Richards Bay to East London

 

The East London wall

Buffalo River Yacht Club trot moorings

Sporty passage from Richards Bay to East London for Georgia. Left Richard's Bay around 6:30 am local. Worked our way about 14 miles offshore to get current. Had 1 to 2kts. This had us passing Durban 20 miles or so offshore. Probably worth going out for the current if you are going to East London, doubtful if you are going to Durban.

Winds picked up from E or NE and we dumped our main all the way at the first thought of putting a reef in, as we expected some stronger breezes. Rolled out the jib. This ended up with a large reef in it by the time we arrived.

Wind picked up and the current picked way up, for parts of the trip the Agulhas Current was near 5 knots in our favor. Winds were mostly high 20's low 30kts. Seas were pretty benign to start, but ended up around 3 to 3.5m. For extended periods we were doing 10-12kts SOG, with a few surfs to 15kts. At sundown second night it appeared things were easing as the wind backed down and a little sun broke through the overcast, but no, there's more. The wind came back with sustained 40's, gusting 45kts. This part was less fun.

As we approached about 60nm out of EL we were closer to the coast and the current slowed a bit. For the last 40nm the current was much less. So factor that into your arrival time. We motored in light wind for the last 3 hours and tied to the "wall" at 2am in East London.

When it was blowing hard and we were making a lot of boat speed we were visited by a few surfing dolphins.

The Buffalo River Yacht Club is super friendly and accommodating. A club member came out with his dinghy to help us onto the trot moorings. These are fore and aft moorings and are tricky to get on even in light conditions. The help was appreciated. Everyone at the yacht club has gone out of their way to make our stay comfortable, with local advice, rides offered and even help with the washing machine. 

The Sea Spirit is a really good lunch place. Lots of fresh local fish grilled, fried or whatever. You can take the dinghy upriver under the bridges or walk over the bridges.

We are now waiting for a weather window to make the next jump down the coast to Port Elizabeth, hopefully in less harsh conditions.

Paul