Tying the Knot

Arrival in Cape Town … at last

Once we rounded the Cape of Good Hope, the wind freshened from the southeast. At 25 knots, we reefed the mainsail. At a sustained 30 knots with gusts to 40, we decided to triple-reef. Then it increased a bit more, till it was directly on the stern at 35 knots as we headed past the Slangkop Light in the late afternoon. Foam blew off the whitecaps and the tranquil, flat seas of just a few hours before seemed a figment of our imaginations. We were definitely nearing windy Cape Town …  we remembered it well.

The Twelve Apostles, sandstone cliffs that form the backdrop for Camps Bay, were regal. We tried counting all twelve, but the cloud cover was too thick. According to Wiki, however, Cape Governor Donkin who named these distinctive rock formations in 1820, was either math or visually challenged, as there are in actuality 18, not 12, distinct sandstone Apostles (buttresses).

Then the Cape Town city skyline popped into view with Lion's Head. It was so beautiful, it was almost surreal.

With Table Bay in our sights, we passed the candy cane stripes of Greenpoint Light and waited for a big fishing boat to depart the channel before we made our turn and headed into the Duncan Dock.

As David maneuvered the boat in the wind, I rigged the docklines and fenders, trying to maintain my balance in the wind and rocking of the boat. We had our berth assignment at Royal Cape Yacht Club and, despite the 30 knots of wind, pulled in with no difficulties other than our own anticipatory angst. We tied up, tidied up and shouted Yahoo.

Circumnavigation complete! David popped the champagne, and after a celebratory tribute to Neptune, we toasted and sat back to relax. It's been quite a trip. We'll celebrate more later.

Where to next?