Any yachts coming from the Indian Ocean wanting to visit South Africa would do well to enter in Richards Bay.

Officials come to your boat which makes the formalities pretty straight forward, although it did take 2 days for immigration to show up this time…

If you are looking for somewhere safe and friendly to moor your boat then looks no further than the Zululand Yacht Club. We were last here 3 years ago, but the welcome we received this time was like coming home again. The manager and the members are extremely friendly and helpful. The atmosphere is very chilled and the grounds are huge, including a swimming pool and braai spots along the river. It’s a great place for kids to run around and explore.

If you need some work doing there is plenty of space on the hard and plenty of people willing to help.

This all makes this club our favourite club in South Africa.

Currently (November 2011) Richards Bay is pretty busy with foreign flagged vessels heading south. Most of the boats here are planning to go down to Cape Town and then cross over to Brazil or the Caribbean. Chatting to customs and immigration there has definitely been an increase in foreign cruisers coming this way.

Jo Charnock

Indigo yacht management

www.indigoyacht.com