Sunday November 29, Day trip with s/v Ohana to the country of Lesotho. Lesotho is a small landlocked kingdom surrounded by South Africa. Our tour was with Zulu Safaris. We took the Sani Pass, Lesotho, 4×4 Tour. There were 10 of us traveling in two vehicles, each with a guide.
First stop Pietermaritzburg, 80km NW of Durban. It is the capital of KwaZulu-Natal. We had a short tour of the area then stopped at the Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in front of City Hall.
Next a drive through the Drakensberg Mountains and up to the Sani Pass into Lesotho. Passports stamped! The Sani Pass is a notoriously dangerous road, which requires the use of a 4×4 vehicle. It is the gateway to the ‘Roof of Africa’ a 9km scenic route that links the picturesque scenery of the Drakensberg mountains and mountains of northern Lesotho. The road is full of holes, loose rocks, boulders and gravel. It’s a serie of winding twists, switchbacks, hairpins, plunging drops and spectacular scenery. It is one of the highest roads of the country.
South Africa, Lesotho boarder. Dan and I had to take a COVID test, as our previous one was more than 14 days ago. This creek ran across the roadBaboonSani Mountain Lodge, highest pub in Africa. We stopped there for warm beverages.
Basotho people are an ethnic group native to Lesotho and South Africa. Villages are often located high in the mountains, above the deep river valleys and flood danger. There you can find many flocks of sheep grazing in the summer growth amongst the villages.
We met Analina, she served us sweet bread and was selling items she had made. We purchased a very nice grass basket and a pair of earrings. After visiting the village we stopped to see Father Emmanuel Siphiwe Thato from the Tower of Strength Ministries where we gave donated items to him.
Traditional huts in the village Analina‘s homeAnalinaWarm Sweet breadInside Analina’s hutTraditional hat and blanket of the Basotho people.Father SiphiweSunset
Monday November 22, went to several grocery stores in search of a Turkey breast, finally found one, It’s about 1kg or 2lbs.
Later in the afternoon a musical jam session was held by a few cruisers, then sundowners with our new friends from Mexico. They will be flying home in a few days to Mexico City to obtain a visa for South Africa, then fly back.
Jam sessionJorge, Monica on s/v Donleon, Xavier s/v Windkist, an IP 380. They are brothers.
Tuesday November 23, took a drive to the next town to pickup new boat cards we had made as our stash was running low. Many cruisers have them to share your contact info with other boats. A few modifications were made to these, a different photo of us, our blog address, and logos added of Seven Seas Cruising Association and Ocean Cruising Clubs which we are members of.
The remainder of the day was gray with scattered rain showers.
Abandon rail carReal wild animal hides being sold on the roadsidePelican Island beachPainted SAFlag, these are Dolos, complex geometric shapes used to build barriers for protection against waves from a body of water.Boardwalk MallNew sign at the clubRandom photos taken in Richards Bay
Wednesday November 24, provisioning day, mostly produce, but enough for a week. Departing Richards Bay late Thursday for Durban, anticipate arriving mid morning on Friday, We shall stay there a few days then continue around the coast of South Africa. The rental car was also returned.
The checkout process was started. A seven page document was completed and stamped by the yacht club. Next stops customs, immigration then police to get it stamped, which we will do tomorrow morning. Eric will pick up Dan and drive him to the locations to get this document validated. After submitted it back to the yacht club, we will have 36 hours to depart Richards Bay. Each port in South Africa has the same checkout process.
Didier, Magaly, Me and Dan at the Jib and Anchor
Thursday November 25, 🦃 there are several American boats here at Zululand Yacht Club. We all gathered for dinner for a Friendsgiving celebration. Each boat bringing their own protein and a side dish to pass.
With ovens on most boats being small, it is not feasible for most to roast a large turkey. Our Turkey breast was poached in a white wine, chicken broth mixture with aromatics including onions, carrots, celery, green pepper with thyme sprigs along with rosemary, parsley and sage. We used our oven to bake an apple crisp then a sweet potato casserole which we brought to share.
Sweet potato’s here are white on the insideA dozen Granny Smiths sliced
What’s a thanksgiving gathering without a little football? Unable to find an American football, so a rugby ball was purchased. They are similar in size, it will work. Unfortunately it rained all morning and the grass was slippery and wet, the game was canceled.
There were 20 people sharing Thanksgiving dinner. We were outside under a covered picnic/bar area enjoying dinner by candlelight, Inflatable lights and flashlights as the electricity was off due to load shedding.
Appetizers Appetizers Turkey carving Side dishes Lasagna and desserts Pecan pie and Apple Crisps, yummy !
Departed Richards Bay 9:30pm in a misty rain.
Friday November 26, arrived in Durban around 2pm, 193kn miles traveled, average speed 6.5knots. This passage we switched our watch times, I slept from 11-2:30am, Dan 2:30 am – 5:30am. It was the first time on this journey I’ve witnessed an Ocean sunrise. Amazing when the sun rises how much it awakens you.
Indian Ocean Sunrise 4:41am Friday, November 26.Indian Ocean Sunrise, 4:45am Friday, November 26.
The port in Durban has one large marina with two yacht club buildings on either side, Royal Natal Yacht Club and Point Yacht Club. When we registered at the marina, our thumbprint was scanned. Placing your thumb on a digital reader at the gate is how you gain access to the guarded gated docks.
We are five slips from the end of this dock, 1/3 mile walk to the boat from shore.Erected in 1897 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Vasco da Gama’s discovery of the Bay of Natal on 24th December 1497Inside the cast iron structure Royal Natal Yacht Club, the oldest yacht club in the Southern Hemisphere. We were given a temporary guest membership. Point Yacht Club, we were also given a temporary guest membership.
Saturday November 27, lunch at the Point Yacht Club. These water birds were hanging around the club.
Friday November 19, Together with Magaly and Didier from s/v Falbala, we took a day trip to St. Lucia for a Sunrise safari drive, exploring the Eastern shores of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park followed by Hippo & Croc Boat Safari up the St Lucia Estuary. These wetlands are designated a World Heritage Site, which are cultural and or natural sites considered important for future generations.
Our guide, Bheki
Magaly, me, Dan and Didier
Burchell’s Coucal
Female Kudu
Male Kudu
African Buffalo
African Buffalo
Hippopotamuses
Cape Bushbuck
Then the road block occurred, we waited about an hour for the Elephants to move. There were three calves amongst the herd, so inching closer in the vehicle would create a dangerous situation.
Monday November 15, this week has been full of relaxing, hanging out with friends both old and new.
Work on the teak was completed. Braai with all our French friends.
Michael (and Verina are on s/v Webik)
Dan, Didier, Michael, Verina, Me, photo by Magaly
Tuesday November 16, On the boat, the same kind of pump is used in different areas. Using a pump repair kit, and two pumps that were not working properly, Dan was able to put together one pump that worked. This was used to replace the refrigerator drain pump.
Wednesday November 17, picked up a rental car to use for a week.
Gray day with thunderstorms.
Thursday November 18, another gray rainy day with high winds. On the ocean there around 40 knots of wind, here in the bay there is 30 knots with gusts to 34 knots out of the southwest. (per another boat).
Saturday November 20, We installed new custom vinyl decals that were purchased for Trance. These are for the bow on both side. Decals are the same color as the name on the transom. Now we can be easily identified when docked bow in first.
Sunday November 21, Blueberry Pancake Sunday, then Magaly brought over four freshly made blueberry crepes!
Late afternoon s/v Ohana arrived at Tuzi Gazi, we went over to see them. Two of their youngest children are with the grandparents will arrive here by plane with them. Great to see this crew again!
Tuesday November 9, Day trip to Hluhluwe (sh-lew-sh-lew-we) Imfolozi Game Reserve. It is a Big 5 Game Park in the KwaZulu Natal Region of South Africa. The oldest reserve in Africa, 96000 hectares of Wilderness.
Our guide was Hayden Elliot from Outdoor Africa , he was extremely knowledgeable about the animals, plants and birds we saw as well as the park and South African history. Hayden picked us up from Zululand Yacht Club in a comfortable van where the second seat windows opened to the side for photo opportunities. Included in our tour was a mid-morning coffee/tea and biscuits break in the park, as well as a delicious lunch early afternoon, at a picnic table with Impalas and Zebra roaming nearby.
The weather was not ideal, it was chilly, and very windy with a few rain sprinkles. With a lot of searching, we did see 4 of the Big 5 animals, African Buffalo, Elephant, Rhinoceros, Lion and several other species. The fifth being the Leopard, a nocturnal animal is typically seen at night or sunrise if you’re lucky. They are called the Big 5 as these five large African animals are known to be dangerous and historically considered a triumph by trophy hunters.
Zebras
African Buffalo
Vervet Monkey
Impala, males have horns
Warthog
Crocodile
Nyala, male is the dark gray with horns, females are light brown
African Wattled Lapwing, about 14 inches tall.
White Rhinoceros. Subject to poaching for its horn. Within the reserve we saw armed anti-poaching patrols.
Giraffe. Red Billed Ox Pecker birds, they are about 8 inches in length. The birds cling to cattle and big-game animals to remove ticks, flies, and maggots from their hides. When the birds are alarmed, they hiss, alerting their hosts to possible danger in the area such as a predator.
Little-Bee Eater, native to South Africa, they hunt insects whilst in flight. They are 6 inches in length.
Elephant
Female on the left, young male on the right
Lion. She did not like us being there, started walking and roaring as if she was alerting other lions of our presence. Hayden mention during his 20 year career, this was the fourth time he’d heard a lion roar.
White Umfolozi River
Wallows or watering holes are natural depressions that hold run off water. There are several throughout the park.
Monday November 8, Eric is a local club member who will drive you around town, for a fee, instead of getting a taxi. He is well known throughout the club and his service is used by many cruisers. Along with Mark and Susan from s/v Erie Spirit (from Toledo, they’ve been cruising for 11 years), Eric dropped us off at the mall, the Boardwalk Inkwazi Shopping Center. Known as “the Heart of Zululand”, it has over 160 stores.
In the evening there was a meat and greet Braai (barbecue over wood or charcoal) sponsored by ZYC, Ocean Sailing Association of South Africa (OSASA) and Ocean Cruising Club (OCC).The event was for all the “International Yachties” that are here, about 20 boats.
Jenny Crickmore- Thompson, Director OSASA
Natasha Wolmarans, Richards Bay OCC Port Captain
The OSASA was formed within the past couple years, by three South African cruisers. They streamlined the country check in process, creating an online portal to fill out and upload required documents. Cruising boats visiting South Africa has increased in recent years as the Red Sea route has mostly been avoided due to pirate activity. Around the world sailboat races also include a stop in South Africa.
The OCC, administered from the UK, is an international club promoting long-distance cruising. Membership is open to anyone either as skipper or certified as competent by the skipper, who has completed a continuous ocean passage of at least 1000 miles, measured along the rhumb line, in a vessel of under 72 feet. The Ocean Cruising Club maintains a network of over 100 Port Officers worldwide to assist members.
Our OCC flag flying below our South Africa courtesy flag.
Tuesday November 9, day trip to Hluhluwe Game Reserve (see separate post on the adventure). On the ride there our guide, Hayden Elliot, pointed out a few things along the way.
Eucalyptus Trees, not indigenous to South Africa but introduced from Australia, are engineered to grow fast and straight, ready to mill in just seven years. There are over 450,000 acres of trees here. They are the most valuable and widely planted commercial plantation tree species in the world, with high pulping yields and low production costs. The downside is the trees threaten the valuable water supply.
Eucalyptus Trees
Rural Zulu village
Typical Zulu people rural houses. Polygamy is legal in South Africa, each wife has her own house within the compound. The circular houses belong to the Grandmother.
Wednesday November 10, we hired a local contractor to finish stripping the varnish off the teak cap rails. On the side of the cap there is a metal strip, we didn’t remove the varnish below that strip or on the transom.
Taped and ready to seal
Dan was given this trophy.
Dan went racing again in the evening on a different boat, they finished first. Shorter race than Sunday, around the channel buoys, not a typical race course, it was a zigzag path.
Thursday November 11, 🇺🇸 the work on the teak rails is almost complete. In the morning I baked lemon scones with lemon glaze. For dinner Curry Chicken, first time I made that, so good!
Lemon glazed Scones
Curry Chicken over Rice
Friday November 12, Teak rail on the starboard side and stern is completed. The port side is cleaned, needs to be sealed then metal trim put in place, rain delayed the process.
Teak on the transom
Saturday November 13, Eric took us to the mall, Dan got a hair cut, we did a little food shopping mainly for produce and chocolate! We found at least four large grocery stores in the mall.
Falbala arrived this afternoon. Their passage from Reunion Island was not great. A day away from South Africa, their boat was struck by lightning in a storm. They lost all electronics, but we’re able to arrive under motor. We stopped over Tuzi Gazi to say hello.
Didier and Magaly
Ohana is sailing to Richards Bay from Reunion, currently about 6 days away. Estran my be ready to leave by Friday, they are having their standing rigging replaced.
Sunday November 14, Blueberry pancakes for breakfast, with fresh blueberries!
Monday November 1, COVID test done, Health, visit from port Health Officer done… Oh, and the salt was washed off Trance today too. Still waiting….
COVID test
Immigration
Trance on the “Wall”at Tuzi Gazi
Tuesday November 2, gray chilly, windy day with rain in the forecast. Immigration arrived at the boat at 8:30 am, passports stamped! In the afternoon, we went to customs office to complete the check in process. Later we moved Trance over to the Zululand Yacht Club where we’ll stay a few weeks before continuing around the coast of South Africa.
Playground , there’s an in ground pool behind
After walking around the club grounds, we stopped up in the Pelican Bar at the club. We met a few members, shared a couple drinks with them. Later went out to dinner with friends Simon and Jeff, it was a great night.
Simon and Jeff
Wednesday November 3, laundry day
At the yacht club
Another rant on our code sail. Cody is off to the North Sails loft in Cape Town to be looked at, hopefully it can be repaired there. How does a two year old sail that is barely used delaminate? Oh, and it tore, in two places, again along the leach line that has thinned (the foot has also thinned) where the Dacron luff tape is sewed, it supposedly has UV protection painted on the foot and luff. “3Di is stronger, lighter and more resistant to environmental factors than laminate string sails” says North Sails, not believing it!
The wide light edge on the left in the first two photos is where the sail material has thinned on the luff and foot.
In the evening at the bar, every Wednesday they recognize the new international yachts that have arrived, presenting them with a bottle of champagne. This acknowledgment is just before they give awards for Wednesday night racing.
Dan, Guy, Linda, Me, Francois and Charlotte
New friends we met, local club members
Thursday November 4, Lunch with Michael and Priscilla from s/v Hylite. He’s from Australia she’s from Malaysia, however they lived in the US for many years. They departed on their journey in 2017 from San Francisco. In the evening we spent time at the bar with Jeff and Simon, they are leaving Friday.
Friday November 5, * Sourdough Notes* I officially ran out of King Arthur bread flour. When we departed Hawaii I had 50 pounds of it on the boat. I purchased a few kilograms of a high protein flour T-65 on Reunion Island. My dough is wetter than with the KA, next loaf I should about 30% less flour. The bread turned out great with a nice oven rise.
Comedy night at ZYC was delayed an hour from a blackout. The show was funny, lots of “local” jokes, the crowed enjoyed it.
South Africa has an Energy Crisis. It is an ongoing period when South Africa experiences widespread rolling blackouts as supply falls behind demand, It began in 2007 and still continues. Load shedding is used to relieve stress on a primary energy source when demand for electricity is greater than that power source can supply, demand is distributed. Energy here is from coal burning.
Saturday November 6, Trick or Treat on the docks, for those who wanted to participate a black balloon was hung on your boat.
Sunday November 7, Dan went racing on a local boat s/v Sea Scape with Robin and Charlotte, it was their first time racing. The race course was 20 miles out and back around an anchored freighter, as the mark.
Photos by Charlotte, link is to their YouTube channel.
Saturday, October 23, Day 1 -10am we departed Titan Marina waving goodbye to friends we made. At the last minute, Falbala decided not to go, but will wait a few days for the high pressure system to pass. Trance is faster than them, we hope to be past most of the strong wind as it rises north.
The day was a pleasant sail cruising just above 7knots. 1-2 ft waves. For dinner I made chicken cacciatore over rice.
Sunday October 24, Happy Birthday Autumn!
168 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours. Still cruising just over 7 knots 1-3 ft waves.
We passed the cargo ship Theben , it’s 656ft long, heading to Reunion. Our closest point of approach was 1.1 miles. This is the fourth ship we’ve seen, the closest one to us.
We had the code 65 sail up all day. The forecast was steady with light to moderate winds 10-12knots, we decided to keep her up all night. After the sunset, around 8pm, the waves increased a little (3-6ft.), causing the sail to frequently collapse, then she fell in water. This is the fourth time this sail has fallen down into an ocean. The swivel at the top of sail is sewed to the sail and the stitches broke. Dan was able to get the sail out of the water, tied it down for the night.
Monday October 25, Day 3 – Total nautical miles traveled 311, 143 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.
This mornings job, spread out the sail to dry, then roll it up and put it away in its sail bag.
The spindle that furls the sail from the top was sewed to the straps. The brown color is oil that leaked out of it.
Tuesday October 26, Day 4 – Total nautical miles traveled 482, 171 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.
Our chocolate tradition continues. This brand is made on Reunion Island and is the the most popular chocolate there. Tuesday and Thursdays are chocolate days!
The equatorial current splits around the northern end Madagascar. We are in a northerly breeze on the southeast corner of the island and riding in about 3 knots of favorable current with the wind. Averaging 8-9 knots of speed over ground, occasionally hitting 10 knots. Both the main and Genoa are triple reefed. After midnight the wind and waves calmed down considerably.
Wind is coming! We are in a hurry to get around the bottom of Madagascar before the forecasted strong southerly winds develop. As a result we had the engine running overnight to help keep the sails at the desired pace of 7 knots minimum as the winds were light.
Forecast models with suggested tracks, the red is the more intense wind
Wednesday October 27, Day 5 – Total nautical miles traveled 655, 173 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours. A high pressure system is crossing the bottom of Africa is bringing strong winds up the Mozambique Channel, the water between Madagascar and Africa.
The big wind has arrived! Forecasted wind from the high pressure system is 25-35 knots. I’m sure that’s what we have (we were unable to get a replacement part for the broken wind indicator in Reunion Island). Sails are both triple reefed, cruising 8-10 knots with 2 knot of adverse current, 12-14 ft waves. We bore away 30 degrees from rhumb line to alleviate boat heal. Not a pleasant sail. It was a horrible 18 hour sail!
In preparation for this wind, Monday I made a cold tuna pasta salad in anticipation we were not cooking, that’s what we had for dinner. When the seas are rough I basically refuse to cook. Plus I think it’s too dangerous to have an open flame when there is this much movement of the boat.
Thursday October 28, Day 6 – Total nautical miles traveled 853, 198 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.
Welcome to the fun house! That’s what this ride feels like. Pick up the fun house toss it around while squirting a fire hose at it. Speed over ground 8-9 knots, sails are more than triple reefed, the waves are still 9-12 feet, glad I don’t know what the wind speed number really is! By 8pm, the high pressure system had past along with the high winds.
New time zone GMT+2 12:15 pm in Richards Bay, South Africa, 6:16am in Philadelphia, Thursday.
Friday October 29, Day 7 – Total nautical miles traveled 1030, 177 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.
Pleasant day with warm sunshine. Winds are 10-15, the “left over” big waves have subsided leaving rolling waves at longer intervals.
The nights have been quite cool, temperatures in the high 60’s. We’ve been wearing long pants, sweatshirts and socks with boots!
Chili for dinner, topped with an aged British Cheddar Cheese to warm us up!
Saturday October 30, Day 8 – Total nautical miles traveled 1191, 161 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours. Wind 15-20 knots, cruising speed around 8 knots.
As predicted, at 6pm the wind shifted from northeast to southeast. The main and staysail are in tight, for motor sailing, the breeze is light and at our nose. The wind is forecasted to go south. At this point, we are 137 miles from the destination.
Sunday October 31, Day 9 – 🎃 🦓🦒🐘🦏🐅🦛Day 9 – Total nautical miles traveled 1354, 163 nautical miles traveled in the past 24 hours.
We successfully crossed the Agulhas current flowing 2 knots where we were. A waypoint was set north of our destination while crossing it, to avoid drifting too far south and have to sail north against it.
Agulhas current is a warm water current that runs south along the east coast of southern Africa, and is the Western Boundary Current of the South Indian Ocean. It is narrow about 60 miles wide, and fast moving averaging 0.5- 2 knots per hour can reach as high as 5 knots per hour. It is one of the largest western Boundary Currents in the world.
Arrived at the “wall”, International Quay at Tuzi Gazi 4:30 pm. Confined to the boat till after a negative COVID test. There are two other boats on the wall and a submerged sailboat. Total trip time 8 days, 8 hours, 1411 nautical miles traveled from Reunion Island.
Richards Bay started out as a small fishing village located in the KwaZuku-Natal province. Named for Admiral Sir F. W. Richards, a commander of a Britian Naval Division. Formally known as Mhlathuze lagoon he renamed it after himself. The bay was used as a temporary harbor during the Anglo Boer War of 1879, opposition to British rule was a cause of the war.
Richards Bay has the largest export coal terminal in the world. 65 million tons are exported every year from the KwaZuku-Natal province.
KwaZuku-Natal is close to several World Heritage sites and Big 5 game parks. The Big 5 are Elephant, Rhinoceros, Leopard, Lion and African Buffalo because they the most dangerous and considered an accomplishment by trophy hunters to bring them home.
South Africa became an independent nation in 1961.
On the Indian Ocean crossing we discovered two water leaks in the boat which turned out to be coming in from chain plates. Standing rigging (shrouds and stays) which hold up and secure the mast, are connected to steel strapping attached to the hull. This support system is called chain plates. Dan, with my help, removed the cover plates on the rail, dug out the old material, then replaced with new. This product is flexible allowing for movement. A three day job!
Friday October 22, final trip to the Carrefour for provisioning. Customs should arrive on our boat tomorrow morning,
Friends we met in Fiji arrived here today, s/v Estran, Oscar, Philippine and their children Baptisine, Victoria and Maxene. They are from Belgium. Great to see them again, they will also be going to South Africa after some boat repairs. Hope to see them there too.
Saturday October 23, departure day. After 24 days on this beautiful island, it’s time to sail west. We are off to Richards Bay, South Africa. This 1,350 nm passage is expected to take about 10 days… and will complete our Indian Ocean crossing.
Note: On this page, there will be periodic blog post entries along the way.
You may send an email message while we are at sea to: trance@myiridium.net Note: text only email message, i.e.: no attachments, no photos, no signature images, etc.
Sailing Trance 