Celebrating a Circumnavigation pt. 1

St. Helena Bay

We were hard put to come up with a good way to celebrate our circumnavigation. We wanted it to be memorable, of course, and fun and also within the budget. Most of our cruising friends have already departed South Africa, so a big party didn't make sense. It's a big event for us, long in the realization. Since it's been just we two for all these years, we thought maybe a romantic getaway for two might be an appropriate celebration though neither Jelly nor Nine of Cups would be with us. For most people, getting ON a boat is a vacation. For us, spending time on land is a welcome break once in awhile. So, off we headed, up South Africa's west coast to St. Helena Bay, not so far away.

We got a late start and followed the R27 coast road north out of town. By chance, we stopped in the little Cape Town suburb of Bloubergstrand for lunch at On the Rocks. Situated right on the beach, this restaurant had great curb appeal, as well as a good menu posted at its entry.

We  didn't realize that it would also provide superb views of Table Mountain from a totally different perspective. We sat on the patio lingering over lunch, appreciating the day, the view and each other. A good start to a romantic getaway.

We hugged the coast for awhile then headed across the peninsula across dry, parched land to St. Helena Bay. The little town of St. Helena isn't much … a couple of restaurants, a Spur mini-supermarket, a couple of shops and a very large fish processing plant that emanated such a malodorous stench as we drove by, it could make your eyes water. The Oystercatcher Lodge, a quiet, 4-star B&B, nestled in the beach dunes at Shelly Point in St Helena Bay was our choice for the romantic getaway and we prayed it was a safe distance from the fish factory. It was. Whew! The lodge was accessed through a securely gated, rather ostentatious entrance arch.

A giant-sized Vasco da Gama greeted on the way in.

Our room was lovely with an Atlantic view and a two minute walk to a shell-covered beach. We walked the beach hand-in-hand, then sat on a well-placed bench, all snuggled up against the ocean breeze, watching a superb sunset that lingered, causing the sand and beach scrub to turn shades of pink and orange. Cormorants, gulls and terns worked hard for their dinners.

We took selfies on the beach.

We ventured back to St. Helena Bay to the Alegria Restaurant for dinner, thankfully upwind from the fish factory. The Alegria was a friendly, pleasant place on the ocean with a good menu and an attentive wait staff. It wasn't busy and we enjoyed our dinner at a private table on the outside patio.

David had chilled champagne for our return. We sat and listened to the surf, sipping champers and sharing a chocolate bar under a near full moon. It's only one overnight away before we need to return to Cape Town, but this night, we were celebrating us in style.

Tying the Knot

Arrival in Cape Town … at last

Once we rounded the Cape of Good Hope, the wind freshened from the southeast. At 25 knots, we reefed the mainsail. At a sustained 30 knots with gusts to 40, we decided to triple-reef. Then it increased a bit more, till it was directly on the stern at 35 knots as we headed past the Slangkop Light in the late afternoon. Foam blew off the whitecaps and the tranquil, flat seas of just a few hours before seemed a figment of our imaginations. We were definitely nearing windy Cape Town …  we remembered it well.

The Twelve Apostles, sandstone cliffs that form the backdrop for Camps Bay, were regal. We tried counting all twelve, but the cloud cover was too thick. According to Wiki, however, Cape Governor Donkin who named these distinctive rock formations in 1820, was either math or visually challenged, as there are in actuality 18, not 12, distinct sandstone Apostles (buttresses).

Then the Cape Town city skyline popped into view with Lion's Head. It was so beautiful, it was almost surreal.

With Table Bay in our sights, we passed the candy cane stripes of Greenpoint Light and waited for a big fishing boat to depart the channel before we made our turn and headed into the Duncan Dock.

As David maneuvered the boat in the wind, I rigged the docklines and fenders, trying to maintain my balance in the wind and rocking of the boat. We had our berth assignment at Royal Cape Yacht Club and, despite the 30 knots of wind, pulled in with no difficulties other than our own anticipatory angst. We tied up, tidied up and shouted Yahoo.

Circumnavigation complete! David popped the champagne, and after a celebratory tribute to Neptune, we toasted and sat back to relax. It's been quite a trip. We'll celebrate more later.

Where to next?

An Accidental Circumnavigation

Our trip from Dubai to Los Angeles took us west to east over the North Pole, if you'll remember. We thought our return trip would take the same route. Au contraire. Instead, we flew west to east again, from LA over the US and Canada and Greenland and Iceland and eastern Europe. Nearly 16 hours of airtime and we were back in Dubai. We had done a circumnavigation … arguably we barely made it since we went over the Pole, but a circumnavigation, nonetheless. It was accidental on our part since it didn't dawn on us until we arrived in Dubai. It was definitely planned as far as Emirates Air was concerned (as least, we hope so!). A circumnavigation completed at last … just not on Nine of Cups... on an A380-800 instead. Obviously, a much faster trip: 15+ hours versus 15+ years.

Be patient … we'll get to Cape Town in Nine of Cups yet!