Back on the ocean

26 May 2013

After a chaotic visit to Durban with a lot of red tape, we are happy to be back at sea. Friday morning around 7am, we were ready to enter Durban, after port permission. The final night sailing towards Durban brought us indeed the south-westerly wind as forecasted, and gave us 60 miles of good sailing! Just before Durban the bureaucratic circus started. Did we or didn’t we need a pilot? Did we have a berth or didn’t we have a berth? The bureaucratic system brought us from pillar to post, from arrival to departure on Sunday. They provided us a berth in the harbour, but no visitors were allowed on board to come and see the ships. Our guests did enjoy Durban during the weekend; some even went on a safari trip to see South-African game. Now, after leaving Durban, we sail fully rigged and a speed of 6.7 knots and a bright blue sky! All pressure of the days before is gone soon now. Everyone is looking forward to the following 1900 miles of open sea ahead of us. The wind forecast looks favourable, the fishing lines are waiting for fresh dinner and the routine on deck returns. Great!