Dawn, a school friend from old and
husband Martin showed Claude and I around Richards bay and Meerensee. They also
very generously drove us up to St Lucia game park to see the game around the
lake.
Clearing out of Richards Bay
can only be described as tedious. First one has to get and fill it in a
"Flight Plan" form from the marina or Yacht Club. For international
registered vessels Immigration and Customs has to be visited in town to get a
stamp along with a forest of forms to complete. A stamp is required from the
Police Station, the Marina at Tuzi Gazi and the yacht club. Finally the form is
faxed to port control. This is supposedly the required procedure for each port
in South Africa. On departing Richards Bay port control has to be called for confirmation that the flight plan was
faxed before permission to exit is granted. A yacht has 36 hours to depart the
port once the Flight Plan has been submitted.
I had heard that both
Richards Bay and Durban small boat harbours were full. Apparently there has
been far more yachts crossing the Indian Ocean to South Africa than previous
years.
Sunday, 18-11-12 at 0800 -
departed Richards Bay, South Africa.
Wind: 5 to 10 knots South.
Engine: 1125.7 hours.
Out of the shelter of the
harbour the seas were nasty, 2 to 3 metres, short period, sharp and choppy. Both
skipper and crew felt decidedly ordinary. It did not take long belch chunks and
to feed the fish. Once in the south west setting current the seas were even
worse - Sadiqi bobbing around like an aberrant cork. The wind was light from
the North East. The instant weight loss program of feeding the fish went on for
quite some time. Looking on the bright side one method to detox.
At 1700 hours the wind was
12 to 15 from the NE.
27 miles offshore. Current was
2 to 3 knots SW.
Lat: 29 27.09 S
Lon: 031 56.75 E
At 2030 hours the winds 12
to 18 NE.
We were breast of Durban -
33 miles due west. Fast sailing in the current. The
seas starting settle and be a little more friendly.
Monday, 19-11-12 at 0600
hours Winds 12 to 15 NE.
Boat Speed 5 knots, SOG 8
knots, COG 225 degrees M
Magnetic Variation 25 degrees
West.
Lat: 30 56.31 S
Lon: 031 13.74E
The coastline between Durban
and East London is aptly called the Wild Coast. Not a coast to be messed with
when a south westerly wind is about. We had a brief experience of this when at
0200 hours in a 2 to 3 knots southerly current the wind swung to the SW and
increased to 20 knots. We headed toward shore to get out of the current for the
shallower water and counter currents. A strong wind against strong current is
not a good place to be. The SW wind only lasted a few hours and abated. We
motor sailed 30 miles into East London harbour in light SW winds.
On Tuesday November 20 at
1230 we dropped anchor at East London - Buffalo River Yacht Club.
Engine: 1139.7 hours.
Sadiqi was one of the last
of 15 or so yachts to arrive from Durban and Richards Bay for the trip to Cape
Town. Richards Bay to East London is approximately 330 miles. Approximately 52
hours an average of just over 6 knots. The very friendly members of the Buffalo
River Yacht Club were quite overwhelmed with the number of yachts arriving in
their small town.
 K |
| Buffalo River Yacht Club, East London |
The Claude and I decided to stay a little longer in East London and wait for the next weather window to head further south west. I managed to find a fore aft mooring for Sadiqi at the yacht club, for the cost of a few beers. The owner of the mooring, Roy was doing the bottom maintenance on his yacht. This was one of the advantages of having a smaller boat. Most international yachts were 40 feet or more. The hospitality of the members of the yacht club was outstanding. Anton offered to drive Claude and I around to do shopping and proudly gave us a tour of East London and surrounds.
Waiting for the weather
window or more to the point hiding from bad weather.
The screen shot below shows the weather forecast
for the south coast for Saturday, November 24.
http://www.windfinder.com/forecasts/wind_south_africa_animation.htm
The barometer plummeted to 1007 mb as the front came through before steadily rising to 1022 mb.
Anton and Natasha very
kindly offered to take Claude and I to Mpongo Private Game Reserve near East
London. Mpongo is owned by the Premier Hotel Group. The highlight was seeing
loins and cubs. The lunch after the game viewing drive was sumptuous.
