We stayed at the False Bay Yacht Club in Simon’s town. Positioned under the Lee of South Africa’s naval fleet and right in the historic Port of Simon’s town.
Simonstown
The dock was rickety and there was only a couple inches to spare between us and the boat beside us, which made for a challenging docking in 20 knots of wind. Once in we were treated to spectacular views of the rocky peaks directly behind the town.
We spent 2 weeks here, in which time we climbed up to admirals falls.and visited the grave of able seaman Just Nuisance.
Just Nuisance was a great dane who was rated able seaman RN on the HMS Afrikander during WW2 for its important roll of ferrying drunken sailors back from Cape Town on the train. The 240 old stone steps up to the grave were a challenge after our time at sea, and we arrived at the top thoroughly winded.
Cianan and many steps ahead
The views out over false bay and the opportunity to pay our respects to such an important historical figure made it worthwhile though.
The steps up Signal Hill with Simonstown below
During our stay we also made multiple trips to visit the nearby cape penguin colony. They are sturdy little bird, standing about 2 feet tall and weighing 5-8 pounds.
They are also known as jackass penguins because of their distinctive donkey-like braying.
The penguins were a large part of why we decided to stop in Simon’s town and it was a pleasure to get to spend so much time with them.
Callum spending time with the penguins
The trip from Simon’s Town to Cape Town was only 50 miles but marked our rounding of the cape of good hope, which is one of the 3 stormy capes and the only one we will round during this voyage. From here it will be north all the way to Devon Island in the Canadian arctic.
Callum & Cianan rounding the Cape of Good Hope
Coming up on Capetown
Capetown with Table Mountain covered in cloud, or the table cloth as the locals call it
We called up Port control on our vhf as we approached the breakwater in Cape Town and got permission to enter the Harbour. Unfortunately our engine chose that moment to die while at the same time the wind sprung up from 10knots to 55knots (as reported by Port control). After a very frustrating hour of drifting back towards the cape while filtering water out of our fuel, we got it running, but decided to stand off for the night rather than risk another breakdown inside the docks with such strong winds.
Standing off through the night in 50 kts winds with the lights of Capetown in front of us
We stayed at the Royal Cape Yacht Club where we were able to do our laundry and have some much needed showers.
It was a half hour walk into town through an industrial port district and a very large gate with tire spikes that rose up our of a grate in the road. Luckily the guards were quite friendly and let us back in when we left all our documents back on the boat.
The walk from the yacht club into town. Not the most scenic
Everywhere we go we always seem to make friends with the security guards, which has proved useful on a number of occasions.
Callum in downtown Capetown
As it turned out our friend Rob Denny from Saltspring had a sister sailing around the world the opposite direction to us and just happened to be moored at the Victoria and Alfred waterfront in downtown Cape Town.
The Picton Castle at the Victoria & Alfred wharf with Table Mountain in the background
After meeting up with them we noticed the Piction Castle also at the V&A. A barque based out of Lunenburg Nova scotia, The Piction Castle does tall ship tours around the world, and as it turns out has been sailing much the same route as us, and will be right back to Canada. They are planning on arriving in Lunenburg not long after us so we will. Likely see them there.
While in Capetown we were able to do some much needed repairs to the boat after our passage along the coast of South Africa
New and improved mast compression post bracket. The previous brace had shift a few inches
Clearing out of South Africa was an easy affair but had its own distinctly African quirks. We got some forms from the marina, then walked into town to visit immigration for some more paperwork and rubber stamps. The customs office was in the same building but we were informed that all contact with them must be done through email. So after emailing, printing, signing, scanning and emailing back, so they could print, sign, stamp, scan and email back to us so we could print them one more time, we had our exit papers. Not most efficient process as we could have filled out the forms and handed them in in person, but with the tide of papers and rubber stamps behind us we were ready to depart.
I started up the engine and ran it for a couple of minutes to reassure myself that it wouldn’t quit on us while we were leaving the Harbour, a situation which I dread above most others.
We called up Port controll to get permission to leave the Harbour and cast off the dock around 3pm.
The whole way out of the Harbour I was listening to the sound of the engine and every change in noise, but it worked flawlessly the whole way.
The wind was light, around 12 knots from the south, but we glided along at 3knots on the flat water.
Our final view of Capetown and Table Mountain
Around 7pm a large fish, a sunfish, went floating by staring placidly up at me with its dorsal fin sticking out while I stared back a it. It was a very strange looking fish, about 4-5 feet tall with a long fin on the top and bottom and a short stubby body with no tail.
The wind became lighter and lighter until the sun set on a glassy ocean and the moon and stars reflected back up at us from its surface.
After dark a whale surfaced near us and for the next couple of hours we were accompanied by the deep whooshing of its breathing.
We were accompanied by seals that leapt like dolphins and penguins that dove like seals, along with whales, dense fog, cold, and bioluminescence that lit up the sides of our boat and glowed in our wake.
It was a relatively short passage and on the fifth day we had our first sight of Namibia and Luderitz.
Our first view of Luderitz
Luderitz
It is a strikingly harsh, barren and beautiful landscape, all sepia yellow rock and sand with not a tree, shrub, or blade of grass to be seen anywhere.
Downtown Luderitz. Sand everywhere
The sandy streets of Luderitz
To the south of the harbour is Halifax island, one of the largest breeding colonies of African penguins. A little farther along lies Shark island, the site of a German concentration camp at the start of the last century and a monument to the devastation of European colonization on the local people’s.
Luderitz is also the site of a specialized canal built specifically for the windsurfing speed record where people have reached almost 56 knots! (103 km/h)
Diamonds are the main industry in Luderitz. There are diamond dredging boats working just offshore collecting diamonds off the sea floor
Luderitz harbour with a diamond dredging boat in port
Customs and immigration were very friendly and insisted on a selfie with us and that we stay for at least three months.
We found real Canadian maple syrup in Luderitz!
Loading up on more biltong
We are now safely at a mooring ball 200 meters from downtown Luderitz. The manager of the mooring balls is a very colourful character who is very chatty. He is 72 and has spent most of his life as a hardsuit diver working in North Sea oil and also doing salvage work. One of his salvage jobs in the 80s was to lift a Wellington bomber out of Loch Ness. He came to Namibia to get into diamonds but that doesn’t pay very well so now he has some scheme to salvage a Dutch East Indiaman off the coast. It sounds like it could be a fun project! I’m not quite as confident as he is of what he figures is a guaranteed payoff of $50 million.
We will spend a few more days here in Luderitz before heading north for Walvis Bay.