Mozambique Cyclone Idai – Sailing towards a storm In March (a little earlier than planned-still in cyclone season!)

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Mozambique Cyclone Idai – Sailing towards a storm, a little earlier than planned, during cyclone season…

Late April, May and June is the right time to sail this coast….We left mid March because of an extraordinary weather window which would carry us the first 1000 miles downwind, instead of upwind…

Was it 100% safe? NO.

Did we get more than we bargained for, or just what we signed up for? Watch the video to find out…

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What do most people do when they see a cyclone on the Predictwind forecast with their Iridium GO or other ways of getting weather at sea? They stay safely in port, right? We saw an opportunity to go south with the north winds that would be north of the cyclone in the the Southern Hemisphere near Tanzania and Mozambique. It promised, if we played it just right, to carry us at least 1000 miles south with nice north winds!

So we grabbed our last veggies and eggs for 3 weeks, and set sail to South Africa, chasing Cyclone Idai down  down the coast of Mozambique. We wanted to be close enough for the winds, but not too close!!! We later found out that this cyclone was the worst cyclone to ever hit Mozambique, killing thousands of people and demolishing even more homes. It’s a good thing we played it just right!

Even with that, we did get the remnants of it when we got a little too close…and we were socked with 50 knot winds for a bit, complete with driving rain and lots of thunder and lightening. Seas mounted fast. Luckily it was short lived.

Too bad it was too rough and most off all too dark, to film during the very worst of it, or I know Patrick would have been up filming it!

Hope you enjoy the video, give it a thumbs up, subscribe, and have a lovely Easter weekend! If you have any spare change, leave it in the TIP jar in the top right corner of the screen…thanks!

We studied the two following books/guides (click on either to see more detail), and utilized our Professional Subscription at Predictwind  to help make these very important and intricate decisions about our trip south. Des Cason, a local Weather and anchorage guru and long time cruiser in this area also provided daily updates and advice as we moved south.

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See our Track…from Year One to Now with Predictwind!

 

Mozambique In April, May and June

Mozambique Cyclone Sailing Tanzania to South Africa

Sailing the African Coast – Dodging Storms…Zanzibar and Southward

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Sailing the African Coast – Dodging Storms…Zanzibar and Southward

Sailboat Brick House Prepares for a long, stormy passage down the coast of Africa, starting in Zanzibar. This is just the very beginning of the trip, and perhaps a harbinger for things to come? We arrive in Dar Es Salaam planning to spend several weeks, maybe even a month, enjoying ourselves in Tanzania, and getting the boat ready; provisioning, and fueling up for the long 1700 mile trip ahead of us to South Africa. Then we get some weather information and everything changes quickly!

Weather Program on SV Brick House

Hello Africa! Sailing through a Southern Buster from Mayotte to Tanzania

Mozambique In April, May and June

 

 

Zanzibar Marina, Tanzania, East Africa – A month at the new marina!

Mozambique Cyclone Sailing Tanzania to South Africa

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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