Location: Richard’s Bay
Watch team 3 (Destiny (me), Zeke, Vera, Hannah, Rai-Ching) was on the 4-8 am watch. After watching the sun rise, we began preparing for land/to dock. We dropped two sails and stationed the fenders. All the staff woke up to help our watch team. As land approached, it was so surreal. The scenery surrounding Richards Bay was so different than what weve seen before. We were surrounded by dark, tall trees that resembled Christmas trees. We noticed a tent or two set up in between trees, looking like a campsite. Long jetties branched out from the beach, one with what seemed like a lighthouse at the end. There was a beach where waves crashed, and along the coast, houses were scattered throughout. It was the perfect time of day when the sun had risen, but it wasnt overly hot, and there was a silence amongst our crew. We often talk about smelling the air when land approaches. I never really understood until we arrived at Richards Bay. Im not sure how to describe the smell, but it was there, and I can officially say, I had smelt the land. As I admired the scenery around me, I finally had a moment to realize what we had done. This whole time, when speaking to friends/family at home, talking about it on the boat, or even posting about it on social media, it has always been were sailing across the Indian Ocean now, it changes to we sailED across the Indian Ocean. Its weird because you talk about doing something for so long, and then when it happens, you almost dont know how to feel.
I took a moment on the bow by myself to take it all in: the peace, the smell. I definitely felt a sense of accomplishment. After docking, watch team 3 had the opportunity to sleep for two more hours, which, surprisingly, I did not take because I felt so energized. Regaining phone service, Vera, Zeke, and I found a corner of shade and texted our families. As skipper of the day, I woke everyone up to Waka Waka (This Time of Africa) by Shakira. It seemed fitting. We then went right into BA, boat appreciation. From 9:30-5 pm, we put all of our love into Vela, aka we scrubbed every floor, ceiling, wall, and deck.
Anything that could be cleaned or organized was. I even scrubbed the corners of the floors with a toothbrush. Deliriousness definitely started to set in towards the end. Even those of us who hadnt been awake since 3:30 am were awake from 11:30 to 4 am. Halfway through BA, Henry cooked an amazing lunch. Burger bowls with a side of cucumber salad, sausages, chicken, an assortment of veggies, fries, etc. In other words, it was not burger bowls, but just a random mix of whatever was left in the fridge before Emma goes on her next provisioning trip. While we ate lunch, Mac shared how there are a lot of monkeys running around the port. He suggested we do a monkey watch at night so the monkeys dont climb through the hatches into our cabins.
We had mixed feelings about this idea, but right after he finished his sentence, a monkey jumped onto the boat and started eating our lunch. We couldnt believe how the monkey wasnt intimidated by all 23 of us in the cockpit. We decided to take a safe bet and throw away all the food because we dont know what the monkey touchedpretty funny timing. After the BA, we decided to venture to find the showers onshore. Mac mentioned they were further, but oh my gosh, it was an adventure to get there. It was a 20/30-minute walk where we walked on the side of a road, crossed a bridge, passed a lake, and went through a forest, all to get to these showers. We joked, This is how our parents had to get to school back in the day. Feeling nice and clean, we had a sign out night at the restaurant a two min walk from the boat. There was a rugby game on the TV that much of the restaurant was very invested in. At this point, having been awake for nearly 20 hours, I went right to sleep as soon as we got back. Rumor has it, though, that those who stayed awake did something with throwing a football across the dock? Apparently, it was a pattern where theyd lose the ball in the water and then have to find some way to get it back without going in the water themselves. Overall, it was a long first day in Richards Bay, but I will never forget completing this crossing WE DID IT!