27:01.00S 46:04.00E

 

We left La Reunion for the 1400 nm voyage to Richards Bay in bright sunshine and very little wind. As the fleet was rafted up along the harbour wall, the start was changed from an official start line to a starting gate which was open for two hours to provide enough time for everyone to get off the dock. We motored out through the harbour entrance, released the fishing lines as soon as we were through the start gate and hooked a delicious yellow fin tuna within the first hour. The first couple of days were a mixture of sailing and motoring with variable winds but by day three the winds had increased as had the waves and before long we were fully clothed in oilskins – a first since the Atlantic crossing almost a year ago. Waves crashed over the primaries and in to the cockpit and those from the bow washed down the decks. We were soaked. We were well aware that this was going to be the most challenging sailing of the entire trip and it was not disappointing. We had left port with our stay sail rigged in preparation for headwinds off the coast of Madagascar but with a forecast of increased winds on their way, Tim took the opportunity in a brief lull, the wind dropped to 25 kts, to rig our storm jib in place of the stay sail. Although the wind had eased off slightly, the waves had not and we watched as Tim became completely submerged in a huge wave. Still, that’s what safety harnesses are for. Thankfully we never did need to use the storm sail.

Over the next few days we had winds to 45 kts and from every direction. That combined with huge waves meant fishing was suspended as it was just too rough. Although our trip was lumpy and bumpy, we were incredibly lucky with the weather and made it safely across the Agulhas current and into Richards Bay before the threatened south westerly kicked in to create havoc along the coast with seriously damaging waves. We even managed to land a mahi mahi on our way in. We arrived at 09.30 am to a very warm welcome from Len from the Zululand Yacht Club. We all celebrated hard that day, we all felt a huge sense of achievement in reaching Richards Bay. Funnily enough, I haven’t heard any of the crews voice a desire to do it again!