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Greetings From Yacht Jean Marie

Posted 5 months, 23 days ago

Greetings From Yacht Jean Marie
Hi, all at ABYC Well, we have been in Luderitz, Namibia since Sunday the 24th of February. We spent 4 weeks in Cape Town preparing the last things for the trip and stocking up. It was a lovely time even though we had a week of 45-65 knots in the marina. Port Elizabeth doesn't come near Cape Town with wind. Then we left and had a good sail up to Saldanha and passed Warrior at Dassen island on her way back to Cape Town. We spent a few days in Saldanha at anchorage which was very good and relaxing. The little town actually has a vibe to it and stocks are available. The anchorage is good and quiet. Then we left for Luderitz, opposite Cape Columbine though we had a misfortune. For all the years of sailing it was the first time ever that a seal swam into our prop shaft while we were motoring at 1500 rpm doing 6knots, it made a resounding bang and straight away we had a strong vibration, after reducing to 1100 rpm the vibration was acceptable and we decided to push on further. We passed 17 whales, one of which was the size of the yacht and surfed a wave right next to us. We could see the gills clearly, that's how close it was. On the second day though, it became quiet and then all was pure white. Fog rolled in, thick as pea soup and surrounded us totally that you couldn't see the sea and nor the horizon. This continued right up till we rounded Diaz point and sailed into the first bay of Ludertiz. It then slowly dissipated and we could see blue sky again. What a pleasure! The wind was howling , little did we know that this was the norm for this area. We tried to anchor 6 times, dragging every time. Port control then called us up and gave us permission to tie up against the wall on the harbour side. We secured her well. Immigration called and we checked in . We also had to report to Port Control with the boats papers. On the Monday morning we went to customs and that also went very quickly. On the whole Luderitz is a very easy place to clear in and out of. We were informed that the anchorage is very bad as a result of all the dredging by the diamond boats and was not recommended unless a private person offered you one of their trot moorings. This doesn't happen to easily. The nickname for Luderitz area is the "devils playground", believe it, it can blow incredibly. A normal day is 35-40 knots! The convenience of being against the wall is when needing diesel they come to you and the same applies to water. The yacht club is a meeting ground for all, after 5pm. Lots of beers and Jagermaester gets consumed there and many a tale gets told. It is very festive, only problem, no one actually sails! It is a meeting point for the small population of the town. Everyone is extremely friendly and helpful. Every Saturday they organize an event to bring the community together eg. anything that floats, braais etc. We think this is very important for all clubs, it brings members together and keeps the club alive. Anyway we are still here after 12 days and planning to set sail soon as a window opens. I would like to recommend ABYC a point to consider very seriously. Being yachties and sailing you always end up with a huge amount of washing when you arrive in Port. It was an absolute pleasure to be in CT where they have 1 washing machine and tumble dryer which operate with coins, purchased at the office. This is an enormous help as sometimes laundries are too far to walk to and with all being provided at the club, encourages more yachties. Do consider this it will boost the club a lot and will be well used. From a windy, dry, barren, Luderitz we wish you all a happy Easter and take care. Safe sailing Jacqui and Walter Full Story »

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