Reunion to South Africa

Sailors being a notoriously superstitious crowd would never sail a leg 13 so the ARC skipped that leg.  At the skippers briefing for the next leg (an ARC event where all boat skippers and one crew member (usually the First Mate) receive a presentation, a synopsis of what to expect on leg 14) we learned 1400 miles of torture lay ahead.   Apparently the Indian Ocean saved the best for last.  This leg was all about weather windows and ocean currents.  We had to make Madagascar with-in 4 days or risk getting stuck in a weather low – which meant storms and high winds in an area riddled with swift ocean currents.  This map could have been painted by Vincent:

But no!  It’s a ocean current map with Madagascar on the right and  South Africa on the left.  The more intense the color the more intense the current.   Please note that it does not have a latitude/longitude grid as that might make it useful.  If you happen to hit a strong current, of 2 knots or more, and the wind happens to be going in the opposite direction it causes standing waves which are larger and closer together than the typical ocean swells.  Off the coast of South Africa the current can hit 4 knots and in a good blow of 35 knots or more, from the south west 100 foot high standing waves can and do occur.  Aside from getting one humped up on adrenalin they have taken out many boats and their crews so waiting and sailing weather windows – or turning and running away are your 2 choices for survival when those conditions prevail.   We knew the Madagascar low was coming so ‘jumped the start of leg 14 and thus disqualified AURORA by leaving at 6:30 AM 4.5 hours before the official start time so we could give ourselves a good chance to beat the weather at Madagascar.  The first 2 nights we had wonderful and fast sailing in 20 – 30 knots of wind and made excellent progress then the wind died to 8 to 12 knots and we made it to the south east corner of Madagascar during day 4 as the wind started to build and swing out of the west but only at about 17 knots.  We took it on the nose, against the current, for 24 hours.  Beating into the wind that whole time.  This is what beating looks like from the cockpit – repeating this scene once every 3 seconds… sometimes-taking water over the deck and a foot or 2 up the Bimini shield:

We were really bouncing around.  Eilo was worried about the anchor which was also bouncing around in its cradle.  Luckily it was tied down in 2 ways so Captain Ken was not worried.  Captain Ken was worried about all the sea water coming in from the bow anchor locker and the 2 aft deck lockers as we were shipping many waves and the deck was often awash.  The hatches over those lockers leak – and the deeper the water on the deck the faster they leak.  The water from them is designed to enter the bilge (in the boat!) where it gets pumped out.  For about 2 hours of that beating session the electric bilge pump could not keep up and our automatic bilge had failed.  Eilo spotted the water hitting the level of the floor boards in the main cabin so we got on the hand pump – Eilo wanted to radio the boat behind us – SKYLARK – (here’s their captain Dan relaxing on Safari):

… to request they stand-by to watch us sink and rescue us.  Captain Ken resisted that request.  We finally got out of the bad chop and pumped the bilge out using the hand pump and electric bilge pump (which still worked except for the automatic part) continuously.  Captain Ken caulked and taped the deck hatches as best as could be done in tough ocean conditions. We had to hand pump every hour the rest of that trip to stay dry.  The next morning Captain Ken alerted First Mate Eilo that she did not have to worry about the anchor anymore as it had fallen off and was resting comfortably in 15,000 feet of water.  With all of the bouncing the anchor shackle bolt had worked itself out and the 2 tie down ropes chaffed through and down she went.  Eilo was not happy but it was a “fait accompli”.  We finally made it around Madagascar and then the wind died to 7 to 10 knots and switched around from the east so we had to drop the sails (we broke our spinnaker pole in a gust the night before thus could not sail dead down wind efficiently) and motored for 76 hours as we had to beat the next weather window.  A low pressure system rolling up the east coast of South Africa packing enough south west wind to kick up those dangerous high freak waves.  The next issue was, everywhere we sailed, we seemed to find about 1 knot of opposing current, killing our progress.  In the skippers briefing we learned the Agulhas current rolls down the east coast of South Africa at a rate of 1 to 4 knots.  That current supposedly starts about 140 miles off the coast.  So we sailed for that current.  Sure enough we got 140 miles off the coast and there was 1 knot of current – but it was flowing in the wrong direction, north.  It was suppose to be flowing south helping us,  – our arrival deadline getting more critical.  Day 8 the wind finally turned from the North East and we were able to shut down the engine, enjoy some quiet, and do some sailing.  43 miles form the coast we finally hit a current now flowing south at 1.5 knots.  We were told at the skippers briefing it would be best to approach Richard’s Bay from the north and we were about 200 miles north.   The wind continued to build to 35 knots.  Captain Ken thought about reefing  - but that’s as far as that thought got.  We had our cruising sails up, which are very strong, so we opted to go as fast as possible and beat the weather low rolling up the coast.  We made the Zulu Land Yacht Club around noon at high tide, before the storm hit – as though it was planned that way.  Ha Ha.   Not knowing what to expect at landfall we had fairly primitive vision in our minds.  We quickly blew that expectation to pieces.  We were met at the dock by a bunch of ARC heads but also by officials from the Yacht Club who presented us with a welcome bag and a bottle of chilled Champagne – one of the best greetings we have had to date.  The club could be anywhere warm and sunny.  Aurora looks happy to be here:

It has has everything for you and your boat.  4 bars with 1$ beers, all the other typical bar stuff (except for monkeys) and a recent invention.   Locally crafted Gin mixed with locally crafted tonic mixed and on tap which is excellent and 2$ for a big glassful.  1 is enough for a good buzz and the staff and club members are wonderful! Within an hour of our arrival we were feeling at home at one of the outdoor bars and the Captain felt funny – like he was being watched.  He was. There were African Velvet Monkeys everywhere looking for handouts.  They bailed out after awhile realizing no freebees would be heading their way.  We were also warned there is a mommy hippo and baby who wander thru the club almost every night …

… on their way to a near-by fresh water lake.  The locals warned us to stay clear of those 2 or the results could be terminal.  I was watching Eilo running the next morning with about 10 monkeys chasing her so Captain Ken did the only natural thing and broke out a camera to take a snap shot – but was too late to capture the action & fear. 

Some locals had already rescued Eilo and turned the monkeys away… telling her never to show any fear otherwise the monks will leverage that into a good chase. 

And if the Hippos don’t kill you beware of the crocs.  There is a great restaurant at the Zulu YC and the food is very inexpensive.  Actually everything is very inexpensive in South Africa.  The following day the ARC sponsored a trip to the iMfolozi National Park; the oldest national park in the world – incorporated in 1876.  A moderate size game park at 8.7 million acres.   It gives one an idea of the enormity of Africa:

We checked out about 150 Km of the parks roads and we were just scratching the surface.   The no walking signs were great – everything will kill you:

We saw 3 of the Big Five.  These 2 are obviously in love:

How come Giraffes are not part of the big 5?

And lots of of funny looking monochrome horses or are they donkeys?

Are Wart Hogs cute?

What about Baboons?

Spot the Kudu… the Impala are easier to find.  Note that they are a very tasty diner combo as we found out at the ARC awards diner for leg 14.  A couple of locals cooked up that combo in a huge African style stew pot – enough for the whole WARC tribe and then some:

We saw at least 8 different kinds of deer like critters but won’t bore you with the others.   Here is a pair of Hippos giving us the evil eye:

And an African Fisher Eagle nailing a 2 point landing:

And a Yellow Billed Kite taking flight:

But the real “fun” came at lunchtime.  We arrived at a picnic site and the guides started breaking out the goodies.  The bathrooms were remote from the picnic tables by about a 2 minute walk through the jungle so Eilo seeing the big 5 will kill you and the don’t walk here signs asked our guide if it was safe to walk to the jacks.  Jerry our guide, (and a wonderfully knowledgeable guy about all things local – including the beasts):

, and Jerry responded, “No worries”.  So Eilo goes to the loo and comes rushing back to the picnic site after a few minutes in a state of shock.  She was sitting on the toilet watching a lizard crawl up the stall wall and out of the corner of her eye caught sight of a bright lime green snake head beside her less than a foot from her face.  She did what most humans would do and flew out of the stall trying to tug up her nicks and shorts.  That evacuation probably took less than a micro second.  Fear is a great motivator. The snake proceeded over the wall and was heading into the adjacent stall so Eilo banged on that door to warn the other sitter who promptly evacuated with her child.  The 3 to 4 foot snake must have been in Eilo’s toilets water closet which did not have a lid on it.  The Mamba was probably having a drink.  After downloading that story Jerry pronounced the snake to be a Green Mamba one of the most deadly on earth with enough venom to kill 10 humans and further pronounced Eilo to be blessed – in that she survived… and most likely secretly that he did not have to take her body to the coroner as you need special paperwork for that act.  Super Eilo has now survived the Indian Ocean, a Monkey attack, and a Green Mamba all within 2 days.  Do bad things really come in 3’s?  Maybe.

We are still waiting for a weather window to make our way down the coast.  Most of the boats took off last Saturday and are sitting in East London waiting for the next weather window.  Many of them have indicated we should take a pass on East London.  We have some days to burn so a little boat work and a little play makes sense while we wait.  For play we opted to visit the private game park called Thula Thula which translates from Zulu as “Peace and Tranquility”.   

We took off in our Avis car with the crew from ALTAIR (Joe & Jeff) to share a 24 hour adventure starting with welcome drinks at the Lodge:

Then we checked into our tent to start toughing it out in the veld:

The park, at a mere half million acres, is about a 1 hour car drive (including some getting lost time) from the Zululand Marina.   It was started by a larger than life guy named Lawrence Anthony (and a good author of his personal stories) who bought a 5,000 acre game hunting park and successfully turned it into a game conservation park, including saving a herd of rogue elephants who were going to be slaughtered (read “The Elephant Whisperer”).  We were closer to the animals than our experiences in the 2 national game parks  already visited:

So much so that Eilo has changed her name to “Touched By a Rhino”:

And yes the Rhino’s horn was cut off – to keep him from being attractive to poachers.  It doesn’t hurt the rhino and it grows back.  A great variety of animals in a small park makes for a memorable experience.  Note the Impala trying to make nicey nice with the zebra and the giraffe leaning over telling them both to knock it off – there are people watching:

At one point on the safari we heard a ruckus thru the jungle.  A heard of Wildebeest came charging toward us but the lead guy spotted us and did an about face followed by his herd – another exciting moment.

What could be better than having sundowners with a pack of pachyderms hanging out over our shoulders?

To be continued…still waiting for our weather window to get us closer to Cape Town…