You will pick up a recurring theme – that every piece of equipment I take must be super reliable and every system must have redundancy built in. All my electronic equipment: Plotter, VHF radio, AIS, Autohelm, lighting and most importantly the watermaker all depend on a reliable power source. With this in mind it was […]
On Osiyeza I need lightweight and reliable systems. Lightweight means better boat speed which means less time at sea and as there is only me on board to fix anything reliability is super important. The first topic are the solar panels as they are the reason I can have electronic gear, and most importantly the […]
Ocean X is Richard Kohler’s odyssey and later this year he will set off from Cape Town in an eight-metre paddling torpedo across the Southern Atlantic Ocean to Salvador in Brazil, entirely unsupported whilst raising funds for his charity, Operation Smile. The remarkable aspect of this journey into the unknown is the vessel that will […]
Months after it was declared illegal to enter the ocean I got my first taste of freedom having being locked down due to Covid-19. How I have missed the ocean and training for my upcoming adventure. It was spectacular to have a welcoming party. I wonder if the dolphins missed me as much as I […]
Paddle Day 70 Sodwana to Ponta du Ouro, Mozambique 85km (6hrs 30min) I woke up at 04h00 this morning to hear the trees moving. That’s a good thing if the wind was in the right direction. It was the last morning to go through the daily routine of who get to use the bathroom first. […]
Paddle Day 66 Nhlabane to Mapelane 36km (4hrs 20min) Driving to the beach this morning I checked up on the weather forecast and was a little shocked to see it had changed a lot. It had changed to headwinds from early morning! Not what I wanted to see. Anyway the surf and shore break was […]
Paddle Day 59 (59-65) Umzumbe to Scottburgh to Winklespruit 69km (5hrs 10min) The day started off with an easy launch and very little wind. Hugging the shore line us much as possible and keeping away from the breakers on the points. The wind only started to build just before the two hour mark. It increased […]
Paddle Day 62 Umhlanga to Zinkwazi with a 10min break at Tinley Manor 62km (6hrs 20min) After a few days staying with the Harker’s and loving their aircon’s much to the displeasure of my man Warren, I decided for a late start in the hope the the forecast was going to deliver said SW 15kt […]
Paddle Day 51 (51-58) Kob Inn to Mbashee 37km (3hrs 28min) Last night we were fortunate to be looked after by the Kob Inn. We even had our own rooms. Many thanks to everyone for making us so welcome. The food and views are perfect. All too soon we had to get up and to […]
Paddle Day 46 Port Alfred to Hamburg 68km (6hrs 10min) We had a two day weather break in Port Alfred (PA) due to strong easterly winds and were lucky enough to be looked after by Rick and Jo-Anne Bretts. Yay, no more getting wet in our tents and it rained for most of the time […]