It was about 700 nautical miles to sail our catamaran from South Africa to Namibia. Sailing to Namibia in winter time is not much fun – very cold southern sea and wet, dense fog. Sometimes for 20 minutes, sometimes for hours. This area is well known as a fog belt, which is caused by the difference in the temperature between the chilly Benguela ocean current and the warm Namib desert sand.

The first night of our sailing to Namibia was clear and warm. And the Milky Way at 10 pm stood as a rainbow, running down somewhere over the horizon.

Second night – just a few hours before dawn, the milk of fog was wrapped around us, so dense, not even blown away by a strong wind.

All windows and doors on our Looping catamaran were closed to keep a little bit warmth inside, we stayed wrapped in plaids and double jackets.

We run our AIS and the radar non stop. Every 10 minutes, the radar woke up and looked around. White screen. Nobody. We knew it’s useless to go out and look around, but still did it. We saw nothing, just the soft glowing of the navigation lights in the fog. It feelt like in a horror film – sailing into nowhere.

Having AIS even didn’t prevent us from a very unpleasant encounter with 4 diamond mining ships at night. They were anchored on a mile-long cable and only one ship run his AIS. There were no lights around. Only the dark gray milk of the night fog and a fast sailing catamaran.

After few days sailing we arrived to Luderitz. A small town in the middle of Namib desert engaged in fishing and diamond industry.

We were very heartly welcomed by the port administration and met many wonderful people. And at last but not least – Tali had the opportunity to speak Russian, because the port captain was Russian from Saint Petersburg. To be honest – Luderitz was maybe the most friendly port on our way. Agathe beach, Diaz Point and for sure – Kolmanskop, the Ghost Town. In a short words – don’t miss Luderitz on your sailing to Namibia and and further on.

And don’t miss our film about Kolmanskop:

Kolmanskop – From Diamonds to Dust. Highlights of Namib desert.

The next leg of our sailing adventure was from Luderitz to Walvis Bay. And again – 2 nights of sailing in dense fog. Only a few hours before we approach the entrance of Walvis Bay the sun came out and we realized that we’re like in a zoo – dolphins, seals, whales and a lot of birds – flamingoes, albatroses, pelicans… And finally a sea lion jumped on the sugarscoops of out boat.

In Walvis Bay we rented a 4×4 expedition car to go to the Erindi Game Reserve and to Sossusvlei to see the highest dunes in the world.

We left Walvis Bay on a sandstorm when the dunes were building up just on the main road and drove through most of Namibia, exploring all the famous highlights such as game parks and the Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and Namib-Naukluft national park. Fantastic safari – cheetahs, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, elephantes, zebras. Amazing landscapes. Namibias paved and gravel roads. Beautiful sunsets and braii. Deadvlei with hundreds of dead trees. Incredible sculptures made by nature. Climbing the highest dunes in the world. Beautiful medley about red sand dunes. Light and shadows.

In this film you can see just a glimpse of this trip. A whole documentary of our 4×4 road trip through Namibia – from ocean cruisers to land cruisers:

Namib desert 4×4 road trip. Highlights of Namib desert.

Finally it was time to say Goodbye to Africa where we spent more than 2 years and sail to the next continent – to South America.

 

💙 Wave Art Photography made on our ocean passages:
UMADUM ART