This past December I went on my first every sailing adventure on board Sailing Equinox and managed to do 2 round trips up the West Coast to Kraalbaai and back.
Needless to say I’ve now got a dream of owing my very own yacht one day, but until then, let this be the first of MANY good times on board this beauty!
Owned by Skipper, Yanick Berlion, Sailing Equinox is a 44ft catamaran built to sail anywhere in the world and this is exactly what he plans on doing with his long time girlfriend Liesl Klem, who also just happens to be Carlinn’s sister.
During the two trips through to Kraalbaai, I discovered just how much I love being out on the ocean.
Maybe it was the sound of the water lapping up against the hull in the evenings, or the adrenaline pumping through my veins in some of the rough seas we encountered on our first attempt at sailing back to Cape Town.
All I know is that I’m now pretty keen to go sailing all the time!
The Route Sailing Equinox sailed to Kraalbaai
The route we took to get to Kraalbaai (which is inside the Langebaan Lagoon) was via Dassen Island, a stop-over most sailers do to break the 11,5 hour sail to Langebaan and it’s not hard to see why.
This little island is said to only have one person living on it, and that is the lighthouse keeper himself, who gets supplies delivered every 6 weeks.
He has one of the most incredible views of Table Mountain from a distance and with all the ocean life on and around the island, I honestly think he has his own little paradise on the West Coast.
Dassen Island itself is home to a large penguin colony as well as pelicans, various gulls, dassies and believe it or not hundreds, if not thousands of rabbits.
The Atlantic around the island is rich with life and during our time there, we saw LOADS of whales, dolphins and seals! Here’s a little video I put together of the sea life.
Another amazing thing about this little space is the “Hull Cleaners”! These little critters (which is what I’m sure the Whales were eating) start eating away at the algae on the hull, the minute you throw anchor.
There are literally trillions of these little things, so when Sailing Equinox sailed off each of the 3 times we visited Dassen Island, we left with a clean hull!
After leaving Dassen Island, it’s about 6 hours back to Cape Town and around the same to get to Kraalbaai. Entering the Langebaan Lagoon was certainly a challenge on it’s own too as there are loads of hidden sandbanks that saw the depth under the boat go as low as 0.5 Meters at times!
All in all, the trip was amazing and I cannot wait for more adventures on Sailing Equinox!
WATCH WHALES FEEDING NEAR DASSEN ISLAND
Photos of the West Coast captured from Sailing Equinox
Be sure to check follow Sailing Equinox on Facebook and Instagram to see what they get up to, because believe me, there are some rad adventures coming up!
Oh, if there was a place I could sail to tomorrow, it would be the Seychelles! Check out this photographic post I wrote last year to see just how beautiful that country really is.
Disclaimer:
- This not a sponsored post
- No photos in this post can be used without prior consent
- Contact me HERE if you want to use / buy any of the images (No drone content is for sale or redistribution)
