02-02-02 We're back in the Atlantic, our home ocean! It feels wonderful. We are moored at the Hout Bay Yacht Club (Lat 34°03'S/Lon 18°21'E), just outside Cape Town. Hout Bay is a small fishing harbor and we decided to stay here rather than in the busy, commercial port of Cape Town. We had a good passage around the Capes. We sailed around Cape Agulhas in 25-30 knots of wind at 11 pm on Jan 31st and crossed from the Indian Ocean into the Atlantic. (Cape Agulhas is actually the southern most point of land on the African continent, even though we only learned of Cape of Good Hope in school.) Then 12 hours later at 11 am on the morning of Feb 1st, we sailed around the Cape of Good Hope. Rounding the capes was such an exciting part of our journey and we were glad to see at least one in daylight. It was a beautiful clear, blue-sky day and winds were light enough that we actually had to turn on the engine to help us a bit. Thankfully, as this cape is also known as the "Cape of Storms". We were greeted on the docks by American friends on "Wings of Time" and Norwegian friends on "Abeline" who arrived the day before us. We all celebrated our Atlantic return with a few bottles of South African champagne and dinner aboard "Wings". We are all so happy to be on the west coast of RSA. It's very scenic as the majestic mountains come right down to the sea. We can see the famous Table Mountain and are already planning our hike up it. We plan to stay here 3-4 weeks and complete some boats projects and tour the area - wine country, Cape Town, etc. Lots to see and do here.
02-07-02 Yes, we are still in Hout Bay and thoroughly enjoying the Cape Town area. We've met up with two South African cruising friends that we haven't seen since Australia. It was great to see them again as they finished their circumnavigations last year - Yacht Chantecler and Yacht Jigsaw. We hiked up to the flat-topped summit at the top of Table Mountain (1085 meters). Table Mountain is probably South Africa's most recognized icon. We hiked 3.5 hours up and 1.5 hours down .... whew. Then we had to rest for a few days, as our legs were complaining. But it was worth the strenuous climb, the views from the top of Table Mountain are phenomenal and the flora is beautiful. The vegetation is mostly fynbos, low-lying "fine bush" shrubs and wild flowers. A little late in the season, but some were still flowering. We spotted some delicate red orchids that only grow in this area. We decide to ride the cable car up to the top today for another look (much easier on the legs) . During the last few days, Table Mountain has been capped by a seemingly motionless cloud draped across the summit, appropriately called "The Tablecloth". It is there often in the summer season as the strong southeast winds pick up moisture from the Agulhas current and False Bay . When it hits Table Mountain, it condenses into thick white clouds. It's an eerie, hypnotic sight and we can see it from our cockpit!
02-19-02 For the last week, we've had a rental car, and have been more mobile. We drove up to the wine-producing regions of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, just outside of Cape Town. In the 1670's the small Cape community established by the Dutch East Indian Company, expanded into the fertile valleys and planted grape vines. The vineyards form a patchwork in the valleys and are overshadowed by dramatic mountains, what a beautiful sight. The towns are full of history and wonderful architecture : Cape Dutch, Georgian and Victorian. We spent a couple days touring cellars and tasting great wines. We also visited the Cape Peninsula National Park and drove out to see the Cape of Good Hope from an inland perspective versus our previous view as we sailed around it. We saw baboons in the mountains and ostriches on the beaches at Good Hope. Neat spot. One ostrich was running down the middle of the road on a collision course for our tiny rental car! Luckily it swerved at the last minute. Ostriches are really comical when they run, we laughed for the longest time. The wildlife is very diverse on the peninsula - after seeing ostriches, then we went to visit penguins. The tiny African penguins were nesting on the eastern shore of the peninsula at Boulders Beach. It is one of the prettiest beaches in the area, with huge granite boulders and adorable penguins. Most of them were sitting on 1-2 eggs in their nest. Maybe we'll get to see some newborn chicks soon.
02-22-02 The Victoria and Albert (V&A) Waterfront in downtown Cape Town is also a great spot. The waterfront is filled with shops, an aquarium, malls, museums, street entertainers, restaurants, tour boats, etc. We've spent a couple days there and haven't seen everything. The decorated cows are the funniest site. Not sure how many there are but, we've found at least a dozen wandering around. We included our favorite on the picture page.
02-27-02 Cape Town has definitely been a highlight in our South African journey, but it is time to move on. SIMMER is provisioned up with food, water and fuel, and we intend to leave Cape Town for Saldanha Bay (60 nm north) end of the week. We have another South African cruising couple to visit there. We plan to stay in Saldanha 7-10 days, then start our voyage across the Atlantic Ocean calling in at St. Helena and Ascension Islands on the way to South America. We might get one more website update before we leave Saldanha, but if not, it'll be Brazil or Venezuela. Bye for now.
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