Waiting, not so patiently, for a date for the tractor sea lift to haul Juffa out gives us a little time to sort out some of the electrical issues in the fuse panel. It now no longer looks like bad knitting, but is more contained and organised. The non working LED inverter light still is non working though, despite our best efforts. Ah well, you can’t have everything but fortunately the South Africa vs England Cricket series is on in the Yacht Club bar…and there is some local interest.…so the time isn't wasted. But finally we haul Juffa out to check out the knocking on the port rudder. It doesn’t seem too wobbly but the banging can’t be a good sign. A tight squeeze in the boat yard as we’re manoeuvred into position by the tractor before man-sized holes are dug beneath the rudders to allow us to drop them and to check and replace the bearings/bushings. Not so easy to work on them with a 6’ hole to drop stuff into though.

Waiting for the tide to rise to float us back into Zululand entertainment is provided by the spotted eagle ray/fisherman battle on the dock. The eagle ray eventually wins. So now we can leave Richards Bay and head south for Cape Town, around 1000 miles away.

The eastern coast is stunning. Huge rocky headlands, mountainous slabs of rocks cleft by steep river valleys alternating with hot sandy beaches. The temperature at sea however is rather chilly. More influenced by Southern Ocean than Africa it seems. Night time sailing preparations take a while as we climb into thermals, fleeces, wet weather gear and finally find the gloves and hat. The sunsets are amazing though. Down the coast East London Yacht Club welcomes us to the Saturday night braai (BBQ) and we brave the mosquitos to shower. Smelling somewhat fresher, stories are regaled of local catastrophes (always reassuring) and alternative anchorages if all goes horribly wrong.

Setting out again in less than perfect conditions we use our new and improved radar seriously for the first time. Visibility isn't too bad to begin with but reduces as the temperature plummets and we become fog bound. Damp, cold and miserable peering into the murky distance the radar is a comforting aid, along with our ears listening for any sounds. Pulling in to anchor off Plettenberg Baai as the early morning sun slightly lightens the fog seems the best plan and we sleep, for quite a while, surrounded by Cape Seals who frolic then chill out, lying on their backs, flippers vertical.
Further south, Mossel Bay resembles a Paul Klee painting (at least to us, although we haven't seen one for quite a while) from a distance, coloured cubes up the hillside. The Yacht Club welcomes visiting sailors. The showers are warm and no mosquitos are seen. After a call to Port Control, we have an amazingly kind dive boat heading in, offering to take us to pick up diesel and provisions later in the day. How nice is that! Apparently shark diving in a cage is a little slow at the moment as there are more orcas around Mossel Bay than usual, eating the great white sharks…Plus an offer to join the Sunday yacht race around the parked drilling rig. We elect not to race but join the fleet taking photos and earn a mention in their newsletter.