ARRIVAL DAY/ DATE:  Wednesday, November 11, 2015

ARRIVAL PORT:  Richards Bay, South Africa

DEPARTURE DAY/DATE:  Thursday, February 11, 2016

DEPARTURE PORT:  Hout Bay, South Africa

Consider the navigational information noted below as suggestions, and rely on your own sailing skills for accuracy and safety.

INTRODUCTION

After nearly a year crossing the Indian Ocean, and the challenges of sailing in the Mozambique Channel, most sailors welcome the relief offered by Richards Bay, South Africa.  Richards Bay (RB) offers many anchoring and docking options, marine supply and repair firms, and the most first world perceived necessities.  RB is a great place to leave your boat and explore southern Africa.

Opportunities For Improvement: Personal safety and property damage/theft are first and foremost in this part of the world.  All other issues are a distant second.  The worlds largest coal loading facility for bulk carriers is located in Richards Bay.  A continuous thick coating of fine coal dust resides everywhere, inside and out.  High winds (clocked at 60+ knots while I was there) combined with rickety old docks, put some boats at risk at the two marinas in Richards Bay.

PASSAGES TO SOUTH AFRICA

Madagascar is often the last port-of-call prior to arrival in South Africa.  It is nearly impossible to travel between northern Madagascar and northeast South Africa during one weather window, which has a rhumb line distance of about 1,300 nm.  The Mozambique Channel must be utilized during this passage and this body of water is like a southbound runaway freight train on steroids. You must travel south via the channel with its strong southbound current when the winds are from the north, or pay a huge uncomfortable and potentially dangerous penalty for going to windward.  For months at a time, the northern wind weather windows typically last around three days.  Given the above, sheltered Mozambique anchorages are often used during strong winds from the south, which often last about five days or more.

Before and during your channel crossing it is important to pull the RTOFS current files.  Travelling in the swift west or southbound currents is critical after leaving Madagascar.  It can mean potentially travelling at 10 knots with the current, or literally sailing forward while actually travelling backwards in light winds when fighting the current!  To minimize sailing time and potential exposure to heavy weather you must position your yacht in the Mozambique Channel to optimize wind AND current.

RICHARDS BAY PORT CONTROL

In theory, Richard Bay Port Control monitors and responds on VHF Channel 12 (primarily) 14, and 16.  Reality has proven that they seldom reply to hails from sailing vessels or yachts.  After listening to their conversations with the commercial vessels, I called them at least 10 times with no response.  Ditto for other yachts.  On one occasion I did speak with Richards Bay Port Control and was told to “stand-by”.  Their reply was about an hour later.

As normal, approach the port with your yellow Q flag flying.

The entrance to the port is at 28.48.8 South and 032.06.1 East.  I entered the port during the night, as did many other yachts, with no issues.  The port entrance is straight forward and well marked by functional buoys and lights.  My C-Map and Navionics charts were spots on for the entire country.  When using the shipping channel keep a sharp lookout for the continuous flow of cargo ships, bulk carriers, pilot boats, and tugs.

NIGHT TIME APPROACH

Shouldn’t be an issue for most sailors.

AGENTS

You are NOT required to have a shipping agent when clearing into and out of South Africa under normal circumstances.  If you are assessed a fine by one of the governmental clearance agencies, you will have to hire a shipping agent to pay the fine.  The minimum fee for hiring an agent is about 200 Rand ($15 USD).

VISA AND BONDS

Upon arrival, you can stay up to 90 days as a tourist.  A prior to arrival VISA is NOT needed.  A bond is NOT needed.

WHERE TO STAY IN RICHARDS BAY (NORTHEAST CORNER OF SOUTH AFRICA)

Good news, Richards Bay has two marinas, two anchorages (at least), and a free concrete wharf.  The options are:

1.  Tuzi Gazi Marina:

This marina usually has numerous openings, is very close to many dining, drinking, and other service providers.  It provides a safe (day and night) area to stay at.  The monthly price tag for a slip (for YOLO) is a little less than $300 USD (this includes water and electricity).  Free Wi-Fi is offered by many of the local bars and cafes.

Warning: The docks are in need of some TLC and are under constant repair.  In early November 2015, several sections of the dock came apart during a day of 50+ knot winds, which is very unusual.  The Marina is located at 28.47.7 South and 032.04.8 East.  The marina does not own or operate a VHF radio.  The nearby bars, cafes, and streets can create a lot of noise pollution, which drives some yachties crazy.

2.  Zululand Yacht Club:

This marina, club, and boatyard typically has a few openings and is isolated from most goods and services.  It has one bar with a limited dinner menu.  A well-stocked chandlery is on-site.  It will cost you about $300 USD per month to stay at the marina, which includes electricity and water. The marina is located at 28.47.6 South and 32.05.0 East.  The yacht club does not own or operate a VHF radio.

Boatyard: I had my 42-foot catamaran hauled out by the boatyard at this location.  For $580 USD YOLO was hauled out, power washed, stayed on the haulout trailer for four days (which was my decision), had the hulls polished and waxed, received 2 litres of top-grade bottom paint for touch-ups, and was placed back in the water.

3.  Zuluand Yacht Club anchorage:

Just north of the Zululand Yacht Club is a small, well-protected anchorage, located at 28.47.3 South and 032.04.9 East.  At low tide, there is plenty of water depth for all cruising boats.

4.  Naval Island anchorage:

This 8 to 10-meter deep anchorage is located at 28.48.2 South 032.04.7 South.  The holding is great, I never went anywhere in very strong winds.  This is the quietest location in the Richards Bay area for a yacht to enjoy life.  Cruisers at this location used the Tuzi Gazi Marina as their dinghy dock.

5.  Richards Bay Wharf:

Twenty meters west of the Tuzi Gazi Marina is a concrete wharf area.  The wharves typically house several dozen yachts, some rafted up.  You can tie-up to the wharf or raft-up free of charge.  Electricity and water are also free.  Given its location, it has all the benefits of the Tuzi Gazi Marina, but can be noisy and get a lot of pedestrian traffic.  This is the SAFEST place to secure your yacht.  Numerous security cameras monitor every square meter of this area.  The high concrete walls combined with the harbour-inside-a-harbour makes it bulletproof in terms of winds and waves.  I stayed at the wharf for 5 weeks, most of this time was spent away doing land travel.

Marinas and yacht clubs exist at every port-of-call in South Africa.  Most will do whatever it takes to give you a safe spot to tie-up, with or without a reservation.  I don’t know of a single yacht club or marina in South Africa that owns or operates a VHF radio, so don’t expect any of them to answer your call.  This certainly helps eliminate the need to have marina staff ready to catch dock lines.  Welcome to South Africa.

Most marinas are managed by one business and at the same site is a stand-alone yacht club.  Prior to leaving you will have to pay both organizations and receive proof of payment prior to going to clearance offices.

TRANSPORTATION

In Richards Bay, if you want to do some serious shopping you will have to take a taxi from the areas noted above to “The Mall.”  The mall is a collection of over a hundred stores of every type in a central mall.  Surrounding the mall are at least six other malls, each with dozens of more goods and service providers.  Across from the mall on Bullion and Dollar Drives are dozens of vendors who will provide goods and services for yachts (batteries, filters, propane, electronics, diesel experts, hydraulic specialists, bearings, paint, welders, etc).  This central business district also houses the Customs and Immigration offices.

There are NO buses going to/from the RB marina areas.  To get around you have three options:

1.  Walk or bike very long distances, typically over 10 kilometres one-way.

2.  Rent a car:  Most of the international car rental agencies are located at the airport and do NOT pick-up or drop-off customers.  The cab ride to the airport is 100 Rand, $6 USD.  Make sure you make your reservation online, NOT as a walk-up customer.  On-line reservations will get you the best rate and they typically offer unlimited mileage.  Walk-up clients pay more per day and are restricted to around 100 to 200 kilometres per day, which disappears instantly when going to the local attractions.  By shopping around, I ended up paying $13 USD per day for a three week rental of a Dollar/Thrifty compact car.  The “local” Richards Bay car rental organizations charge higher prices, yet will pick you up and return you to the marina.

Land Travel: My wife and I had a wonderful time completing three weeks of land travel in southern Africa.  As normal we had no reservations and just winged it.  Our compact Nissan got an average of 20 kilometres per litre during our 6,500 kilometre trip to seven nations.  The Dollar/Thrifty rental car came with basic insurance coverage, which like most firms can be upgraded at considerable additional expense.  When it comes to national border crossings, the rental company’s stated “facts” can vary greatly from reality.  Each car rental company has a list of countries which you can and can NOT drive in.  And, if you cross the border checkpoint of a country you can drive in, they state that you will be REQUIRED to provide proof of temporary ownership of the rental car.  The car rental firms charge between 700 Rand and 1,500 Rand ($47 and $100 USD) to generate their cross board documents, for each border, you plan on crossing.  They insist that you will be required to submit their paperwork at each border crossing.  BS, I went through over a dozen border crossings and never showed any car rental documents.  So, if you plan on crossing borders you might want to consider ignoring the related car rental documents and save hundreds of dollars, just like I did.

3.  Taxi (a car or four-door truck, NOT a mini-van):  Exercise great caution when selecting a taxi in South Africa.  Most are honest and will deliver you safely to your destination.  Unfortunately, many will not and you will be left by the roadside without your valuables.  Most cruisers in the Richards Bay area used Nic (call 084 523 0017) or Phone-A-Cab (call 072 527 0194 or 072 118 2223).  Nic charges 50 Rand ($3 USD) for a trip to the Mall and Phone-A-Cab charges slightly more.  Most other taxis will charge about 30% more.

4.  Buses and planes run between most major cities.  International flights from the major cities are commonly available at reasonable prices.

5.  Many of the locals warned us NOT to use the “cabs” in South Africa.  Cabs are typically mini-vans filled with numerous people and pose a security risk to foreigners.

CLEARING-IN PROCEDURE

God and Allah are the only deities that know what today’s South African clearance procedure is.  I will give you a few generalizations since no two yachts were treated the same in late 2015.

For reference purposes, there is a large white billboard on the northwest corner of the Richards Bay international wharf (Tuzi Gazi), near the Dros bar.  It notes the name, address, and phone number of the clearance organizations which MIGHT be required.

When you first arrive at Richards Bay the marina and/or yacht club staff will tell you to fly the Q flag and sit back and relax.  They will call the appropriate parties and the government will eventually visit your vessel for the completion of formalities.  We, like many other new arrivals, waited 3, 4, 6, or 8 days for the officials to appear.  According to the marina and club staff, no problem, go where you want to go while the officials get their act together.  So, we freely roamed the nearby countryside for days before completing our clearance procedures.

For most new arrivals this process held true.

Day One:  The Harbor Police stopped by YOLO and completed a quick entry in their log book.

Day 3 After Arrival:  A fellow cruiser ran down the dock yelling, “Immigration has arrived and is sitting in the unmarked blue car in the Tuzi Gazi parking lot.”  Sure enough, a Customs official was sitting in his air-conditioned car in a nearby parking lot completing paperwork.  When I asked him why he didn’t announce himself at the marina he stated, “I don’t walk on the docks or visit yachts tied to docks.”

Day 6:  Another cruiser was observed running down the docks stating, “Customs is here, they are in the plain white pick-up truck near Jack’s Bar.”  So, the cruisers lined up outside the air-conditioned truck for a chance to clear-in because the Customs officials don’t walk on docks or personally visit yachts.  FYI, some yachts didn’t complete their clearance procedure for 8 days, waiting day after day for the officials to show up.  The boat owners did not restrict themselves to their boats while waiting for the governmental.

Caution: While clearing out of Richards Bay one yacht owner was fined by Customs for NOT clearing in within 24 hours of arrival.  The fine was 500 Rand which had to be paid to a shipping agent who charged 200 Rand for his services.  The total cost of the penalty including two cab rides was about $55 USD.  FYI, I was next in line and was NOT required to pay a fine, despite clearing in with Customs 60 hours after arrival.  And, the guy behind me cleared in about 155 hours after arrival and was not fined.  Welcome to South Africa bureaucracy.

My Best Guess And Suggestion: Ignore what the marina and yacht club staff state for clearance procedures.  Upon arrival try to clear it with the Harbour Police which is located at Tuzi Gazi, then go to the nearby Tuzi Gazi ATM and get some cash, call one of the taxi companies noted above, and then take a ride to Immigrations and Customs.  The taxi firms charge a flat fee of 200 Rand $12 USD to race you around to all the necessary offices and return you home.  They will get you to the right place in the correct order, and wait for your curbside.  Following this suggestion will put the clearance nightmare behind you, and you will avoid paying a potential fine when clearing out.

Net, net, in the end, you need some face time with the Harbour Police, Customs, and Immigrations, and all of these organizations are open 24/7/365.

Note: Some of these organizations hid in buildings and behind doors WITHOUT signage, so local knowledge is required.  Government heaven…on the payroll, out of sight, relaxing in a climate controlled offices or vehicles, at unidentified locations!  It doesn’t get any better for a civil servant.

YACHT INSPECTION

During my stay in South Africa, not a single yacht was inspected.  Most officials refused to step on a dock or get out of their vehicle!

CLEARING-OUT PROCEDURE

Filing Flight Plans

Unfortunately, South Africa requires that you clear in and clear out of each official port-of-call.  This process is called, “Filing a Flight Plan”.  All major cities along the coast are ports-of-call.  If you are into pain, visit two ports-of-call.  If you are a masochist, visit 3,4, 5, or 6 ports of call.  FYI, just clearing out of Richards Bay took me almost 5 hours!  Some yacht owners have completed the tasks in under three hours.  The yachts which cleared out of Richards Bay and sailed directly to the Cape Town area were the happiest, but weather windows to make that distance don’t always appear.

The Flight Plan process is:

1.  The marina or yacht club office will give you a Flight Plan document which must be completed prior to hopping down the clearing-out bunny trail.  The Flight Plan document may include a set of directions for routing you through the maze of officialism.  The directions are about 50% accurate, which is NOT a reflection of their best effort.  The clearance procedure is set in Jello by the governmental and forever in a state of flux, since the change in government about 25 years ago. Communicating changes in the procedures is a distant second thought to those in charge.

When you complete the Flight Plan, simply note Cape Town as your next port-of-call.  Avoid listing all the other ports, which might be required because of changing the weather.  Upon arrival at your next South African port, the Flight Plan information is TOTALLY IGNORED.  That’s right, officials at future South African ports-of-call NEVER asked to see prior Flight Plans!

2.  Call a taxi, see above, and be prepared to pay 200 Rand for their services.

3.  First stop:  The Zululand Yacht Club, even if you didn’t stay at the club or use their related boatyard.  They will sign off on your document that you don’t owe them any Rand and will fax your completed documents to Port Control at the end of the process.

4.  Second stop:  The Tuzi Gazi Marina, even if you didn’t stay at their marina.  They will sign off on your document that you don’t owe them money.

5.  Third stop:  Port Control/Immigrations, they will review your passports and stamp your Flight Plan, no value added to the process.

6.  Fourth stop:  Customs, they will review your passports and stamp your Flight Plan, no value added to the process.  At this point, you might be assessed a fine for failing to clear-in within 24 hours of arrival.  If so, they will send you to their favourite shipping agent and ask you to return for a second visit.

7.  Fifth stop, for most yachts:  Harbour Police, located on the third floor of the main Tuzi Gazi building.  They will place a quick stamp on your Flight Plan, no value added to the process.

8.  Six stop:  Return to (A) the Zululand Yacht Club OR (B) go directly to the Richards Bay Port Control facility.  The second option makes more sense to me.

A.  Zululand Yacht Club:  The office staff will take a photocopy of your Flight Plan, enter a bunch of info in their journal, and fax the Plan to Richards Bay Port Control.  Then you will typically wait, and wait, and wait for a return confirmation fax.  TG there is a bar within a few meters of the fax machine!

B.  Save time, reduce your bar bill, and lower the frustration level…go directly to the RB Port Control facility.  It is located at the south end of Davidson Lane on the tip of the North Headland.  You passed the headlands when you entered RB with your vessel, it was the first piece of land on your starb’d side after the breakwater.  The RB Port Control building is where all of the port pilots helicopters land and take off.  Port Control will accept your Flight Plan and give you a copy, upon request.  They will add no value to the process.

The clock is now ticking, you must leave the port within 36 hours.  If you do not meet this requirement you must clear into Richards Bay, again!  Followed up by clearing out of RB, again!  At this point, you will want a stiff drink or more.

When you depart Richards Bay in your yacht, call Port Control on VHF channel 12.  They may respond to your call, yet the odds are rather low.  In theory, after getting the name of your vessel they should pull your Flight Plan document and note your departure.  Expect delays while they search for your paperwork.  I was over an hour down the coast before they gave me permission to leave Richards Bay.  Many boats never get formal permission to leave Richards Bay.

The bottom line of all the Flight Plan BS:  Filing Flight Plans is a total waste of your time.  No person, private or public, will EVER check your flight plan once you leave port.  You pay no money to any of the governmental agencies you will be visiting while filing your Flight Plan.  However, as a responsible sailor, you should pay your marina and yacht club bills.  Some parties claim that Flight Plans are for safety purposes.  This is NOT true, NOBODY in South Africa is tracking your travel itinerary.  Once you leave the harbour nobody in South Africa cares what happens to you or your ship unless or until you issue a distress call.  What is the real purpose of Flight Plans?  It is used by the marinas and yacht clubs to make sure that you pay their bills, prior to you sailing over the horizon.  To file a Flight Plan you must have a letter from ALL of the nearby marinas and clubs stating that you owe them nothing, zero, zilch…  Even if you never used their facility!

Hint: Don’t think about skipping out on your marina and/or yacht club bill.  In 2015 several boats pushed off the docks in the night and sailed down the coast without paying  The marinas and clubs that got stiffed by these yachts immediately alerted all of the other marinas and clubs in South Africa of the incident.  Within several days these yachts were located and the Customs office impounded their vessels until full payment was made.  And, South Africa marinas and clubs have tracked non-paying clients to Namibia and Saint Helena too!

Clearing Out Of South Africa

Almost all yachts clear out of South Africa in Cape Town.  There is NO location further west or northwest for clearing out yachts.  During early 2016 there were three options for departing Cape Town:

1.  The “Required and Official Clearance”:

You are REQUIRED to take your yacht to the Royal Yacht Club near downtown Cape Town.  You can tie up at clearance slip number 33, which is the slip nearest to the entrance to the yacht club basin.  Or, you can secure a slip among the hundreds of yachts at the club.  Either way, you will pay for the privilege.  If you use the clearance slip, you get to use the slip for a few “free” hours.  However, the yacht club will charge you a fee, about $17 USD, for generating a letter that states that you are at their marina and don’t owe them any slip fees!  The method for clearing out using this method is:

A.  All yachts at the marina and yacht club must pay their fees in full and get a signed letter from Diane in the yacht club office that states so.  Royal Cape Yacht Club, Lat/Long 33.55.2 South and 018.26.7 East, call 21-421-1354 or e-mail marina@rcyc.co.za.

B.  Walk, drive, or take a taxi several kilometres northwest of the marina to the Customs and Immigration building.  This building is inside the security controlled area of the port.  All crew leaving the country must attend and make sure you take your boat stamp.

C.  Present your ship papers, passport, and the yacht club letter stating that you have paid in full to the Immigration desk.  Immigration will have you fill out 7 pages of forms, stamp your passport, and give you an authorization for a clearance certificate.

D.  Walk to the next window and visit Customs.  Customs will have you fill out two pages of forms, review your passport and make a copy of it, review your ship papers and make a copy of it, and take the clearance certificate generated by Immigrations.  Customs will then approval and stamp your Report Outwards For Ships form, which is your proof of clearing out.  CAUTION:  The gal who generated my paperwork made a mistake and generated an INWARDS clearance form, so make sure you check over the paperwork before you leave the Customs office.

The above process can take anywhere from 2 to 3 hours.

2.  The “Exception Clearance” process:

Many yacht owners want to avoid the required and official clearance procedure noted above for a various reason:  The Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) is expensive, dirty, crowded, and adds a full day to your departure from South Africa.  However, Immigrations will DEMAND that the required and official clearance procedure be followed.  NOT!

The factual reasons, and lame excuses, for following the exception clearance process in 2015 and 2016 were:

A.  High winds and large seas closed the Cape Town port.  This was true on some days and verified by the Harbour Master and Cape Town Port Control.  The port is closed and I cannot go to the RCYC to clear out.

B.  High winds at the RCYC from the east, NE, north, and/or NW makes docking at RCYC very challenging.  I will not damage my boat and/or other yachts while navigating in the restricted waters of the RCYC.  If you have a full keel boat this might be especially true.

C.  The RCYC has no available space for my vessel.  During a four week period, the RCYC did NOT have a single open slip for visiting yachts in late 2015 and early 2016.  I cannot go to RCYC, they have no room for my vessel.  The RCYC has over a hundred monohull slips, and only a hand full of multihull slips, which means that catamarans are much more likely to use this reason for not going to RCYC.

D.  My vessel is too large for the small RCYC slips.  Yachts about 50 feet long or 20 feet wide, will find it difficult to enter and leave RCYC slips.  The fairways are very narrow, and more than one large yacht crashed into the docks or clipped nearby yachts when trying to enter their assigned slips in January 2016.

E.  I want to clear out on the weekend and RCYC dock and marina personnel do NOT work on weekends.  FYI, if you try this one, you must pick-up your exception letter on Friday afternoon from Diane at RCYC.  This reason seldom flies with RCYC or the governmental.

F.  I and my crew are too old to manage the weather and tight docking challenges at RCYC.

G.  My yacht is NOT insured.  One yacht made it painfully clear to RCYC that they did NOT have insurance, and that RCYC would be held accountable for any damage done to the marina or other yachts if they were REQUIRED to berth at RCYC.  RCYC saw the light and granted the 50+ foot yacht an exception.

All of these reasons were used during my stay in the Cape Town area, and the exception process was used to clear out of South Africa while yachts remained in Hout Bay Marina or Simons Town Marina.

WARNING: The exception process can be painful, and may take up to 9 hours to complete.  I followed the exception process and it took me five hours, which included 2.5 hours of travel time.  The steps for the exception process are:

1.  Go to the marina office where your yacht is located and get a signed letter stating that you have paid in full.

2.  Go to the yacht club where your yacht is located and get a signed letter stating that you have paid in full.  This letter is often combined with the wording/letter of Step 1.

3.  Travel to the Royal Cape Yacht Club.  Speak with the marina manager Joshio Risher and plead your case for an exception to NOT enter his marina.  He will initially object to your requests by stating all types of reasons.  You can reach Josh by calling 083-688-149, or call/e-mail him at the yacht club (contact information noted above).  Net, net, Josh is a good guy, worked nearly to death, and often rolls over and caves-in for exceptions, IF the marina is very busy or fullish.  Josh will give you a verbal OK and send you to the RCYC office to have Diane generate an exception letter.  Diane will not believe your request, so she will call Josh to verify his approval for the generation of an exception letter.  Diane will then generate 2 identical letters which you must hand carry back to Josh for his signature.  Return one of the letters to Diane for her file.  Take a deep breath and leave the yacht club with your exception letter.  In almost all cases this step must be completed Monday through Friday during normal business hours.  This club is in the port security area.

4.  Travel to the Victoria and Albert (V and A) marina.  Repeat the basic process noted in Step 3.  Again, you are attempting to get a letter that states that you don’t owe the marina any money and you cannot dock at their marina.  Note:  About half the boats which went through the exception process skipped this step.  The other half were required by Immigrations to complete this step.  This marina is outside the port security area.

5.  Travel to the Port Captain’s office.  His office is on the 11th floor of the very high port control tower in the port security area.  In reality, you have to pass through 4 security checkpoints to get to his office.  And, EVERYONE entering his building has to blow into an alcohol breathalyzer machine!  This alone will keep half the fleet out of his office on most days.  The Port Captain only works Monday through Friday during normal business hours.  However, the supervisor in Port Control on the top floor of his building may be able to generate the necessary paperwork during his absence.  Show your fist full of marina payment and exception letters to the Port Captain.  He may gruff a little, yet wants you out of his way, and he will generate an exception letter for clearing out without bringing your vessel to Cape Town.

6.  Go to the Customs and Immigration building.  This building is inside the security controlled area of the port.  All crew leaving the country must attend and make sure you take your boat stamp.

A.  Present your ship papers, passport, and all of the marina, yacht club, and Port Captain letters to the Immigration desk.  This is where the fireworks usually begin, especially during the normal business hours Monday through Friday.  The Immigrations supervisor will demand that you bring your a yacht to the Royal Cape Yacht Club.  Be patient, keep your cool, stand your ground, offer your evidence, and insist that you get clearance out of the country.  The Immigration supervisor has been known to put you on ice for hours on end.  He stated to one yacht owner, “You must come back at 1800 to start the exception process.”  The yachtie politely stated, “No, I will not travel outside of the secure port area after business hours and during the night because of the security risks in your country.  We must complete the clearance process now.”  Immigration has been known to stall the exception process by contacting each of the offices which generated payment/exception letters via fax and/or phone calls.  Immigration does this “to verify that the payment and exception letters are authentic.”  Eventually, Immigration will have you fill out 7 pages of forms, stamp your passport, and give you a clearance certificate.

B.  Walk to the next window and visit Customs.  Customs will have you fill out two pages of forms, review your passport and make a copy of it, review your ship papers and make a copy of it, and take the clearance certificate generated by Immigrations.  Customs will then approval and stamp your Report Outwards For Ships form, which is your proof of clearing out.

CAUTION: The gal who generated my paperwork made a mistake and generated an INWARDS clearance form, so make sure you check over the paperwork before you leave the Customs office.

My recommendation: Collect all of the paid in full and exception letters from the marinas, yacht clubs, and the Port Captain on Friday.  Go to Immigration and Customs Friday night after 1800 or on the weekend when the managers aren’t typically working.

Why is Immigration so harsh on everyone using the exception process?

Customs, the Port Captain, and most marinas don’t care where the yacht is when you clear out.  In fact, several years ago all parties (Customs, Port Captain, Immigration, and all of the Cape Town area yacht clubs and marinas) agreed to a new streamlined clearance procedure.  In brief, a foreign vessel could quickly clear out of South Africa without exception letters, and regardless of the vessel’s physical location.  According to several sources who attended the meetings which focused on streamlining the clearance process, “all parties agreed at the final meeting and we had the green light to proceed at the beginning of the next month.”  NOT, a week after the final meeting and the verbal commitment for improving the clearance processes, Immigrations and the RCYC announced, “All vessels clearing out of South Africa from the Cape Town area MUST BE BERTHED at the RCYC.”  All parties, outside of Immigration and RCYC, where initially shocked by the announcement…however they quickly understood the sudden reversal for a change…” and the money started to flow between the two stakeholders, RCYC and Immigrations.”  Welcome to the new South Africa.

3.  The “Frack it Process”:

Dozens of foreign yachts pull into the Cape Town during the end of the calendar year.  The Royal Cape Yacht Club simply can NOT provide room for all of the yachts during the brief weather windows.  To compound the issue, this is the busy sailboat race season at RCYC.  With no room available at the RCYC, the extremely painful exception process was required for clearing out, by over a dozen yachts.  Despite pleas to be reasonable, logical, and humane, Immigration and other parties threw up barriers for existing South Africa legally.  “You must go to RCYC, even if the yacht club does NOT have room for you.”  In a couple of cases, Immigrations demanded that the yacht goes to V and A instead of RCYC.  Unfortunately, many yachts simply gave up when it came to clearing out legally.  The long drawn out and illogical exception process was too great of a burden, so they simply set their sails and headed over the horizon without clearing out.  Frack it…

FYI, if the next port-of-call is in Namibia and you did NOT clear out of South Africa, clearing into Namibia will NOT be a problem.  The Namibian officials often hear South African clearance war stories, and they look the other way when it comes to receiving South African clearance documents.  The Namibians do state, “Please promise to clear out of Namibia properly.”  Which you will find to be very quick, easy, and free.

PETS

Pets are welcomed at South Africa, with no prior paperwork.  During the clearance procedure, state that you have a healthy pet on board.  End of discussion.  There is no charge for pets.

Caution: Rabies is rampant in South Africa.  That’s why you will see very few cats and dogs, beyond the security fences.

CLEARANCE COSTS

South Africa got this one right as far as I’m concerned.  There are NO monetary fees for clearing into or out of the country.  Regardless of the time of day or day of the year.  This also applies to land-based border crossing.

The VISAs on arrival are good for 90 days.  There are all types of confusion concerning the extension of VISAs beyond 90 days, which typically cost about $200 USD.  I won’t go into the details concerning extensions, because the exceptions for the extensions, experienced by the cruisers, appears to exceed the published rules for extensions.

Despite what the official SA visa rules say, you can probably get additional days (beyond your initial 90 days) for free.  Some yachties who completed land travel crossed over into other nearby countries.  When they returned to South Africa via land border crossings, they asked for an extension of their visa expiration date and in all cases were given additional days for free.  All you have to do is smile and ask, please… Those flying in/out seemed to have an easier time of getting a new 90-day visa stamp than those driving across borders, but the new visa or an extension did seem possible.

Because of the hassles related to exiting the country in Cape Town, and the infrequent weather windows for departure, many yacht owners cleared out of South Africa at the end of their 90 tourist visa.  And, then they stayed a few more weeks in the Cape Town area waiting for vendors to complete repairs or a good weather window to move onward.  In all cases the yacht owners informed the marina and yacht club managers that they had officially cleared out of the country in advance of leaving.  The managers all smiled, said, “don’t worry this happens all the time and I’ve haven’t seen an official on the property for years and years.  Enjoy your stay.”  The government officials don’t travel out of their offices to track yachts.

TIDES

The tides max out at about one to two meters.  There are floating docks in the marina and yacht clubs.  Fenders should be just above the water level at all of the marinas I visited.

LANGUAGE

English is widely spoken.  However, the South African version of English is unique and you will often have to slow down your speech and repeat things for the locals.

What???  In South Africa, some generally accepted worldwide terms have new labels.  Some aquatic oriented examples are:

The floating or stationary marina dock is called a “jetty”.

The slip or area where your boat is tied up is called a “marina” or “mooring”.

The mooring ball anchored out in the bay or in a river is called a “slip” or “slip mooring”.

GIFTS/PAYOFFS/CONSIDERATIONS/ETC.

Payoffs for the front line government officials is unheard of when it comes to tourists.  Locals claim they are treated differently.  I came in contact with dozens of civil servants and there was never a hint of a bribe.  However, if you start reading the local newspaper, listening to the radio, or watching TV, the senior members of the government are stealing millions of Rands from the government bank accounts.  Another “auditor confirmed” news story of missing money is announced weekly in South Africa.

TOURIST OFFICE AND MAPS

The tourist office/desk is located near Entrance 4 of The Mall in Richards Bay.  It has plenty of sights seeing info and an RB map free for the asking.  Two book stores inside the mall carry a wide variety of maps and atlases for southern Africa.  Don’t expect a great deal of detail from the national and southern Africa maps.  And, electronic maps and GPS programs are even worse.

YACHT RELATED SERVICES

Yachts can find just about any type of support they need, you just have to poke around the merchants near The Mall.  The boatyard at the RBYC also has numerous boat service providers.

Caution: Several yacht owners were scammed into paying for goods or services prior to implementation.  In two cases the “local expert” disappeared with their cash without providing the parts or services, or in one case changed his service date from “2 days from now” to “in another four to six weeks.”  Refunds are unheard of in SA, so NEVER pay anyone up front.

MEDICAL AND DENTAL CARE

High-quality health care facilities are found in private hospital and clinics.  New prescription glasses are dirt cheap and the primary private hospital is located just north of The Mall in Richards Bay.

BANKING AND CURRENCY

The Rand is the currency used in South Africa and widely accepted in many other neighbouring countries.  During my 3 months in SA, the Rand was in free fall in terms of value when compared to the US dollar and Euro.  Gross mismanagement by senior South African government offices has the currency markets very nervous.  When I arrived – 12 Rand equalled 1 USD.  When I left SA 16.9 Rand equalled 1 USD.  I pity the people holding Rand while their government continues frightening world markets with their announcements and actions.

FYI, some retail store cashiers will round the change due to you, down to the nearest 100 Rand ($7 USD), in their favour.  They pocket the difference between what they gave you and the amount taken from the till.  This will only occur for non-locals.  Locals typically get exact change.

VISA is king, American Express keep dreaming, and MasterCard is sometimes accepted in southern Africa.

BUSINESS HOURS

Most businesses are open six days a week, during the morning only on Saturdays.

GARBAGE DISPOSAL

The trash cans/bins are located at the end of the dock fingers.

DRINKING WATER

We drank the water right out of the tap throughout South Africa, and also in the neighbouring countries.  During my visit, the country was facing it’s third straight year of water shortages.  The taps in some inland communities had been turned off, which sprouted all kinds of health and basic living issues.

SECURITY

You are living among the masses again, where homes, boats, businesses, cars, bicycles, and just about everything else is locked.  Most homes and businesses are surrounded by walls and fences, and many city residences have metal bars over their windows.  Metal shutters cover the doors and windows when businesses are closed.  See my “safety” comments below for more details.

COURIER SERVICE VERSES THE POSTAL SERVICE

The major international courier’s service SA.  Getting items via a private carrier is more dependable and straight forward than using the SA postal service.  Items mailed via the South African postal service often go walk-about and never arrived at their destinations.  Locals avoid using their government’s postal service since missing items are the norm.  Several other boats learned the hard way, just like I did.

It is truly the role of the dice when it comes to South Africa postal and courier services.  A poll of about a dozen shipments from North America and/or Europe noted that about 50% of the items reached their final destination in SA.  Most shipped items, if received, took an extended amount of time.  My express envelope from the U.S.A. took 59 days before it was delivered to Richards Bay.  However, my Fed-X envelope from the U.S.A. was delivered to Cape Town in just 4 days!  This was by far the best record for the sailing community in January 2016.  Unfortunately, most yacht owners spent hours and hours tracking their packages and ultimately left South Africa without their ordered goods.

True story, one yacht waiting for their repeatedly promised Fed-X package was on the phone for the nth time with the Cape Town courier who stated, “We cannot deliver your overnight package today because the road is closed.”  At the time of the call, the cruiser was actually driving on the road which was supposedly closed.  After a heated discussion with the Fed-X distribution supervisor, he promised to make an exception and have a “special delivery” of the overnight package to the yacht club.  The cruiser was delighted to get his overnight package in just 8 days.

COMMUNICATIONS

SIM chips/cards for your PC dongle or phone are available everywhere.  The service providers at The Mall in Richards Bay have the best prices.  I used TCM which economically covered the entire country.  If you purchase chips/cards from the vendors in the marina areas you will pay a 30% premium.  The provider also serves the neighbouring countries, so beware of roaming charges if you travel across the borders.

TELEPHONE COUNTRY CODE

The country code is +27 when dialling long distance.  The phone, electricity, and cable TV companies are having a hard time keeping copper wire on their poles and in the ground in South Africa.  To eliminate the cost of replacing stolen copper wire the telecommunications firms have started to phase out landlines and insist that wireless systems be used.  So, many of the landline phone numbers published for South African businesses no longer exist.

If you want to view the stolen copper wires, go to a street art stall and look at all the wire African animals fashioned out of telephone wire and beads. They are the hottest new trend in souvenirs.

LAUNDRY

The clothes washer at the Zululand YC costs $2 USD per load.  Buy the tokens at the yacht club office.  At Tuzi Gazi the on-site laundry business charges about $1 USD per kilo to wash, dry, and fold your clothes.

GROCERIES

The Mall in Richards Bay has at least six large grocery stores and a large fruit and veg store near Entrance 2.

PRICES

In South Africa, most items are considered free or very cheap when compared to the prices found in North America, Europe, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.  They should be, given the huge devaluation of the Rand.  Also, the average full-time low skilled worker in SA earns about $1 USD per hour.  And, despite what the government states, the majority of the people in South Africa have no jobs.  According to some locals, to keep the masses in line, the government buys their votes by giving them “grants”.  Girls/young ladies are given 300 Rand ($20 USD) per month for each child they conceive and raise.  Orphans get 900 Rand, ($60 USD) per month, and the retirees get 1,200 Rand ($80 USD).

South Africa has 14% VAT.  You can get a VAT refund for most large purchases.  Ask the vendor for details.  Strange as it is, each vendor I enquired with had a different method for handling VAT free purchases.  Welcome to South Africa…

ALCOHOL

The world market has been flooded with wine and South Africa generates much of it (about 14%).  A 750 ml bottle of good SA wine can be had for $2 USD, or less.  Five-litre boxes of wine are less than $10 USD.  Spirits and beer are also cheap.  Many bars sell a bottle or can of beer for $1 USD, and a large draft is $2 USD.  Happy hour large drafts are typical $1 USD.  In some bars and yacht clubs, guests order bottles of wine, which are often the same price of a large beer, and much cheaper than a glass of wine in most other parts of the world.  Booze prices in nearby countries are about the same.

TIME ZONE

UTC/GMT +2 is local time.

FUEL

Gasoline/petrol is 75 cents USD per liter.

Diesel is 67 cents USD per litre.

Propane is also available in all ports.  I purchased 10 kilos of propane to my tank for $13 USD at Norsan, which is across the street from the Richards Bay Mall.  Norsan will usually fill your tanks while you wait.  Warning: Locals pay by the kilos of propane added to their tank.  Foreigners pay a flat fee for each tank filled, whether you get 1 kilo of propane or 10 kilos, the price is the same.

Fuel prices in nearby countries are about the same or lower.

RESTAURANTS

They are too numerous to list and they are located everywhere.  Get your fast food fix at one of the worldwide chains, eat street food, or enjoy a formal meal.  Upon departure, your bill will be amazingly low.

DEMOGRAPHICS, LAND TRAVEL AND SAFETY ISSUES

I usually don’t touch on these topics when writing about destinations.  However, given the dynamics of South Africa, it would be considered negligent if I stuck my head in the sand and ignored these topics, no matter how sensitive they may be to the reader.  My generalizations include…

Demographics and Politics:

By this time most cruisers have visited dozens of countries which have transitioned from some form of colonial rule to independence.  As a result, we tourists got to view the 60 to 100-year-old ruins of former glory (railroads, government buildings, wharves, paved roads, forts, churches, etc.), usually on paid tours.  When you visit South Africa you will see that the timeline has changed…the new government has been in place for about 25 years…and the rapid deterioration of the national infrastructure is occurring right before your eyes.  According to the local media, most of the national leaders have criminal records and have shipped millions of Rands off-shore to their private bank accounts, so funds no longer pay for the necessities of life in South Africa.  The country for the first time in decades has drinking water shortages, power blackouts, and raw sewage goes directly into the rivers, lakes, and oceans untreated.  Unemployment in many communities exceed 85%, schools have closed because the teachers fail to receive paychecks, the “free education” laws are ignored by local governments who now charge high fees for attending schools, many of the railroads have closed due to maintenance issues, aeroplanes don’t land at night because the runway lights don’t work at some airports, and crime occurs in all corners of the country, continuously.  According to both the “majority” and “minority” members of society, things have certainly spiralled downwards economically during the last 25 years, and many citizens feel that the trend will unfortunately continue.  One economist notes that  60%-65% of South Africa’s wealth is concentrated in the hands of just 10% of the population, and the statistics show that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer

Many of the majority (sometimes referred to as the blacks, natives, coloured, indigenous, or tribe people) don’t get along with the minority (called whites, Afrikaaners (white South Africans of Dutch descent), Boers (Afrikaans for white South African farmer)), and vice versa.  While drifting through some communities you can see, smell, and almost taste the racial and social-economic tension. This is especially true among the young people born after apartheid, which seems strange to me.  To an outsider, the country appears to be plagued by rich versus poor, white versus black, educated versus less educated, and the yesteryear master versus servant mentality.  Out of this spins many of the issues facing this nation at this time.

Safety: Security issues face all people in South Africa, locals and visitors alike.  If you remember anything about this article, retain these thoughts.  During a small gathering of yacht owners who had been in South Africa for a couple of months WE PERSONALLY experienced the following:

1.  Three people were robbed or scammed at ATMs.  Only visit ATMs which have armed guards nearby and NEVER complete an ATM transaction if another person is nearby or offers “help”.  In one instance, a lady over 60 years old offered help to a yachtie standing at an ATM, then she and a young accomplice grabbed the ATM card and started running down the street.

2.  One lady cruiser had her expensive necklace ripped from her neck and stolen.

3.  One cruiser had his rental car hit while he stood nearby.  When he approached the driver, the driver took off in a cloud of dust.  And, during the next month, his rental car was hit by an uninsured motorist while he was getting petrol at a service station!  He paid a hefty price for the damage done to his INSURED rental car.

4.  One couple taking photos of a mountain range was told by the local men that they were due $200 USD for taking pictures.

5.  Many cruisers have been scammed by boat vendors who never delivered the goods or services they promised or were paid for.  Never pre-pay anybody for anything in South Africa.  Consider yourself extremely lucky if the vendor you had an appointment with shows up.  It seemed that 30% or less of the boat vendors performed as agreed upon.

6.  A false damage claim was levied against one yacht by a local boater.  A quick unjustified payoff settled the dispute.

7.  Boats on the hard in the boatyard had their outboards and solar panels were stolen.  A yacht in a marina had his fuel cans stolen and another yachtie had his bike stolen.

8.  One couple while enjoying the great outdoors at a South African national park was rescued from a gang of young rural men hell-bent on assaulting them, or worse.  TG the local police intercepted the gang before things got out of hand.

9.  On her first day in South Africa, a lady stepped out of her rental car with her purse in hand.  A thief grabbed her purse and tried to flee.  Instead, a fight erupted.

10.  One yachtie made purchases in a store, exited the store, placed his bag of goods on the sidewalk right next to his feet, and started reading his map to get his bearings.  To his surprise, a thief grabbed his bag of goods and started running down the street.  Quick on his feet, the yachtie gave chase and caught the thief at a bus station four blocks away.  The thief surrendered the stolen bag and claimed he, “was only minding it,” for the yachtie.

11.  While in a rural area one couple had stones thrown at them when they refused to give money to two teenage girls.

All of these activities occurred during daylight hours and in public places!  And, those nearby just stood around and offered no assistance.  I.e., it’s just another day in South Africa, crime is everywhere, don’t get involved.

How bad is security in South Africa?  Answer:

1.  Many of the police stations in South Africa have hired private security firms to monitor and guard their business locations.

2.  In December 2015 the police forces in many cities had a “Help The Police March.”  The marches were used to bring attention to a large number of policemen being shot and killed in the line of duty. During the gathering, the senior officer’s speeches asked for “divine intervention” to make their staff safe from the growing violence towards them.  And, to add to the bizarre rhetoric, they asked the citizens in their communities to help protect their officers while they were on duty!

3.  Carjackings, break-ins, assaults, murders, arson, kidnappings, etc. are documented every day in the local newspaper.

4.  You have to walk in groups during the daytime in many business districts.  Most citizens and businesses hid behind walls with razor wire, electric fences, security dogs, locks, steel bars, and alarms systems.

5.  Marinas warn you to be on-site during evening hours.  They don’t want you walking around the streets after dark as it is not considered safe.

6. Some stores, in malls crowded with shoppers or along business district streets, must buzz you into and out of their establishments via security doors.

7.  The citizens of nearby countries used to flock to South Africa for goods, services, jobs, and entertainment.  This trend has basically stopped because of the violence occurring in South Africa.  As one man in Botswana stated, “It’s not worth my life to go to South Africa anymore.”

8.  The South African prisons are full, so only high profile and murder cases go before the courts.  All the other criminals are returned to the street the same day they were charged with a crime.

In most parts of the world when you part company you say “good-bye”, “have a good day”, or “see you later”.  The departure phrase used most often by locals in South Africa is, “Be Safe”, and they mean it.

LAND TRAVEL

You must complete land travel while visiting South Africa.  Hopefully, you have time to extend your travel to other nearby countries.  Our three weeks of bumming around were outstanding.  We covered a lot of ground and saw thousands of wild animals, crawled through caves, topped 3,200 meter high mountains, lived in the bush, snapped photo shots of amazing waterfalls, went on game reserve tours, and met a hundred great people along the way.  The total cost for our 7 country exploration was $ 2,313 USD.  That included every cent paid for EVERYTHING, so consider land travel as inexpensive, and go for it.  Keep in mind the following:

1.  Car rentals are cheap, no make that very cheap.  We skipped the extra insurance and border crossing fees promoted by the car rental firms.  Reserve cars in advance because SA appears to have a perpetual shortage of rental cars.  Small rental cars go for $10 to $12 USD per day.

2.  Fuel is cheaper, way less than a US dollar a litre in South Africa and the same holds true for all of the nearby countries.  Fuel stations are open 7 days per week and are everywhere.  You may have to hunt or ask in the very remote areas of the countries, but you can find fuel wherever there are vehicles.

3.  Sleep in a tent if you want, or pay a couple of dollars more for a bed and breakfast.  The extra few dollars for a hot shower, clean bed, and a big breakfast were worth the average $35 USD price tag per night for two people at a B&B.  For some odd reason some B&B owners initially stated, “Sorry, I don’t have any rooms available.”  Despite this statement, we often hung around, asked a few questions, and got to know the owner.  To our surprise, within 5 minutes the owners were showing us one or more suddenly available rooms, which were just what we were looking for.

4.  You might want to skip the four-wheel drive myth and the rural safari image.  Our compact car got us everywhere…highways, primary roads, secondary, and the few dirt roads we travelled on were in good shape.  They took us to all the major and minor attractions.  If you are hell bent on travelling off-road, get a 4 X 4 and pay the mileage price.  We saw more wild game along paved roads than the dirt roads.  And, the 4 X 4 game tours we took (paid for) exposed us to the same animals we observed along the paved roads.   Granted, we were travelling in a drought time and the vegetation along the road was sparse so there was little for the animals to hide in.  It made for good viewing for us.

5.  Travel myth number 1:  The cafe, bar, or store will clearly state that they accept credit cards, usually only VISA before you start shopping or ordering something.  When it is time to pay for your purchase they will come up with some excuse on why they suddenly cannot accept your credit card.  At this point, they hope you will pull out a wad of bills, or in some cases, they pointed me towards a nearby ATM.  After experiencing this sham several times I put my foot down and insisted that the meal, drinks, or goods be paid by credit card per the earlier conversation.  In all cases, the credit card system at their business suddenly started working again, and my plastic was accepted.

6.  Travel myth number 2:  You need B&B reservations in advance.  NOT!  B&Bs are everywhere, literally.  Even during the peak tourist/schools out the season, we found a room at the inn.  Each day at about 1500 we would stop at the next B&B to seek shelter.  The B&B directional signs are everywhere.  We never exceeded two stops to find a room.  We stayed in some B&Bs in extremely rural settings, and they were great. FYI, many B and B’s use www.booking.com, which accepts reservations without a deposit and offers free cancellation.

7.  Travel myth number 3:  The cafe, bar, or B&B advertises free Wi-Fi.  After you place your order or pay for your room someone states, “The Internet is NOT working.”  Again, after seeing a pattern of bait-and-switch for several days I announced, “Ok, I guess we have to leave.”  In all cases, before I could exit the establishment, the Wi-Fi magically started working again and I received the appropriate password.

8.  The further you are from the big cities and central South Africa, the fewer security issues will be encountered.  Outside of South Africa almost all of the fences, walls, barred windows and doors, electric fences, and razor wire disappears.  In many nearby countries, people live without locks on their doors.  Several game ranch accommodations we stayed at did NOT have locks on their rooms.

9.  Road signage is hit and miss.  In some poor areas of the country, many of the road signs and poles have been stolen to make houses.  This makes finding your way around very difficult.  Compound this with the fact that electric street charts/maps and most paper maps are totally lacking, adds to the “get lost” factor.  Strike three, many roads change their name and highway number as they continue down the road.  Is the road called Mac Arthur, Victoria, Main, Oak, or Coastal road.  The answer, “all of the above” during a 2-kilometer section of the same road.

10.  Carry some water with you, just in case the taps don’t flow.  Also, take a torch/flashlight and some candles.  You should expect power outages.  An often repeated joke stated by locals is…What did we use to light our homes at night before candles?  Answer, electricity.

11. Some villages and towns have a golf course/country club.  All of the ones we visited were open to the public and had cheap meals and drinks.  Many of the golf courses have unadvertised rooms for rent, which include meals, tennis, golf, access to the pool, etc.  For $40 USD per day, how can you go wrong?  Who needs a bush camp or B&B, when you can stay at the country club?

12.  25% of the people in the country appear to be working for the police or road crews.  I crept through numerous construction zones while gazing at the men and women workers asleep under the nearby trees.  I encountered police roadblocks/checkpoints in several communities.  A quick wave of the hand and my tourist car was heading on down the road.  When I asked what was going on, the policemen had three standard answers:  A. Testing all drivers for drunk driving.  B. Searching vehicles for large knives and guns.  C. Arresting drivers and passengers with outstanding warrants.  In the case of option C, numerous buses, cars, and trucks (and sometimes their passengers) were abandoned along the roadside while their drivers spent a few hours in the local jail raising money for their release.

13.  South Africa is now world-renowned for its good wines and no visit to the Cape Town area should miss out on the winery tours. They are too numerous to note, but we used Afrivista Tours, who provided a van, a very knowledgeable guide with lots of anecdotal information, and visits to four wine estates in the Stellenbosch area.  They change the selection of which estates are visited each day, so no two tours will be the same.

CAPE TOWN AREA MARINAS

Cape Town is a huge spread out city in Western Cape.  The social-economic profile of the Cape Town area is radically different (higher) from the rest of South Africa.  However, safety is also front and centre for everyone in the area.  The locals refer to Cape Town as “The Mother City,” where goods and services often take 9 months to deliver.  Keep that in mind when seeking boat related goods and services.

There are five marinas in the Cape Town area:

A.  Gordon’s Bay Yacht Club: A small marina which can typically accept a few yachts.  It is in the middle of nowhere and is located in the lee of the traditional southeast summer winds.  It is very affordable.  Travelling to and from central Cape Town is much further than the other options listed below.

B.  False Bay Yacht Club: At least twice as expensive as Option A.  Great club, convenient seaside tourist village (Simons Town), with bars and cafes too numerous to count.  Train and/or bus service takes you to the Cape Town central business district for $1 USD.  You can rent a slip or mooring ball.  If you are on a mooring, the club offers free water shuttle services 0830 to 1630. Consider this Hotel California, to get there is easy downwind sailing; leaving can be next to impossible against the strong incoming winds and waves.  Typically, the FBYC is located in a wind acceleration zone during the summer months (mid-November through January).  When I was there, the winds screamed through the marina at over 30 knots for weeks on end.  Gusts in the ’50s were very common.  Consequently, most boats were literally stuck in the marina for almost a month.  FYI, the waves outside the marina basin were several meters high while the winds howled, and to round, the cape would require at least 15 nm of bashing to windward.  You can anchor for free near the FBYC mooring balls, moorings were about $10 USD per day, and my slip was $22 USD per day, which included water, electricity, and Wi-FI.  Most of the yacht service vendors visit this large club/marina at least once or twice a week.  This marina will do whatever it takes to get you a spot and help you get settled and usually has numerous openings.  This seaside tourist village has very limited groceries.  FBYC has a haulout facility.  It also has a happy hour with cheap drinks daily.

C.  Hout Bay Yacht Club: This very affordable marina welcomes foreign yachts.  The daily fee for our vessel was $7 USD per day, which is a fraction of the rate charged by the nearby marinas.  This location offers very good protection from the summer trade winds and makes your journey to Cape Town a shorter one.  The My-Citi bus stop is across the street from the marina, and the ride to downtown Cape Town is 25 cents USD at offpeak times.  The bus leaves every 15-30 minutes.  You can walk to numerous large grocery stores, or visit the nearby auto part, hardware, bottle shop, cafes, or bars.  Alan Batley is the Marina Manager, a very helpful man, and can be reached by calling 021-790-7095 or 790-3110, or e-mail at hbyc.marina@gmail.com.  Alan is one of the few marina managers who answers his phone and replies to e-mails in South Africa.  At times there can be limited space available at this marina, which is my favourite of the five listed here.  The free Wi-FI is lightning fast, and the marina has a nearby haulout facility and many local fishing boats.  This is the major fishing boat harbour for the Cape Town area.

D.  Royal Cape Yacht Club: Expensive, twice as expensive as Option B.  The daily fee for my yacht was over $40 USD.  The RCYC is located near many of the yacht service vendors and central Cape Town.  Nearby car rentals will have you on the road with unlimited miles for about $11 USD per day for a sub-compact car.  This marina gives you great protection from the ocean waves.  However, the water in the marina is often filthy, and you must take a taxi or rent a car to get to anything.  The marina is located inside the secured port area which means you must go through security check-points to access or exit the marina.  The Wi-FI is free, yet seldom works and when it does it’s as slow as chipping stone tablets.  Watch your step on the wooden docks which badly need a facelift.  The fairways are really narrow and entering or exiting a slip on windy days can be very challenging.  In fact, several boat collisions have occurred during calm days.  This marina has a haulout facility (by crane) and a small hardstand area.  The space for catamarans here is mostly reserved for the newly manufactured Robertson & Caine cats, so finding berthing here can be tough.

E.  Victoria and Albert Marina (V and A): By far the most expensive marina in the Cape Town area, a little higher than Option D.  The marina is front and centre in the high rent district of downtown Cape Town.  You and your boat will have to pass through several draw bridges to get to the marina.  This marina offers the most protection from wind and waves, regardless of their direction, which means it can be very hot during a cloudless day.  Expensive shops, bars, and cafes are within arm’s reach.  This marina is outside of the port security zone, so you are free to roam the city without check points.  There is a city bus service at this location.

GETTING A BRAZILIAN VISA IN CAPE TOWN

Many yachts leave Cape Town and head off directly or indirectly to northern Brazil.

Most visitors to Brazil must obtain a visa prior to arrival.  Good news, the Brazilian Consulate is located in downtown Cape Town.  The consulate is open 1000 to 1300, Monday through Friday.  No appointment is needed, however, arrive early to get the two-hour application process completed before closing time.

Before you head off to the consulate go on-line, complete the visa application, and print the application.  They don’t process the applications electronically, so you have to hand deliver the printed application to the consulate (one step forward and two steps back).  You will also need your passport, ship papers, a bank statement, a passport size picture of yourself, and a wallet full of Rand.  U.S.A. citizens pay about $200 USD worth of Rand for a visa, and the amount due varies by nationality.  While applying for the visa at the consulate you will have to write a brief letter explaining who you are and why you want to visit Brazil.  The consulate person who interviews you will give you an “initial approval” on the spot and hand you instructions for paying the visa fee.  To pay for your visa you will have to walk three blocks to the consulate’s bank and make a deposit to their account.  With the deposit receipt in hand, you then return to the Brazilian Consulate and give them your passport and the payment receipt.  The consulate will hold your passport for 5 to 7 business days before contacting you (via phone or e-mail) that your visa has been approved and is attached to your passport.  Any member of your family can pick-up all of the related passports/visas, saving you the hassle of everyone going back to the consulate a third time.  At this point the clock is ticking…you have one year to arrive in Brazil, and once cleared in, you can stay for 90 days.

SUMMARY

Clearing into and out of South Africa remains a mystery, a long drawn out mystery.

Sailing down the coast requires a good weather window, following seas, and winds from the north.  Most yachts experience their greatest number of nautical miles covered during a 24 hour period while heading down the coast.  YOLO smashed her old record and covered 230+ nm in one day.  Which was needed during our 1,000+ nm straight shot from Richards Bay to the Cape Town area.

Personal and property security issues cast a cloud on just about everything and everyone in South Africa.

Rent a car and experience land travel like never before, at bargain basement prices.  Enjoy good cheap wines and food while in South Africa.  Beautiful mountains, rivers, waterfalls, caves, and herds of huge wild animals await you.  Go for it, and “be safe”!

SUBMITTED BY:  Jason Trautz, s/v YOLO (You Only Live Once, life is not a rehearsal)