Belly of the Whale

Plettenburg Bay, S. Africa ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬___________

Crossing from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic via South Africa is a
unique bit of sailing. It is the wrong way. Most often westerlies
and south-westerlies are blowing. However, these are often creating a
very dangerous swell and can be unpleasant to severely dangerous.
Yet to go east to west, you have to be fanatical about the weather.
Every morning I wake, boil a cup of "ghetto mocha" (coffee + hot
chocolate) and sit down at the computer to download weather files. I
was able to buy a little flash drive modem and put a cell phone sim
card in it, and thereby have wireless internet on my boat—when in
port, that is.
I download what are called grib files, a picture of a geographical
area—in this case S.Africa—with contour lines of barometric pressure
and small wind arrows indicating the direction and strength of wind.
I use a five day forecast, but the weather is so extreme here, that
the predictions change rapidly. But it is the best guide
available—and there are certain things that are known.
So with this wx info, I look for the opportunity of south-easterly or
easterly winds. These are the most favorable to me, heading west
toward Cape Town. These are winds mostly associated with high
pressure, and it has been a summer of sparing little high pres. So it
has been slow.
But when a window does open, I have to go like hell, because—forget
what the forecast says—it could close anytime. And to get stuck in a
sw'ly, would mean to turn around or heave-to—neither are good choices.
This means I often have to come into port at night, because you have
to come in whenever you arrive—there is no waiting here. This goes
against my rules of seamanship—NEVER ENTER NEW PORTS AT NIGHT. Here
the risk is too high to wait.

So the sailing has been strange, not like the island hopping of the S.
Pacific. And there have been no "nice" anchorages, just industrial
ports, dirty, big and busy. I have come through Richards Bay to
Durban, East London, and Port Elisabeth. That was the SE coast. Now
I am on the south coast, more rocky and beautiful, and it offers a few
capes that are safe refuge if you were caught in a sw'ly.
Plettenburg Bay is one of those. I used it as an intermediate between
Port Elisabeth and Mossel bay. I had a window too short for Mossel
Bay, but by making to Plet Bay, I have cut in half the distance to
Mossel bay that I'll have to cover in the next wx window. And what is
more—It is beautiful here!!

This is the prettiest anchorage I've seen since Chagos in the middle
of the Indian Ocean. It is a wide exposed bay, no protection except
for westerlies and sw'lies, but the rock escarpment to the south of me
is stunning, and crawling with sealions. I can hear them barking and
howling from my boat. I got the dinghy out and rowed over to see
them, perhaps 150 sealions lying upon the shelving rocks above the
smashing of the swell. The rocks remind me of the Channel Islands,
off the coast of Monterrey Bay, California, like Catalina. Very
beautiful.
The anc is rolly, but the peace is worth it. When the weather goes
calm again I will have to leave, as the protection here is limited to
the westerlies, but I am well pleased. There is no one hear. The
time alone was good to mull over things in my mind. I was in a low
mood; my heart was sore. But, having reception, I was able to skype a
friend and find solace. Amazing, the modern age of sailing. Ha.

Seventy miles to Mossel bay, and roughly the same around Cape Agullas
to Simons Town—where I'll check out. Simons town is a sort of twin
city to Cape Town, but cheaper with a boat. Two hops to go. And then
to sea again. My first crossing of the Atlantic and what lies beyond.

--
Jonah Manning
S/V BRILLIG

Online Journal: www.jonahmanning.name
Email - bellyofthewhale.gmail.com
South African Cell Phone:
international: [+27] 711797523
local: 0711797523

Address:
Jonah Manning
c/o Charles Manning
751 Mallet Hill Rd
Apt 13105
Columbia, South Carolina, 29223
USA

Emergency contact:
Dibble Manning
phone: 001 - 803 - 787 - 4352
email:cmann1960@aol.com>
also check addresss in "to" column