Photos from South Africa, Namibia and St Helena

 Here are the photos that I was unable to send in St Helena or Fernando de Noronho.

Landrovers in Spencer Bay

Last lunch in Luderitz

We thought we were alone in Hottentot Bay

Sleleton Coast at Spencer Bay

Dinghy dock at Walvis Bay Yacht Club

Jeremy cut his leg just before leaving Namibia

Approaching Walvis Bay, Namibia

Desert safari in Namibia

Walvis Bay, Namibia to St Helena

On the morning of 15th February, we launched the dinghy and went ashore at Walvis Bay Yacht Club. Antoinette manages the yacht club affairs. She is friendly and efficient and goes out of her way to be helpful to visiting yachties. We had taken a bag of washing ashore intending to ask for the location of the nearest laundry. Antoinette said to leave it with her. Before 1600 the same day, we received a text message to say our laundry was washed, dried and ready to collect from the yacht club. Straight away we filled in forms for Customs. Antoinette drove us in her car to a port entrance. The officer was nearby and soon had us cleared in. Back at WBYC we met up with Wolfgang from Endo 2. Heike and Udo were on a desert safari and Wolfgang was waiting for his wife to arrive. We caught up with each other’s news and had lunch together.

The next day Jeremy went ashore for 145 litres of water. The yacht club has a long jetty with a water hose at the seaward end. This meant we did not have far to carry our water containers. We enjoyed hot showers at the yacht club. Antoinette drove us to Dunes Shopping Mall. We stocked up with lots of provisions. When we had finished, Antoinette came for us and drove us back to WBYC. In the afternoon, Woolfgang drove us to a garage in his hire car, where we filled our diesel cans and had a quick shop at Spar. We decided to leave for St Helena on Saturday. This meant clearing out the day before. We were at Antoinette’s office at 0830, filled in the required forms and she drove us to Immigration. Unfortunately, they were having a meeting so we had to wait for an hour before we could have our passports stamped and be cleared. Next was Customs where the formalities were done speedily. We paid WBYC 1000N$ (£50) for all their services. Moorings and tying alongside cost extra.

On Saturday 18th February we weighed anchor and motored out of the harbour, setting a course for St Helena, 1,223 miles away. We were at sea for 11 nights. Although we soon reached the SE Trade Wind belt, we found the Trades were not as dependable as we had hoped. Sometimes there was only 2-3 knots of wind. At other times there would be 16 or 17 knots. This required too many sail changes for only short periods of time, so we motored quite frequently. We were flying our ghoster or half spinnaker in light winds when quite suddenly, at midnight, the wind increased and we struggled to get the sail down. I was lowering the halyard and Jeremy was lying on his back on the bows gathering in the billowing sail, preventing it from filling and lifting him off the deck. I was quite happy not to repeat that performance. We had emailed St Helena Harbourmaster from Walvis Bay, so we were expected. As requested, we called St Helena Radio on VHF16 once we were within radio range. Then we called Port Control on VHF14 when we were a mile away and were directed to pick up any yellow mooring buoy.

To our surprise, there were 7 other visiting boats in the bay, three of them catamarans. One more catamaran arrived soon after us and we all took the water taxi together (£2.50 per person per return trip) to go ashore and see the officials. The order this time was Port Control, Immigration and Customs. All were in the same building close to the wharf. Immigration charged us £20 each. We will have to pay Port Control £35 and £2 per day for the mooring. There is a welcoming yacht club with a washing machine and showers. Water is available at the wharf. The most expensive thing is SIM card data from Sure - £16.50 for the SIM card and £20 for 350mb! WiFi costs £6 per hour, available at several local hostelries. We found out that the entry rules for Ascension Island have changed and a visa is now required. This has to be applied for online and can take 3 weeks. There are also strict requirements for medical insurance. We have decided, sadly, to give Ascension a miss and we will probably head for French Guayana as a stopover on our way to the Carribean.

Luderitz to Walvis Bay, Namibia

We spent four nights in the harbour at Luderitz, one windy night on anchor and three on a mooring looked after by Andy on behalf of the owner. We were contacted by Port Control at 0740 on Wednesday 8th February. Andy was on his trimaran and would meet us at a suitable mooring.

 We spoke to Andy on the VHF radio (channel 09). A bulk carrying manganese ship was being towed down the shipping channel in reverse. As long as we kept out of the shipping channel we could proceed to the mooring. Once secure, Andy came on board and waited with us to receive our appointment with the Health officer. Port Control contacted us with a time of 1000hrs at the Yacht Club. We launched our dinghy and went ashore at the allotted time. Half an hour later, Andy called Port Control to say we were still waiting for Health. An officer arrived soon afterwards. We filled in the required forms and were cleared within a few minutes. Next Andy took us to Immigration, just outside the port and a short walk away. The Immigration officer was not there. He was coming. We waited. After a while, an officer arrived, checked our forms, stamped our passports and cleared us in. Customs was in the same building at the back. The officer was there. Forms were filled in and we were cleared. Finally, we all walked through the port to Port Control, where the helpful officer only needed to see Jeremy’s passport and the boat registration document. We were free to explore the town. Andy charges 200N$(£10) per night for the mooring and his services. He will arrange tours and look after visiting yachts while their owners and crew go on safari. We thanked Andy for his help and set off to buy SIM cards from Telekom.

Jeremy had no trouble and was soon connected. Mine seemed to work and then was blocked. Four SIM cards later, my phone was connected as well. We had been in Telekom for an hour. We ate lunch at Essenzeits at the waterfront. Sal Darago could be seen in the distance on her mooring. There was one more payment to be made. We walked to the diamond company office and paid £2.50 per day for the use of their secure floating jetty. We shopped at Spar for provisions and also at the OK Supermarket. Everything was within walking distance. We had arranged to have showers at the yacht club the next morning. They were hot and most welcome. Our laundry was done at Joyce’s for 300N$ (£15). I had my hair cut at a salon at the waterfront. Meanwhile, Jeremy took our trolley and diesel cans to the garage and filled them. Then we filled our drinking water containers at a tap behind the yacht club and carried them to the dinghy. We went ashore again to the Portugese fishermen’s restaurant. The food was delicious. In the afternoon we went to Tourist Information and obtained maps for a historical walk around the town. Luderitz was built by Germans and their influence can still be seen in the architecture and street names.

As we were leaving early on Saturday morning we were able to clear out the day before. This time we only had to see Customs and Namport, as we were not leaving Namibia on our passage to Walvis Bay. We left Luderitz harbour on Saturday 11th February in foggy conditions. We decided not to stop at Boat Bay as it was only 12 miles away, and continued to Hottentot Bay, 25 miles further north. As we approached, we saw several crayfishing boats. One was anchored in the bay and three men were in the cockpit waving their arms up and down as if they were in distress. Then we realised they had long lines to crayfish pots radiating out in all directions. Jeremy shouted radio channel 16 and a safe route around the lines was advised.

We anchored in calm weather, not totally happy that the anchor was secure. We were surprised to see nine Landrovers/4x4 vehicles drive around the bay in the evening. That night the anchor alarm went off but all was well – just a change in the direction of the tide. The next day we motored in calm seas to Spencer Bay (obviously named by some distant relative!) Hundreds of sea lions shouted from the rocks as we approached and anchored. A little later Jeremy saw the Landrovers again. We were amazed as both bays are quite remote on the Skeleton Coast, with only desert behind them. On Monday 13th February, we weighed anchor at 0615 as dawn was breaking. A pod of dolphins escorted us out of the bay. The wind increased by the afternoon and we sailed with twin headsails poled out. In the evening we saw Venus and Saturn in the western sky and the Southern Cross behind us, along with thousands of other stars. We reached Pelican Point, the entrance to Walvis Bay, on Valentine’s Day at 1600.

At 1750 I tried calling Port Control three times and heard nothing in response. We continued towards the shipping channel and on towards the yacht club. As dusk began to fall, we realised a container port had been built on our route! Our chart did not have these changes. Fortunately, Jeremy was able to find Navionics on his phone through the Westerly Owners’ website. We followed the container port round with depths dipping to less than 3m and found our way into the yacht club mooring field. Jeremy spotted a gap and we anchored in 2.4m. The German yacht, Endo2, that had sailed with us from Reunion Island to Richard’s Bay, was tied to a jetty nearby.

Simon’s Town, South Africa to Luderitz, Namibia

  

Rounding the Cape of Good Hope

Having taken local advice and checked the weather ourselves, we could not believe how awful it was when we awoke on our day of departure, Tuesday, 24^th January. The wind was gusting down the mountain at 30 knots and there was heavy rain. We checked the weather again. It was all going to clear by lunchtime….. I was not convinced but we continued with our preparations to leave.

The Port of Cape Town

We bought bread and milk, had lunch ashore, handed in our yacht club keys, untied all our lines and reversed out of our berth. The rain had stopped and the wind was gusting 10-20 knots from the NW. At least it was in the right direction. As predicted, by the time we reached Cape Point the wind had gone round to the SW and would be good for us as we motorsailed up the west coast to Cape Town. There was a long, big swell at the Cape of Good Hope and waves breaking on Bellows Rock.

Jeremy in Table Mountain Bay

We were now in the South Atlantic and already feeling the cool presence of the north flowing Benguela current. Darkness fell. We passed Hout Bay and ahead we noted some vessels on our AIS. One was called Cape Storm. We assumed they were fishing vessels as their speed and direction kept changing, causing our collision alarm to keep going off. I thought we were clear of the vessels but Cape Storm turned towards us at a speed of 7.5 knots. I woke Jeremy and called him up to the cockpit as the vessel approached our stern and kept coming. I called on VHF 16 and got no response. Jeremy shone our spotlight at it and saw it was a sailing yacht. It turned away but started to turn back, so we turned away and let it pass. Very scary.

Kathy in Southern Ropes

With no more dramas and permission from Cape Town Port Control, we took down our sails and motored through the port to our previously booked berth in Royal Cape Yacht Club. We had informed all the authorities in advance, by email, of our intention to arrive at RCYC.

The view from our berth in RCYC

The next day we paid £80 for our berth for 7 nights, £269 for diesel and £8 for laundry tokens. RCYC has everything on site eg restaurant, bar, hot showers, water and electricity on the pontoons, fuel berth, chandlery, boatyard. The clubhouse had been extended since our last visit. We were surprised to see MAIDEN, without a mast, berthed just below the restaurant. The famous British, all-female yacht was in RCYC for planned maintenance.

Maiden in RCYC

It’s safe to walk in the secure port area and into town. We used Bolt/Go taxis when we needed to. A visit to Southern Ropes led to us buying a new mainsheet, halyard, reefing lines and a mooring line. At Seaport Supplies a short walk away, we bought stainless items and measured up for a new stanchion. For non yachties stanchions are posts around the decks through which safety lines are threaded, forming a fence or barrier to help prevent sailors accidentality falling overboard. One of ours was bent when the wind pushed us into the stern quarter of our neighbour’s yacht called Shiprec, as Jeremy reversed out of our berth. The stanchion caught on Shiprec’s overhanging braai (BBQ). Although shocked at the time, the owner was happy for us to give him a bottle of wine, as there was no damage to his boat and only a slight dent in the braai support.

Stanchion replacement

The day before our exit from Cape Town, we picked up a letter from RCYC and walked to Immigration and Customs. Both are housed in the same building in different offices. We filled in the required forms for Immigration and our passports were stamped. Customs had gone digital. Various forms and documents (8 pages) had to be filled in by hand, scanned/photographed by us and attached to an email. It took a while but we did as requested. Off we went to the last office, Port Control. Here we noticed our email to Customs could not be received as their mailbox was full! Port Control tried to help but could not. We completed the formalities at Port Control and returned to Customs. After several telephone calls, permission was given for an officer to clear us out manually.

Kathy in Table Mountain Bay

We had a late lunch at the V&A waterfront and shopped for our trip at Woolworths and Pick and Pay. We returned to RCYC by taxi. After unpacking, filling up with water and showering, we had a final drink in the bar. At 0800 on Tuesday 31^st January, we slipped our lines, having called Port Control and set off on our passage to Namibia.

Ready for some cold water bottom scrubbing

Dassen Island is a bird sanctuary and a nesting place for Cape penguins. Landing is not permitted. It is a safe anchorage about 35 miles from Cape Town. Jeremy went overboard wearing his wetsuit to clear more wildlife off SD’s bottom. We spent a peaceful night there along with four or five anchored fishing vessels. The following morning the fog was so thick we could not see the fishing vessels just outside the bay. We weighed anchor at 0600 and motored carefully out to sea using AIS, radar, GPS and me standing on the bow as look-out. Gradually, the fog cleared, dolphins played around us and a school of whales could be seen off our starboard beam.

 

Quite quickly, as we approached Cape Columbine, the wind increased from 9 knots to 20 knots. Normally, we would have reefed the full mainsail but we only had a few miles to go to our anchorage in Sandy Bay. The wind blew stronger. We struggled to lower the mainsail in gale force gusts. Even when we anchored we recorded 36 knots of wind. It was a blowy night after a 56 mile journey.

Windy Sandy Bay

Our final stop in South Africa was Lambert’s Bay, 42 miles further north. The wind had moderated to 20 knots by morning. It was behind us, so we flew the main to starboard and the poled out genoa to port, goosewinged. A short time later, we had only 7 knots of wind so the sails had to come down and the engine had to be used for the rest of our trip. We were very comfortable anchored just outside the harbour. We provisioned at Spar, bought diesel from a local BP garage and had a delicious lunch at Isabella’s on the waterfront.

Another gale for our arrival in port

We had to delay our exit from Lambert’s Bay as the wind decided to blow from the north and an uncomfortable swell entered the foggy harbour. We left on Saturday 4^th February at 0130 for the 372 mile passage to Luderitz in Namibia, arriving in a near gale in the afternoon of Tuesday 7^th February. We had a mix of weather, often motorsailing, sometimes sailing, sun, fog and an electrical storm nearby. Dolphins and sea lions kept us company.

The Waterfront, Luderitz. Can you see SD?

As we approached the Orange River area, which is the border between South Africa and Namibia, we saw vessels ahead on our AIS. These were conducting mining operations for the diamond industry and we had to give them a 2 mile berth. More ships appeared on the AIS, all spread out over several miles. It took us four hours to be clear of them all.

Portugese Fisherman's Restaurant, Luderitz

Our last day at sea was foggy with rain and some lightning. The wind increased to 20 knots slowly clearing the fog banks and allowing the sun to penetrate. Once again we had gale force winds as we took the mainsail down. I was steering and a wave hit me full in the face. Port Control were very helpful in trying to arrange a mooring for us, but it was too windy, so we would have to anchor for the night. We anchored off the fish factory jetty outside of the shipping channel at 1425.

Back in Simon’s Town, South Africa

 

Gold for Jeremy

Happy New Year. We hope it’s a good one for us all.

We arrived in Cape Town International Airport at lunchtime on 17^th January, 2023 after an overnight flight. The day before, our daughter, Emily, drove us to the National Express bus stop in Ipswich. After a four hour journey, we arrived at Heathrow Airport in plenty of time for our flight. Jeremy had arranged for Marlin to pick us up at Cape Town and he drove us to False Bay Yacht Club in Simon’s Town. We had a late lunch in the clubhouse.

Shooting party

Looking back to the two months we spent at home in the UK, we had lots to do. The main highlights are as follows:

Nephew James’ 50^th party weekend in the CB Inn, North Yorkshire stands out. James and Juliette had kept a room available for us, even though we thought we might not be back home in time. Forty people of several generations had a super weekend catching up with each other and meeting some people for the first time. Many enjoyed the Land Rover off-road driving experience, clay pigeon shooting and archery, while others had a more relaxing time visiting local hostelries and places of interest.

High Force in Teesdale

Various levels of competence were noted at the Friday evening pool competition. All were outclassed by teenage, Sylvie, a worthy winner of the pool trophy. The weekend finished with a delicious dinner on the Saturday night, where the three courses were interspersed with speeches and video clips. Thank you James, Juliette, Alice, Anna and Daniel for a memorable weekend.

Sophie, Ellie, Em and Ben near High Force

Our friend, Dale, invited us to her party on 21^st December. Jeremy booked a nearby Airb&b for the night. We drove to Bath and called in on friends, Cathy and Tony, on the way. The last time we saw them they lived in Singapore. That was 11 years ago. We caught up over coffee and a pub lunch.

Pub lunch with Cathy and Tony

Dale, Owen and daughter, Mimi were great hosts as usual. We met many interesting people and danced the night away until after midnight. 

In our glad rags for Dale's party

Then it was Christmas. Em, Ben, Ellie and Sophie had tea at our house on 23^rd December. We all went to the Carol Service in our local church, where I read one of the lessons. Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day were spent at Em and Ben’s house. Santa came with sackloads of presents. It was lovely to watch the excitement as the girls opened their presents.

Christmas Eve lunch with Granny Beth, Em, Ellie, Sophie and Ben

Back home, we had a quiet and relaxing New Year’s Eve, before packing our cases for a short stay in the Isle of Man. Premier Inn South was booked at Gatwick for the night before our flight. Purple Parking was booked for 5 nights for the car. 

Litter picking on Boxing Day with Em, Ellie and Sophie

We stayed with my sister, Pat, and met up with my other sister, Sara, her husband, Geoff and some of our nephews, nieces and friends. It was great catching up with everyone.

Santa came for grown ups too

In quieter moments, we had flu jabs, Covid boosters, medical appointments and a visit to the dentist for Jeremy.

So here we are back on Sal Darago. She was in a different berth and our neighbours had been moved as well. A string had broken on one of the dodgers and there was a lot of growth on SD’s bottom. Otherwise all was well until a close inspection of the bilges revealed some wet and sticky fluid. It was beer. Several cans had ruptured inside their plastic packaging and unidentified tiny “things” were stuck to the cans. Although we were very tired, Jeremy set about cleaning up the mess.

Sal Darago in her new berth in Simon's Town

Now that we’ve unpacked, we’re starting to make Sal Darago ready for cruising again. Next week, we hope to sail to Royal Cape Town Yacht Club. When we’re ready we’ll check out of South Africa and make our way to Namibia and beyond.

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.