Durban, South Africa

We were supposed to arrive in Ft Richards, South Africa this morning but weather conditions made entering the Port and docking hazardous. The Port sent the pilot out by helicopter--I guess it was too rough for a boat. He and the Viking Captain Richards decided that entering the port was "no go." So we headed to the next port, Durban, about 50 miles away. Unfortunately the same weather followed us. So no safari today and on to Port Elizabeth.

The weather situation is quite interesting. You may have heard that the Cape of Good Hope (originally known as the Cape of Storms) is well known for bad weather. The reason is that it is where the Indian Ocean meets the Pacific Ocean and more specifically where the warm Agulhas Current meets the cold Benguela current. This creates eddys that have taken down many a ship. Our situation is compounded by 15 to 30 knot winds gusting up to 50 knots.Read more