26:38.04S 015:09.45E Luderitz
Irene IV - World Adventure
Louis Goor
Wed 18 Jan 2023 15:26
Arrival in Luderitz on the southwest coast of Namibia, on the evening of
15th January, was magical. The maturity of the day lent an unblemished
visibility to the light bouncing off the rocky cliffs and craggy islands at
the entrance to Robert Harbour. In the distance there appeared to be an
opaque, heavy cloud hugging the land. Rob asked, "Is that the desert?" I
looked through binoculars and said, "No, merely a sandy fog!" As we
approached closer to land, it became apparent that this was indeed the
desert! Undulating valleys and hills of golden sand extend into the far away
distance, forming the famed Namib desert, supposedly the largest and oldest
on the planet. The sandy backdrop panorama makes for a jaw dropping entrance
to the town of Luderitz and its charms yet to unfold.
After a foggy sunrise on the morning of the 15th, the day brightened, and we
sailed all day in southerly winds of 10-20 knots. On a run, we goose winged
the main and genoa, and were pushed along at a steady average of 8.5 knots.
It was champagne sailing!
A correction and an omission from the last blog:
Correction: Now that we are back in the Atlantic, the birds who share the
same family, "Morus" and look identical, are in fact Gannets not Boobies.
Louis and George will be happy as they insisted on calling Boobies, Gannets
all the way across the Pacific and the Indian oceans!
Omission: On January 13th Giles caught a 12-15 kilo tuna! We have been
feasting on it ever since. Thank you, Giles!
Port Control in Luderitz is one of the friendliest we have encountered. They
kindly shepherded us to our anchorage and gave us permission to come ashore,
have a drink and dine in the Luderitz Yacht Club, even though we had not yet
cleared customs. While we were busy anchoring, they called on the VHF radio
to warn that the kitchen in the club was closing at 20:00. Would we like
them to order for us, so it would be ready when we got ashore? How about a
few pizzas? We ordered 2 meat and 1 vegetarian pizza and finished the
anchoring process. A trip line with a bright orange buoy, to mark the
position of the anchor on the harbor bed was fastened to the anchor, the
snubber was attached to the anchor chain, to share some of its strain, the
anchor ball hoisted and the anchor light at the head of the mast switched on
to alert all other vessels that we were at anchor. A quick once over, to
check that all lines were coiled, and blocks put away. Once we were sure all
was ship shape, we lowered the dinghy, grabbed a pair of shoes, and headed
ashore at 20:30, looking forward to warm pizzas.
We were greeted on the nicely appointed wooden jetty by Gill (pronounced as
if you had a lot of phlegm to clear from your throat while saying the "G",
as in Dutch language!). Gill was to become our best friend. He gently herded
us to the club, we assumed he was the commadore, and joined us for a welcome
drink on high bar stools at the beautifully varnished wooden bar top. It
turns out that Gill, born and bred in Namibia, of German parents, is simply
a Luderitz citizen who loves his town and wants to share the love and
promote the town. He is trying to put Luderitz on the map as a yachtie
destination, by upgrading the yacht club and the general port facilities.
The natural beauty is there, the wildlife, plenty of wind, and the proximity
to the Namib desert. We certainly thoroughly enjoyed our short time ashore.
Gill offered to drive us to the Kolmanskuppe ghost town, a few short
kilometers from the port, the next day. Once we had cleared customs,
satisfied the health officials, completed the immigration forms, and paid
port fees we were bundled, along with the four members of the Infinity crew,
into Gill's dusty Toyota Hilux en route to the desert. He was a practiced
tour guide, although not actually a tour guide, and regaled us with stories
of the past diamond mining, fishing, and guano industries, all since
collapsed and slowly rebuilding in a more sustainable way.
Kolmanskuppe was a journey into the past. A diamond mining small town,
equipped with school, hospital, doctor's surgery, town hall, bakery,
butcher, and every possible commodity that a German community might need.
The town was built by the German founders of Luderitzbucht (Luderitz bay)
with state-of-the-art diamond mining facilities with very high standards of
construction. Even the sand used to mix the concrete was imported from
Germany, so as to be sure of the best quality. In a town built in the Namib
desert sand hills this seemed, at the very least, odd! The afternoon was
spent wandering around the colorfully painted town of Luderitz. Signs are in
German, Afrikaans (Dutch) and sometimes English, and it appears that
everyone speaks all 3 languages and often another African language too.
Gill organized dinner for 21 of us, as rally yachts Latobe and Yolo had
arrived in port earlier that day, in a local hostelry owned and run by Phil
Balhao. Phil is a local, (former national cricket player) , town councilor.
He interviewed Bonga and me about the rally, our Irene IV mission and
Bonga's story. His colleague, Tanja Bause, from the Daily Afrikaans
newspaper is also in the process of interviewing us to do a short article in
her paper. The interest in our rally, our stories and how we come to have
Bonga aboard is immense. Additionally, Bonga has been offered a job in
Luderitz to set up a youth sailing program.
The next day we went on a penguin tour with Heiko, another friend of Gill's.
On Halifax Island just outside the Luderitz bay there is a colony of 6,000
Jackass or African penguins. They cohabit with elegant flamingoes, often
waddling with their characteristic swagger between their lanky legs! We saw
Atlantic Gannets, White Crested Cormorants, Seals, Dolphins, Sun Fish and
were charmed despite the chilly morning foggy breeze.
We have places to go and people to meet, so we weighed a very muddy anchor
at 12:40 to set sail for an 8-day passage to St. Helena. We were sad to say
goodbye to this burgeoning town, but always excited for new adventures lying
in wait ahead.