Predictwind & The Stormy Weather of Cape of Good Hope/Cape Aghullas!

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This was Rebecca’s most feared Sail to date…the stormy weather going around Cape of Good Hope and Cape Aghullas! And she was right…we experienced every kind of weather on this passage including a huge electrical storm where we still wonder why we were not struck by lightning! Luckily Predictwind gave us great forecasts through the Idirium GO, right on the Raymarine Chartplotter so we knew what weather was coming before it came! Patrick is t one to use an IPad, but having the wind and currents right on the Raymarine Axiom Pro chartplotter…well he couldn’t avoid looking at the weather forecasts when I downloaded them!
One thing we forgot to mention on the video, is that a Predictwind Offshore DID warn us of a stormy night ahead with its CAPE forecast. There was about a 4 hour period on the Cape forecast on Predictwind that there was a pretty big chance for squalls. Oops…forgot to tell the captain…I was psychologically prepped for bad weather, but he wasn’t. But the smart captain that he is…obviously he saw the dark clouds ahead, turned on the radar, and could see it coming, and got down sails ahead of Time! A perfect example of the bad communication at sea that we have sometimes. It’s not just on land girls…and it’s not always the captain!  The wind and waves were not so bad, but those lightning strikes were pretty darn impressive!
I am glad to have the Cape of Storms behind us, and all beautiful fair weather sailing up ahead…Ha-Ha who am I fooling!
We also forgot to mention we have an “ion dissipator” at the highest point on our mast. Can that be why we did not get struck by lightning? No idea…Probably not.

 






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Using Our Electronics -From Predictwind to our Raymarine Chartplotter to our Monitor Wind Vane to Sail the Wild Coast of South Africa!

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We used PredictWind Offshore for planning the trip when we had internet, and then during the trip using our Iridium GO! to get updates to know when it was time to seek shelter. This was probably our biggest tool for weather Routing using the ocean current models , as well as four wind and wave forecasts from Predictwind to make sure we got it right.

 

We would not sail any ocean now without the Iridium GO and the Professional version of Predictwind Offshore. I would simply refuse to leave the dock without it!

Latest Video

Here is the latest video with us sailing from Richards Bay, underway through lots of wind and speedy currents on the way to Cape Town. It’s part one of a 2 part series, as we need to seek refuge from an upcoming storm, in East London for a few days.  
http://whereisbrickhouse.com/2019/04/05/sailing-the-african-coast-dodging-storms-zanzibar-and-southward/   http://whereisbrickhouse.com/2019/04/09/communication-evolution/              

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