Year 3 -24 July 2026 -Cape Town -South Africa

It was a beautiful morning and a lovely sunny day all day. Cape Town looked stunning with a clear view of Table Mountain, Devils Peak and Lions Head. It is really a stunning location in these conditions.

I had breakfast and the sun was drying the dew on the deck quickly and even being in the sun warmed you. It was cold in the night and shaving and showering in cold temperatures. What a change!!

The riggers came quite early and started to prepare the mast/rig for being taken off. The plan is to take the boat over to East Quay on Sunday afternoon and then for a crane to lift the mast off on Monday morning and then for Stormbird to be brought back into the marina that afternoon and she will stay here until they are ready to put the rig back. They essentially disconnected the hydraulic pipes and then loosened the rod rigging so they know they can remove it and prepared everything. The winch service guy came as well to take some winches away where they service them and then bring them back. The hydraulic service man came as well and they are already working on the vang and will service the backstay as well which has a little leak. He said vangs only keep their gas for about 3 years and even if you use special seals only 5 years so note to oneself to have them serviced every 2 years.

I contacted the water maker guys and they now propose to come when I get back from my week with Alex which is annoying but I suppose we have time (TIA).

Once they had all gone I went out in the sun and got a few long sleeve tops which I am short of and another pair of trousers. I then went and had a fish lunch in the sun overlooking the harbour and Table Mountain and Signal hill which looked magnificent.

The trousers I had bought were being shortened so I went to collect them and then went back to Stormbird. I got out a deck chair and sat in the sun reading the Jimmy Cornell books about the passage we are about to undertake. It was so pleasant and warm.

Once the sun went in the temperature plummeted and I went inside and listened to some music and then watched another film and had cheese and biscuits.

Stormbird will move to East Quay on Sunday. One of Skip Novac’s boats Vinson of Antarctica has moved for Stormbird.

Skip Novak is am famous sailor who takes expeditions on his boats and it is quite hardcore stuff.

Skip Novak
Concept Designer

Best known for his participation in four Whitbread Round the World Yacht Races since 1977, in addition to sailing, Skip is a skilled mountaineer. Wishing to combine both passions he built the expedition yacht Pelagic in Southampton in 1987 and has since spent every season in Antarctic waters, many of which leading combined climbing and filming projects.
He is frequently asked to comment on high latitude adventuring and ocean sailing by radio, TV and print media, and also a regular contributor to many sailing magazines worldwide.
Nowadays, Skip is widely considered one of the world’s preeminent authorities on polar sailing.

The current Pelagic fleet consists of two Pelagic 77 expedition sailing vessels, the Vinson of Antarctica and the Amundsen. They are available for expedition charter and logistic support to high latitude destinations in both Hemispheres including but not limited to: Antarctica, Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn, the Falkland Islands, the island of South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands, Norway, Spitsbergen, Iceland, Greenland, Labrador and Arctic.

The Pelagic 77 expedition vessel (Vinson of Antarctica) is an evolution from Pelagic Australis and was conceived and designed for expedition sailing mainly in high latitudes. This implies enhanced autonomy, ease of handling with respect to sail areas and of course, given our Pelagic philosophy, simple systems that a yacht crew, operating in remote areas can service without specialist help.

Dimensions
LOA 23.52 m
LWL 20.40 m
Beam Max 6.31 m
Draught Max 4.30 m
Draught Min 2.15 m

Tankage ( litres)
Fuel: 8124 lt.
Fresh Water: 3137 lt.
B/G Water: 1115 lt.
Utility/Waste/Oil: 943 lt.
Day Tank fuel: 248 lt.

The vessel was constructed at KM Yacht builders at Makkum in The Netherlands. The hull was turned on 1 November 2019 and sea trials began in April 2021.

The picture of the day is of Table Mountain with Vinson of Antarctica on the pier.

 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. 

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