Fairly early Saturday, March
2 I waved goodbye to friends and sadly departed from Hout Bay Marina. I had the
pleasure of sail training student, Mario, as crew. Mario, needed a lift round
to Royal Cape Yacht Club for a race in the afternoon. A few blasts of 35 knot
winds off Chapman's Peak helped us out of the Bay. In the lee of the land
heading north the winds were calmer, to the point of having to start the engine
as we neared Cape Town Harbour. Mario very adeptly navigated Sadiqi through the
inner harbours to the marina, having been into the harbour before.
A recent ruling requires all
sailing vessels to clear out of Royal Cape Yacht Club. The Yacht Club charges
1,000 rand (AU$125) for the privilege.
I cleared out of South Africa
on Wednesday March 6 visiting: Port Control, Immigration and
Customs. I had planned on departing Cape Town on the Thursday. However, there
was very little wind from the north and a 4 metre swell. I decided to stay
until Saturday when the winds were forecast to be 15 to 20 knots from the right
direction - southerly.
