Cape Town

13 April 2025

Cape Town

In Cape Town, time for some – well-deserved – maintenance for the Oosterschelde. It was a bit of a shock a few weeks ago when we discovered – far away from land and deep in the Southern Ocean – that several steel cables in the rigging had sustained damage. Here in Cape Town, we can repair the damage and we do it rigorously right away: we replace all the main shrouds of the foremast.

It is a big job, but thanks to good preparation ánd the help of rigger Johan, who came to Cape Town especially for this job, we are making good progress. The rigging has now been completely renewed, and in the coming days we will continue to reattach all the so-called ratlines. That will require hundreds more ties, but it’s fun work, because every day you see the progress. By the end of this week, we hope to be a fair bit further along, as we will sail to Simonstown for the unveiling of a bust of Charles Darwin.