Amazingly we are only 60 nm from Cape Town and due in at 5am tomorrow morning (1st November). All fears of missing my flight on the 9th have been banished. We will even make a party in Cape Town, organised by Charlie and Kath on Celebrate, and all because of the Agulhas current. We eventually made landfall at Mossel Bay which is 600 nm from Richards Bay after a passage of under 4 days. Most of the way we were motoring with only the jib as we could not use the mainsail until the glue had set on the boom repair! Once we found the Agulhas current we were travelling at 8-10 knots, often more than double our speed through the water. We decided to keep going through a shallow low pressure system which caused a bumpy night with some head winds and lightening, but it was worth it not to stop. In our "flight plan", which the South African Authorities demand, we had planned to make 1-3 day stops, depending on weather patterns, at Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth on our way to Mossel Bay and Cape Town. What a pleasure to be able to contact the harbour masters as we passed each port, to say we had changed our plan and would not be stopping! We hitched a ride on the Agulhas current and were sorry to say goodbye to the current just south of Port Elizabeth when we turned westwards to Mossel Bay. But we were happy as not only had we danced with the highs and lows but we had learnt to fly - Agulhas Style.
On the final 24 hours into Mossel Bay we were finally able to hoist the main sail and were relieved to find the boom worked! Aware that we still had another 200 nm to go with the next low pressure system approaching, we made best use of a fresh westerly breeze and skipped along the coast past St Francis Bay and Piettenberg Bay. In the late afternoon we noticed extensive clouds of red algae in the sea water which were to be the prelude for the light show in the evening. At night, the phosphorescence produced by the bow wave and wake from the stern, as they disturbed the phytoplankton, was spectacular. White, blue and green showers went up in the air and skimmed passed the boat with every plunge of the bows into the ocean. Behind us a silver wake trailed into the distance marking our journey into the phosphorescent wonderland. Something for the memory to retain as all the photos failed to capture the magic!
With a freshening breeze (sailing term for it was getting windy!), the autopilot decided to go on strike after working perfectly all the way down from Richards Bay. The hydraulic ram was covered in fluid so we suspect that the repair to the seals was only "temporary". Roger has decided to add another new ram to his collection! With still 80 nm to go it was back to the THS (the tyranny of hand steering). Worse still, we would also have to hand steer the 245 nm from Mosssel Bay to Cape Town.
Roger had already phoned the Marina at Mossel Bay to book a berth so it was great to come into the harbour (after negotiating a difficult swell which broke over the breakwaters at the entrance) and see Jonathan and Ziggy from Merlin of Poole, on the pontoon. The only problem was that the width of the pontoon was 21.5 feet and Free & Breasy has a beam of 21 feet! Somehow we shoe horned her in with every fender and bit of foam deployed! In the best nautical tradition there then followed "Muchas Cervesas".
Mossel Bay harbour is a commercial port and the small Marina is next to a wharf where large vessels dock. The next day we managed to squeeze Free & Breasy through a narrow gap between the pontoons and a ship, to take her to a bigger berth in the Marina. Then we went through the polite but efficient port security on a short walk to Mossel Bay Yacht Club. The club is a delightful wooden building with excellent facilities and a bar / restaurant on the first floor overlooking a beautiful sandy beach. We were very soon enjoying beers with the crew from Merlin, glancing up at the stupendous views while downloading weather charts to plan the next leg to Cape Town. There was a low pressure system coming that would keep us in port for three days. That was great news as Mossel Bay is a lovely sea port with plenty of shops and walking along the coast. It's also on the "Garden Route" which goes through a particularly special coastal area of South Africa and is famous for its flowers and landscape. Jonathan and Jenny decided to rent a car to go to a famed beauty spot, the harbour at Knysna, which is about an hour's drive up the coast, and kindly invited us along. That night we enjoyed superb food and company on board Merlin of Poole. This is how life should be!
The coastal scenery by the excellent roads up the coast was indeed spectacular with sandy beaches, estuaries, marsh lands, forests, gorges and cattle grazing the grassland, all surrounded by mountains in the distance. The harbour in Knysna is very pretty and has a well developed Marina frontage with plenty of shops and restaurants. We took advantage of both and shopped till we dropped into a restaurant for excellent sea food washed down by a lovely South African wine. Jonathan and Ziggy recommend the oysters at 34 Degrees (the name of the restaurant!).
The next day Roger and Ziggy went off to play golf on the superb course that overlooks the sea on St Blaize Head at Mossel Bay. Roger has sailed the world looking for a golf partner who sails and finally found out that it is also Ziggy's passion! Alejandro and Michael enjoyed a great cliff walk around the same Head and arrived back tired and in need of Muchas Cervesas, again!
Mossel Bay was a delightful surprise and we all have fond memories. Alas it was time to make the most of the next weather window to get to Cape Town, still 245 nm away. After getting diesel, we started early Saturday morning and apart from the THS and 2 hour watches with 4 hours off, around the clock, everything is going well. We have already gone around Cape Agulhas and are back in the Atlantic Ocean! Thanks for the ride Agluhas. We like your style!