Thursday September 15, Durban, almost.

The final approach to Durban was unexpectedly simple. No current to speak of, light winds though plenty of freight traffic. This is a large and busy port. Port traffic control told us to come in, but to stay out of the channel, so in we came hugging the wrong side of the channel markers with some trepidation to be met by a very large outbound freighter with tugs leaning hard against its sides to keeping it straight in the channel.

We found our slip in the marina, kindly provided by The Point Yacht Club. We were greeted by a club member with a bucket of iced German beers that slid down most satisfactorily. Said member, Ed, also acts as a guide for us to immigration and customs; all simple enough for us in the end though it has taken over 24 hours to get through it. It has been a Kafkaesque nightmare for another boat in our fleet, a husband whose wife has two children from a previous marriage in Slovakia. Recently enacted anti child trafficking laws required them to prove legal guardianship and they were looking for original notarized birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce certificates and a host of other documentation which a less scrupulous couple would have just cobbled together in PowerPoint and printed on store bought fancy bond paper and stamped with an official look stamp made locally. The English begetters of bureaucracy have a lot to answer for. Through all this Ed has been a model of patience, willing to do an unreasonable amount of running around on our behalf.

The folks in the yacht club have been super friendly and fortunately have a decent bar and cafe in addition to hot showers and the like. We have been a rather captive audience for them, but I can think of plenty of worse places to be stuck.

We have met with a tourist advisor who is putting together an itinerary for us  which should get us out for an edifying look around. The country's history over the past 200 years, and the more recent dissolution of Apartheid, looms large over most conversations we have had with white South Africans here, all of whom a quick to profess their deep attachment to this country.

So, a bit of a slow start, but very promising.