Having arrived safely in Richards Bay and had a good night´s sleep, we were ready to explore. The World Cruising Club excelled themselves at this stopover with a trip to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. It was a very early start and a coach trip of several hours, but we were rewarded by three hours spotting game: Impala, springbok, zebra, warthog, rhino, elephant and water buffalo. Not all of the ´Big Five´, but a great start to discovering South Africa.
Those of you who know anything about South African history will know about the great battles that took place in this area during the Anglo-Zulu War. The battles took place between January and July 1879 between the forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. The most famous of these were the Zulu victory at Isandlwana and the British defence at Rorke´s Drift (some of you may remember the Michael Caine film!)
Isandlwana was the first major encounter in the war. On 22 January 1879, eleven days after the British invaded Zululand, a Zulu force of 20,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British column. Although equipped only with spears, cow hide shields and a few muskets, the Zulus greatly outnumbered the British and killed over 1300 of the troops. The area of the battle is now a memorial to the warriors on both sides. It was surreal to visit the area and imagine the scenes that once took place in this now tranquil memorial, its piles of rocks marking the position of mass burials.
On the same day as the defeat at Isandlwana, the second iconic battle took place: the defence of the mission station at Rorke´s Drift. Here 150 British and colonial troops defended the station against approximately 4000 Zulu warriors.
Visiting the museum, we learnt more about the key characters and events of the battle, again seeing memorials to the fallen warriors.
From Richards Bay, the rally had a period of independent sailing around to Cape Town (about 1000nm). Advice is given as to the local sailing conditions and possible places to stop, but each boat decides on its own passage plan.
The coast from Richards Bay to Cape town is infamous. The strong Agulhas Current, combined with limited safe places to stop, means that carefully passage planning is essential. Watching the weather very carefully, the hops are made depending on favourable wind conditions, planning in plenty of time to ´hide away´ in ports and harbours to avoid adverse wind.
With this in mind, we extended our stay in Richards Bay for a few days while waiting for the next suitable window to make the first jump south. The forecast predicted a short window of 24 hours, so we decided to head for Durban, 90nm away. The winds were light – Force 3 (7-10 knots). We could have sailed in these winds, but as the weather window was short, we needed to keep up the speed in order to reach Durban. We used the engine to aid the sails, taking 16 hours to get there.
Described to us as a ´gangsters´ paradise´, we had heard horror stories about crime in Durban and were a little wary about stopping here. However, there was an amazing local contact, Vince. He, along with the marina staff and members of the Point Yacht Club, offered help and advice to ensure that our stay in Durban was a good experience.
Our stay was not without risk though. We had been recommended not to walk anywhere, so made good use of Uber to get about. Driving through town, it did not look any different to many of the other towns that we had visited on our travels and we were almost lulled into a sense of false security. However, the safety problem was brought home to us as we were heading out to a restaurant to eat. It was 6:30pm and still light. The Uber had stopped at traffic lights when, all of a sudden, a man tried to grab our friend Jerry´s phone through the open window. Luckily, Jerry´s quick reaction meant that he kept his phone, but it was a serious reminder to keep windows closed and doors locked at all times!
The forecast was for a big blow coming through, so we stayed in Durban for a few days, to wait it out, trying out several local restaurants and mingling with the members of the yacht club.
After six days, we set off again. Uncertain of how quickly the next front would take to come through, our plans were flexible, either East London (280nm) or Port Elizabeth (380nm).
Th whole passage was frustrating, grey and wet with variable wind direction (NE/N/SE/SW) and strength (Force 3 (7-10 knots) to Force 5 (17-21 knots)). This meant motor sailing most of the way. Fortunately, on this stretch of coastline, the Agulhas Current is strong and close to shore and this gave us a boost of up to 3 knots.
Another positive of the passage was a second tuna – this time a blue fin.
Despite the variable wind, we made good progress. The front was slower coming in than expected, so we pushed on, reaching Port Elizabeth in 2 days, 9.5 hours (402nm).
Like most stops along this coast, Port Elizabeth is a large commercial port crammed with fishing and cargo boats. Once again, our local contact was superb. John was a font of all knowledge, helping us with local advice, shopping, gas, fuel, laundry…
Knowing that we would be here for several days, we hired a car to explore inland.
An interesting stop was at Theescombe Estate Wines. Here the owner spent several hours showing us around this small, family run vineyard. She proudly talked about the business she and her late husband had set up. It was estate wine rather than a wine estate meaning everything is done on the estate. Only grapes grown here are used and all of the processing, bottling etc is done here. It was a fascinating few hours, although the wine was not the best we have tasted.
Our top find in this area was Belleview Forest Reserve. A few hours drive from Port Elizabeth, this game drive gave us the opportunity to walk with giraffes. What an amazing experience! After a 45 minute drive around the reserve, seeing the usual springbok and zebras, our guides found 12 of the giraffes. The tower (collective name for a group of giraffes) consisted of young and old and the magnificent creatures were grazing, so moving slowly. We carefully approached them and were able to walk beside them for about 20 minutes. Wow!!
After six days in Port Elizabeth, the next weather window arrived and it was time for the big push, hopefully all of the way to Cape Town.
Once again, the winds were light, at most Force 3 (7-10 knots) coming from the SW. We had to do lots of motor sailing, but at least the sun was shining.
A highlight of the passage was on Monday 9th December, when we were passing Cape Agulhas, the most southerly point of Africa. It is also where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic. As we approached the Cape, the wind increased enough for us to sail. So we raised a toast to Neptune and were greeted into the Atlantic Ocean by a huge pod of dolphins.
Crossing into the Atlantic brought with it a change in temperature. It became colder and damp, especially at night. We even had to break out the duvet for the first time in over two years!
Rounding the Cape, we turned to the north, making our way along the west coast to Cape Town. The sun shone down, the skies were blue and we were accompanied by 100s of dolphins, many seals and even a whale.
We arrived in Cape Town having travelled 419nm in 3 days, 6 hours. Entering the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, we passed through the swing and bascule bridges and headed for the marina, Our home for the next month with its spectacular views of Table Mountain
Fascinating, and I’m thoroughly enjoying news of your escapades. It really is proving to be a brilliant start to “retirement”, or “Post-work life”.
Congrats on making it back safely into the Atlantic. Those last few hundred miles are some of the most difficult.
Bon voyage for the next part of your adventure.