Safely moored St Helena

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Into the frying pan

This could be our last day at sea for a while. St Helena is 55M away and we hope to get there before dark.

We had very light winds yesterday with a lot of motoring but now we have a good breeze again.

Clemencia was sleeping soundly below when she got a slippery surprise. A flying fish flew into the boat and landed just by the cooker! It woke her up flapping around. It was one of the lucky ones because I had to catch it - casing around the cabin floor - and returned it to the sea. The fist time in 43 years of ocean sailing that a fish has jumped into the cabin!

Almost calm

We only have 150M to go but the wind has dropped and so we have to motor. We have seen a few tropic birds so must be nearing land.

Stil beautiful

We are in proper South Atlantic tradewinds. It just goes on the same lovely weather day by day

Soon be there.

We hoe to arrive before Clemencias' birthday. Fingers crossed.

Little electrical reairs/improvements today, otherwise quiet.

Soon be there.

We hoe to arrive before Clemencias' birthday. Fingers crossed.

Little electrical reairs/improvements today, otherwise quiet.

Light winds

Our progress has slowed with light winds but that means that it is relatively more comfortable. Much less life now that we are well out in the ocean.

Fine sailing

We have a gentle tradewind. Nothing like the strong winds and uncomfortable swell in the Indian Ocean. No water landing on deck - only flying fish (15 yesterday and only 8 today). Pleasantly warm now though not a lot of sun. Today we will pass the half way mark to St Helena.

Fish factory

We have arrived in the trade winds. Steady wind from astern, moderate swells and comfortable sailing. Today we have the sun breaking through and expect it to be hot.

Overnight 15 flying fish landed on our decks so we smell a bit of fish. They are very bony and not so appetizing all dry in the morning - it would be heaven for a cat though!

Clemencia is knitting below and feels like a seasoned salt.

Life at sea

Now we have had a good wind for 20 hours and are getting into the rhythm of sailing. There are still lots of birds, particularly albatross and white chined petrels. Yesterday we had several Pomerine Skuas (nest in Shetlands, Norway and Spitzbergen) who behaved just as on land, trying to peck my head. I always thought they did this in Shetland to protect their nests but it must be a scare tactic to make me disgorge food, if they come back I will try spitting out something. At night we had a visit from phosphorescent dolphins, a spectacular sight with burning streaks of light flashing under and around the boat. They must have been chasing flying fish and gave Clemencia a present by scaring one that flew into her - imagine her reaction! The phosphorescence is amazing too, the usual glow but every now and again something that bursts like a firework under the water.

Last night we caught a fish- to order in time for dinner.

No sun yet but we seem to be in the trade wind and making good progress.

Calm

It was not unexpected to have calm off the coast. We have motored a lot and made 100 miles in the first 20 hours, so not bad progress. Plenty of albatross and petrels about.

Back to sea

We have had a wonderful short stay in Namibia.

We hired a 4x4 vehicle and drove into the surrounding country. As you can see from the photos it is a desert. However there is almost endless variety, mountains, dry river beds, undulating landscapes and vast flat plains.

The highlights of our travels were the rock paintings made by Bushmen 1000-3000 years ago. There are over 50,000 known paintings in the Brandberg massive, a huge mountain that rises out of the plains by around 2,000m. Nearby in a dry riverbed where water bores have been made some elephants have taken up residence. The desert elephant is slightly darker and smaller than the variety we saw in the east.

Next we drove on to Spitzkoppe a group of giant red granite boulders. Here we had a delightful camp (actually they were all delightful, two camps even had swimming pools which seems a bit rich when the locals have to walk to fetch water). In the morning we saw steenbock, a new antelope for us.

The long days drive south to Sossusvlei was fascinating as we started to see a lot of animals, especially, ostrich, zebra and gemsbok(oryx). At Sossusvlei we arrived at the dunes, some of them must be over 300m high, just after dawn and climbed in the cool of the morning. The desert seems to be encroaching as the last 4km of the road were rather exciting 4x4 driving in soft sand - if you stop you will stay put! 16 years ago Magnus and I drove this stretch in an ordinary car.

All in all Namibia is one of the most exciting places I have ever visited. Add to this a stable and well functioning democracy (they are never in the news) and the kindest most friendly people on earth.

Hopefully we will be back. We made a friend, Mathieu, who helps with car hire, shipping and registrations and would be a very good contact to have for anyone wanting to make a longer trip, as we dream of doing one day. His email is mathieu@autohelpnamibia.com.
He says it is very practical to ship a vehicle from Hamburg to Walvis Bay, if you have your own 4x4 this may be a good way to go. All the equipment needed for African travel is available locally and any modifications needed would best be done there.

Photos from our travels in Namibia

Here are some photos to give you an idea of what a wonderful place this is.  We go to sea today sailing towards St Helena and I will write more about the trip once we are underway.

Balaena in Walvis (Whale) Bay

Balaena means whale (in latin).

So this must be a sort of spiritual home for us.

The shore is dry and we can see sand dunes from the desert just behind the town. Despite being in the desert the temperature is around 20 degrees and it is cloudy. However we are assured that it is burning hot not far away.

Rolf and Andy leave here and then Clemencia and I will have some trips inland and get to know the area. Hopefuly we will be able to post photos later.

Last night at sea

We are approaching Walvis Bay and it looks as though we should be in port around dawn.

Today has been cloudy and cold with not much bird life. It is hard to believe that 100km away is a desert with temperatures around 45!

Southern Right Whale Dolphin

This afternoon we had a sudden eruption of the water with 20-30 little black and white dolphins with no dorsal fin jumping all around us. Not far off there was a pod of pilot whales breaking the water too. All day we have had lots of birds flying around and have been able to identify at least 7 different families with several different species in some.

I had never heard of a finless dolphin and this species is completely new to me. I wonder how common they are?

Lovely weather but the wind is getting lighter as we approach our destination.

Today we have full sail set for the first time since leaving Cape Town and expect lighter winds until we arrive in about 36 hours.

Sun and birds

The weather continues perfect. We have a fresh following wind that has lasted since Robben Island outside Cape Town. Now we are halfway. Well out to sea to avoid the fogs, fishing boats and Diamond dredgers on this coast.

We have lots of oceanic birds, several species of shearwater, petrel and albatross. I have identified, White chined shearwaters, a Southen skua and Yellow nose albatross. There has been a lot of shipping too, including a mystery ship that passed us, stopped, turned off her AIS and is now sailing past us again - spooky.

The weather is sunny and warm and starting to feel tropical. All in good spirits and Andy D is beginning to get his sea legs and talking of a boat on a lake!

Good sailing

We made over 150 miles in the first day and the weather continues beautiful. All well on board, Andy Dunlop is having trouble with his sea legs but keeping watch and reading a book at present.

Last night was crystal clear and more phosphorescence than I have seen in years, every little wavelet was glowing as though with Christmas lights.

First day at sea

We had gale force winds in Cape Town and waited for nearly 2 days for them to drop. When they didn't we left anyway and had calm immediately outside the harbour.

Now we have a fair S wind and are sailing beautifully towards Walvis Bay in Namibia.

Rolf has just pulled in a big yellowtail - enough for 3 meals.

Waiting to leave cape Town

We are all ready to go, crew, Rolf Olsson and Andy Dunlop. However the customs, who are supposed to be on the job 24 hours were unavailable anywhere in Cape Town. So we have to wait 36 hours, which may give us even nicer weather for the sail north towards Walvis Bay in Namibia.