We find ourselves on one beautiful boat, Hamba na Moya Huibre, a legendary
Leopard 46. After two weeks of running around to get everything ready for
our crossing, we were at last ready to leave. We were looking at departing
on 31 May, but our departure date was dependant on the weather. And the
weather turned good for us a day later. My family and Gerry's wife came o
wave us goodbye and at 9am on Sunday 1 June, we started the motors and by
then we were just outside the breakwaters of Durban harbour. On board we
have Gerry, the owner, John, his long time friend, Aubrey, a great chef and
sailor from the Seychelles, Edrick our 1st Mate, and myself as skipper. A
few years ago Gerry, John, two other crew members and me sailed the boat
from Cape Town to Durban where she stayed for a while. On a few occasions I
had the wonderful opportunity to take my family and/or friends for a little
day sail in Durban to keep the bat in good shape. Never a good idea for a
boat to just sit in the water and not ever go out. All types of technical
complications starts happening. The same with your motor vehicle. If you
let it stand in the garage for a few years without running it now and then,
your batteries will be flat, the seals on your engine will be dry, your
tyres may have deflated and so on. Same with a boat,except the tyres of
course :-) The first time I took my brother for a sail he asked, tongue in
cheek, where the brakes are.
The first few hours out the water was flat with only a slight breeze. We
stayed close to the shore staying out of the Agulhas current. Sometimes one
would get a bit of counter current, this time we had current against us all
the way. Not strong as we were close inshore, but still holding us back a
bit. Our weather predicted a strong south westerly coming through later the
same day which it did with a fair amount of intensity. We were running
smoothly up to Richards Bay where we had to turn a bit deeper to run around
all the anchored ships. At one point the current really got strong from the
front, and the wind pushed us from behind. Wind against current is never a
bright prospect. I was catching a quick rest at the time, and was up and
out in a flash when a wave crushed on us from behind. Our boat which is
heavily loaded was doing the rodeo and we had to get out of the current as
quick as possible, and also get some momentum forward to prevent another
wave braking on our stern, which is the nautical term for the back of the
boat. I decided to stay up until we were out of danger. We have tied our
quite a few things onto the boat, and this was a good test to see if there
was any weakness in our efforts. Glad to say that we came out of the rough
patch with everything still intact. Me with a few extra grey hair, but so
be it. Monday morning turned out to be nice and calm, and we started the
day with coffee and rusks. After such a rough night I thought everyone
would be fairly wacked. To my surprise John, who is turning 71 this year,
was up at first light and had a few lures trolling behing the boat in no
time. And he also landed a few small bonnies which he rreturned to the
ocean. An hour later Aubrey prepared a succulent fresh fruit salad for
breakfast, and lunchtime we were treated with a spaghetti bolognaise and
salad. For supper we had delicious chicken stir-fry with basmati rice. I am
used to one, sometimes two meals a day. So yes, we are eating well, very
well. And quite healthy as well.
We reached Maputo at sunrise this morning, the sea was flat, the current in
our favour, and we all got a good rest last night thanks to the smooth
conditions. I made some cornmeal porridge for breakfast, krummelpap as it
is known to Afrikaans speaking people, and an hour later we had fruit
salad. Lunchtime we were spoiled with hamburgers and salad, and tonight
Edrick will be preparing porterhouse steak for us. As you probably have
gathered by now, this is no ordinary yacht delivery. As we all woke from
the night shifts, we started testing a few systems. First our desalinater,
and afterwards the washing machine. We are expecting a bit of northerly
winds for the next two days, sometimes north west, sometimes north east,
and northerlies in between. We are motor sailing in an easterly direction
for now and following the contour lines of Mozambique. On Friday we expect
strong south westerlies from behind, by which time we should be deep into
the Mozambique channel, close to Bassas da India, a atoll that lies about
100nm north of Europa Island. Both are just about in the middle between
Africa and Madagascar.
What a pleasure it is to sail with a few guys that have never done a
crossing before. Most people only dream of sailing across an ocean. And as
you can gather, the rough weather makes way for smooth weather, and the
rough never last all that long. This morning we once again have a few lures
out, thanks to John, but no strikes yet. Because we are five on board, our
watch system works a bit different from our usual four hour shifts during
the day and three hour shifts at night. Our shifts are now just two hours
long, day or night. We hope to arrive in the Seychelles before the 21st of
June. A estimated three week trip. Compared to my previous trip which took
three months, this is a nice quick crossing. I never underestimate the
ocean, and will make sure that we travel as safe as possible. I will post a
blog every second day or so, and hope you enjoy the trip with us.
Take care till next time.
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