Category: 2013 Richards Bay, SA to Simons Town, SA Voyage

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 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