As we sailed out from Luderitz escorted by a large group of Dusky dolphins we watched the little town get swallowed up by the surrounding Namib Desert .With 25kn of wind,gusting 30kn it wasn't long before the African continent disappeared over the Eastern horizon.Windward was charging and in our first 24 hour run we put 185nm under our keel.First night out Rob woke me in the wee hours saying we were surrounded . I rushed up on deck and the sight that greeted me was similar to that of a small Karoo town at night on the NI.It turned out to be a large fleet of trawlers hauling nets and after calling up the leading boat we established that the nets were half a nautical mile astern so l was able to judge the distance we needed to clear them . By day two we had picked up the SE Trades and what followed was classic downwind sailing making good runs everyday.Unfortunately as the water warmed from 14 to 30 degrees and the ambient temperature climbed the wind started dropping off forcing us to motor the final day to St Helena .Even Urs was praying for wind which she wasn't doing on our first leg to Luderitz. The rule is if the boat speed drops below 4kn we fire up our Perkins and motor . What was pleasing on this leg of our crossing was the bird life and what astounded us was the hundreds of flying fish all over the place.Every morning l would clear them off the deck and Rob even had one fly through his portlight and land in his cabin. Strange fellas.We also kept an eye on the ocean floor beneath us as we sailed over massive seamounts and literally mountain ranges .One incident that was interesting was a large Chinese bulk carrier that appeared over the horizon without us picking him up on the AIS meaning his transponder was off or not working. I called him up on the VHF and he replied in his native tongue but unfortunately the day we had chinese lessons at school l was off sick so the conversation came to an abrupt end .On the morning of day nine we noticed a patch of heavy cloud on the horizon and St Helena Island lay beneath it .We sailed in late afternoon and picked up a mooring buoy off Jamestown.
Pics to follow .
Allan & Ursula Ward: Port Owen, Cape West Coast, South Africa.
Shearwater 39:
- L.O.A. 43ft (13.22m)
- L.O.D. 39ft (12m)
- L.W.L. 34ft (10.3m)
- BEAM 13ft(3.9m)
- DRAFT 6ft(1.8m)
HOW IT ALL BEGAN .
I placed my order on Nebe Boats on the 19/10/1992 for what was initially planned to be a complete factory built yacht that l would sail home to Durban from Capetown once she was completed. Unfortunately due to the demise of Nebe Boats in the early days of her construction it did not turn out that way, so l decided to truck her home to Ramsgate on the KZN South Coast to finish building her in our garden at home.
For many years we could proudly boast that we had the most expensive piece of garden furniture in town, but at the time l had no idea of how massive this project would turn out to be. As anyone who has built a blue water cruiser will tell you, particularly if she is kitted out with all the systems and the equipment that a modern cruiser has onboard these days, it is a daunting task . Looking at the positive aspects of this project, l know the boat intimately in that l designed and installed the systems, so from a repair and maintenance perspective l have no issues carrying out the work that is necessary from time to time.
The big day arrived on the 29/8/2008 when we craned her out of the garden onto a rig to truck her through to Durban for launching . What followed was three months of preparations to ready her for the maiden voyage to our home port in Port Owen on the Cape West Coast.
We had a fast passage down the South African East Coast including a storm off the notorious Wild Coast and arrived in Port Owen in dense fog. Windward had passed her first test with flying colours and since then we have enjoyed some great sailing on the West Coast.
We had a fast passage down the South African East Coast including a storm off the notorious Wild Coast and arrived in Port Owen in dense fog. Windward had passed her first test with flying colours and since then we have enjoyed some great sailing on the West Coast.
The master plan has always been to go cruising, so our plans are to leave for Brazil via Luderitz and St Helena Island at the end of February 2014. So far everything is on track although the “To Do“ list still grows each day.
The purpose of this blog is to record our adventure for ourselves, family and friends. Although it will probably end up being a brief summary of events while we are cruising, we hope you will enjoy and share some of our experiences with us.
LIVING THE DREAM .
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Hi Guys so glad you are having a good time yes St Helena is very special.
ReplyDeleteloving the news so please keep it coming. love from us both Bert and Miki