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Trompeta - Sailing the Wild Coast



The locals here call the East coast of South Africa the wild coast because of the sea conditions and often strong winds. We left Richards Bay a week last Monday in the wee small hours in the company of Zoe who was our sailing companion for the trip. Arrived safely in Durban later that evening after an uneventful passage. Only stayed one night in Durban and left the following day to sail down the East coast to Port Elizabeth some 475 miles from R Bay. In the event we had excellent sailing conditions with wind behind and a good 3 to 5 knots of  Agulhus current to whisk us along. The toughest part was the lumpy seas around Bashie Point near East London. The boats were going so fast (we were doing 11 to 12 knots at times!!) we decided to make for Mossel Bay further down the coast as we still had time in the weather window. Again stayed one night in a VERY swelly Mossel Bay. It was tough getting out of M Bay the following day as seas were big and took some getting through.
Once out of the bay we again had an excellent trip around Cape Agulhus with hardly any wind so motor sailing. However we paid the price as once around the Cape the wind came into the NW so it was a hard beat to windward with seas against us to get up the West side into False Bay. Since both Royal Cape YC and V&A and Hout Bay were all fully booked we had made reservations at False Bay YC in Simon's Town. We eventually reached the marina just after midnight on Sunday 2 Dec so just 7 days after leaving RB!! Needless to say a glass of bubbly on the dock was well received!
 
Simon's Town is a delightful place with a large Naval Base dominating the town everywhere is very pretty with neatly tended gardens and streets. Yesterday we walked to Boulders beach to see the famous African Penguins which was quite spectactular as there are now some 2,200 penguins although they are still an endangered species. The restaurants here are fabulous and service is superb. The Yacht club is delightful with friendly staff and a cosy familiar feel about the place. It was definitely worth the struggle to get here!
 
Time to move again tomorrow as we have now secured a berth at RCYC so can leave with Zoe in the early morning. Zoe are heading to Hout Bay so that is where we will part company - at least until Christmas when we move to Hout bay!



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