The cruising community is reeling from the loss of the Quest and the death of her crew at the hands of Somali pirates. We did not know Jean and Scott Adam, Phyllis Macay and Robert Riggle, but we feel as if we did, for we shared with them a love of the sea and a desire to explore our world and meet firsthand the fascinating people in it. We send our condolences to the friends and families of the crew of the Quest and to the cruising community in Phuket, Cochin and elsewhere who knew them.

We do not feel we have anything to contribute to the discussion that has ensued about how to deal with the pirates in the Northern Indian Ocean. But we do feel we have something to offer when it comes to the alternative route under South Africa. We have been surprised by the misconceptions about that route and wanted to share our experiences going (E to W) under South Africa in 1994. We have posted a two-part article (part 1, part 2) that appeared in Blue Water Sailing in 2000 that describes the route, timing and sea conditions.

Just to make a couple of points:
• Storms and seas approaching South Africa. The Agulhas Current, like the Gulf Stream, runs counter to the prevailing storm winds and can therefore cause large waves to build during gales or storms, and the weather comes off the continent toward boats arriving from Reunion making it almost impossible to make the trip without hitting some bad weather. That said, the chances of hitting bad weather are similar to the chances on the run down to NZ from the tropics and back. A well-found boat will manage the passage with some discomfort but little danger so long as the crew takes care to stay in deep water. The crews we knew who had problems passed too close to the southern end of Madagascar where there are shoal areas and several sea mounts.
• Storms around South Africa. Once you reach Richards Bay or Durban, all you need is patience to make it around to Cape Town safely. So long as you are willing to wait for as long as several weeks for weather, you can find weather windows that will allow you to make the two-to-three day jumps between harbors around South Africa with a minimum of strong winds. From Durban to Port Elizabeth, staying at the edge of the current will allow you to duck out into calmer waters if the wind comes up.
• Prevailing winds. While in the winter the Southern Ocean westerlies move north and become the prevailing winds around the bottom of South Africa, in the summer highs over the continent generate days or weeks of easterly winds. The trip around South Africa should be a predominantly downwind voyage if you pick your weather windows and wait out the westerly gales in the harbors along the way.

South Africa was one of the highlights of our first circumnavigation. The wildlife parks and the amazing scenery, as well as the exposure to a completely different culture, changed us forever and remain some of our powerful memories. We were there right after Mandela had been elected, which was a life-altering experience. While the political situation has changed since then and crime has become more of an issue, we know several cruisers who have been in South Africa in the past two years. We are asking them to share their experiences and to update us on their recommendations for traveling around South Africa. We will pass those on in the next couple of days.

If anyone has any questions or would like more information on the South Africa route, please feel free to contact us.
Our thoughts are with all of the cruisers in the Indian Ocean trying to decide what to do next.

Beth and Evans
s/v Hawk