Safe arrival, Durban.
Fleck
Fri 23 Nov 2012 16:15
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Friday 23.11.2012 17.30 local (Durban) time, 15.30
GMT
Position 29:52S 31:01.8E: Silburn Channel, Durban
Harbour, at anchor.
Well, we made it, and that is the first milestone
in this leg from Reunion to Cape Town.
Quite a saga yesterday, after the gale through the
night before we were both very tired, though eleted to have come through the
rough weather so well. Our beeline into Durban went as planned, but of course
always we went a bit slower than we would have wished, and so it was well dark
when we radioed in for permission to enter the Port. By this time we had read up
that Durban is in fact the 9th busiest port in the World, and sure
enough there was plenty of big ship activity at 10 pm last night. 'Come on in'
said the radar watchman over the radio, but take care to hug the starboard side
of the entrance channel. What he didn't mention was for us to expect a tanker
coming in the opposite direction. Fortunately plenty of passing room, and the
watchman did call up the big ship, checking that he had seen our little yacht
under his port bow.
After that we were left to our own devices in the
Harbour itself. Fortunately there was good correspondance between the map
and the GPS coordinates, and so we 'Tom Tomed' our way up to the Yacht
harbour: but no room at the Inn, so we retreated down chanel to anchor in
the small craft fairway. Already a number of other boats made picking our
spot difficult, and then would the anchor dig in? Off course not. After about
four attempts Geoff was reduced to catatonia, and I resorted to one or two
choice incantations of my own. Finally we stuck hard into something, hopefully
not foul, and we retreated down below for the first beers for a couple of
weeks.
By then it was 2:30 am ships time. We slept well,
but woke early, thanks to a visit from the Harbour Police: but the natives were
friendly, and, no, we didn't have to move. By day things look so different, and
there is activity all around us: an innovation is that the big ship pilots
come and go via helicopter, rather than by harbour launch. Not even modern
Singapore has picked up that trick yet! The day has drifted by, and we have
done battle with Immigration, and Customs (both goalless draws), and paid the
Marina our 'berthing fees'!! We do though have the keys to the hot showers, and
there is internet here, and cold beer and fish and chips. We have also found a
nice shop, down a little side street, where a retired sailorman sells
second hand yacht equpement, but first hand information about the passage around
the Cape: a valuable find. I have to say that Durban is not at all a bad
looking City, there is everything that we need here, and I am glad that we made
it our first Port of Call. No one is leaving until at least Monday, after
the next weather system has passed through. So we can relax without guilt
for 48 hours.
Richard and Geoff.
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