I guess we didn't come in unnoticed!

Nothing like signing off with a bit of drama!  Thanks to the NSRI, friends and club members, all four boats tied up safely.  Whew!

Around the world in 4459 days!

                                                Home!

OK, so it's not exactly a speed record but we did it!  12 years, 2 months and 15 days.  Nearly 45 000 nautical miles or 83,340 kilometres!

We're back in Simon's Town where it all started in 2004 and what an adventure it's been.  The people, the places, the islands, the seas, the sunsets, the foods: nothing can take away the memories of this amazing journey.  

We set off with five years in mind but it didn't take long to realise we didn't want to rush it and five years wasn't going to be near enough.  Although I really do admire those folk who race around the globe, I have to question the logic.  What do they see, who do they meet?  Do they ever sit on a beach to watch the sun go down?  Do they ever stop long enough to savour the variety of cuisine offered around the world?  To experience the culture and diversity each country has to offer?   To simply observe life from a foreign perspective?  And most importantly, to realise how privileged we were to be there in the first place?  We did all this and more!

We often wondered why more people don't get on a boat and sail away but in hindsight, thank goodness they don't, it would be awfully crowded out there and the solitude we experienced so often was half the charm.

Given the choice, would we do it all over again?  Most definitely and we wouldn't change much, not even the boat, except maybe give us a bow thruster next time and perhaps a nice big sugar scoop off the stern.  And while we're at it, a slightly bigger fridge and freezer and....... nah, leave that, they were just fine.  Calypso did us proud.

For all of you who followed our exploits, we hope you enjoyed travelling with us.  It wasn't always easy to stay in touch but we were fortunate to have so many friends back on the land and blessed beyond measure for all those we met along the way.

And now you ask, what's next?  What on earth does one do to follow on from this?  Neither of us is ready to sit back in a rocking chair to reflect on times and adventures past.  We will create new ones.  And so now, on to the next stage of our lives whatever that may hold.

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And now to tell the last tale of our trip into Simon's Town: this final leg of 214nm was some of the best sailing we've had, especially on the SA coast!  We thought we had ended on such a good note, sunny skies, perfect winds (wing-on-wing), moderate seas, a full moon, seals playing around us pretending to be dolphins and, to top it off, Paul caught a beautiful, big yellow-fin tuna.  Sushi H?

Our fabulous cruising friends, Bronte and Helmke were waiting to take our lines along with Roger, the chap who joined us leaving SA in 2004, and quite a few others.  The winds had picked up quite significantly, 25-30 knots, (NOT forecasted) but it was still lovely out there.  And then we rounded the corner with only a couple of miles to go and all hell broke loose.........45 knots gusting to 50 on the nose, we couldn't fight it!  Engine full on but we were not making any progress, rather we were getting forced closer and closer to the far shore.  We turned back and tried again but no luck.  

In the end, to our chagrin, the NSRI came out to tow us in but even that was a saga of its own.  Once they got us closer in, the conditions were marginally more protected so we made the turn into the marina on our own but got blown side on across the finger.  Not my moment of glory!  It took at least a dozen pairs of helping hands on shore to finally pull us straight and tie up!  Shatter nerves and shattered ego and one hell of a grand finale!  Thank goodness for the bottles of bubbly.

Mossel Bay - our penultimate stop!

We'd far rather be in here than out in those ¥#%*€ conditions offshore.  This looks like a great stop indeed.   

No sooner had we pulled into the harbour than we met a chap who had come to see Sandy, the Scotsman who had arrived at the same time (the poor Dane is still out there in horrible conditions).  He offered to take us to the yacht club, a short drive away, then down the beach a bit further for lunch.  Yup, definitely much better than out there.

Calamari and chips, a couple of cold ones, followed by a hot shower and a few hours kip; no complaints, we'll put up with this for a couple of days.

And so comes the last leg.  Thursday predictions (if we trust them) says we'll make it all the way.  Hope it's true as there's nowhere to stop in between.  Saturday morning should see us berthing in FBYC where it all started!

Somebody PLEASE fire the weatherman!

Forecast: light winds SE to E, changing to very light SW later the following day, waves of no significance, swell of no significance.  

Great, we're on our way, we can make it all the way to Simon's Town!  Hmmmm, yeah right.  I don't think so.

Reality: 30 - 35 knots from the east (right up the backside), humongous waves and swells, shocking conditions and we seriously wanted to wring the weatherman's neck!  If six metre breaking waves are of no significance, I have to ask, what is?

To make matters worse, we were advised by the weather gurus, yes them again, that we should get down to 35° south to avoid a bit of a low so like good trusting souls, we did so.  It turned out to be really nasty, a big mistake, so that when we gave up and decided to bail out to head back up to Mossel Bay, we were literally miles and miles out of our way.  How can they get it so wrong?!  But, do you ever hear them say, "Oops, got that a bit wrong didn't we?  Sorry."  Nope, never.

We were with two other boats, one Dane and one Scots: the Dane just wants to get as far away from the South African coast as he can (preferably back in Denmark) and the Scotsman can't believe there should be any sailboats in SA at all - why would anyone want a boat here to sail in these conditions?  At times like these, I have to admit, I question our sanity.

Oh well, we wanted to check out Mossel Bay anyway.

A few days in Paradise

Paradise came in the form of an invitation to spend a few days just north of East London at Viskop, an enormous farm where our friends, Patti and Harry Salzwedel, have their beautiful home in a magnificent setting. The above photo, taken on my iPad, is the only one I can include until I can sort out a new PC to get the photos off my camera.  This was looking out from our bedroom balcony.  Not too shabby is it?!  Even standing in the shower, we had a view of the sea.

Before breakfast the first morning, we had a lovely long walk along the pristine beaches, then chilled out watching some cricket which I happen to love.  Later on, we drove to the top of Viskop hill which is the highest point for many a mile giving an outstanding panorama of the farm, the surrounding hills and out over the ocean. The following day, we met the whole family when we were treated to Harry's birthday celebration at a nearby restaurant/game farm and just generally revelled in the luxury endowed upon us.  

Only a very small section of the farm has been developed and the area is home to many species of animals and birds as well.  Driving along, we met up with blesbok, impala, warthogs, monkeys, eagles and hawks.  What an amazing place to live in!  Thank you dear Harry and Patti for all your kindness and hospitality, a very special treat indeed, we loved your home.

Time to move on again but not before getting a new compressor for the freezer.  We meet many cruisers on smaller boats who don't even have a fridge or freezer aboard.  I don't know how they do it!  We've only been without ours since arriving in East London and most of that time we were away.  I have no idea how to cook without a fridge!  Tinned or dried food? not my forté.

We left the harbour at three in the afternoon arriving in Port Elizabeth 25 hours later after a good and uneventful trip (I'm definitely in favour of the 'uneventful' bit).  Shipping is quite heavy along this coast so we were more than thankful for our AIS system which informs us of other vessels names, direction, speed etc and shows them where we are in case we wander into their path - very comforting.  Isn't technology grand?!

After a decent night's sleep at the Algoa Bay Yacht Club, the Salzwedels stopped by again, this time on their way home from spending a couple of days in Cape St Francis.  At the rate they're going, we won't be surprised if they pitch up in Simon's Town to take our lines upon arrival.  So kind.

The short weather window we had thought we'd use to get over to Mossel Bay has shortened too much, so now we sit for a while longer.  It looks as though this coming Sunday afternoon may give us one and it may be long enough to go all the way to Simon's Town.  If not, I'm sure we'll make it to Mossel Bay which I'd rather like to visit anyway.  The subject of weather is becoming a sore point with all the other cruisers with us.  Never before have we had to concentrate on conditions as seriously as we've been doing ever since arriving on the African coast and rounding Cape Agulhas is certainly not to be taken lightly so we'll wait to judge the situation later.

PHOTO ALBUM:

Again, no PC, no photos - yet.