Exody - Days 322-323: Back in the Atlantic !

Early this morning, Monday 30th November, we turned northward into the Atlantic Ocean after rounding Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa and the furthest point from the equator of the whole rally at 35'09" South - it can only get warmer from here on! The more well known Cape of Good Hope is actually about 90 miles further to the northwest.

We are now anchored, 507 miles and just over three days out of East London, at Pringles Bay, 60 miles short of Cape Town. The sun set earlier through a hazy sky over the Cape of Good Hope behind us and we are surrounded by a spectacular geography of barren mountainous outcrops with fine beaches and sand dunes. We feel privileged to be at anchor again, and share this expansive and protected bay with two fishing boats and, shoreside, extensive but tasteful holiday beach home development.

We had decided Saturday to head straight for Cape Town and not to break the passage at Mossel Bay. Our stop here was simply to ensure daylight versus moonlight photo-opportunities for the iconic transit of Cape of Good Hope and arrival at Table Bay.

Saturday night saw robust conditions of 25 to 30+ knot winds which we sailed under reefed genny alone making good progress, albeit with a sometimes uncomfortable motion. The substantial following sea with breaking waves looked far more threatening than it actually was! We stood watch mainly down below with both main hatch and washboard closed but the cockpit remained bone dry all night - as did we! Things moderated during Sunday and by night time, the contrast could not have been more pronounced - full sail over a mainly flat sea with gentle boat movement and still making good speed.

'Ships passing in the night' characterised the Sunday night as we approached and crossed the Cape Agulhas separation scheme. AIS watch was full time and focused. We only had to call up one vessel out of the dozen or so that passed us in both directions, several at only a mile. We encountered one cargo ship, thankfully in broad daylight, with no AIS - a healthy reminder of the need for a thorough visual watch in addition to electronic aids!

The sailing northwestwards on Monday with a southeast to east wind of 15-20 knots was a treat. We have seen more wildlife here than in two weeks of an ocean crossing. Birds aplenty,dolphins, seals basking single flipper raised or both crossed across their bellies and a breaching whale - the last at a fair distance but from the black and white colouring we think it was a killer whale. The backdrop of attractive rocky mountainous geography interspersed with white beaches made a welcome change from sailing offshore.


Peter (Skipper)