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.


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 .

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

LAID BACK IN TOBAGO CAYS .


Our first sight of Tobago Cays was from the anchorage off Clifton on Union Island but during the day all you see are the islands in the far distance . The first night in Clifton l happened to glance in the direction of Tobago Cays and noticed a string of lights where the Cays should have been which confused me as we are totally aware that these pristine islands are uninhabited . Suddenly the penny dropped and l realized that the lights were in fact anchor lights from yachts anchored in the marine reserve and there were plenty of them . My heart sank as l had visions of yachts packed like sardines in the anchorage . Fortunately as we motored through the cut between Petit Rameau and Petit Bateau and headed to the anchorage off Jamesby the place although it was busy did not feel overcrowded , but if l had a choice l would prefer to have wound the clock back a few decades to the days before it became so popular .

We have sailed in some unbelievably clean waters in the past in places like the Seychelles and the Maldives , but our first night anchored in the Tobago Cays l experienced something quite unique for the first time .
It was a magnificent evening with a full moon above us and a flat calm sea . We were sitting up on the foredeck looking out over the anchorage , savouring the moment when l happened to peer over the side of the boat and noticed that the seabed was clearly visible with patches of sea grass dotted around on a clear white sandy bottom .
The next thing l noticed was that our anchor chain was also clearly visible lying in 8 metres of water and although our anchor was too far ahead to see , we could clearly see a fairly decent length of chain leading off from the bow roller in the direction of the anchor .

This might not blow every one's bush hat off but in most cases you do not see much of your anchor chain beyond 10 metres from the bow roller in broad daylight , net alone in the middle of the night . The clarity of the water in the Tobago Cays is quite phenomenal and sitting in the cockpit staring over the side , one can easily spot fish and turtles swimming by .

The Tobago Cays Marine Park lies in the St Vincent Grenadines and its outstanding natural beauty along with the biodiversity found here makes it truly unique . It encompasses nine islands of which five are uninhabited . It is strictly controlled regarding where you can anchor and there are specific rules that need to be adhered to relating to the discharging of sewage only into blackwater tanks , no fishing of any sort and obviously no removal of coral , shells or plant life not even sand . The park covers a total area of 66 square km which includes a large sand bottomed lagoon enclosed by the 4km long Horseshoe Reef . Surrounding the islands are a series of beaches and reefs including Egg Reef and Worlds End Reef on the eastern side of the Cays with Mayreau Gardens to the west . In addition to its coral reefs Tobago Cays has a mangrove on Petit Rameau , a salt pond in Mayreau and a number of sea grass beds collectively supporting fish , turtles , iguanas and a variety of seabirds .

There is a turtle reserve around the beach of Baradal Cay where you can snorkel with them , but no touching or interfering with them in anyway whatsoever .
Catholic Island to the north is a designated seabird reserve where the same rules apply .

Unfortunately the downside is that we are not the only boat that finds this park so appealing and the anchorage is pretty crowded although today many of the boats have sailed . With the popularity of the Cays there are many boat vendors who rock up selling their wares from fresh bread , banana bread , fish and many other food products but the big special is the beach barbecues where you go ashore and sample the lobster with an assortment of local foods . If you are too lazy to launch your dinghy these guys will pick you up and drop you off back at your boat when the party is over . Bear in mind that at the end of the day in the dark they all return to Union Island in small powerboats which is around 5nm away . The following day they all return freshly stocked for another day of trading with the cruisers .

We are members of the OCC ( Ocean Cruising Club ) and we fly our burgee with pride . We were spotted by fellow OCC members and invited aboard to meet and share experiences . To be able to join this exclusive club one of the qualifying requirements is being the skipper of a boat and sailing a passage of 1000nm minimum uninterrupted port to port . The result is that when you get to meet OCC members they usually are seasoned circumnavigators with a ton of stories to tell .

After 5 days of exploring , snorkeling and generally relaxing we upped anchor and started our passage back to Grenada to deliver our daughter back to the airport so that she could return to the real world in Capetown , South Africa . We are surely going to miss having her onboard and sharing this cruising life with us .


There is always a next time .
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