Mozambique Cyclone Sailing Tanzania to South Africa

Mozambique Cyclone Update – a short post to let you know we are alive and well on Sailboat Brick House! The Mozambique cyclone definitely did have some effect on us on our 1200 mile passage down the East African Coast, from Tanzania to South Africa this month (March), hence why this 1200 mile passage is taking so long and why there haven’t been any posts or videos!

We had made a carefully calculated plan to follow the cyclone down, according to weather at sea from preeictwind and our Iridium GO,  riding the north winds on the tail of the cyclone and have had an interesting passage down…something we NEVER would have done without exceptional weather capabilities of Predictwind. Our Bluewater sailboat who is ready for storms at sea, as well as with the help of Des Cason, a cruiser who made this trip many times and kindly works with many cruisers traveling down this coast for local knowledge tips about the weather.

We left a little earlier than planned to come down the Mozambique coast, while it was still cyclone season, and it was certainly a little anxiety producing for us both. Weather at sea had to be watched closely and we had to be willing to turn in or even turn back if anything new popped up. I didn’t miss getting a single report this entire trip, that is for sure!

We have a video which we will try to post next weekend when we reach Richards Bay South Africa about the trip down, during what is being touted as the “worst cyclone to ever hit the east coast of Africa”. We feel horrible for the many Mozambique people who have lost everything including their lives in many cases. No photos or replies to comments until we get there since I’m using an expensive “World SIM card” to make this post, but we will reply to the many comments on YouTube and on this blog once we reach South Africa and get some real internet.

Again, we are safe, a bit tired of the passage, and hope to arrive South Africa this weekend or early next week! Please don’t worry about us…the video is ready to post about the whole adventure within a few days of arriving!

Thanks everyone for their concern over the last few days!!!

Here is our weather source: Predictwind Free

Rebecca Childress

 

Predictwind and the Iridium GO!

Bluewater Sailing Tips and Tricks Videos on Patrick Childress Sailing Youtube Channel

 

Two Free Sailing Courses with no halyards attached…

Two Free Sailing Courses with no halyards attached…and even complete certification courses! 

Online sailing courses include catamaran sailing to electronic navigation, sail trim clinic, and  storm tactics…navigation rules, coastal navigation to anchoring, weather, and even celestial navigation and more!

Get two free courses from NauticEd (Click Here)
Dont go cruising without an education! You don’t know what you forgot to learn until it’s too late! I am currently enrolled in my first free course… and even after 12 years of full time cruising, there is still so much I am learning. Theses classes are great for beginners, but the experienced will still pick up juice morsels too! This is a quality school that I can recommend as one of the very best out there! 

They even offer certification courses like these packaged sailing courses below, and at a surprising low price too! They offer full certification for “Qualified Crew Rank, “Skipper Small Boat Rank”, “Bareboat Charter Master Rank” and “Skipper Rank”.

The two free courses are their way of proving just how valuable their courses are…and they are really great, comprehensive courses!
If you later sign up for additional courses which are completely optional, it helps Brick House to keep paying the expenses of blogging and YouTubing about our experiences…so thank you in advance!
Most of all though, at least enjoy these two free sailing courses!
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Sailboat vs Tugboat: We prepare for a passage to Zanzibar, East Africa

 

Who is Patrick Childress..and why a YouTube Channel?

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Marine Electronics on a bluewater sailboat… THEN… and NOW

In his latest video, Patrick explains how he navigated around the world with a sextant and a keel for a depthsounder on his Catalina 27. We then shows you what the marine electronics on Brick House started off with and now have evolved to. From Sextant….to Iridium GO! An old dog really CAN learn new tricks!

Make sure to watch this video and share with your younger sailing friends so they don’t forget how lucky they are these days!

I mean…look how easy it is now to get  weather!

Thaipusam Celebration – Very Painful, Very gruesome. True Religious Devotion for Hindus