Hout Bay is a small fishing boat harbour south of Cape Town. The fur seals bark and cavort on the floating breakwater, seagulls squawk, kids shriek - probably from swimming in the icy cold water, roaming minstrels sing, brass bands play and tourists flock - a kaleidoscope of harbour life.
The Hout Bay Yacht Club marina is small and protected within the harbour. The south east winds can be ferocious with gusts - 50 knots plus accelerating down Chapmans Peak and strafing the bay. After several hours of weathering the gusts all the boats are liberally covered in salt spray from waves crashing on the harbour breakwater.
The Hout Bay Yacht club facilities and marina pens/moorings are reasonably priced. http://www.hbycclub.blogspot.com/
The members are welcoming and very friendly.
Temporary club membership is ZAR 440 or AU$55 per month.
Marina pens vary between ZAR860 to 1380 or AU$105 to 175 per month.
Electricity is ZAR50 or AU$6 per month and live aboard fee is ZAR50 or AU$6 per month.
Inspired. Just before Christmas I said goodbye to 73 year old Edward on his H28 boat called "Spirit of Rema" heading east to Albany, WA (60 days sail) then on to Tassie and back to New Zealand. He left NZ 7 years ago going east about - sailed to Chile, down through the straits of Magellan, up to the Falklands, to the UK doing a circumnavigation, then down to South Africa. Bloody inspirational! He only has a 5 Hp outboard and sweeps to row the yacht if necessary. And here I was being a wimp about the cold weather around Cape Town at 34 degrees south and he had been around 55 degrees south! I aught to be ashamed.
Good bye to B-Anchor and hello Roxy the 15Kg Rocna anchor. This was not a sad parting as the, so called, CQR anchor had not been very faithful.
