Africa! The other side of the Indian Ocean!

Richard looking back to where we came from and thinking that crossing the Indian Ocean had been a long tough experience. So, it was with great excitement that we sighted the continent of Africa at 15:30 on Thursday 10th November. It was a cloudy, grey, wet day and much cooler as the shores of KwaZulu-Natal appeared dark against the pale grey skies. Richard’s Bay is one of the largest coal export facilities in the world and has a large natural harbour. On approach it appeared very industrial with aluminium, iron ore and wood chip plants based here. Outside the river mouth was crowded with large cargo ships waiting for their slot to load but once inside the river we turned into a small back water which was more rural. The Zululand Yacht Club launch came out to guide us up the small river past sandbanks and shoals to a pontoon berth in their delightful marina where we tied up at 17.30hrs.

Our passage from Reunion was pleasant and had taken eight and half days. We had sailed at every possible angle to the wind, from close hauled with the wind forward, right round to flying the spinnaker with the wind behind us, as well as motoring for a couple of days when the wind died completely. The seas remained fairly calm and we even manged to catch a fish and enjoy one of Richard's delicious creations! Wahoo!

Best of all, inside the boat stayed dry until the last day when the seas got bigger as we entered the Agulhas Current. We were heading into the waves and taking water over the decks again, but only for a few hours. It wasn’t too bad because we knew the end was in sight, not only the end of the passage, but the end of the Indian Ocean. Two months since setting out from Darwin and 6006 miles later we had crossed another ocean and arrived at the continent of Africa!

Scott kept us musically entertained on passage, having borrowed a guitar from another boat. The conditions were settled enough to play a game of chess (magnetic), backgammon and banana grams as well as a singing a few rousing sea shanties to roister our spirits and souls! We even adapted one especially dedicated to all our shipmates in the World Arc, which we sang at the welcome drinks event. Everyone joined in the chorus which was great fun and always joyful to hear voices raised together. The words seemed very relevant after our tough Cocos -Mauritius sailing experience, especially as the rally breaks now for a period of independent sailing before we reconvene in Cape Town in the new year.

“Long we’ve tossed on the rolling main,

Now we’re safe ashore Jack,

Don’t forget your old shipmates,

Rally, rally, rally, rally, world arc!”

This picture was taken on the final evening with the Zulu dancers who entertained us and we had another chance to join in, kick our legs high and have fun.

My first impressions of S Africa were of friendly welcoming people and nice marina facilities but our awareness of trouble and corruption started to grow as the days went by. Relieved to have nearby laundry facilities, I filled two washing machines before heading to get breakfast , only to find on my return, the machines stopped and full of water. Thinking I had broken them I went to the reception only to find out their is a daily schedule of power cuts throughout the county! Might have ben nice to know before I started. Another day we found out that because the railway tracks are stolen to sell, goods are transported by road trucks which blocked the highway after a crash causing traffic chaos. There are security guards everywhere, including on the beach and in the mall, where we saw our first gun shop!

A large cultural event had been organised at the yacht Club to promote understanding and tolerance between the Indian community, Zulu tribes and white S Africans. The celebration was a remembrance of the arrival of their forefathers who came here as indentured workers in 1860. A wonderful group of Rajasthani musicians and dancers performed as well as the local Zulu youngsters. However, that also affected by the power outage which went off at an unscheduled time, keeping the Indian Consulate, the mayor and the audience waiting for an hour in the heat before it was restored and speeches and the performance got underway!

The rest of our week in Richard's Bay was busy with social events in the evening and outings in the daytime. The town itself is very modern, soulless with a huge mall and no town centre, but the surrounding countryside and places we visited were very green and interesting.

Small communities and villages spread out along the roads and we drove through miles of gum tree plantations, presumably cash crop for the wood chip plant. Our first proper outing was to Hiuhluwe-Umfolozi game park where we had a six hour drive through safari.

I was surprised by how many animals we saw, and I had expected distant encounters but was thrilled at how close we were.

We also had a couple of visits to the mall, using taxis for transport, firstly to get a local sim so that we could access home and the rest of the world because the marina wi-fi wasn't working. Secondly, to get our provisions for the next few weeks sailing. The mall was decked with Christmas trees and decorations, which surprised us because without the change in seasons, media hype and exposure to consumerism we had thought Christmas was still along way off! Our second outing was a river boat trip to see the Hippopatami and bird life at the inland lake near St Lucia! Not the island in the Caribbean but a coastal resort an hour north of Richard's bay.

It was another great experience and we saw lots of wildlife. The only downside was the very large biting hippo flies that inhabit these waters. A fly swat and lots of batting helped to stop too many people getting bitten, though a few got thwacked with the fly swat instead!!

Sadly, the bird diversity had declined by 85% because the mangroves had all died off and subsequently the fish stocks. A severe drought a few years ago had left the water levels very low. In order to rectify the situation the lake was flooded by diverting a nearby river into it. Unfortunately, too much mud was also deposited killing off the mangroves but we still saw many delightful varieties of birds, cormorants, herons, kingfishers and these glorious weaver birds outside their hanging nests.

Back at the Yacht Club we attended a couple of talks about navigating the challenging Coast of S Africa and rounding the Cape of Good Hope which is far more complicated than we thought. The south flowing Agulhas current means the weather window needs to be carefully considered because and opposing southerly wind will kick up big seas and dangerous conditions, and there is a southerly wind every few days! There are limited places to call in at on the east coast and these have been reduced to anchorages because the marinas at East London and Port Elizabeth have closed. Their leases were not renewed because sailing is seen as a privileged white sport. Instead of encouraging other groups by increasing accessibility to disadvantaged groups, facilities, jobs and livelihoods have been cut and visiting yachties don't have the opportunity to spend money in these communities. They seem to do this very well here at ZYC, which is at the heart of the local community, hosting activities, talks, social events and promoting local produce.

Despite a lot of negative advice regarding cleanliness and safety we are heading to Durban where we will stay over for a week while we go on another safari and explore the Midland Meander. So thank you and farewell to Zululand Yacht Club, Richard's Bay.