This technically challenging passage was full of sail changes as we adjusted course and the weather rolled in from different directions and the currents in this part of the ocean ebbed and flowed with and against us. However with our great crew, Misto again showed what she can do. We completed the 1370 nm in 8 daysand 8 hours with an average speed of around 6.7 kn. Along the way we encountered pretty much every imaginable sailing condition - squalls full of lightening lasting hours, huge swells of well over 12’, lumpy, bumpy seas that threw us around like a monohull, and a lot of close hauled sailing which is not a catamaran’s strong suit, but also beautiful sailing days where we flew the gennaker and romped along at 8-10 kn. Our timing for arrival in Richards bay was perfect with 20 kn of north easterly wind we easily crossed the Agulhas current flew towards the finish line with following seas. We were the first monohull across the finish line and the second boat in - arriving before the majority of the monohulls!
The Zululand Yacht Club is very welcoming and the prices of food and drink are so low that it’s not worth eating on the boat. We are busy trying to sort out some jobs on the boat - we have postponed any significant gel coat work as it will be too time consuming but will have Misto waxed and polished. We were also hoping to get our hatches repaired as most have sprung small leaks but it seems that might be better tackled in Cape Town as well. We have seen the sailmaker and he will measure for our new sails on Friday and the rigger will measure for new rigging tomorrow. All the work will be completed in Cape Town where the sail loft and rigging yard are.