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Mossel Bay to Knysna, South Africa
3 August 2011. We left Knysna at 7:30am and headed for Mossel Bay by road, towing Ocean Explorer (7.3m Gemini RIB) on her trailer as well as Catemba (a 4.3m Infanta RIB) behind a second vehicle. Arriving at Mossel bay Yacht Club, we promptly launched both boats and were heading off towards Knysna by 9:00am. Knysna is located 52nm to the East of Mossel Bay, along South Africa’s Southern Cape coast. The weather forecast for the trip was great with a 2.5m westerly swell and 15 knots of breeze from the north forecast.
As we headed out we ran into a pod of about 50 Common Dolphins. They were not phased at all by the boats and seemed to enjoy swimming below the bows. We then continued on to Seal Island which plays home to thousands of Cape Fur Seals. It was fascinating watching them playing in the waves, especially the little babies.
Shortly after leaving Seal Island, we came across a rare sighting: two Great White Sharks feeding on the carcass of a dead fish. They seemed very docile and, lie the dolphins earlier, were concerned by the boats at all – frequently swimming under the boat just below the surface.
About ten minutes after tearing ourselves away from the sharks, we came across as group of Southern Wright Wales, basking in the warm sun. We continued to see whales throughout the day, all the way to Knysna. At one stage we came across a baby whale with its parents. While mum and dad kept a close eye on junior, the little one came very close to the boat a couple of times and seemed inquisitive. As always, it is fantastic seeing the Southern Wrights back for the season.
Our cruise continued well with fantastic sea conditions and a warm Northly breeze. After stopping to eat our lunch off Victoria Bay we continued close inshore passing Kaaimans River, Wilderness and Sedgefield. Arriving off the Knysna Heads at around 13:45, we stopped briefly to take a look at the state of the bar via the webcam (iPhones are wonderful aids), before proceeding into the lagoon and up to the Knysna Yacht Club.
All in all it was a totally successful trip thanks to great boats, wonderful weather and of course, fantastic crews.
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Cheers
Mike
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Vigilance
