to Jeremy’s delight) and a course of penicillin. After one week, the wound seems smaller.

Distant SD on mooring at BRYC

We needed to allow two days to sail the 250nm from Durban to East London. There are no refuges on the appropriately named Wild Coast. A weather window opened up for us and we left our marina berth in Durban at 0345 on Sunday 23^rd October. Thanks to a lift from the Agulhas current (once we found it 15 miles offshore) we were able to complete the passage quite quickly arriving at Buffalo River Yacht Club, East London, at 2130 on Monday 24^th October. It was a challenge picking up and tying bow and stern to a trot mooring in the dark. We were very pleased to have arrived before a strong SW blow.

La Reunion to Richards Bay, South Africa

 

Last walk Chemin des Anglais, Reunion

We checked the weather. Our neighbours, Alain and Therese, checked the weather. We met with the crew of Endo2 and checked the weather together. It was agreed that the weather was probably as good as we were likely to get on this passage.

Last lunch at La Caz, Le Port

We walked over to the Capitainerie, paid our bill (25 euros per night) and filled in the departure forms for Customs and Immigration. We intended to leave on Tuesday 4^th October at midday.

Hydrovane steering

Monday was spent doing laundry, shopping, cooking a three day stew and preparing Sal Darago for a 12-14 day passage. Udo, Heike and Woolfgang from Endo2 decided that they would leave the same day as us.

We were up early on Tuesday, finished all the preparations and waited for Customs and Immigration to arrive, stamp our passports and clear us out. They arrived about 1100, went to Endo2 first and told us we should be flying our yellow flag so they could see us in the marina. Whoops! We always thought the yellow flag was to be flown on arrival, but we weren’t going to argue with officials. Within minutes our passports were stamped and we were free to leave.

Big following sea

We had lunch first, motored round to the fuel berth for diesel and finally left Le Port at 1338. Endo2 had their sails up and were on their way ahead of us. We were in a wind shadow for several hours with light WSW or SW winds instead of the usual SE Trades. We motorsailed south. Endo2 did likewise. It was decided to keep in touch via VHF at 0800 and 2100, as long as we were in range (15 miles). We picked up the Trade Winds just before midnight and switched the engine off.

Small genoa

We were lucky to have the moon shining every night and fairly clear skies at first. However, it was a case of engine on then engine off as the wind speeds varied from 6-12 knots. We flew twin headsails with the full genoa poled out to starboard and the no.2 jib to port. When the wind died down in the afternoon, we flew the ghoster(half spinnaker) and the genoa. Jeremy struggled to take the ghoster down when the wind increased at midnight.

Passengers not usually allowed!

As we approached the area of generally bad weather SE of Madagascar, Endo2 gave us a weather update. They were in email contact with a weather router who told them to expect wind speeds of 28knots from the NE or ENE with gusts up to 35knots for the next 24-36 hours. And so it came to pass.

The swell came first giving us a boisterous sea, then the wind. We reefed down. We made a gradual turn 150 miles south of Madagascar towards Richards Bay. It was rough for a while but very few waves broke over us. When the front passed the wind died and we had to motor again. The pattern of variable wind speeds returned. The last VHF message from Endo2 before they went out of range reported SW winds of 20 knots on Saturday morning. The advice from their router was to make Richards Bay on Friday or stay out at sea until Monday as it would be too dangerous for small craft to cross the Agulhas current. It was Wednesday afternoon and we had 327nm to go to our waypoint off Richards Bay.

Sunrise arrival at Richards Bay

We decided to go for it engine on, sails flying, swell increasing and conditions becoming scarier. The Transequatorial Current, which had always been with us, giving us an extra one to one and a half knots, turned against us; the engine cut out and Neco, our power steering device, was making alarming noises. Jeremy found a loose grub screw and it sounded as if a cog was missing from a different part. The engine was suffering from lack of diesel and eventually all was well with a new primary filter fitted. Our wind pilot, Hydrovane, steered under engine and sail for hours.

SD tied to the international dock

The SW winds came 12 hours early. The twin headsails were taken down, the mainsail was raised and reefed twice and the genoa was furled to a small triangle. It was a bumpy ride. A passing bird obviously thought so too and took refuge on our stern for four hours. Jeremy saw the cruise ship Saga Voyager on our AIS. He called them on VHF and asked about the state of the Agulhas current. They said to expect waves of 2-3metres. As we had that amount of swell anyway, we decided to continue, crossing the two mile stretch in the dark in the small hours of Saturday 15^th October.

Almost empty Tuzi Gazi

Port Control at Richards Bay could not find any evidence that we had permission to enter and suggested we remain at sea. They accepted we had permission when Jeremy told them the amount he’d paid (300 rand) and the date he paid it. We entered an almost empty Tuzi Gazi. The marina had gone. Endo2 was tied up to the centre dock; they had arrived seven hours earlier than us. We tied up on the opposite dock. It was 0640 and the sun was rising. We had completed the 1411nm in 11 days.

Lunch at Dros, Tuzi Gazi

La Reunion

 

Supplies arriving by helicopter above Dos d'Anne

At present all international boats must clear in and out at Le Port. It might be possible to have a short stay in St Pierre with permission from the harbourmaster, but this would have to be arranged in advance. It is hoped that new pontoons will be built in St Pierre. No construction work has started yet.

It's a long way down to Riviere Galets

After stocking up with food at U Express and Carrefour, we went to SFR on the main street and bought SIM cards. We chose cards with calls and 5gb data for 2 weeks at a cost of 22 euros each. There are other options. We went to a pharmacy nearby and bought some recommended waterproof and breatheable dressings for my leg.

Mafat from Roche Verre Bouteille

There are laundry facilities at the old marina near the Capitainerie. A key and tokens are available from the Capitainerie. There are other options in town. We like Eco laverie, which is about 20 minutes walk away. You can use euros or a bank card. Jeremy knew that we were running out of cooking gas, but it proved impossible to fill the Australian bottle or the British blue calor gas bottle commercially.

The view from Roche Verre Bouteille

Now that we had tried to complete the essentials it was time to explore La Reunion. We hired a car for five days at Bourbon in the main street for 150 euros. Jeremy drove (on the right) to the capital St Denis. We were able to exchange our Mauritian rupees and our Australian dollars at Western Union, then on to Decathalon for new walking shoes. Just about anything recreational or sporting can be bought at this store. Provisioning for the next passage to South Africa needed to be done, so we went to the massive Carrefour hypermarket and wore ourselves out walking around it.

Halfway lunch break on Tour de Piton Lelesse

With only fumes left in our gas bottle, we were getting desperate. Only one size (large) gas bottles can be purchased or exchanged. However, there was a man on the marina who could help. He doesn’t speak English, but communicates quite well. The marina staff have his details. We used his equipment to fill a British bottle

Le Port from Dos d'Anne

La Reunion’s three cirques, Salazie, Cilaos and Mafat, have World Heritage status. We have walked in all three in the past. The village of Dos d’Anne is one of the nearest places to Le Port for hikes and it can be reached by bus or car. We drove there and saw magnificent views of Mafat from Roche Verre Bouteille.

Feeling my way down the marked path

The next day we were up early on local advice and in the car by 0630. It took two hours to drive through St Denis to Salazie and on through Hellbourg to Ilet a Vidot. The road becomes increasingly narrow, steep and full of hairpin bends as you drive deeper into the mountains. We did a circular hike called Tour du Piton Lelesse. Do not believe the book. It said 9.5km in 4 hours. We took 7 hours. Jeremy’s phone recorded 20km and my smart watch recorded 14.5km. It was a challenge but I’m glad we did it and I was pleased with my leg that did much better than my knees! I think we took 3 days to recover.

Our hire car at the start and finish of Tour de Piton Lelesse

Do you recall from a previous blog post a random meeting with two people from Reunion? David invited us to his house in St Leu for lunch. We drove to St Pierre first to see the marina for ourselves and talk to the harbourmaster. Friends whom we had met in the past had sold their boat and moved on. The wind was strong, the air full of salt and the waves were breaking heavily on the reef.

Harbour entrance, St Pierre

We had a lovely, relaxed lunch at David’s house sitting on his decking, admiring the view and chatting to his daughter and friends. Davy Stolk is a famous South African surfer and Brett is a gifted South African carpenter who was replacing David’s old decking. Amazingly, David went to the same university as us ie Durham, admittedly 20 years apart. Even more surprising, he went to the same college as us, Hild Bede and lived in Bede for a while. Later this week, David is going to sample lunch on Sal Darago. Will there be more coincidences?

Davy, Brett, David, Kathy, Jeremy

Last night, Jeremy and I were invited to a leaving party for the crew of S/V Endo. About 20 people gathered on the edge of the marina for drinks and snacks. Almost all were speaking French except for our immediate neighbours who kindly spoke English with us.

We might leave La Reunion next week around the same time as Endo. It all depends on the weather.

Rodrigues to La Reunion

The first time we visited Rodrigues we met an interesting woman called Birgite. She washed our laundry and it was the cleanest we’d had returned anywhere. We made some enquiries, found Birgite and arranged to meet for lunch at Kafe Rose. We ate and chatted for almost two hours. This time we made sure we exchanged phone numbers, so we can keep in touch.

Pre lunch coffees

We had heard that the Queen was ill at Balmoral. Like the rest of the UK and most of the world we were shocked that she died shortly afterwards on 8^th September. May she rest in peace with her husband Prince Philip. After such a long life of service, it feels like the end of an era. We flew our ensign at half mast.

We went ashore and visited the offices of Immigration and Customs. We were told officers would come to the jetty the following Monday and we could clear out. Afterwards, we caught a bus to Gravier and walked 5.4km to St Francois. This was a coastal walk but it had it’s ups and downs including a scramble up a near vertical rock face!

Waiting for Bergite at Kafe Rose

On the way we met David and Frederique, who live in Reunion. We had a short conversation with them and gave them our contact details. Perhaps we would meet them again in La Reunion.

First long walk in a while

I was very pleased with my leg, which gave less trouble than my knees! Apparently, by the end of the day we’d walked 8.6km. We were fortunate to be given a lift to Mount Lubin (not far from Port Mathurin) as the 1420 bus did not come. A Dutch ketch called Luciparaz with Floris and Ivor on board was tied to the wharf in the harbour.

On the way to St Francois

Two days later, we were up at 0500 ready to weigh anchor and move out of the harbour until the supply ship, Black Rhino, had berthed. Ted from Serengeti called the coastguard as there was no vessel visible on AIS for 21 miles. Soon afterwards, Black Rhino called the coastguard to say they expected to arrive at 0800! Consequently, we didn’t have to leave the harbour until 0730.

Walking in Rodrigues

We checked out, had lunch and left Rodrigues on Monday 12^th September. Once we were clear of the big swells on the surrounding reef, we had a good passage for most of the four day sail to La Reunion. We sailed south of Mauritius, crossed a shipping route that went between the two islands, and soon caught sight of the mountains of La Reunion.

Twin headsails all the way

On our last day and night the sunny weather gradually gave way to cloud and rain on the horizon. The wind increased as darkness fell. We reefed down as the wind reached 29 knots behind. At this rate, we’d be in Le Port de Galets by midnight. Once we were on the west coast of La Reunion, the wind appeared to switch off and calm was restored. All sails and poles were taken down and the port called on VHF 16; no response, so we called the French Coastguard and were told the port was closed until 0800. We could not enter until then and there was nowhere to anchor!

Ideal cruising conditions

We took turns to watch the helm as we drifted outside the port for the next 8 hours. There was still no response to our call on VHF 16 in the morning, so we entered anyway and headed toward the Office du Capitainerie. A member of staff shouted from the quay to turn around and go to the new marina where we were expected and we should use VHF 09. 

At 0900 a member of staff took our lines and secured us to pontoon 05. Angelique gave us a pack and electronic keys and answered our questions. Later, Michael came by to say Customs were delayed. Customs and Immigration arrived together later that morning. Our papers were all in order and our passports were stamped. We were free to explore La Reunion.