Cruising Africa

[Luigi3188]

Hello,

Does anyone have any experience cruising in Africa? It's rarely mentioned here or anywhere except for the occasional stop in South Africa.

Thanks,

Luigi

[salticrak]

This is a part of the world I hope to explore, hopefully there will be others who have sailed these waters and will enlighten us.

[JazzyO]

Africa has 54 countries and a coastline of over 16,000 miles. I would rather concentrate on a specific area than ask about the whole continent. Just a suggestion.


Onno

[MTLandlocked]

I was with a bunch of other people going through the Suez canal once enroute to the Red Sea when we got buzzed by an Iranian Mig fighter.

Course, I was aboard a 544' long "Wasp" class amphibious assault ship, USS Bataan.

Was pretty interesting going through the canal. We'd like to go up on deck and check out the scenery. We were often trailed on both sides of the canal by old beatup 2 door white trucks sporting mounted machine guns on top.

I remember reading that people cruising through the east coast of Africa, particularly around Somalia, would wait at a harbor near the exit of the Suez and all go as a group down the coast to deter pirates from bothering them. Sometimes a Navy cruiser would accompany them.

[bobconnie]

We have done a little around there 20 yrs ago, but which part ya want to know about North, south, ECT ECT ??? can't really help ya till we know which part ya want ! It's sorta a big place with a big coast line !! Give us an Idea and we will try to help !

[rigormortis]

I recently rounded Cape of Good Hope (just after Christmas) and am in Buenos Aires now. I found Madagascar to be fascinating, with its many islands, friendly people and nice sailing on the west coast. I stopped in the northern port of Diego Suarez (has new name now) and that place is a nightmare of wrecks and unlit or no nav aids. Be careful there and enter only in good daylight.
The country does not function all that well but, for me, it was a delight.
I was going to go to Mozambique but was persuaded by other mariners to stay the hell away from Maputo. Kenya has a bad rep now, too and further north you can forget about.
I stopped in Richards Bay, RSA and had a great time. Game parks, wine operations, the usual. Planned to go straight to Knysna (sp?) but got hammered by weather so backtracked 75 miles to Port Elizabeth. Enjoyed the braais (BBQ), went on a wild pig hunt with 30 others. The farmers' corn was ripe and the pigs and a few warthogs were making a mess of the crops so they encourage the practice. It was interesting, hunting with dogs.
Finally made it to Simons Town, fairly close to Cape Town. Cape Town is a tight little harbour and you must make prior arrangements to berth there, if you can. Simons Town is quaint, pretty and very pretty but windy. Yacht club is protected well enough though. Easy train ride into Cape Town to see all the sights there.
Rented a car so I could do some paragliding along the coast 'Map of Africa'.
Up the coast to Namibia was easy sailing (I had no fog although there is plenty, I'm told). Fixed a few things at the very friendly Pelican Bay Yacht Club (mooring free with contribution to club). Got some very average paragliding in on the dunes. Can be very windy in Pelican Bay but it is well protected by long sand spit. World record sailing speed set here in 2012 (65.4 kts) using a one man cat. Brave boy.
I had no interest in going further north. RSA is best developed country in Africa but it's going downhill fast. The rest of the continent is a basket case of NGO's saving the world, so they like to think.
More info and pics here:
| what's left of a life
Pete

[John_ZA]

Originally Posted by rigormortis

RSA is best developed country in Africa but it's going downhill fast.

I would love for you to qualify that spurious statement, the exact opposite is true. You obviously socialised with the older tribe when you were in SA and all the naysayers (lots of them around Richards Bay down to George).

We may have a corrupt inept government (except in the Western Cape) but show me a country that doesn't.

[atoll]

i have circumnavigated the continent!,backpacked from cairo to capetown,and 7 trips up and down the red sea!,as well as visited most of the offlying indian ocean and atlantic islands!

jambo bwana!

[JazzyO]

Originally Posted by John_ZA

I would love for you to qualify that spurious statement, the exact opposite is true. You obviously socialised with the older tribe when you were in SA and all the naysayers (lots of them around Richards Bay down to George).

We may have a corrupt inept government (except in the Western Cape) but show me a country that doesn't.

I have many friends in South Africa and lived there for 7 years (until 2005). I come back about once a year and work with South Africans on a day-to-day basis. None of my friends agree with you, and from my own observations I don't either.

If you think your government's antics are comparable to those of, for example, Western European governments, then you truly have your head in the sand I'm afraid.

I still love RSA but closing one's eyes to reality doesn't help anyone.

Anyway - this thread should be about cruising Africa, not politics. My apologies for responding.

@rigormortis - there is plenty of fog off the Southwestern coast (a bit North of Saldhana up to Angola), and I've been diverted many times trying to land in Luderitz. It is typically morning fog because of the cold current bordering the Namib desert and gets burned off by the sun before mid-morning. I do think your comments are rather harsh about the rest of Africa, although having spent many years in West Africa, some visits to East Africa and the DRC I do recognise the element of truth.

Bottomline is, however, that Africa is still a fantastic continent with amazing diversity, full of wonderful people well worth its darker side. Be aware, and be a strong but kind person, and you will have a wonderful time there.


Onno

[rigormortis]

John_ZA:
Sorry for any offense about your country. Canada certainly has corruption too. My comments and observations were derived from South Afrikaners. I met not one white RSAfrikaner who was positive about his or hers' country's future. That is what I based my opinions on. No interest in political discussion here. You have a beautiful country and I maintain it is going to hell, fast. But for physical beauty, there are few countries to rival RSA.
Kind regards,
Pete.

[captain58sailin]

I have worked off the coast of N. Africa, E. Africa, and W. Africa, during the rainy season around Somalia shortly after the shooting died down, good steady winds, hotter than the hubs of hell. Nice places in W. Africa, not very good sailing for the most part. Port Gentil is wonderful, they have great pastries and coffee. Gabon was very nice. Luba is beautiful. You might do okay off the west coast during the rainy season, we get southerly winds here now. Ivory Coast can be a chancy, Cameroon is beautiful, as is Nigeria. You do have to be careful of the unsavory elements that are around (pirates). I would think no more than a lot of the Caribbean. The wind is just not good for sailing here.

[jtaylo9576]

Where are the moderators?
It absolutely sickens me to read blogs with underlying racial messages like rigomortis's. "NGO's" (codeword) and what white afrikaners think has no place on a sailing blog.
Africa, for the most part, is a black continent. If the native people (black people), who have fought long and hard, wish to misuse (white mans eyes) that continent it is theirs to do as they please. The black people of the African continent have no intention of bending over and allowing caucasians to do to them what caucasian's did to the true native's of north america. Guess you think SA was better for the black people while the Afrikaners were in charge? It's their country(black people majority) and they can do what they want with it. Majority rules in a democracy, like it or not and please stop spreading your old racist white boy opinions on our sailing blog.
Guess the moderator's will get this one!

[atoll]

Originally Posted by jtaylo9576

Where are the moderators?
It absolutely sickens me to read blogs with underlying racial messages like rigomortis's. "NGO's" (codeword) and what white afrikaners think has no place on a sailing blog.
Africa, for the most part, is a black continent. If the native people (black people), who have fought long and hard, wish to misuse (white mans eyes) that continent it is theirs to do as they please. The black people of the African continent have no intention of bending over and allowing caucasians to do to them what caucasian's did to the true native's of north america. Guess you think SA was better for the black people while the Afrikaners were in charge? It's their country(black people majority) and they can do what they want with it. Majority rules in a democracy, like it or not and please stop spreading your old racist white boy opinions on our sailing blog.
Guess the moderator's will get this one!

get a life!,if it was not for the white man in africa,africa would have no roads,no schools,no clean water,no hospitals and the people in the next village would revert to killing each other,now we have a little bit of democracy in africa,but still the national sport of most countries is rape,murder and looting

[jtaylo9576]

So if "rape, murder, and looting is the current sport"(your quote) under majority rule I assume you are trying to say life was better for all, overall, under apartheid or some over form of white domination. Nonsense, there are plenty countries on the African continent with roads built under black administrations. Your point is typically racist. India kicked whites out and they seem to be surviving, Asian's kicked the whites out and they are doing ok but black people, in your opinion, can not make it without bwanana! Rubbish, just more racial hypocrisy! Why don't you and all your white friends leave Africa and lets see what happens? It will still be there and the sailing will still be great.

[jtaylo9576]

And on your point of "people in the next village killing each other" guess that's sorta like Germans killing French and British, Romans killing, Carthaginians, US killing Japanese, Syrian government killing rebel Syrians. Warring is a human dynamic since the beginning of time. As I said, your pointy is simply racist and you should reexamine your position on Africa and its survival. Caucasians are not Africa's saviour's. All they have done is tried to enslave and prosper from enslavement, pardon me, new name, apartheid!