November 5, 2011-Setting Sail for Cape Town

Today we set sail from Durban, South Africa, for points south, including around Cape of Good Hope, to Cape Town, a distance of about 825 miles. We will break this passage into shorter legs with possible stops at East London, Port Elizabeth, Knysna, Mossel Bay, Simontown, and Cape Town. Other stops are possible.

The weather on this coast is daunting but the forecasting is excellent so we will only go on from one stop to the next when the weather is forecast to be good. We are leaving on Saturday, Nov. 5, with a good five day forecast.

We have just completed major upgrade to the autopilot and sailing instruments. We’ve checked everything on the list. We have plenty of spare parts and tools plus fuel, food and water. We are healthy and rested and feeling confident. We have no crew onboard for this trip.

The boat seems to be in acceptable condition; no problems on the list at this time, however we know that things will break on this passage, as they always do, and we will need to cope with them. We are used to that.

So don't worry.

We will be in radio contact with the local authorities and we have filed a voyage plan (which they insist is a "flight" plan, and though our boat is called Wings, and is plenty fast, it does not fly. Nevermind, they have our plan on file.


Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Durban