Move Day...

This past Thursday the vast majority of the Mercy Ships crew headed off-ship to Appelsbosch, about 1 hour 30 minutes drive from the Durban Port. While the ship is in drydock there will only be a crew of around 80 technical and support staff staying onboard, and the rest of us will be based out at Appelsbosch.

When many people move somewhere, there is always bound to be a large amount of boxes - and the Mercy Ships crew is no exception! The Town Square area of the ship was full of boxes, suitcases, sporting equipment, bicycles, folding chairs, and much, much more. And soon all of these possessions were in a couple of large trucks on the dock and around 150 Mercy Shippers were headed out to Appelsbosch in a large convoy of Land Rovers.

I remained onboard for a couple of hours after the crew left, since I was headed to Cape Town later that day for a three-and-a-half week break. As I type this I am now back home in Cape Town, so expect less regular posts for the next few weeks - although if there is something vaguely Mercy Ships-related it'll be here!

The trucks on the dock.

Mercy Ships vehicles await the departure to Appelsbosch.

And off they go!

Docked in Durban...

Shortly after dawn yesterday morning the South African national flag was hoisted up the mast of the Africa Mercy, as the Mercy Ship approached Durban. Seeing my beautiful flag flying on my beautiful floating home is a really special thing for me. I am so proud to be South African and to be serving here on the Mercy Ship right here, right now.

At a little before 8am the Africa Mercy reached the pilot station for the Port of Durban, South Africa. Here the crew had the privilege of experiencing a helicopter coming and hovering over the ship to drop the pilot onboard. This was a first for the Mercy Ship (possibly any Mercy Ship) and was a really interesting procedure to witness.

We pulled into the port and steered a course through the calm waters of the harbour to the repair dock of Southern African Shipyards, where we docked at a few minutes after 10am. Believe me, dry land has never looked so good after a full seventeen days at sea!

Here are some photos from our arrival in Durban!

Our pilot approaches!

The Moses Mabhida 2010 World Cup stadium.

Can't get enough of that flag!

The Bluff in Durban.

National Sea Rescue Institute, Durban.

Navigating our way through the markers...

Because we don't want to hit that sandbar!

Large pile of scrap metal being sorted.

Approaching our dock.

Moving closer!

Mooring lines are on the dock!

Well, the view may not be the best, but after 17 days at sea we're a happy crew!

Sights of the Seas...

Here are some photos that show how blessed we are to sail the Southern African seas!

Not too clear in this shot, but just to the right of centre are many dolphins leaping into the air!

Gannets are sea-birds that dive from a great height into the waves, looking for fish.

Another gannet takes to the air as the Africa Mercy approaches.

A sunfish catching the sun just below the waves.

A whale (not sure if this is a Southern-Right or a Humpback) splashes the water with its tail. (Photo thanks to Shelly Davies)

F147 - SAS Spioenkop - one of South Africa's newest warships - passes the Africa Mercy.

Nothing beats a beautiful sunset from the bow! Our God is an awesome God!

Cape Agulhas...

Cape Agulhas is the southern-most tip of the African continent and is the official spot where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. The Africa Mercy rounded this landmark and sailed into the warmer waters of the Indian Ocean yesterday. The photo at right is of the lighthouse at Cape Agulhas, built in 1849, to guard ships from the treacherous rocks and currents in this area. I visited this stretch of the coastline last May, and many of these photos here are from this trip. It is certainly worth a visit if you have the time to drive down to the southern-most tip of Africa!

Information board at Africa's southern-most point.

Standing where the two oceans meet.

Even with the lighthouse, shipwrecks do still occur, like this one of the Meisho Maru 38, a Japanese fishing vessel which ran aground in 1982.

Local fishing boats in the waters off L'Agulhas.

The southern-most tip of the African continent.

The Africa Mercy rounds Cape Agulhas in near-perfect weather conditions.

The Fairest Cape in all the World...

It was Sir Francis Drake in 1580 who called it "The Fairest Cape in all the World", and early this morning the Africa Mercy passed the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point (photo at left), of which Drake was referring to, at a distance of some ten nautical miles. And for me, passing my hometown of Cape Town was a rather emotional experience. With tears in my eyes, I could make out the cliffs and mountains of the Western Cape. Places that I know like the back of my hand. It's a strange feeling to be sailing home on my floating home. And from many miles out sailing along a calm sea, Sir Francis Drake was spot on, because through my eyes, this land is certainly the "Fairest Cape in all the World."

Land Ho! The coast of South Africa comes into view!

The view looking towards Cape Point and Cape Hangklip - the two capes that are on either side of False Bay.

Cape Hangklip visible here.

Composite shot of the coastline of the Western Cape.

Off the coast of South Africa!

The Africa Mercy crossed the mouth of the Orange River (the natural border between Namibia and South Africa) - although far out to sea - and sailed into the waters off the coast of South Africa late yesterday morning! We are now sailing steadily down the west coast of South Africa and will pass my hometown of Cape Town early tomorrow morning. I already feel the tug of Table Mountain calling me home!

Helicopter Target...

The port in Durban employs not only a pilot boat service, but also a helicopter pilot service - dropping the pilot onboard vessels by means of helicopter. So in preparation for our arrival in Durban, the Deck department have painted a large yellow dot on the aft of Deck 8 to aid the helicopter when it drops the pilot onboard. Be sure I'll try and get as close to the action (as is safely possible) when this happens next week!