Our stop at Linga Linga was only meant to be a brief visit while we waited for some strong southerly winds to pass. We arrived on Sunday 27th September and hoped to be away around Friday 2nd October, but we are still waiting, 10 days after we arrived.  It’s a 350 mile passage to Richards Bay in KwaZulu Natal, the first place we can clear in to South Africa so we need two to three days clear weather to get there.  Firstly the southerlies lasted longer than expected and we put up with a very uncomfortable four days as the anchorage here is quite open to the south and with a strong tidal flow rough water developed on every outgoing tide.  Then, when the southerlies passed, a small depression formed close to us and we were warned by Des, a South African sailor who is advising us on weather, that there was a possibility that it could ‘go rogue’ and it was too risky to leave.  In the end the depression collapsed with little effect but then we had a frontal system pushing its way up the coast towards us bringing southerlies again.  A yacht further south got caught in this front off Durban and saw 40 knot winds.  With the south flowing Agulhas current, which can move at 4+ knots, winds from the south can cause dangerous seas that we need to avoid.

We have had fairly regular rain squalls since arrival, on Tuesday there were storms around all day.  We set up our rain water collection so Meikyo has had a good wash and the accumulated salt and muck has gone for now
While we have waited we have got on with the jobs that always need doing on a boat, including fixing some of the leaks the heavy rain revealed (others will have to wait for South Africa).  Sarah started work on making up some of the fabrics she bought in south East Asia.  We have not cleared in to Mozambique and officially should not leave the boat but Linga Linga is remote from any officialdom so, when the weather allowed, we have gone ashore for walks on the beach and for meals at the resort.  It is the off season here but Julie, Ed and their staff have been really welcoming and the food and service has been excellent. We have been entertained almost daily watching the fishermen working in the shallows inshore of us.  Some work individually fishing from small dugout canoes with hand lines.  Larger groups work from bigger sailing vessels.   A couple of men take one end of a net ashore then the rest sail along the beach letting the net out then come back to the beach with the other end.  The net is then hauled in by hand.  With one particularly large net we saw 11 men working together to pull it in.

This fisherman in his dugout canoe was happy with the gift of an old rope
For the first few days we were on our own here, then a South African boat heading north joined us for a few days. Yesterday the next group of international yachts aiming for South Africa caught us up and there are now eight boats in the anchorage. We hope that doesn’t attract the attention of the authorities.
There is one more, weak frontal system expected off Richards Bay on Saturday but we have just had the all clear to depart so we will be off on this afternoon's tide arriving when the front has faded away