Smoke and Roses - Most Beautiful Mossel Bay

Logged 305 Nautical Miles – 43.25 Hours

32.5 Hours Sailing – 10.75 Hours Motoring

November 29 to December 8

East London, Eastern Cape to Mossel Bay, Western Cape



Our next leg is, for most people, the worst bit of the trip around the cape. The Aguhlas current runs strong along the coast and when (not if) a southwest buster comes through the wind against the current raises steep waves. Twenty meters have been regularly recorded. Although not the worst seas we’ve been in, it was not a pleasant trip. Alicia was a trooper as we encountered big sloppy seas and cold weather, I am sure this was not the tropical coastal cruising she envisioned. Mossel Bay was the reward making it all worthwhile. Mossel Bay is situated along the World Famous Garden Route with great scenery and hikes as well as one of the best white shark sites in the world.

We left mid-morning with “ Madrigal” and “Cayuse” with just 10 knots of wind. At 13:00 a fishing boat reported his position and said he had lines in the water near us for 7 nautical miles. That was a long distance to watch for and avoid his lines. By mid-day the wind increased to 25 to 30 knots and by mid-day the second day we had 25 to 45 knots for 6 hours. The swell was 9 to 12 feet and the waves were 4 to 5 feet all form behind us as well as a 1 knot current helping us. Sailing with just a storm sail (a small piece of genoa) we still averaged 8 knot of speed. It was sunny and cold as we surfed the big seas. After 18:00 (6:00 pm) the wind slowed to 2 to 3 knot s and turned on our nose, and then it increased again to 25 knots. It was slow going, pounding into waves as we motored the last 9.25 hours and now the generator will not start.

The town of Mossel Bay runs into the shoreline, its sandy bay stretches into rocky cliffs, this gives way to the sandy beaches and brush covered dunes of Wilderness. The last two ports were more industrial so this was a nice relaxing change. We anchored in the crescent shaped bay just out from the Mossel Bay Yacht Club. Eventually there were five other World ARC boats in the anchorage as we joined together for a variety of happy hours, dinners and hikes. The food and drink was good and reasonable, we ate out often enjoying a variety of fine restaurants, cafés and food trucks that lined the waterfront just beyond the yacht club gates. During our first happy hour at the Mossel Bay Yacht Club, Alicia was a little surprised at the wine list prices compared to other places we had been. Then she realized it was the bottle prices she was looking at of $4, the glass price was $1 and they filled it to the brim!

The hiking included some of the most scenic trails we have been on starting with the St Blaze Trail. The 13.5 kilometer trail started at the Mossel Bay caves just a short uber ride from our anchorage. We hiked with crews from “Madrigal”, “Cayuse” and “Le Aum”. The St Blaze Trail was along a cliff’s edge high above the water with incredible views of the bays below that had sandy beaches, rocky edges and turquois to cobalt colored water. The entire trail was one of the most picturesque hikes I’ve been on. After several hours of hiking we stopped for lunch at Pinnacle Point Club House which, along with the golf course was on the trail.

The next day Dan and Alicia went Great White Shark Cage Diving, the water is cold so I did not go. Seal Island is with in Mossel Bay just a ten minute boat ride away and home to thousands of Cape Fur Seals. It provides a unique opportunity for breaching and attacks of great whites on seals, this is where the adrenalin packed cage diving took place. It was intense when the baited sharks came crashing into the cage the divers were in. The strength and power of these sharks were impressive.

Along the south coast of South Africa lies one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the world, home to the Garden Route National Park. The park extends from George in Western Cape to Port Elizabeth in Eastern Cape. We took two day trips to the park for more great hiking. The first was to a quaint town called Wilderness, we had a delicious lunch at Cocomo’s before hiking the Kingfisher Trail. The trail winds deep into the forest along the Touw River until the river becomes a narrow stream where a self-propelled pontoon awaited. Four to five of us at a time pulled the pontoon across the stream to the eastern bank of the river, we never did that before on a hiking trail. From there the trail extended along a 2 kilometer boardwalk which ended at a beautiful waterfall amongst large boulders.

Another day we drove farther on the Garden Route to Knysna and hiked the Perdekop Trail in the Harkerville Forest. It is thought that Knysna means “place of ferns” the dense forest had a lush growth of ferns and mushrooms as well as yellowwood, stinkwood and cape chestnut trees. After the hike we had lunch at the East Head Café overlooking the Knysna River. Then we took a short drive to a lookout with stunning views of the river between two mountains leading to the Indian Ocean. The Garden Route with its variety of mountain catchments, indigenous forests and fynbos areas, is for me a magical and unforgettable place.

In between our day s of touring, we had some boat days. We did some baking, cleaned the salon ceilings, laundry, bought groceries and some bookwork. Dan fixed the generator by replacing a corroded switch and then secured a tarp to prevent further saltwater intrusion. Every trip ashore we check in on “Leslie”, a rare to this area, Antarctic White Elephant seal who was on the rocks by the boat launch and dinghy dock. She had starter her molting period where they stay ashore and do not eat until the molt is complete. On our last day we had breakfast at Carolla Ann’s and visited the Bartolomeu Dias Museum complex, both within walking distance. The museum complex portrayed the historical background of the area including a maritime museum with a wooden replica of one of Dias ships, a botanical and braille trail, a post office tree, cross, shell museum and more.

I am enthralled with South Africa… the safari, the Garden Route and we haven’t even seen Cape Town, our next destination.

Agnes Long