Sanibonani Zululand !

Mauritius Stopover: 12th-22nd October

Mauritius to Reunion Passage: 22nd/23rd October : 130 miles

Reunion Stopover:  23rd- 3oth October

Reunion to Richards Bay Passage: 31st October – 9th November : 1400 miles

Richards Bay Stopover: 9th to 15th November

Sanibonani (Hello) Zululand – yes we have arrived in South Africa, our last new continent, having completed the third Indian Ocean leg of circa 1400 miles last Monday, 9th November, a year to the day since we set sail from Gran Canaria for Cape Verde on the ARC+ Rally.  So three oceans down and one more, the Atlantic to go, for the second time.  This last leg had it’s memorable moments and Exody has been wetter both outside and in than ever before – but we are dried out now, have been immersed in the South African wildlife experience and are ready to roll again!

There are 900 miles of ‘free cruising’ , for which read ‘fairly challenging weather-dodging’, to get from Richards Bay south west to Cape Town. With a month to cover the ground we should be OK.  It is back to home waters habits of daily forecasts, avoiding the southwesterly blows marching through and finding the right fair wind weather windows to hop down the coast, riding the Agulhas current.

3G cards and internet are good here so we hope to get more photos uploaded in the very near future.

Here are the four World ARC published logs for the period with just a summary overview of the two week Mauritius/Reunion period.

Days 294/295 – Au Revoir La Reunion, Farewell Fay

The last baguette was delivered early by ARC yellowshirt Victor on his rented scooter – home territory for him, albeit a displaced part of France amid the Indian Ocean. Elder daughter Fay sadly left Saturday after two weeks on board taking in the contrasts of multicultural Mauritius and european outpost La Reunion. We were happy that she was able to spend the day before her flight home with departing crew from Allegro as we set sail simultaneously from Le Port.

For a full fortnight we had an excuse for a holiday from boat tasks, and astute readers will note that I also took a holiday from logging days 276 to 293 – the Mauritius and Reunion stopovers and the short 130 mile passage between. At both places we were moored against walls in busy ports so quite a contrast to the turquoise remote anchorage of Cocos Keeling. But access to the bustling city of Port Louis in Mauritius was easy and in both places we hired cars to see the many sights with memorable multi-hairpin drives to the ‘cirques’ of La Reunion – villages at over 1000 metres above sea level within former volcanoes.

The 1350 mile Leg 14 to South Africa started Saturday 31st, recently rendered non-competitive by World ARC so as to facilitate our individual decision-making on departure and engine use in respect of the tricky weather systems ahead. In the event all but two of the fleet left within a few hours of each other. Once out of the lee of the vertiginous volcanic island, the tradewinds resumed allowing us to reach southwestwards toward a waypoint well south of Madagascar. This to avoid generally disturbed winds and currents there before the next challenge of crossing the Agulhas Current in the last 50-100 miles of our approach to Richards Bay on the east coast of South Africa. This we must achieve in between the southwesterly blows that regularly march around the Cape of Good Hope (originally named Cape of Storms – the renaming an early example of ‘positive re-framing’ – ask a psychologist!!)

By night time the winds had eased and today, Sunday 1st, we have rarely made above 5 knots, though in pleasant quiet sea conditions. Some of the fleet are close, but as we left later than most, we are further back than usual and can see more engine use ahead to keep up the pace!

Following some initiation by Exody in Mauritius and energetic support from Makena and Ayama in La Reunion, several of the fleet are now up and running with enhanced use of their Single Side Band Radios for 1-2-1 ship to ship ‘telephone calls’ and other clever functions, previously hidden within the user manuals. Interesting how 100-year old radio technology still has its place! Core to this is the realisation that listening out for each other 24/7 is our best chance of prompt response in the event of any emergency in these remote parts.

The paradox here is that the SSB, or rather the shoreside infrastructure, let us down for reliably receiving emails and weather forecasts for free by radio whilst crossing the Indian Ocean. We have thus succumbed (as the only non-satellite connected boat on the fleet up until now) to a satellite hotspot for Exody. The ease and speed of email and grib download is a treat with the capacity for texts and short calls via linked iphone reassuring, albeit all at airtime cost!

Chinese stir fried beef and noodles beckon now and the full-ish moon will be up to reward the chef on her watch later tonight.

Days 296-300: Taking the rough with the smooth!

The passing of the front was a biblical affair- quite the most dramatic weather experience we have ever had! We could see the lightning up ahead in the dark but were still surprised by the combined impact of an onslaught of torrential rain, a rapid increase in wind speed with 180 degree windshift and the sheet lightning surrounding, illuminating the white frothy seascape all around us. For an hour we sailed on, emerging into an unfamiliar southwesterly environment: nearly close hauled into 25 knot plus winds to lay the Madagascar waypoint, crashing through waves, with white water regularly over the deck and the bow regularly buried!

We all like a great tradewind breeze of 20+ knots – but few of us would contemplate turning round and beating back into it. That of course is exactly what we did (well the SW wind did it to us) for about 36 hours with 1.5 to 2 knots foul current to add to the pleasure!

The well forecast front passed through the fleet on the evening of Tuesday 3rd November, third of our six days in to this last of the Indian Ocean passages and one of great contrasts. Our day’s runs have been 135,138,142,109(bad current + beating),137,190(good current + reaching). As I write midnight Friday 6th November, we have clocked up 950 miles and have 450 to reach Richard’s Bay hopefully by nightfall Monday.

We have now cleared up the aftermath: water from the cockpit floor into our cabin wetting the bed, so we are now sleeping in the saloon, shattered safety glass from the oven door that I fell across the cabin onto, deck diesel and water cans trying to escape, leaking hatch etc. On top of all this our newly fixed alternator seemed reluctant to give us a charge and it was a bit rough to investigate. But the strong winds and good speeds ensured the wind and towing generators did their jobs and the sun was still out enough to give us a dose of solar.

Today we are back to sailing as it should be – clear skies, quiet seas plus fair wind and current. Tools were out to fix things, showers were had in the cockpit, clothes and sheets out to dry.

But there is more on the way after this quiet spell, this time from the north and northeast – the right direction to speed us to Richards Bay and safely across the Agulhas current before the next southwesterly.

It takes quite a bit of getting used to dealing with weather fronts again, the cold (its been under 25 degrees!), changeable and strong current patterns, winds from significantly different directions – this is the stuff of not so long forgotten home waters!

Days 301&302: Home straight to Africa.

Africa, our last ‘new’ continent is just 140 miles away, less than a day’s sailing. With a favourable current of nearly a knot we have averaged nearly 7.5 knots all day today Sunday 8th and are on track to enter the major industrial port of Richard’s Bay 80 miles north of Durban by nightfall tomorrow Monday 9th, just 24 hours behind the leaders. Starblazer’s lights are in sight ahead of us, Ayama is 15 miles behind so the fleet is still fairly closely packed after well over 1000 miles.

We have had very agreeable sailing the last two days, almost enough to obliterate the ‘get me out of here’ experiences of just a few nights ago! We have been lucky to carry the 15- 20 knot winds with us leaving behind us a broad patch of light airs meaning, unfortunately, much diesel fuel will be needed for the back of the fleet to reach port.

Communications for Exody have been transformed this leg with our satellite hotspot- no longer do I spend hours trying repeatedly to get an available station and frequency to answer on the radio and then pray for it not to give up just before the email download bar colours in – this has infuriatingly happened more than once 30 minutes into a 32 minute download! Satellite costs us but it is fast- not yet been online to download or send emails for longer than two minutes at a time. There is also a degree of take up within the fleet on the use of the DSC capabilities of the SSB radios to make one on one ‘telephone’ calls between boats.

Our only ‘fishing’ on this passage is with a torch in our well stocked lockers for interesting cans, packets and jars for creative culinary combination with the last of the fresh produce. Marian made a lamb and aubergine dish using corned mutton – surprisingly lamb-flavoured and textured! There was also a salad of garden peas, black eye beans, capers, and sun dried tomatoes with the last quarter pepper and tail end of roquefort.

This is the last of our long ‘two-up’ ocean passages and we have found ourselves getting into a good routine, mainly surrounding sleep! We are both acquiring the art of short deep satisfactory sleeps through the day. The counterpoint is how hard it can sometimes be to wake the other up. Makes us realise that, particularly on night watch, one is genuinely alone whilst the other deeply slumbers. Lifejackets and hooking on are mandatory!

 

Days 303-309: Big 3, Celtic Connections and Shit Spitting !

Our final run in to Richard’s Bay was ‘downhill’ across the Agulhas current- up to 2 knots with us and up to 30 degrees sideways course offset. Maintaining sail until close in to the busy industrial port, we motored between the breakwaters just ahead of a vast cargo ship on our tail. We were welcomed by World ARC/Yacht Club dinghy to negotiate the unmarked channel in and later enjoyed the presented bottle of South African bubbly.

Just 48 hours after this arrival on the afternoon of Monday 9th, we had seen at close quarters three of the ‘big 5’- elephant, rhino and buffalo. Plus giraffe, wildebeest, warthog, zebra, hippo, crocodile and several members of the surprisingly diverse antelope family (Kudu, Impala etc- fast food for lions!). Our one hour journey north firstly to the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, the oldest game reserve dating from 1895, and the next day to the iSimangaliso Wetlands took us through the hinterland of Richards Bay. The excellent roads passing vast forested cultivation of pencil thin trees, interspersed with quite spread out townships. We learnt that the characteristic Zulu round houses adjacent to the main house were for communing with ancestors. The drought-dry beauty of the park landscapes contrasted with the ubiquitous spread of rubbish surrounding the human habitation!

We drove in safari type vehicles, stopping whenever anything was sighted by us or Bertie our guide. Some of the best close up views were from a manmade hide near a solar powered pumped water hole. A boat trip on Lake St Lucia took us to where the hippo families slept and the crocs lurked.

Immersed in these archetypal images of South Africa, we have happily spent the time since just pottering – drying out the boat, doing laundry, getting stocks in, repairing our bent cooker and a miscellany of minor tasks. Readying ourselves for the 900 miles of free cruising south to Cape Town over the coming month.

The Zululand Yacht Club reminds us of TTYA- Trinidad and Tobago Yachting Association – where I lived on board in the early 80’s – same mix of dinghies and cruisers, club facilities etc. The exchange rate for the rand means beers here are 75p, an evening meal £3.50 and a bottle of wine the same. So its barely worth the effort to eat and drink on board!

Friday 13th there was a special welcome event put on by this busy Club. We were treated to some genuine adrenalin-building Zulu dancing, a fine meal including stewed wildebeest and to top it all superb live music from black + white Zulu duo led by Qadasi (aka David Jenkins) whose folk music on guitar and voice, noted to have Irish and Scottish influences, took us straight back to the annual Celtic Connections in Glasgow. There was much dancing!

The evening finished for those well-oiled enough to participate with the unforgettable shit-spitting competition! Roll a small pea-sized pellet of dried Impala shit behind your tongue and expel/project as far as you can. Prizes were awarded to us ‘internationals’ only with Ayama picking up the men’s and Wayward Wind the women’s award!

The weather is certainly reminiscent of home – overcast and raining today, Sunday 15th. Poor visibility and strong south westerlies on the way. Down to 22 degrees and long unused clothing is being excavated! But the wildlife will be happy and the dry game parks greener.