Category Archives: Atlantic-South

9. Indian Ocean, Atlantic-South

Cape Town

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Long story short: here we are comfortably berthed at the Royal Cape Yacht Club. We were very, very lucky getting in here. Our reluctant starboard engine quit, but we arrived amid a rare occurrence...almost no wind...so we could maneuver in on one engine.
Long story short: here we are comfortably berthed at the Royal Cape Yacht Club. We were very, very lucky getting in here. Our reluctant starboard engine quit, but we arrived amid a rare occurrence…almost no wind…so we could maneuver in on one engine.
Ceremonial tot off of Cape Agulhas, courtesy of Nora's GoPro.
Ceremonial tot off of Cape Agulhas, courtesy of Nora’s GoPro.
And a tot for the sea(s). Indian Ocean on the right; Atlantic on the left!
And a tot for the sea(s). Indian Ocean on the right; Atlantic on the left!
Yet another whale-in-the-distance photo. Tahawus reported a whale within 50 feet of their boat, but we had no such heart-stopping excitement.
Yet another whale-in-the-distance photo. Tahawus reported a whale within 50 feet of their boat, but we had no such heart-stopping excitement.
Plenty of seals as we neared Cape Town. They like to hold their flippers up in the sunshine.
Plenty of seals as we neared Cape Town. They like to hold their flippers up in the air. It looks like they are soaking up the sunshine, but I read online they do it to cool themselves; I dunno.
Nice sailing into a nice night.
Nice sailing into a nice night.
And the crew is feeling good!
And the crew is feeling good!
Table Mountain coming into view.
Table Mountain coming into view.

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The Victoria & Alfred waterfront, nice but very touristy, a long walk from where we are.
The Victoria & Alfred waterfront, nice but very touristy, a long walk from where we are.
The V&A waterfront is a hoppin' place.
The V&A waterfront is a hoppin’ place.
9. Indian Ocean, Atlantic-South

Into the Atlantic!

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I knew I would be excited to pass Cape Agulhas and cross the imaginary line between the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic, but when we actually did it I was “pumped!” The sailing conditions were super. We were flying along at 9 knots with the big spinnaker up. And as we crossed that line we also turned north, back toward the sun and the tropics, for the first time since Sumatra. Yeah! Whales were spouting in the distance, adding flavor.

We had a little ceremony to mark the milestone. Three Ships Scotch was tasted and offered to the sea. One could say that the major ocean milestones of this voyage are the Panama Canal, Thursday Island where we left the Pacific for the Indonesian seas, the Straits of Malacca where we transitioned to the Indian Ocean, and here — transitioning to the South Atlantic and also being our furthest point south of the whole voyage. Making the turn north makes my heart sing, a verse about the warm sailing that lies ahead, a verse about heading towards home.

Liam took this photo of me celebrating off Cape Agulhas. "Triumphant," he labels it.
Liam took this photo of me celebrating off Cape Agulhas. “Triumphant,” he labels it.