Location: 29° 51.8 S, 31° 01.3 E
Wednesday 12:00, 10.18.2006

The Schooner Maggie B is safely docked at the International Pier in Durban, at the Victoria Esplanade, 29° 51.8 S 31° 01.3 E. This is the first time we have been north of 30° South since August 9th.

Arriving at Durban last night was quite intimidating.

Durban is the biggest port in South Africa, and the ninth biggest in the world. The entrance is fairly narrow and you must have clearance to enter. After motoring most all the way up from Knysna, we arrived here in a proper squall, with lightning and 40 knot winds. Once we got the sails wrestled down, Durban Harbor Control put us #4 in line for entry, behind three huge ships. I felt like Air Blair Flight #211 in the “daisy chain” for approach to Chicago O’Hare.

The Harbor itself wasn’t too complicated, with excellent mapping from the Furuno with C-Map and a clear description in the South Africa Coastal Pilot. But the “International Pier,” while very grand sounding, turned out to be a slip about 70 feet long in a incredibly cramped spot right up against the wall. It was not visible until we were a boat length away (at night in 25 knots of wind….), and we would not have found it if there had not been helpful voices from ashore encouraging us to come further in. It did cross my mind at the time that they might have a local tradition of wrecking foreign yachts for profit.

We celebrated our arrival…

At the local fish restaurant we celebrated our arrival with four different kinds of calamari: cajun, wok fried, deep fried and grilled. Plus a bottle of “Southern Right” Sauvignon Blanc which was not as good as the sight of the whales.

Durban is slightly smaller than Cape Town (2.5 million vs. 2.9 million) but right now is seems bigger and somewhat tougher. We look forward to discovering it.

All is well.