Missiles, howling wind welcome sailors to Cape Town

Published on March 11th, 2010

By DANEEN AND ANDY LOOBY

Feb. 28

Position: Enroute to Cape Town, South Africa

So far everything has been going smoothly. We are currently about 100 miles from Cape Agulhas, our most southern point in our round-the-world voyage. The wildlife in these waters is outstanding and we have seen whales, seals, sharks, dolphins, penguins and tons of other birds. We hope to make Cape Agulhas tonight and start making our way up to Cape Town, which is about another 24 hours sailing. Position 2/28/10, 07:00 GMT: 34.38.613 S, 21.54.764 E.

March 2

Position: Cape Town, South Africa

We have safely arrived in Cape Town, but not without a story to tell. I am too tired right now to tell you about it but will write tomorrow. I just wanted to let everyone know we arrived and what an arrival we had!!! Position 3/2/10, 00:30 GMT: 33.55.106 S, 18.26.600 E.

March 2

Position: Cape Town, South Africa

Okay, now that I have gotten some rest, here is the story.

In my last report we were just approaching Cape Agulhas, the most-southern latitude on our voyage. We came around Cape Agulhas about midnight and all was fine. The weather was great with starry skies and an almost-full moon. We passed a fleet of squid fisherman and there was a freight train of cargo ships coming from both directions. It was a very pleasant night with lots to keep us busy.

After rounding Cape Agulhas we changed course and headed north for Cape of Good Hope. As daylight came, we heard on the VHF radio that there were military exercises starting and all vessels should keep clear of the area reported in the notices to mariners. They were going to start shooting missiles in one hour's time. Then we heard them diverting cargo ships in the area, and they mentioned Danger point. We were just off Danger Point, so we immediately called on the VHF to get the coordinates of the exercises. We plotted the coordinates, and were relieved to know we had just come out of the area and were in the clear. What a relief, as the area was 100 square miles.

Next we got the weather forecast and it all looked good, with a forecast of Southeast 25 knot winds. That was perfect with the wind off the stern, and we figured we would be in Cape Town around 7 p.m., just before dark.

All was going good as we were approaching Cape of Good Hope (one of the famous Five Capes, and is referred to as The Cape of Storms). The winds and seas were building as we approached, with 30- to 35-knot winds. No problem for us, we handle those winds just fine. We were excited about rounding the Cape of Good Hope.

Now the fun really started, as the wind and seas continued to build. The forecast had gone out the window. We had just passed the Cape of Good Hope and the winds were now a steady 40 with higher gusts and the seas were getting quite steep and close together. Everything was still going well but we had to be on our toes so we didn't go off a wave sideways. We were getting closer to Cape Town, with only about 20 miles left. We didn't think it was too big of a deal but as we got closer and closer the winds and seas continued to build and by the time we were 12 miles off Cape Town we had 65-knot winds and they came around on the nose.

By this point we had taken all sails down and were trying to motor in to port. It is hard to describe what it was like, but it took us seven hours to go those last 12 miles, with waves crashing down on the boat, soaking us and everything else. Andy was steering hard over to hard over to keep us going in the right direction.

Then about 5 miles off Cape Town, all of a sudden the wind wound down to 13 knots and the sea went flat. We were smiling, actually almost laughing. We just could not believe what we had just gone through. We were both drenched, so we put on dry clothes and started to clean up the cockpit as a lot of things had been thrown around. The sun was just down and we still had twilight when Andy said "Look at that!" I looked up and saw a beautiful full moon rising just over the famous Table Mountain, the city lights underneath it. Andy and I looked at each other and said "Welcome to Cape Town."

And what a welcome it was. Not even two minutes later, the winds started howling again. We were quickly back up to 65-knot winds, and the sea immediately went back to the same conditions. To make it worse, we were getting low on fuel. With those conditions we were going through the fuel fast.

We finally got to the harbor entrance buoys and thought we would get a little shelter but that did not happen. The winds were so strong that they were blowing the boat around and Andy had a hard time steering and keeping the boat going the right direction as we approached the entrance buoys.

We finally made it into port and headed for the Yacht Club. It was dark, there was no protection from the wind and we had to try and dock the boat. The marina is very tight, with small fairways, and we were thinking there was no way we could get in. Then we spotted an open space on the end just inside the entrance so we went for it. Still blowing 65 knots, it took us eight tries to get to the dock. Luckily, there was a couple on a boat right next to where we were trying to tie up and they came out to help. Even with their help it took four tries. Andy and I were just shaking our heads in disbelief. It was now midnight, and after putting lots of lines on the boat we crashed for the night.