35:22.7S 21:31.4E - Careering Towards Cape Town
Irene IV - World Adventure
Louis Goor
Mon 28 Nov 2022 17:02
The night before we departed from Durban, we were treated to an authentic South African braai (essentially a barbeque with masses of meat) and some Zulu dancing. At 17:00 on Friday 25th November, we sauntered, as a crew, over to the Point Yacht Club. The club was adjacent to the fuel dock, where we had fuelled that afternoon, and, as we were leaving so early the next morning, were allowed to stay overnight. The Zulu dancers were all young school children who were part of a program called “Sail Africa”, established to teach township children maritime skills and give them opportunities off the streets. Most of the children came from townships close to Durban and were bussed to their sailing lessons each week. The head of the program, Jackie, was a dynamic, self-effacing, joyous lady. She took as much pleasure as the children in their success. The dancing was spell binding. The small audience of Oyster World Rally crews (many boats had not arrived yet) clapped and cheered and rose to their feet many times, applauding the talented young dancers. Justin, skipper of Latobe, came around with a hat for donations and we all emptied our pockets. We promised to donate more, negotiations between Rachel (Oyster support) and Jackie will make that come about. In the audience were also some graduates of the program, many of whom are now working in the maritime industry. Durban, being such a vast port has many opportunities in the field. Louis asked Jackie if any of the graduates might be interested in joining us for the leg between South Africa and St. Helena. She was excited and asked him to send her an email to get the conversation going.
We are currently ploughing through the snow-capped southern Indian Ocean with a following wind, goose winged genoa and main, in 22 knots of wind at an average speed of 12 knots. The sun is shining, (it has not for the past two days), and the breeze is bracing. We are happy to be heading northwest making a bee line for Cape Town. For the past few days, we have been on the “magic carpet” of the Agulhas current again. However, this time it has been a royal magic carpet, with current speeds consistently over 5 knots. This is the closest we can get to the Christmas spirit, with the white caps on the waves, reminiscent of snowy terrains and magic carpets echoing the enchantment of the season.
As I write, George recorded a speed of 17 knots surfing a wave! Eddie, who was lounging on the transom enjoying some sun on his face, came rushing back to the cockpit, worried that things might go wrong. Giles put some sail away and we are now merrily skimming along at a cool 11 knots. Such is life onboard Irene IV.
Shortly thereafter, Eddie clocked a speed of 18.5 knots. The competitive juices are flowing, and we are all fighting to take the helm and be the next record holder!
In 80 miles, we will pass over the 20E line of longitude, at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of the African continent. Here the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean meet. We will say our farewells to the Indian Ocean, which has given us a fairground ride since we entered her waters off the northern coast of Australia in September.
As this leg of the trip draws to a close, there is some sadness and plenty of elation at all that has been experienced. Eddie will meet his family in Cape Town to go on a safari, Durcan and Sabine will catch flights home, Louis and George await the arrival of Fish and Charlotte and Giles will stay onboard to accomplish the many chores that keep Irene IV safe and comfortable. Irene IV herself, will enjoy a well-earned rest in Cape Town until 10th January when the next leg across the Atlantic begins.