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Published: April 21st 2007
The Remotest Island
This is the sign that greets you as you walk into town on Tristan da Cunha. An important change happened as we started the next leg of our voyage. We had all been nothing more than adventurous tourists who had chosen an interesting and somewhat unique way to see the sights of Antarctica and South Georgia. It is true that we had learned a lot about sailing a tall ship and we had definitely had some amazing adventures that fall well outside of the realm of a cruise ship, but it wasn’t until we had left South Georgia in our wake that we stopped being tourists and became sailors. We were no longer on a sightseeing trip, we were on a sailing voyage and we had nearly three thousand nautical miles of some of the stormiest oceans in the world ahead of us. More than fourteen hundred nautical miles separated us from our next landfall, a tiny volcanic spec in the South Atlantic called Tristan da Cunha, and the charts spoke of mountainous waves and powerful storms as being the normal conditions. We were all well acquainted with the watch system and all of us who were willing and able were becoming very familiar with the workings of the ship, in short, we were all looking
The Doldrums
We were at a stand-still, even the grounded albatrosses were out paceing us!
forward to the trials of the voyage to come. We were less than a day out of South Georgia and we had been sailing along beautifully when something strange happened. We were sailing across a stretch of the Southern Ocean that is known as one of the most notoriously stormy bodies of water in the world, yet the wind instantly left us. We were sitting still in the water, our sails hanging loosely off of the yards, and silence filled the air. Even the mighty albatrosses were grounded, but they were still out-pacing us as the paddled past us in the mirror calm water - We had found the 'Doldrums', but in possibly the most unlikely place! We were forced to furl all of the sails and start up the engines, because icebergs were in the area and there was a storm on the horizon and, from the Captain's description of the forecast, it would be one worthy of the Southern Ocean! By the next morning the wind had returned to us, as had the icebergs, and we were sailing as quickly as we could to the north, doing our best to put the large bergs behind us. One of
Black Ice
This was one of the strangest icebergs we saw on our voyage. I think the black ice is just very old, but I am not sure. the large, tabular bergs we sailed past dwarfed the Europa and, at first sight, looked like a huge wall of water coming right for us - I had been up in the rigging as we sailed past and I didn't notice it until it was behind us, but it was an awe-inspiring sight it was! We had been racing the clock for two days, doing our best to position the Europa in such a way that the storm, which was an unavoidable obstacle in our path, would help us on our way towards Tristan. Most people on board seemed to be dreading the approaching tempest, but for me and a few others on board it was an event we were looking forward to with excited enthusiasm - Sailing through a wild storm at sea had always been near the top of my list of things I wanted to experience at least once in my life and it was looking like the Southern Ocean was not going to disappoint like the Drake did! The boat was rolling badly due to the increased wave action and things that normally are thought of as stable began to sprout wings and take to flying
Iceberg
This is another shot of the strange berg. about the ship, mainly food, people and steak knives! One lunch before the storm hit us we were being served a delicious tomato bisque and the ship was rolling so badly that we were only getting a half bowl full at a time. I was feeling proud because I had successfully made it past the slippery 'spill alley' and to my seat without loosing a drop, but, as I was spooning the wonderful soup into my mouth, the boat rolled hard to my side and then everything went into slow motion as I watched a lady standing on the other side of the deck house take to the air, fly across the room and crash-land in my lap - There was a red explosion that coated the whole corner I was sitting in, including the ceiling and both of us, with tomato soup, which, as would be expected, caused a second explosion, as everyone rolled with joyful laughter! The storm was upon us and my watch was due to start at midnight, right when the wind and waves were expected to be the strongest. Before I went to bed I helped change some of the sails around and generally make
Lots of Wind
The sailing was great and we spent a lot of our time leaning hard to one side or the other. The Europa spent a lot of time leaning in this direction, which prevented me from showering in my cabin, due to the placement of the drain. everything ready for the evening's festivities. Sleep was difficult to come by that night, due not to the violent rolling of the ship, I had sufficiently learned how to wedge myself into my bunk by then, but to the exciting noises of the crashing waves on the deck just above me. By eleven-thirty I couldn't contain my excitement any more, so I suited up in all of my foul-weather gear, grabbed my camera and a harness and I headed out into the tempest on deck. All of the storm doors were shut, so I had to go through the wheel house, partly so the Captain could control who was out on deck, but also because all of the lower decks were completely awash with the frothy white Southern Ocean that was flowing freely over the rails. I said hello to the Captain and the Mate, both of whom were at the helm for the storm, and I got permission to go out. I opened the door and stepped out into one of the wildest scenes I have ever been a part of! I was immediately reminded just how dangerous It was out there when I lost my grip on the
Huge Waves
During our first big storm we had massive waves all around us. They were impossible to photograph, so this is the best I could do. door handle and slipped across the deck, crashing into a well placed wooden bench that was up against the rail! I managed to crawl back up to the door, tell the Captain I was OK and get clipped into the web of safety lines that criss-crossed the poop deck in one big move. I walked to the fore-starboard corner of the deck and I braced my self against the rail and I let Mother Nature show off just how tough she could be (and I know she was still holding back a lot!) The wind was blowing storm force 9, roughly 47 - 50 mph, and all but two of the sails had been taken away during the previous watch. Even with most of the sails gone we were listing hard to the starboard side and the ocean was pouring onto the deck over the top of the completely submerged rail. The main deck had been turned into a tumultuous white-water torrent as wave after massive wave crashed down onto its wooden planks and, to make things a little more interesting, several of the professional crew members were hard at work on the deck making things that had come undone
Storm Force 9
The Europa's deck was constantly awash in the cold Southern Ocean during the wild and enjoyable storm. fast and they were constantly being submerged up to their necks in the freezing Southern Ocean. Normally the poop deck, which is one floor above the main deck, is high and dry, but even I was being regularly submerged up to my knees in the icy water! The howling roar of the wind and the thunderous crashing of the waves filled the air and made any attempt at conversation futile, so, even though there were three or four of us out there, there was a strong feeling of extreme isolation out on deck! The massive waves were rolling in from behind us, which is called a following sea, and the resulting motion of the ship was fairly severe - The waves would roll in under our stern, slightly angled towards our port side, raising the back of the boat high up in the air and slamming the bow down into the trough with a big splash and a shudder that could be felt through the whole ship. I had been hit by several of the large waves and my camera had taken more than its share of direct hits, so I decided to head inside after a little over an
Our New Figurehead
This is the figurehead that showed up on April Fools' day. Sadly, she was lost in our second big storm - Two figureheads in one voyage! hour out in the tempest and I started making my way to the wheel house. Right as I reached the door one of my friends grabbed me and shouted in my ear that I should follow him. We made our way, with some difficulty, to the back of the boat and there, from my vantage point on the stern rail, I saw one of the most magnificent mountainscapes I have ever seen and we were hundreds of miles away from land of any sort! From the top of the waves vast expanses of ocean were lit up by the bright, nearly full moon and I could see monstrous, inky-black waves stretching away into the darkness. As we descended down the back face of the giant rollers the horizon and the moon were completely engulfed by a black wall of darkness that towered above our heads and seemed poised to crash down over us, ship and all, and send us straight to the icy depths of the Southern Ocean, but the Europa had seen worse and she proved again and again that she was not ready to disappear below the waves! By the time I had made it back inside, nearly
On the Bowsprit
This was one of my favorite parts of the ship. It was great to sit in the net and watch the ocean go by. two hours had passed and I was soaking wet and exhausted, but I had fulfilled another, slightly deranged I am told, dream of mine and I was as happy as I could be! By morning the storm had mostly passed and it looked like it was going to be a nice day! In the end the Europa had proudly sailed right through the storm as if it were only a minor inconvenience. We had torn a few sails and a few of the scupper doors had been ripped from their hinges, but, other than that, we were damage free! Those of us who had been out on deck during the storm spent the day sharing our stories of adventure with everyone and reliving the experience with great relish. I have heard the waves described as being anywhere from six meters (eighteen feet) up to twelve plus meters (more than forty feet) in height and I tend to think they were closer to the high end of that range, because the poop deck is around twelve feet above the water and I was looking at least that high over my head to the crest of the waves. A better trained eye
Europa
Sailing on the bark Europa was an amazing experience. would undoubtedly laugh at these estimates, but that is my story and I am sticking to it - Besides, when we asked the Captain how big he thought the waves were he just smiled and the glint in his eyes stated clearly that he was looking forward to the 'stories' about the storm! During the eleven days that it took us to sail to Tristan da Cunha we experienced calm conditions and stormy conditions, but, for the most part, the sailing was amazing. After our first big storm we had a few very nice days. On April Fool's Day we awoke to lots of humorous mayhem like blue bread, advertisements for strange lectures and classes that the presenters knew nothing about, a new flag that spoke of the certainty of faecal occurrences had been raised up the main mast (it stayed up there until Cape Town) and, most importantly, a new figurehead had appeared in the night! Our new guardian was a mermaid like our last one, but, instead of a high quality wood carving, our new figurehead was made from miscellaneous 'things' that had been found in the deepest recesses of the ship - It was great! On the
Aloft
Up on the mizzen mast. evening of April first, just after dark, we had our second storm, but it was not as severe as the first one. While the tempest was raging I got to climb all the way up to the t'gallant yard to help furl the sail. The wind was whipping the sail up and down with violent rapidity and the rain was falling sideways, stinging our faces as each drop slammed into our heads. Our task was a little difficult (for me at least), because all of the ropes were slippery and difficult to manage and the boat was pitching back and fourth violently. Despite the seeming obstacles we faced, that stormy night up in the rigging was one of my most memorable on the voyage - It was a lot of fun for me, but just a normal day at work for the crew! The second storm left us essentially damage free, just a few more torn sails, but we did loose our new figurehead - It must be some kind of record to loose two figureheads in one voyage! A third storm briefly threatened us, but, Instead of strong winds and rain, we got an amazing rainbow, which stretched across
Aloft (2)
Up on the mizzen mast. the endless sky in a great, broken arc. The days seemed to fly by. We were sailing across some of the most remote waters in the world and the endless horizon circled us in a crisp, unbroken line. The scenery was one of deep blue water as far as the eye could see, in fact, the only thing that ever changed was the position of the sun and stars, the weather and the size of the waves, but I never once grew tired of looking out across the ocean. I spent my time working on miscellaneous tasks up in the rigging, learning about celestial navigation and how to use the sextant, or at the helm doing my best to steer my course straight and true, which was difficult at (all) times - I was once accused of trying to fix the 'Land in Sight' contest when I accidentally turned the ship back towards Antarctica! Despite my efforts at the helm, we sighted the island of Tristan da Cunha early in the morning on the seventh of April, a full day and a half before the time I had selected in the pool! Tristan da Cunha is a small volcanic island
Big Waves
The huge waves stayed with us even when it wasn't stormy outside. in the middle of the South Atlantic. The small island nation, which is part of the United Kingdom, is home to nearly three hundred residents who all live in the islands only settlement, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. Most of Tristan da Cunha's economy revolves around the fishing industry, in particular, on the sale of South Atlantic rock lobster, which, from what I have been told, is one of the most sought after lobster varieties, and from special issue postal stamps. There have been people living on Tristan for nearly three hundred years with the exception of a brief, volcanic eruption induced absence in the 1960's when everyone was evacuated to London. Nearly all of the residents returned to the island when the volcano settled down, preferring the simplicity of the quiet island life to the hustle and bustle of England. Known as the most remote island in the world, Tristan da Cunha is only reachable by boat, there is not an airport, and the quickest boats still take six days to get there from the nearest port at Cape Town. Their remoteness is made even worse (or possibly better) by the fact that, even if you make the long
Fun in the Southern Ocean
Yes, we had to work in these waves. voyage to the island, you may not be able to actually land. Tristan's coastline is free of natural harbors and the strong swell of the South Atlantic makes landing in the islands small, manmade harbor only possible for one-hundred or so days a year - As you would expect, they don't get a lot of tourists! By the time we arrived at Tristan da Cunha we had just come out of two large storm systems and the swell was still to large to even think about landing. We sailed past the tiny harbor at Edinburgh of the Seven Seas and continued around the island to a nice, sunny spot below the sheer cliffs of the island's rugged coastline and we dropped anchor. Our anchorage was well sheltered from the swell that was pummelling the other side of the island and the weather was beautiful and warm and, for the first time in more than eleven days, the Europa's decks were still. Everyone on board knew very well that our chances of landing on the island were remote, but we made the best of our time at anchor just off the shore - The land was so close, yet so far
Under the Dutch Flag
I was sailing on a Dutch ship, does this mean I was in Holland? away! The first thing we did was call up the radio operator on Tristan and purchase a fishing licence. Several people on board had been wanting to fish off of the back of the boat for some time, but we had been sailing too quickly to ensure that the baited hooks would be out of reach of the albatrosses who had been our graceful companions ever since we left South Georgia - One of the biggest threats to the majestic albatross is long line fishing, because the giant birds go for the bait, get hooked and drown and nobody on board wanted to contribute to their demise. The fishing was slow at first and we had a few hook-stealing snags, but several fish were caught, including a massive eighty-eight pound sea-bass - We had enough fresh fish on board for a few excellent meals and several snacks and, yes, it was delicious! The ship's crew organised a trivia night for our first evening at anchor, which was a big source of laughter and a lot of fun - My team, the mutineers, started off strong, but, in the end, our lead was decimated by several key questions including one on
A Sunset on the Southern Ocean
The albatrosses were soaring all around us and keeping us company - They were always with us. spice identification (how I missed a food related question I will never know!) The evening progressed into a dance party on deck under a blanket of stars and the festivities went on until late at night and then all was silent - I watched the whole party from the safety of the wheel house, I was (thankfully) on anchor watch! The following day was Easter and we were greeted with even better weather than the day before. We spent Easter morning watching the yellow nosed albatrosses, which call Tristan da Cunha's sea cliffs home, soar around the boat, accompanied by the hyperactive Wilson's storm petrels. I also saw an amazing sight when a large school of flying fish shot out of the waves next to the boat in a glistening, silver arc, flew for about half the length of the Europa and dove back below the deep blue waves! We had heard early in the morning that Tristan's harbor was still closed, but the Captain decided to move the Europa to an anchorage just out of the harbor anyway, just in case a landing was possible the following morning. We were not in a hurry and the conditions were calm,
The Wandering Albatross
The albatrosses were soaring all around us and keeping us company - They were always with us. so the Captain decided to do something a little different - He asked all of the regular climbers to stay on deck and he, instead, sent everyone who wanted to go up, but had been waiting for calm conditions, up the fore and main masts. I sat on deck and watched as nearly half of the passengers put on a harness and headed up the ratlines. Everyone had big smiles on their faces as they made it past the first big obstacle and stood for the first time on the main platform. Some people decided the first platform was enough and they headed back down to the safety of the deck, but others decided to venture out onto the yards and there the crew showed them everything they needed to know - It was a great opportunity for everyone who was interested in going aloft, but a little apprehensive about going up when the boat was pitching violently in the waves, to get their chance. We set the sails and moved around the island and dropped anchor in sight of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. While we were fishing the previous day we had made contact with a small sailboat
Tristan da Cunha
Land-Ho. It took us eleven days to sail from South Georgia to Tristan da Cunha and it was a wild ride. that was approaching Tristan, having sailed from Salvador, Brazil. We spotted the lone mast on the horizon and we watched as the small yacht approached - It was the first boat of any kind that we had spotted since we were at South Georgia. The small sailboat dropped anchor near us just as darkness set in - By morning the boat had vanished without a trace! Later we learned that they had lost their anchor in the deep water and had to head back out to sea! The two people on board the small boat were nearly out of supplies and water and they still had a long way to go to get to Cape Town, so they had to go ashore at Tristan to get supplies. We agreed to let them tie up to the Europa for the Evening, so we sent the heavy mooring lines out to them in the zodiac. In celebration of Easter and the First Mate's fiftieth birthday we decided to have a big barbecue on deck and we invited our new neighbors on board for the festivities. The grills were out and the fires stoked and the delicious smells of cooking food filled the
Yellow Nosed Albatross (1)
These guys were nesting in the cliffs of Tristan and supplied us with endless entertainment on Easter. air - It was a great way to end one of the strangest Easters I have ever had! I awoke to three bells early the following morning and I headed up to the deckhouse to find out if we were going ashore or sailing for Cape Town. Everyone gathered and anxiously awaited the news. A few minutes later we were all excitedly eating a quick breakfast and getting our gear ready - We were going ashore! A few hours later I was in the zodiac speeding towards the narrow mouth of the artificial harbor. We motored between two jetties of interlocking concrete barriers and around a corner into the small, shallow harbor. We were greeted by the friendly harbormaster, who explained the workings of the harbor and told us some stories of recent shipwrecks in the area - The South Atlantic still claims its share of ships! Our expedition leader explained to us where we could and couldn't go and asked us to be respectful of everyone's privacy. He handed us a hand drawn map of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, complete with a giant, black cow, and we set off to explore. I headed up the steep ramp that
Yellow Nosed Albatross (2)
These guys were nesting in the cliffs of Tristan and supplied us with endless entertainment on Easter. led away from the harbor and into town, walking past the 'Most Remote Island' sign and the island's only restaurant, and I headed out into the green fields towards the lava flows from the volcano's last eruption. It was an overcast day and it looked like rain was a certainty, but it held off, and by the time I had explored the lava fields and headed back to town, it was starting to clear. The first thing I noticed about the island was the beautiful contrast between the black, lava-rock walls and the green, grassy fields the walls delineated. I also noticed that all of the dogs seemed to be clones of each other and they were all beautiful and quite playful. As I walked through town I couldn't help but get into conversation after conversation with the super friendly locals and I learned a lot about the island from them. I read somewhere that early in Tristan da Cunha's history the settlement was known for its masterful stone construction and as I walked through town I could see several fine examples of precision cut, lava-rock walls adorning many of the homes. Each home also seemed to have grand gardens
Wilson's Storm Petrel
These hyperactive birds were our constant companions during our voyage. of both fruits and vegetables and beautiful flowering plants - The islanders has to grow their own fresh produce if they want it, because the nearest well-stocked supermarkets are in Cape Town. I walked through town, visited the museum and a craft shop and then I headed out of town again, this time in the direction of the potato patches. Edinburgh of the Seven Seas sits on a broad coastal plain of rolling green hills and pastureland. The green pastures end abruptly at the sheer cliffs that head down to the ocean and they gradually slope up to the huge, nearly vertical ramparts of the volcano that rise high into the mist on the inland side. On top of the island, which was concealed in mist during my visit, the slope levels off some and provides additional grazing land for the island's sheep, but it is apparently a difficult place to reach. The walk to the potato patches passed through four kilometers of the most stunningly green, coastal pastureland I have ever seen and, instead of making it to my destination at the potato patches, I got drawn into one of the fields instead! I sat there relaxing amongst the
The Ramparts of the Volcano
The view of the rugged coast of Tristan da Cunha as we sailed towards Edenburgh of the Seven Seas on Easter. cows in the soft green grass, leaning against a well placed rock and staring off across the South Atlantic, but after about an hour I reluctantly headed back into town and down to the harbor - My time on Tristan da Cunha had come to an end! While I waited for my ride at the harbor, I sat watching the fishermen bring in dinner and I noticed something both humorous and somewhat inconceivable at the same time - The fishermen were using none other than cut up South Atlantic rock lobster tail as bait to catch fish! As we headed out of the tiny harbor into the South Atlantic, I wondered if I would be able to cope with the isolation that, for Tristan's residents, is a daily reality on the island - I will always treasure my time on this ruggedly beautiful, emerald isle in the South Atlantic, but I don't think Tristan life is for me! Back on board the Europa, I immediately went aloft and set to work getting all of the sails unfurled and ready. Once everyone was back on board we heaved up the anchor and set sail for Cape Town, leaving Tristan da Cunha
Edenburgh of the Seven Seas
This is the only settlement on Tristan da Cunha. About two hundred and fifty people live here. behind us, but we had a few reminders of Tristan's waters still to come - The galley's stores had been fortified by enough Tristan da Cunha lobster tail for a nice meal and one large octopus, the latter of which was a gift from one of the fishermen on the dock! Fifteen hundred nautical miles of open ocean separated us from our next landfall on the African continent. The conditions were ideal for sailing and the distance fell away quickly, covering nearly two-hundred nautical miles per day on our best days, and approaching speeds of up to eleven knots at times, which is fast for a ship like the Europa. The good conditions also meant that we rarely had to make sail changes, which was not so good for me, because I loved going aloft more than anything else on the ship, but it did allow us a lot of free time to get caught up on things like ship maintenance - The voyage to the Cape of Good Hope was spent sanding and re-finishing all of the woodwork on the ship, mainly the masts and the yards for the sky sails and the stunting sails, both of which would
Edenburgh of the Seven Seas (2)
This is the only settlement on Tristan da Cunha. About two hundred and fifty people live here. be needed for the voyage home to Holland. We also had some unexpected repairs to make to my favorite place on the Europa, the fore royal yard. The yard had broken with a loud 'crack' during a tacking maneuver, due to having too much force exerted on the brace - It was an unfortunate and easily avoidable accident, but I suppose things like that are just a fact of life for a sail training vessel! As I already mentioned, there was not a lot of sail work going on during the voyage to Cape Town, but, from time to time, usually at night, wind conditions required us to take away the royal or t'gallant sails. It was on one of these night journeys aloft that I got one of the wildest rides of the voyage - The wind had picked up and I was being sent up to furl the main royal sail, all the way at the top of the main mast. I was so eager to go climbing that I had put on a harness and made it all the way up to the second platform before they got the mast lights turned on. To access the royal
Tristan's Tiny Harbor
If you have made it into this tiny, surf-pounded harbor then you have done well, because it is only open for about 100 days of the year. yard you have to climb up from the mast's second platform on a heavily exposed wire ladder that is about a foot wide and very wobbly. On that evening the ship was pitching wildly, which was heavily amplified at the top of the mast, and it took me nearly five minutes, and all of my strength, to climb to the top of the ladder without loosing my grip and even longer to furl the sail, because I had to hold on with one hand at all times (normally you just lean over the yard and use both hands to furl, but it was too rough!) I managed to get the sail furled and climb back down to the deck without incident, but what an adventure it was! Part of what made the long, blue water legs of my voyage on the Europa so enjoyable for me, in addition to the sailing of course, was the anticipation of seeing something new and amazing every time I looked out across the sea. Like any good treasure hunt, it was not the actual seeing of the amazing sights that appealed to me the most, as wonderful as they were, but the actual search
The Giant Black Cow
The small, hand-drawn map our trip leader gave us showed a giant black cow that was as large as the Europa, and we found it (Sadly, it was not to scale!) for them. The virtually unexplored depths of the world's oceans contain a vast wealth of unknown or poorly known treasures and it was impossible to know what would be the next thing to pop up above the waves - It could have been anything from the 'usual' dolphins to a massive, ship-crushing cuttlefish or even a mermaid! By far, the pods of dolphins were our most common visitors, but they didn't visit enough for us to become bored with them and from time to time their visits were extraordinary (the comet dolphins). Thanks to our uncontrolled slaughter of the ocean's great whales in the not-so-distant past, spotting the giant leviathans of yore was a rare occurrence and, outside of the Antarctic, we only saw a few of them, but seeing a spout on the horizon was always an exciting experience! One of our most unexpected visitors came only a few days out of Cape Town. We were all on deck doing a jibe manoeuvre when someone saw a large black "dolphin" jump out of the water next to us. A moment later the 'dolphin' was confirmed to be a large pod of long-finned pilot whales and, according to our animal
Lava-Rock Walls
I loved the contrast of the black stone walls and the green grass of the fields - Tristan da Cunha was a beautiful place. experts on board, they were exhibiting some very strange behavior - The black, blunt-nosed whales were surfing on the massive waves around us, occasionally rocketing out of the water and doing graceful flips and spins in the air! The pilot whales stayed with us for well over an hour and then they disappeared below the waves. The final days of the voyage brought and end to the many competitions that had been going on board. The belated Easter Egg competition and the beard growing competition (I didn't grow a beard this time) came to humorous ends and the photo contest, which I did well in, allowed us all to share our very best photos from our journey with each other. One evening, just past midnight, we were shaken out of bed by a series of long, thunderous blasts from the ship's horn. We all stumbled our way on to the deck in our pyjamas and congregated next to the wheelhouse for a toast. We had crossed the Prime Meridian, the arbitrary line that stretches from pole to pole marking the Earth's zero longitude, the dividing line between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres and a geographical 'line' second only to the
Lava-Rock Walls (2)
I loved the contrast of the black stone walls and the green grass of the fields - Tristan da Cunha was a beautiful place. Equator in importance - It was a big moment for the geographically minded people on board! Early on the morning of our final full day on the Europa we spotted the Cape of Good Hope and, for the first time on the voyage, I was not happy to see new land, because it brought with it the end of one of the grandest adventures of my life! Africa's rugged coastline stretched out before us in all its glory. Its jagged, brown peaks were shrouded in a strange mist that both concealed and accented them and the big African sky was glowing a deep, cerulean blue - It was a beautiful day! We were no longer in the 'remote' South Atlantic. We were sailing through waters that had played a huge part in the shaping of human history. Before the opening of the Suez Canal, every ship that has ever sailed from the East Coast of the Americas or Europe, with few exceptions, had to sail around the Cape of Good Hope to get to the bountiful trading grounds of the Far East. Countless ships from the powerful British and Dutch East India Companies or from wealthy private merchants rounded the
Where's the Rooster?
The windvane on the church, fittingly, took the form of a whale! cape in search of prosperity and some of the worlds most ruthless pirates and buccaneers followed them, wanting to take their wealth from them. Many of these ships were devoured by the potentially turbulent waters around the cape and many nautical legends have sprung up from the cape's mysterious depths. One of these legends, famous around the world, is that of the Flying Dutchman, which was an old sailing ship, much like the Europa, that is doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The Flying Dutchman normally appears at a distance and in heavy weather as a mysterious ship with a ghostly glow and is looked upon as a bad omen - It is the original phantom ship. We were sailing on a Dutch ship, but, luckily, we didn't have the misfortune of spotting the Flying Dutchman during our voyage. The immense, flat-topped bulk of Table Mountain appeared in front of us and then clusters of large buildings grew up from the brown shoreline. Seals and flocks of gannets were basking in the warm morning sun and calm waters. A lone whale surfaced in the distance, took in a few deep breaths and disappeared for good beneath the blue-green waves,
In the Garden
All of Tristan's resedents have nice gardens and several of the paths passed through lovely green spaces like this. one last farewell from King Neptune. The coastal buildings became more plentiful and then, as if a light switch had been flipped, a swarm of small boats filled with happy, waving people descended on us and the peaceful sky was filled with the noisy clatter of a few sight-seeing helicopters - The peaceful solitude of the open ocean was gone! As the Europa sailed into the harbor, I took in the whole, busy scene from my perch on the main royal yard. The ship's horn emitted one last, eardrum-splitting blast, which was particularly loud where I was on the yard, and then we pulled up to our slip at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront Mall, just in front of two modern, and aptly named, polar research vessels, the Norwegian 'Dr. Fridtjof Nansen' and the British 'Endurance II'. Our amazing voyage of discovery was over! We had safely sailed from Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope, crossing some of the world's most notoriously dangerous oceans and stopping at some of the world's most remote and amazing lands. The bark Europa had been my home for nearly two months and I am certain the grand old ship will be my
On the Road to the Potatoe Patches
It was a four kilometer hike along this road to get to the potatoe patches. I almost made it, but I found a place I couldn't leave along the way. home again in the future, but, for now, I am homeless again! With a few careful steps up a very steep gangplank and a big step down, I planted my feet on a new continent. It is now time to explore Africa!
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Ken
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WOW
Great pictures and blog. The wave pictures are unreal and several others especially the whale one. The storm must have been a rush and a bit scary. Sounds like you could be a sailing pro now. Hope to talk soon. Love, Ken