Ugh, we wake up when the phone alarm wakes us and get ready to leave.
We are heading for Durban but depending on our progress may well head straight past. Chessie are leaving with us but definitely stopping at Durban as they are having some rigging work done there. It would be great to get as far as Port Elizabeth before having to stop but we’ll probably only make it as far as East London. This weather window is supposed to last about three days but that could all change and we could end up having to hole up somewhere and waiting for the next one.
We leave the Zululand Yacht Club and head out of Richards Bay towards the sea. There are loads of tankers and container ships at anchor outside and we zigzag our way through them before putting our genoa out. Getting into our rhythm of watches immediately, I go back to bed and sleep for a few hours.
By the time I get up we are going faster and faster even though we have a reefed in genoa. The sea state is good and not lumpy and it is a comfortable sail. We make such good progress that late in the afternoon, after Mike gets the latest grib files (weather files which show the wind speed and direction), we decide not to stop at Durban as it’s obvious that we can make it to East London, if not to Port Elizabeth before the weather turns. We call Chessie on the mobile and let them know our intentions. We’ll see them in Knysna after their rigging work has been completed.
There’s a lot of commercial traffic but none comes too close for comfort.
I fall asleep quickly when I go off around 9 pm.
Our position is: 30 deg 43 min S, 30 deg 43 min E
Distance so far: 18005 nautical miles
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