can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

Tucanon - 70knot wind



We stayed 2 nights at the fishing port of Gansbaai, waiting for the gales to abate. We were so glad that we had made the decision to seek a port of refuge rather than continue onwards towards Cape Town and into the gales. We heard subsequently of the problems which two other World ARC boats, only a few hours ahead of us, had faced. We spoke to the manager at Hout Bay marina and he advised us that both Chessie and Brown Eyed Girl had to seek the assistance of the rescue team who sent out a boat to help them in on Saturday night. Chessie had no steering as the rudder had been lost. Brown Eyed Girl could make no progress against 70knot winds. They made news, the incident being reported in the Weekend Argus and the Cape Times.

While we were moored safely at Gansbaai, tied for and aft to mooring buoys, Mo and Bev rowed the rib ashore. The carburetor, which had been fitted at great expense while we were in Mackay, Australia, stopped working the fourth time the rib had been used, so it was not possible to start the outboard.

Checking the GRIB files, Dick was able to ascertain that there was a window on Monday, which should give us time to reach Hout Bay before the next gale. We left Gansbaai shortly after 5am and made good progress motor sailing past the Cape of Storms towards Cape Town. There was plenty of wind but we used the engines to maximize our speed, needing to reach Hout Bay before the gale hit us. The Cape of Storms, still referred to by this old name by many, was renamed Cape of Good Hope by Vasco de Gama or Henry the Navigator, depending on which books you read.

We arrived at Hout Bay around 2.30pm, having taken down the sails just before entering the bay. We were so pleased to have done this as it would not have been possible once we were into the bay when the catabatic wind, blowing at 52knots, hit us. It took help from folk on the pontoons for us to get into our berth, doubling up on lines and using six big, round fenders to protect the boat from the pontoons. Despite the generous size of the fenders, they were almost being squashed flat by the force of the wind against the boat. Goodness knows how people manage with the regular sized fenders that are supplied with the boat. These we still keep for use with fender boards, where necessary.

A boat capsized just outside the marina confines, about a week before we arrived. It had been impounded for the last two years for some reason. The owner of the boat wasn’t bothered and the marina management was pleased. Where once the fishing boats tied up and made it impossible for some of the yachts to get in or out of their berth, the sinking of the boat has now alleviated this problem.

The first two nights we were in Hout Bay marina, the wind whistled and blew up to 55knots. The boat jerked, shuddered and squeaked. The noise of the wind made sleep impossible. We went ashore to buy a few provisions and to top up the mobile phone. As we walked from the waterfront and passed the beach to the road, sand was in the air, the eyes, the mouth, not to mention the road and path where sand dunes had appeared. Bulldozers were scooping up the sand and moving it from the road and path back into the sea. Another two hundred metres and we were away from the wind and the sand, strolling along in glorious sunshine. It was like being in a completely different place.

Within 24hours of our arrival in Hout Bay, the wind was reported to be blowing over 100knots off Cape Point. We fortunately had experienced only 25 knots of wind, as we crossed the line where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean meet. We had read in the pilot book that the catabatic wind sometimes blew at 50knots here, making it impossible to stand on the pontoons. One had to crawl if it became necessary to get about. We didn’t really believe this to be the case, thinking that it was an exaggeration by the writer. However, it isn’t just Hout Bay that suffers from this ferocious wind the same is true of the other marinas in Cape Town. We went to Seaport Supply, a chandlery in Cape Town and found the staff there to be as knowledgeable and helpful as the Seaport chandlery opposite the marina in Durban.

Thursday 16th December is a public holiday here in South Africa which means that most business closes until around 11th January. This is not good news as we have a lot of repairs and maintenance work which really needs to be done before we leave here on the 8th January. With the assistance of the marina manager and a live-aboard yachtie we manage to put into place most of the stuff that has to be done. For this to work, it is necessary for us to bend and twist to fit in with the guys who are going to do the jobs.

Thursday evening we went to Kirstenbosch botanical gardens where the Rotary, in conjunction with various sponsors, had organised Carols by Candlelight to the backdrop of Table Mountain and Devils Peak. There were 9000 people  there, all holding candles and sitting beneath the starlit sky. It was a great evening, supported by people of all ages including families, singles and couples. Some were wearing t-shirts and shorts, others were wrapped in duvets or blankets. A lot of people had taken a picnic.

Saturday we drove out of Hout Bay over Chapmans Peak with its fantastic views, to Simonstown where we visited the famous maritime museum. From there we drove to a fish restaurant in Kalk Bay, where we had a super meal. The location was pretty amazing. We had a sea view on two sides and a mountain and sea view on the third. After lunch we set off towards Stellenbosch. Taking the scenic rather than the direct route, we drove up through the Franchhoek Mountains via Sir Lowry’s Pass. The views were stunning. We could see False Bay and then suddenly, to our surprise, we could see below us a huge, fertile valley. We made our descent into the pretty and very fashionable town of Franschhoek and onwards towards Paarl where we had managed to find accommodation for the night. This time of the year it is very difficult to find accommodation or to rent cars as with so many people on holiday, everything has already been pre-booked. We spent a quiet and peaceful night, getting up in time for a swim in the heated pool before consuming a sumptuous cooked breakfast and lots of fresh fruit.

Off again, this time to Mitres’s Edge, a boutique, family owned winery. We had met Bernard at the Food and Wine Exhibition in Durban. More wine tasting, this time we also had with us Lola, the lady of the house and the wine-maker in the family. We tried a selection of wines, a rose and several red wines, some aged and some young, before making our purchases.

Already it is 2pm so we take our leave and drive a few hundred metres to Olivelli, a renowned restaurant which either owns, or is owned, by another winery. Our table overlooks a huge lily pond where people are relaxing in acouple of small boats. The wine was quite delicious so we then visited the associated winery and bought some more wine. Arriving back at the marina around 6pm, we man-handle the boxes of wine and our overnight bags, from the car to inside the locked compound. The assistance of the security guard is solicited and he managed to find a sack barrow and to wheel the boxes to the boat. Now we have to find somewhere to store it.


Previous | Next