Year 3 -14 July 2026 - Cape Town -South Africa
It is my Dads bday today so happy birthday Pad. Well done for reaching 94!
We woke at about 8.00am and had our usual fruit and granola/yoghurt breakfast. We had agreed to move Stormbird to another pontoon at 11.00am so a bowser could come close to refuel us as they have no fuel berth here. The riggers came at 8.30am and took the vang away to be serviced and I discussed the forthcoming mast works with them.
We prepared to move at 10.30am and coasted over to the other pontoon and waited. The bowser was 30 minutes late (TIA -This is Africa! -is the saying). We filled up with 568 lts which we had used since Reunion- either needing to motor or using the generator. It was good to get this done and I now know we are full for departure for the trip to the Azores.
We returned to our berth and the guys were coming to take the genoa away as there were 2 small tears in the UV strip. I thought well this might be the opportunity to get all 3 sails off if they will help us. I therefore prepared the halyards on all 3 sails and also took off the bimini which needs a repair too and the zip on the table extension needed a new zip.
They came about lunch time and I asked them whether they would help with the other sails as well and they said yes. We therefore took off the genoa and flaked it into a bag. We did the same with the staysail which was fine. The main is always quite an exercise to remove and it all went well to start with. However, we discovered a small hole in the sail no bigger than a 50p piece so they will repair that too. How it got there I do not know. This process took a couple of hours and it was a relief to have done this in advance of the mast being removed. I had forgotten that the new swivel in the mast have an allan key screw which we needed to remove so we could pull the top of the sail out. Once it was undone it all came away easily.
We then had lunch which Jenny had prepared some hours early but which had been delayed by the sail removal. After lunch everyone went and had a walk around the shops etc. We then went out to supper at a restaurant called the Fish Market – which was good and it was our last supper with John who leaves tomorrow.
We then retired to Quay 4 to watch the France v Spain semi-final. It was quite a game and the French were deservedly removed from the World Cup. England’s match tomorrow.
It had been a good productive day.
The picture of the day is of the seals in the marina who have also been swimming around.
Need/Opportunity Year Three
I am now on the way to Durban and will then head for Cape Town and then on to St Helena, Azores and back to the UK.
I am now in need of 1 additional crew from Cape Town to the Azores. The new crew member would need to be onboard by 10 August and it is likely we would get to the Azores by late September or early October. If at all interested in joining me please contact me on my email below or WhatsApp +44 7931360372.
The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com