Hout Bay

Hello Everyone,

 

Well we got through this south-easterly blow with only a few mooring lines sheared through.  It was rather terrifying though.  The peak gust recorded last night was 80kn. and we had several that I saw in the 60’s.  We had horizontal spray over the boat and one time, while on deck adding extra mooring lines,(every line we had on the boat), I was soaked, my cheeks were vibrating with the wind and I had to hold on as I was being blown overboard!  Everything is coated with salt. Today I went up the mast and even at the top, everything is coated with salt.  All our lines have l been frayed by the salt and wind though and have to be replaced.  I guess we were lucky that there was no damage to the boat!  You would not believe that tonight the water looks like glass!

The sea lions are also back.  They disappeared during the blow, probably to a sheltered bay but they are back on their tyres, fighting and playing once again.

 

That’s all for now folks.

 

Love

Arti and Dimitri

Hout Bay

Hello Everyone,

Well, we survived the South Easter but now we are in the middle of a South Wester  and this time the wind is howling from the opposite direction.  There is a mountain just behind us so, once again, we have katabatic bullets of wind blowing down from it and hitting us from behind.  We are slowly running out of mooring lines as two of them have already sheared right through and we have every line we own out holding the boat.  

Yesterday I walked into a building across the road from the beach.  The doors to the entrance had obviously been left open during the South Easter and walking across the foyer was like walking on the beach there was so much sand there.  Even the corridors on the first floor were full of sand!  Looking across to the mountain on our west, there is sea sand on the lower slopes.  This sand apparently does a full circle, first being blown there by the South Easter and then being blown back by the South Wester......

We have to leave tomorrow as our berth is needed for someone else.  We will go up to Saldhana Bay, 100nm up the coast where we leave the boat.

Cheers for now.

Arti and Dimitri