Somali pirates

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by boatman61

My memory of the seas between Madagascar and Africa was oily swells and little wind.. could have been down to the time of year.

Great sailing down the Madagascar coast, some of the best I've done. We crossed the Mozambique channel in October. Very little swell.

Easy passage to Bazaruto, could of done with a little more wind but managed to sail approx 70% of the way.

We hid in Bazaruto for ten days while some harsh weather blew through, then a good run to Richards bay, wind tended to drop out during the day but great sailing at night, probably motored 40% on this passage.

We got lucky and got a big window that enabled us to sail right through to Port Elizabeth, could of kept and should of kept going to Knysna where I am currently. Port Elizabeth is a port to avoid imo.

Great current at times running down the coast from Richards bay, reefed heavily we were running at 12k+ for hours on end, specially from East London onwards.

Being patient and picking the windows as normal is the secret to a good run, it's not difficult BUT you don't want to get caught out.

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by boatman61

My memory of the seas between Madagascar and Africa was oily swells and little wind.. could have been down to the time of year.

Boy, we could not have had more different conditions when we went from Mauritius to Richards Bay passing quite close to the southern tip of Madagascar. It blew like stink the whole time with winds from 25 to 45 (not the gusts). This did not include any depressions passing through. One arrived at Richards Bay about 12 hours we tied up. Winds offshore were 55 knots sustained. This was in December which is supposed to be one of the nicest months.

I agree with someone else who loved their visit to South Africa and Namibia. Could have written that myself. I would add St Helena to the list of neat spots to visit.Now that the Red Sea is opening again I would still suggest people go the SA route so long as they are confident of their boat in strongish winds.