svbeachhouse

Category: 2013 Blog

  • Simon\’s Town to Cape Town…..

    Simon\’s Town to Cape Town…..

    March 15th, 2013 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    It was time to finally move the boat the 50 mile trip from Simon\’s Town in False Bay to Cape Town. By car, this trip takes about 35 minutes as it\’s only about 17 miles. But by boat, we had to go 15 miles south to get around Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope before heading north to Table Bay.

    We had a decent weather window and decided on a very early departure as to not get to Cape Town too late in the day.

    The sun rose as we rounded Cape Point – Cape of Good Hope and we played \”Lighthouse\” in honor of Cindy. The song is by James Taylor and if you\’ve never heard it, it\’s sweet and worth the listen. It was one of our all time favorites and spoke much to the way we felt about coming more than half way round the world…… There are over 2000 known ship wrecks along the coast from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. A distance of only a few hundred miles.

    Cape Point Lighthouse – South Africa. Just before Sunrise………

    \"Cape+Point+South+Africa\"

     

    Table Mountain from the South…….  You can see the Cable Car station at the top left of the mountain. It\’s the little blip on the end of Table Mountain….. A spectacular site from the sea.


    \"Table+Mountain+from+the+South\"

     

    This photo was taken from the V&A \”Eye\” A modern ferrous wheel at the Mall……\”Beach House\” is behind the green building

    \"Table+Mountain+from+the+V26A+Eye\"

     

    A tradition of the old sailing ships was to give those who had never seen Table Mountain from the sea a small gold coin on their first viewing. Nikki and I had learned that from reading James Michener\’s \”The Covenant\” (THE definitive book on the history of South Africa and we highly recommend it). Nikki\’s Gift upon our arrival……

    \"Gold+Coins+of+Table+Mountain\"

     

    Some of you might think it looks like Chanukah Gelt!….:-)

    The trip was easy enough, our new auto pilot worked well and we were docked right next to Dave and Kathie Blanding on \”Sunflower\”…. One more side trip of the area and the real work begins to get off the dock and toward the Caribbean! Next, the Wine Region tour and Cape Agulhas……

    Stay tuned, Scott and Nikki

  • Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe…..

    Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe…….

    March 9th – 11th, 2013 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    Well we had such a good time in Namibia (and yet a bit of time before we would be off to Cape Town with the boat), so Nikki suggested we fly to Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe/Zambia border. This waterfall made famous by the one and only Dr. Stanley Livingstone. (As in…..\”I presume\”). It is about 800 meters wide along the Zimbabwe/Zambian border and is on the Zambezi River.

    Livingston was the first westerner to see the Falls when on a \”mission\” to darkest Africa. It was quickly decided that we would go to the Zimbabwe side as the Zambian side (where the actual small hamlet of Livingston is) requires a Yellow Fever (World Health Card) to get back in to South Africa. Yellow Fever itself is not contagious amongst humans, it is mosquito born. But as South Africa is in a \”near endemic\” area, they wouldn\’t know if they were having an epidemic or if someone had contracted it while out of the country. Hence, we opted for the town of Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side. Ironically, it is believed that Livingston died of Malaria and Yellow Fever some years after he introduced this natural wonder to the Western world.

    The view is really from the Zimbabwe side looking toward Zambia. Victoria Falls……..

    \"Victoria+Falls+Zimbabwe+1\"

     

     

    The main falls were running so hard, we could barely photograph them. The ideal month is September/October. Running then \”hard enough\”, but not so as to make it RAIN constantly.

    \"Victoria+Falls+Zimbabwe+2\"

     

    It was a quick turnaround type trip as we would soon be moving the boat from Simon\’s Town to Cape Town, but it was well worth the flight. While we were there, we had an opportunity to go on an Elephant Ride! This was one of the highlights of the trip. It\’s a reserve where rescue elephants are brought too and believe it or not, a few years ago, a male bull elephant brought an abandoned baby into the camp and promptly disappeared. It was feared the Mother had died and the Male somehow knew the baby would be taken care of here.

    This is \”Janet\” with Scott, Nikki and our Guide……

    \"Janet+with+Scott-Nikki+and+Guide\"

     

    We had a very large Cheetah come near our group and Janet became somewhat ferocious as her baby was with us. Interesting experience to be on the back of an Elephant that might charge at any moment! Our guide had things well in hand…..we think? At the end of the experience, we got to feed the elephants by hand and that was a treat for both them and us. I will add lots more photos when I get to the Photo Galleries, but at least here you can get a feel for the experience.

    KIT,

    Scott and Nikki (next – Simon\’s Town to Cape Town)…….

  • Namibia by Air and Land…..

    Namibia by Air and Land…..

    To see the PHOTO GALLERY associated with this Ship\’s Blog:  CLICK HERE

    February 26 – March 3rd, 2013 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    As I had wanted to see more of Africa, I made arrangements through a cruiser that Cindy and I had met in Bora Bora in 2010. James Sale (cute uh?) and his wife Jen were sailing around the world and from South Africa. They and their families were in the travel business and had told me to contact them when we got to the Cape Town area. James had designed a 5 day soujourn for us to see Namibia. Namibia is the country just north of South Africa and on the Atlantic Coast. It was formerly part of South Africa and became independent in the mid 1990\’s. It\’s economy is Agriculture, Tourism and Diamond Mining. We flew into the Capital City, Windhoeck and picked up our 4 wheel drive Ford Ranger. This would come in handy shortly!

    We first drove to \”Africat\’ see:  http://www.africat.org   This is a combination big cat rescue and natural habitat. There are no lions at this time, five chetah\’s, 21 leopards, lots of all the other animals of Africa\’s plains. Giraffe, Elephant and lots of \”prey\” for the predators. On the drive in, we were stopped by a guide from the Raptor Park next door and she showed us this baby Pangolin she\’d rescued. VERY rare to be able to hand raise one too. She had saved the Mother from a \”pet sale\”. When the Mother gave birth, she ran off into the wild. They are ant eaters and though she will let him out in the wild. He\’ll have to be watched over as he had no Mother to show him how to stay away from predators.

    Local Guide with Baby Pangolin near Africat…..

    \"Pangolin+-+Africat\"

     

    We had a spectacular experience seeing a male leopard just a few feet from our vehicle asleep. When it awoke, it rebuffed a female suitor and went up in a tree to finish his \”kill\”. The kill had been there for a day or two and was mostly gone, but the odor was very pungent. The female hung out below the tree and picked up some of the scraps. We got to spend a lot of time watching them and it was a wonderful experience to see these big cats in the wild. The next day, we saw the five cheetah\’s. They were posturing with other cheetahs in the next game reserve and we got to see the displays by the dominant male. All very interesting stuff.

    Leopard with it\’s \”kill\” (Africat)……

     

    \"Africat+Leopard+with+Kill\"

    We then drove to Namibia\’s signature wild animal reserve, the \”Etosha Pan\”. This is an enormous area with water holes and a huge salt pan. There are four main tourist compounds, two of which are new. We stayed in the newest upon arrival and they forgot to pick us up. We were only two of four people and somehow, got missed. So we drove our vehicle the one and a half hour drive. This is where the 4 wheel drive in the soft sand was a must. The road was one lane and through nothing short of a dense savannah. Nikki kept lamenting how she hadn\’t seen an Elephant yet (her favorite) when suddenly, two practically ran us over on the road! The bush was was so thick, we only go to see them for a minute.

    The place we stayed was \”SO NEW\”, it wasn\’t really ready for tourists. No air conditioning and it was hot, poor fan system. nuff\’ said.

    The next day, we drove to Okakuejo which was an entirely different experience. The rooms were nice, air conditioned and essentially right on a major water hole. We saw Black Rhinoceros, Elephants and Giraffe as well as a heard of Zebra and lots of the \”cat food\” animals like Springbok, Gembocks, Kudu\’s etc.

    The following day, we drove to the newest encampment; Dolomite Camp. The encampment is on a hill and everyone has to be taken to the top on a narrow path in a diesel powered golf cart. was a spectacular setting and our room (which was very nice with a small pool) overlooked their watering hole. We were a bit surprised that we had not seen a lot of animals on the drive in, but this was to change that evening. We went on the evening safari tour and our expectations were not high. The guide did not seem to think we might see a lot due to the time of year and recent \”non sightings\”. However, he took us to a watering hole where we did see one Rhinoceros, two Elephants and the slightly different \”Mountain Zebra\”.

    Hartman\’s Mountain Zebra…..

    \"Mountain+Zebra+1\"

     

     

    Then he took us on a flyer out of the usual track and we saw a few elephants, mostly mothers with young. Then we saw a few more, then a few more….. We went toward a watering hole just before sundown where at least five major groups of elephants showed up, totally over 65 in the large group. Some were as young as a few weeks, many of the male jueveniles were posturing and the old mothers seemed to be mindful of their groups. We were even charged by three different females over an hours time. Our guide told us that this was common behavior and no one ever got hit UNLESS they tried to come between the mother and her calf. Needless to say, this was a life experience and so unexpected.

    Charging Mother Elephant….

    \"Elephants+of+Etosha+1\"

     

    We had a lovely evening with the small group at the onsite restaurant and bid farewell the next morning. As we drove off to our next encampment, we came upon our guide doing the morning tour. He told us he\’d spotted three Lions at the water hole we had visited last night and so we were off. Indeed we found the three lions and watched while they lazed away in the shade. The local antelope type animals were just glued (visually) to the lions while they very carefully came in for water.

    Resting Etosha Lioness……\"Lioness+1+Etosha\"

    We continued on our way and leaving Etosha Park, we drove to Damaraland Camp in hopes of seeing the Desert adapted Lions and Desert adapted Elephants. These are sub species which have different physical characteristics and can survive on less water. En route, we stopped at the Petrified Forrest (not much so see really) and the petroglyphs of Twelfelfontien. The petroglyph tour was interesting and had documented the ancient San People who had lived here about 8,000 years ago. The climate was much wetter then and it was hard to see how any nomadic tribes could have survived if they\’d experienced the very hot, dry Nambian desert of today.

    Alas, the area was so dry that despite our guides best efforts, we did not see either the Lions or the Elephants. Welcome to touring \”real\” nature. We drove back to Windhoeck the next day and returned to Cape Town by air. Then…Nikki got an idea…..That will be our next blog.

    KIT, Scott and Nikki…..

  • Touring Simon\’s Town & Cape Town, South Africa…..

    Touring Simon\’s Town & Cape Town, South Africa…..

    February 18-24th, 2013 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    After our lovely greeting by the cruising community to assist our docking at False Bay Yacht Club, we were moved over to the inner wide berths for multihulls. This was a mixed blessing. It did get us out of a lot of the wind, but the surge was legendary. It was THE surgy-est dock I\’ve ever been at and that includes when Cindy and I were in Puerto Vallarta. (Skye will remember from her visit!). The upshot of all this, was in our roughly two weeks there, three dock lines were either so badly damaged as to have to be replaced. One actually snapped. Well…they are nine years old.

    We hired a car and set off for Cape Point and it\’s better known twin, The Cape of Good Hope. The Cape of Good Hope is considered to be one of the \”5 Great Capes of the Southern Ocean\” and will be the only one I\’ll actually go around. They are all noted for their potential rough weather; Cape Horn at the tip of South America, being the most notable.

    It was a very dramatic area and had monuments to both Vasco de Gama and Bartholomew Diaz. Diaz was the first European navigator to actually get around the Cape of Good Hope. The \”Cake of Good Soap\” as it\’s known locally is also called the \”Cape of Storms\” for the violent winter storms that can come out of the Southern Ocean. South of here, there\’s nothing but Antarctica. The views were dramatic at Cape Point (Diaz Point), but the more well known Cape of Good Hope was almost a bit of a disappointment. A photo would speak 1000 words and of course as you all know, I\’ll be posting photos!…..one day…:-) There are lots of Baboons in this area of the country and a beach which has 100\’s of African Penguins. We enjoyed it all.

    The next day, Alexandra and I did the gorgeous \”Chapman\’s Peak Drive\”. It\’s only 7 miles, but rivals the Pacific Coast Highway of Northern California in it\’s sheer beauty. The \”drive\” is well maintained and has precarious vertical sides with chain linked rock fence to protect the cars and people against the non stop rock rain from above.

    There are men who\’s job is to do nothing, but pick up the rocks that get through the barriers. One section has an incredible \”cut out\” right into the mountain. It\’s sort of three sides of a tunnel wrapped around you with the view off to \”The Sentinel\” in Houk\’s Bay and Atlantic Ocean. We stopped along the way and took lots of photos and enjoyed the pure scenic beauty of it. Again, the famous 1000 words by a few photos. After the end of the drive we came upon the road up to the cable car at Table Mountain. This we would save for tomorrow as today we went to the V & A (Victoria and Alfred) Waterfront Marina and Mall.

    The V&A is a nice, (COMFORTABLE NO SURGE) marina. It is \”USA Prices\” as to staying here. The mini mega yachts of Cape Town all live here and it really isn\’t very big. We had a lovely lunch at the Bascule Restaurant and met with the Marina staff to let them know when I\’d be bringing the boat around from Simon\’s Town (about a 50 mile trip). The marina setting is spectacular in that the entire marina is surrounded by multimillion dollar town homes with incredible views; most notably, \”Table Mountain\”. It\’s also nice to have the view of the harbor (commercial and tourist boats) as well as very easy access to the V&A Mall which \”has it all\”. Very up market, lots of nice restaurants, etc.

    The next day, Alexandra and I drove around the southeast side of Table Mountain and went to the base of the mountain to take the cable car to the top. First, it was another beautiful, clear day. Second, it was PACKED with people. This is considered one of the \”new seven natural wonders\” of the world. It is South Africa\’s most visited tourist destination. Parking was a nightmare and while Alexandra was in the queue to get on the cable car she was stung by a bee. She is mildly allergic, so we weren\’t sure how she would be, but tough as ever, she rallied. No anaphylaxis which of course is the big concern, but she did get a bit dizzy. NOT like Alexandra!….to be \”dizzy\” that is.

    The cable car itself is very much like the one in Palm Springs, California. It rotates 360 degrees as it goes to the top, carries about 60 people for the 4-5 minute ride. The view on the way up and from the top is nothing short of breathless. Once at the top, we had a small snack at the restaurant and went to walk the trails and see the views. You can see from the airport in the Northeast to False Bay in the Southeast and all the way around the clock. Hout Bay (where Chapman\’s Peak Drive is) is viewable with the spectacular peaks above it known as the \”12 Apostles\”. Think sheer vertical cliffs running down to the sea. For the adventurous, you can walk (more like scramble) up the trail which takes between 2-4 hours depending on your fitness. The nice thing is, you can then ride the car back down!

    Alas, all good things must end and Alexandra would be off to the UK for a new job assignment. Doing secret projects for the UK Government. She could have told me, but then she\’d have had to kill me. At least this way she\’ll have a boat to possibly return to one day!….:-)

    I drove Alexandra to the airport we had a big hug goodbye and we\’ll definitely stay in touch. She was great crew, company and a fine chef!…. I\’ll remember our 1000 mile sail together round the bottom of Africa forever….

    Hugs, KIT,

    Scott awaiting Nikki to arrive tomorrow…..

  • Touring Simon\’s Town & Cape Town, South Africa…..

    Touring Simon\’s Town & Cape Town, South Africa…..

    February 18-24th, 2013 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    After our lovely greeting by the cruising community to assist our docking at False Bay Yacht Club, we were moved over to the inner wide berths for multihulls. This was a mixed blessing. It did get us out of a lot of the wind, but the surge was legendary. It was THE surgy-est dock I\’ve ever been at and that includes when Cindy and I were in Puerto Vallarta. (Skye will remember from her visit!). The upshot of all this, was in our roughly two weeks there, three dock lines were either so badly damaged as to have to be replaced. One actually snapped. Well…they are nine years old.

    We hired a car and set off for Cape Point and it\’s better known twin, The Cape of Good Hope. The Cape of Good Hope is considered to be one of the \”5 Great Capes of the Southern Ocean\” and will be the only one I\’ll actually go around. They are all noted for their potential rough weather; Cape Horn at the tip of South America, being the most notable.

    It was a very dramatic area and had monuments to both Vasco de Gama and Bartholomew Diaz. Diaz was the first European navigator to actually get around the Cape of Good Hope. The \”Cake of Good Soap\” as it\’s known locally is also called the \”Cape of Storms\” for the violent winter storms that can come out of the Southern Ocean. South of here, there\’s nothing but Antarctica. The views were dramatic at Cape Point (Diaz Point), but the more well known Cape of Good Hope was almost a bit of a disappointment. A photo would speak 1000 words and of course as you all know, I\’ll be posting photos!…..one day…:-) There are lots of Baboons in this area of the country and a beach which has 100\’s of African Penguins. We enjoyed it all.

    The next day, Alexandra and I did the gorgeous \”Chapman\’s Peak Drive\”. It\’s only 7 miles, but rivals the Pacific Coast Highway of Northern California in it\’s sheer beauty. The \”drive\” is well maintained and has precarious vertical sides with chain linked rock fence to protect the cars and people against the non stop rock rain from above.

    There are men who\’s job is to do nothing, but pick up the rocks that get through the barriers. One section has an incredible \”cut out\” right into the mountain. It\’s sort of three sides of a tunnel wrapped around you with the view off to \”The Sentinel\” in Houk\’s Bay and Atlantic Ocean. We stopped along the way and took lots of photos and enjoyed the pure scenic beauty of it. Again, the famous 1000 words by a few photos. After the end of the drive we came upon the road up to the cable car at Table Mountain. This we would save for tomorrow as today we went to the V & A (Victoria and Alfred) Waterfront Marina and Mall.

    The V&A is a nice, (COMFORTABLE NO SURGE) marina. It is \”USA Prices\” as to staying here. The mini mega yachts of Cape Town all live here and it really isn\’t very big. We had a lovely lunch at the Bascule Restaurant and met with the Marina staff to let them know when I\’d be bringing the boat around from Simon\’s Town (about a 50 mile trip). The marina setting is spectacular in that the entire marina is surrounded by multimillion dollar town homes with incredible views; most notably, \”Table Mountain\”. It\’s also nice to have the view of the harbor (commercial and tourist boats) as well as very easy access to the V&A Mall which \”has it all\”. Very up market, lots of nice restaurants, etc.

    The next day, Alexandra and I drove around the southeast side of Table Mountain and went to the base of the mountain to take the cable car to the top. First, it was another beautiful, clear day. Second, it was PACKED with people. This is considered one of the \”new seven natural wonders\” of the world. It is South Africa\’s most visited tourist destination. Parking was a nightmare and while Alexandra was in the queue to get on the cable car she was stung by a bee. She is mildly allergic, so we weren\’t sure how she would be, but tough as ever, she rallied. No anaphylaxis which of course is the big concern, but she did get a bit dizzy. NOT like Alexandra!….to be \”dizzy\” that is.

    The cable car itself is very much like the one in Palm Springs, California. It rotates 360 degrees as it goes to the top, carries about 60 people for the 4-5 minute ride. The view on the way up and from the top is nothing short of breathless. Once at the top, we had a small snack at the restaurant and went to walk the trails and see the views. You can see from the airport in the Northeast to False Bay in the Southeast and all the way around the clock. Hout Bay (where Chapman\’s Peak Drive is) is viewable with the spectacular peaks above it known as the \”12 Apostles\”. Think sheer vertical cliffs running down to the sea. For the adventurous, you can walk (more like scramble) up the trail which takes between 2-4 hours depending on your fitness. The nice thing is, you can then ride the car back down!

    Alas, all good things must end and Alexandra would be off to the UK for a new job assignment. Doing secret projects for the UK Government. She could have told me, but then she\’d have had to kill me. At least this way she\’ll have a boat to possibly return to one day!….:-)

    I drove Alexandra to the airport we had a big hug goodbye and we\’ll definitely stay in touch. She was great crew, company and a fine chef!…. I\’ll remember our 1000 mile sail together round the bottom of Africa forever….

    Hugs, KIT,

    Scott awaiting Nikki to arrive tomorrow…..

  • Knysna to Simon\’s Town, Around Cape Agulhas – End Book Two…..

    Knysna to Simon\’s Town, Around Cape Aghulhas – End Book Two…..

    16 February – 17 February, 2013 As the \”Heads\” had such a bad nautical reputation and our next weather window would be blustery, we again planned our exit cautiously. This time, prepared from Cousin Gill that the \”heads\” had a web cam, we sent out a blog to several of our close followers to watch at 7:30 a.m as we\’d be leaving the heads for Simon\’s Town. Indeed, I was able to send out a quick email just before we departed and several people (including Gill and David), sent us screen shots from there computers and telephones of \”Beach House\” departing the heads. That was cool!

    The exit was no worry as we again left at high slack water. The swell was up to 3 meters (9-10 feet). The winds were not up yet, but we expected a very breezy passage with winds up to 30+ knot gusts from astern. After a few hours of motoring, the Southeasterly began to increase. We had a nice look at Wilderness and Mossel Bay in the distance and by dark, the winds were a blowin\’….! The \”breeze\” was a constant 25 knots with many gusts into the low/mid 30\’s. The swell was a constant 3 meters and the odd 4 meter (12-13 door) swell would go by. The big deal here was all the ship traffic.

    Once we were in the vicinity of Cape Agulhas, we had constant \”heavy metal\” (big ship) traffic. I was a bit surprised when I hailed one \”thousand footer\” and the deck officer came back with a lovely feminine voice! Not unheard of, but unusual. I asked if she saw us as she was overtaking us from astern very quickly and coming right at us. She said she did and would alter course to starboard (her right), to leave us on her port (left side). This indeed she did, but if it had been daytime, I could have asked her if she had any \”Grey Poupon\” she was so close. Complicating matters was the other \”thousand footer\” on our port side who was fortunately a bit further away. It did indeed feel like a freeway out there and on Alexandra\’s watch, she felt one ship was too close and woke me to decide what to do. Thank You Alexandra!

    No drama\’s or trauma\’s were had, but the big sea and wind kept a blowin\’. We made excellent time and passed Cape Agulhas, (The Southern most tip of the African Continent) at around 0500 on 17 February. I said a prayer for Cindy as we rounded. She and I always sang \”Lighthouse\” by James Taylor (which I of course played on the IPOD). If you\’ve never heard the song, give it a listen. It said a lot about who we were and what we were doing; dreaming safe at home in Marina del Rey…..

    Now another of the Earth\’s three great oceans behind us. The Pacific, The Indian and now the Atlantic before us……

    Once around the Cape, we were able to head more northwesterly toward Simon\’s Town. Simon\’s Town is a small old British Navy town only 30 minutes by car but an entire day\’s sail away from Cape Town. We gybed at first light and on starboard tack, headed fast for the barn. We knew it would take most of the day to get there, but at least the big ships were starting to head around Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope (more famous than Agulhas). We sailed till we entered False Bay and a bit past the very wide entrance where we began to see lots of Sea Lions. The water temperature had dropped over 7 degrees F (4 degees C) since our rounding of Agulhas. Agulhas is where the Agulhas Current (warm) meets the Benguela Current (cold) which runs north along the West African Coast. All the marine life would now change. False Bay is home to the \”Flying White Sharks\”. This is a most unusual place as the Great White Sharks accelerate from below lazy/sleeping Sea Lions and literally fly out of the water attacking their prey. We did not witness this, but it is well documented if you google \”Flying White Sharks of False Bay\”. Lots of still photos and YOU TUBE Videos about it.

    As we arrived, the winds were blowing 35 knots. Fortunately, as we came around the corner into the marina, it dropped to 13 knots! What a difference. We were met by quite a docking committee of cruisers who were expecting us thanks to an email sent by Dave and Kathie of \”Sunflower\” (whose boat was also there, but they were touring the countryside). We quickly found out that False Bay Yacht Club was another \”surg-o-rama\” marina. In fact, it would be the worst ever; destroying at least two dock lines.

    False Bay is where we\’ll do some touring and have our planned crew change. Alexandra will be flying back to the UK for work and other sailing adventures. Nikki will be re-arriving in South Africa soon where she was attending sad family business…. This was in effect, the end of \”Book Two\” of the planned trilogy of Scott and Cindy. Book One was the Pacific Ocean. Book Two the Indian Ocean. Book Three begins soon, the Atlantic before us. Lastly, the Epilogue and journeys end…….

    Hugs,

    KIT Scott and Alexandra (Next – touring Simon\’s Town and Cape Town)……

  • Knysna to Simon\’s Town, Around Cape Agulhas – End Book Two…..

    Knysna to Simon\’s Town, Around Cape Aghulhas – End Book Two…..

    16 February – 17 February, 2013 As the \”Heads\” had such a bad nautical reputation and our next weather window would be blustery, we again planned our exit cautiously. This time, prepared from Cousin Gill that the \”heads\” had a web cam, we sent out a blog to several of our close followers to watch at 7:30 a.m as we\’d be leaving the heads for Simon\’s Town. Indeed, I was able to send out a quick email just before we departed and several people (including Gill and David), sent us screen shots from there computers and telephones of \”Beach House\” departing the heads. That was cool!

    The exit was no worry as we again left at high slack water. The swell was up to 3 meters (9-10 feet). The winds were not up yet, but we expected a very breezy passage with winds up to 30+ knot gusts from astern. After a few hours of motoring, the Southeasterly began to increase. We had a nice look at Wilderness and Mossel Bay in the distance and by dark, the winds were a blowin\’….! The \”breeze\” was a constant 25 knots with many gusts into the low/mid 30\’s. The swell was a constant 3 meters and the odd 4 meter (12-13 door) swell would go by. The big deal here was all the ship traffic.

    Once we were in the vicinity of Cape Agulhas, we had constant \”heavy metal\” (big ship) traffic. I was a bit surprised when I hailed one \”thousand footer\” and the deck officer came back with a lovely feminine voice! Not unheard of, but unusual. I asked if she saw us as she was overtaking us from astern very quickly and coming right at us. She said she did and would alter course to starboard (her right), to leave us on her port (left side). This indeed she did, but if it had been daytime, I could have asked her if she had any \”Grey Poupon\” she was so close. Complicating matters was the other \”thousand footer\” on our port side who was fortunately a bit further away. It did indeed feel like a freeway out there and on Alexandra\’s watch, she felt one ship was too close and woke me to decide what to do. Thank You Alexandra!

    No drama\’s or trauma\’s were had, but the big sea and wind kept a blowin\’. We made excellent time and passed Cape Agulhas, (The Southern most tip of the African Continent) at around 0500 on 17 February. I said a prayer for Cindy as we rounded. She and I always sang \”Lighthouse\” by James Taylor (which I of course played on the IPOD). If you\’ve never heard the song, give it a listen. It said a lot about who we were and what we were doing; dreaming safe at home in Marina del Rey…..

    Now another of the Earth\’s three great oceans behind us. The Pacific, The Indian and now the Atlantic before us……

    Once around the Cape, we were able to head more northwesterly toward Simon\’s Town. Simon\’s Town is a small old British Navy town only 30 minutes by car but an entire day\’s sail away from Cape Town. We gybed at first light and on starboard tack, headed fast for the barn. We knew it would take most of the day to get there, but at least the big ships were starting to head around Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope (more famous than Agulhas). We sailed till we entered False Bay and a bit past the very wide entrance where we began to see lots of Sea Lions. The water temperature had dropped over 7 degrees F (4 degees C) since our rounding of Agulhas. Agulhas is where the Agulhas Current (warm) meets the Benguela Current (cold) which runs north along the West African Coast. All the marine life would now change. False Bay is home to the \”Flying White Sharks\”. This is a most unusual place as the Great White Sharks accelerate from below lazy/sleeping Sea Lions and literally fly out of the water attacking their prey. We did not witness this, but it is well documented if you google \”Flying White Sharks of False Bay\”. Lots of still photos and YOU TUBE Videos about it.

    As we arrived, the winds were blowing 35 knots. Fortunately, as we came around the corner into the marina, it dropped to 13 knots! What a difference. We were met by quite a docking committee of cruisers who were expecting us thanks to an email sent by Dave and Kathie of \”Sunflower\” (whose boat was also there, but they were touring the countryside). We quickly found out that False Bay Yacht Club was another \”surg-o-rama\” marina. In fact, it would be the worst ever; destroying at least two dock lines.

    False Bay is where we\’ll do some touring and have our planned crew change. Alexandra will be flying back to the UK for work and other sailing adventures. Nikki will be re-arriving in South Africa soon where she was attending sad family business…. This was in effect, the end of \”Book Two\” of the planned trilogy of Scott and Cindy. Book One was the Pacific Ocean. Book Two the Indian Ocean. Book Three begins soon, the Atlantic before us. Lastly, the Epilogue and journeys end…….

    Hugs,

    KIT Scott and Alexandra (Next – touring Simon\’s Town and Cape Town)……

  • Knysna……..

    Knysna…..

    12 February – 15 February, 2013

    We left Port Elizabeth with lovely Southeasterly conditions and after clearing the point, we were soon able to set sail. The trip would be all day, all night with a 7 a.m. arrival to enter the infamous Knysna Heads right before high tide. These \”heads\”, which are two promontories with a very narrow pass are some of the trickiest of the South African ports to enter. Several vessels have been lost here including very experienced locals. I think the biggest problem is in Winter storms and it is Summer here now, but still we must enter cautiously, the heads are not to be trifled with. The predictions were for 2 meter (6 foot swells) and little wind. So as we would be entering at high slack water I wasn\’t too concerned. There is an underwater rock in the entry. It is now well charted and with our daggerboards in shoal draft position, we couldn\’t hit it if I aimed at it. The entry at first light was indeed dramatic, but only as to the scenery. No worries mate! We went along the winding channel getting a luscious view of all the very expensatanium real estate. There is Thiesen and Leisure Islands, high bluffs, great views and a most beautiful setting.

    As it turns out, my cousins David and Gill Block used to have a house here! Gill is from South Africa. I had emailed her and asked about recommendations for things to do here. One of the things she said we should do was, \”take a boat out the heads. They\’re beautiful but very dangerous\”. I reminded her I would be sailing THROUGH the heads in less than 18 hours!….:-)  Gill also noted that there was a webcam at the heads (in a follow up email) and that I should let her know when we would be leaving so she and David could see if they could see us. More on this in the next blog.

    After we checked in with the Knysna Yacht Club, we were told we\’d have to anchor out as the marina was full and their guest dock was \”just that\”. It\’s very shallow in the lagoon and we were in mostly 2 meters of water (6 feet). The current is very strong as the water flows through the narrow \”heads\”; the width of which is about 200 feet at most. The boat swung with the tide and if against the wind, it could be a bit uncomfy. Overall, it was okay. > After we got settled, we walked around town which was very touristy, but lovely. There was a nice art gallery there and Alexandra particularly enjoyed it.

    The next day, we hired a car and drove to Plettenburg Bay and Buffles (Buffaloe) Bay. Plettenburg was not overly interesting, but Buffles Bay was quite nice. We \”did lunch\”. The following day, we drove to Mossel Bay and stopped at a small beach town called Wilderness which was a highlight. We found a really nice restaurant here called \”Salinas\” and walked along the beach looking at the very very expensive large beach houses on the cliffs. Most of them were almost \”B&B\’s\” or for rental. These were by and large huge homes, perhaps 4-6,000 square feet (350-425 square meters). The owner of the restaurant was of Italian descent and born in Kenya. Welcome to diverse South Africa! The food was great, the area a bit of magic. Alexandra kept raving about \”Wilderness\”.

    We had a nice dinner at \”Sirocco\” on Thiessen Island.  This is where we first had a bottle of wine from the \”Hillock Vinyard\”. (More on this when I blog about Nikki and my trip around the Western Cape).

    The next day, we\’d be off for Alex\’s final leg, from Knysna to Simon\’s Town going around one of the world\’s \”great capes\”; Cape Agulhas. Cape Agulhas is the southern tip of the African continent and where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet.

    Standby, more to come. KIT,

    Scott with Alexandra

  • Port Elizabeth………

    Port Elizabeth to Knysna…..

    09 February – 12 February, 2013

    We pulled into Algoa Bay Yacht Club in Port Elizabeth late in afternoon and luckily were able to get a slip assignment before the dock master left for the day. First of all, the docks here were extremely surgey. Worse, they were lined with rusty metal facing the boat edgewise. If you touched the sides, a big gash would be guaranteed. Surgey docks are never fun as you feel like you\’re doing a smash dance. Having a dull razor blade aimed at us, all the more distressing.

    The more interesting story was when we woke up the next morning. A very smallish German woman came up to us and told us we were in a private slip. That we should pay her as the representative of the owner who would otherwise never receive any money from the yacht club. She explained there was local politics going on and this would be the best way to handle it…..NOT (thought I).

    The next day, Alexandra and I returned from getting supplies and had several jerry cans of fuel with us. As soon as I came aboard, she confronted us asking if we now intended to leave and not pay the slip fee! I told her that we would be staying several days and that I would work out the slip arrangements with the Yacht Club on Monday (it was Sunday), and I wished to stay out of it. We\’d been assigned the slip by their dock master, etc. She proceeded to get very \”huffy\”. I asked for the owner of the slips phone number to explain that I understood all politics are local, but leave me out of it. She did indeed give me his phone number and I called. \”Mr. Davis\” as it turned out, was very nice on the phone. He did not know his friend would be trying to intervene on his behalf. I asked him to please call the Yacht Club on Monday and get their arrangements straightened out. He said he would call. His friend came by again. I\’m a bit large, she was a bit small. I shooed her away with glares and stares. She complied…..:-)

    The next day, I informed the Yacht Club of the situation. They were needless to say a bit perturbed at the \”local\” trying to get involved. We paid the Yacht Club the fee. Now get this…. We\’re talking 10.00 USD/day. You\’d of thought from the way we were approached by Ms. Local, we were trying to abscond with the proceeds from the local church.

    Welcome to boating around the world…….:-)

    The next day, Alex and I hired a car and drove to Cape St. Francis and Jeffery\’s Bay. These were the legendary surf spots from the 1960\’s cult surfing film, \”The Endless Summer\”. Cape St. Francis was touted to have, \”The Perfect Wave.\” It was a lovely drive and a pretty cool place to watch the warm Indian Ocean peel off some nice waves. Jeffery\’s Bay was featured in the follow up film of about 10 years ago, \”Step Into Liquid\”. Both films are cool viewing if you\’re of a mind.

    The following day, we drove on recommendation to Ado Elephant Park about an hour north of Port Elizabeth. It\’s a very mini Kruger Park; part of the South African National Park system. At first, it was just a nice drive. Then, we got to see four or five elephants and finally a large male lion just sleeping on the side of the road. The thing about lions is, you don\’t realize how big they are till you\’re right next to them. I was (IN THE CAR), about 10-15 feet away. He was completely disinterested, but wow, was he big.

    All good things must come to an end and as the weather window for our next coastal hop was arriving, we did some shopping and got some more fuel preparing to head off to Knysna, our next stop and pro-ported to be one of the more spectacular locations along the South African coast. Standby!

    Scott with Alexandra

  • Richards Bay to Port Elizabeth with stop in Durban…..

    Richards Bay to Durban, South Africa…..

    02 February – 08 February 2013

    Alexandra and I had just had a lovely time exploring the Thorny Bush Game park near Kruger National Park in northeast South Africa. Included was a spectacularly scenic drive near Nelspruit, just west of Swaziland. The game park was terrific with sightings of all the \”Big 5\”. Elephants, Cape Buffalo, Lion, Rhinoceros and Leopard. (We got to see a Cheetah too!). If you want to see an amazing YOU TUBE video, google \”Battle at Kruger\”. I won\’t swear to this link, but give it a try. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM This was shot in 2010 by tourists.It\’s 8 minutes long and don\’t leave till the very end. It will give you a feel for what we saw, but without the dramatics of the video.

    The drive back through Swaziland (an independent nation), had the scenic highlights of \”God\’s Window\” and more dramatic vistas. It was time to start moving toward Cape Town and to that end, after the usual provisioning and boat projects, we left Richards Bay at 3:30 a.m. to make the long day trip to Durban.

    When we left, it was pitch black and we had a short period 2.5 meter (8 foot) swell running which made our first several hours quite bumpy and uncomfortable. The good news was that we got to sail for several hours and Alex quickly adapted with a big sailing smile as we were going through the miles on a nice port tack beam reach with the geneker and full main. We entered Durban Harbor around 3:30 pm and were fortunately able to get a slip where we settled in nicely at the Point Yacht Club.

    Durban (Downtown) is a bit dodgy as to crime, etc. and we were warned to be cautious. We actually walked to Customs/Immigration/Port Authority (which was fine), but then continued on to see the Aquarium. We were actually stopped by a local who warned us to move out of the area as it wasn\’t safe. NOTED! We took the taxi back whose driver laughed at us for being not too smart for where we were walking about. Parts of Durban (outskirts) are lovely and very nice; \”Downtown\”, not so much.

    The next day we took the taxi to the Aquarium (it was closed when we arrived yesterday) and enjoyed the afternoon watching the dolphin show and seeing the \”big fish\” in their tank. Monterey it\’s not, but it was quite nice. We also saw a big 50 foot monohull that limped in coming up from the south. He had an accidental gybe in a big gust and broke his boom. One of the crew had a badly cut hand, but seemed that all would recover. They were on a delivery up from Knysna; one of our planned stops.

    We were getting a bit noodgie as to moving on and with a seemingly \”ok\” weather window, would be off the next day on the 6th of February. The weather reports in this part of the world are pretty accurate as to direction and timing of the wind and sea. BUT awful as to the strength of the wind. If it says 5 knots, it could be……or 30 knots…ummm!

    We left with a predicted 10-15 knot norther which turned out to be 25+. This should have been my first clue! The day was decent, a bit bumpy and we were sailing off on the 3 day, 2 night passage to Port Elizabeth. That night, the winds went down, the sea went down and we thought a lovely motor with the strong Agulhas Current would be an okay way to fly. Then the LIGHTENING started. At first, it was behind us and not gaining. It moved north as we headed south. Then, on Alex\’s off watch. I started to see lightening on the bow about 5 miles ahead. Shortly thereafter, it started bolting down in front of us. First a mile off to port, then a half mile dead ahead, then a quarter mile off the right side, Then back in front of us and finally – WHAM! About 200 yards off our port beam (left – middle for you land lubbers), we had a strike. The wind instruments died, the AIS died, the bilge alarms went off and the sound was not only deafening, but you could feel the air shock from the hit. Alex quickly came up from her cabin and it started to POUR LIKE CRAZY. Then the outside/helm auto pilot went down. We took a deep breath and turned inshore as what can only be described as a surreal \”Tesla Coil Event\” was going off from cloud to cloud every few seconds. This was less than a few miles away to our seaward (left) side and the show went on for at least 3 hours!

    The final synopsis was: Lightening 1, Autopilot Zero, Wind Instruments came back but slowly would die off over the next few weeks. AIS came back to life. The Bilge Alarms were damaged and will need to be replaced. AMAZINGLY, our chart plotters (Raymarine e-127 and e-125), never went offline and didn\’t seem to care! Needless to say, \”That was exciting\”… but stand by…more to come!

    So the lightening went away…YEA! The wind slowly then died off during the night and we ended up motoring. The next morning, the predicted 5-10 knots from the south became 20-30 knots from the south! YIKES. The danger here is not the wind, but that the Agulhas Current in it\’s fastest area at the fastest time of year was pushing us down the coast (where we wanted to go by the way!!) at 4-7 knots!!! However, the wind and more importantly, the sea was against us. This created not a dangerous situation, but a very uncomfortable situation. Alex made a small offering of pre-digested meal to Neptune and was quickly back in action. Our speed through the water looked dismal. We were only going 1-2 knots. BUT, it was WITH the current so we were actually going 7 knots down the coast. We decided to tough it out and took our lumps for 18 hours. It finally subsided and we motored in flat seas past East London at dusk. A thankfully flat evening and the next day had us at Algoa Bay Yacht Club in Port Elizabeth by 3:30 p.m.

    The really cool thing about the last 50 miles was that we saw our first African Penguins in big groups as we entered the bay to Port Elizabeth along with distant Right Whales and nice weather. More soon,

    Scott with Alexandra (Her \”Deegness\”)…..recovering in Port Elizabeth, Algoa Bay Yacht Club