In Cape Town, We're Preparing For The Atlantic

Table Mountain, viewed from the northern end of Table Bay                                           

Back in Cape Town we're been very busy preparing Crystal Blues for the passage north, up the Atlantic. New sheaves for the genoa cars are one of the items we are waiting for, and they just might be here tomorrow.  Additional Admiralty paper charts (for emergencies) and 25 liters of Jotun anti-fouling paint are also on the way.

With Rolf and Irene, eating our way around Cape Town.

We've had time to farewell many local friends, including Rolf and Irene Fricke of the cruising catamaran Ketoro (they have a nice blogsite here - check their cruising notes for the Indian Ocean) We first met them in Thailand some years back, and they've been great friends, inveterate tour guides and great information sources here in South Africa - we really look forward to seeing them again out cruising.

Today we topped off our petrol stocks for the outboard motors, and tomorrow Ley will shop for fresh fruits and vegetables. We have full diesel and water tanks, and most systems have been tested while sitting here at the dock.  Now we just need a weather window.  We are very late in the season, with lighter trade winds and the winter lows starting to roll in from the west, complicating the weather here down south.  So we may need to motor north for a day or so, to escape the influence of the cape and pick up the trades - we'll see.  Departure may be this coming weekend, with luck.

It is 1700 nautical miles to St. Helena, then another 700nm to Ascension Island, before we start on the bigger passage of 2900nm to the Azores.  By the time we reach Europe, hopefully in late June, we'll have sailed around 6,500 nautical miles.  A lot of ground to cover...and yes, we have plenty of books to read !