Rounding the Cape
By: Richard Holmes
Posted Thu, 03 Feb 2005
There are two great Capes in the world; rocky promontories feared by seafarers where earth and sea clash in a violent battle of sea and spray. Cape Horn at the bottom of Patagonia marks the passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, while our very own Cape of Good Hope occupies the very south-west tip of South Africa. So revered are these peninsulas that it is said that for each Cape a naval sailor has 'rounded' they have earned the right to put one elbow on the table in the mess hall.
Of the two, the Cape of Good Hope, or Cape Point as it is more commonly known, is by far the most accessible, with thousands of tourists visiting the national park each year to marvel at the rugged coastline and pristine fynbos.
While climbing the few hundred steps to the Cape Point lighthouse certainly does provide fantastic views out across the Atlantic and along the spine of Table Mountain, there is only one way to really understand what made Bartolomeu Dias refer to this headland, as he battled around it in 1488, as Cabo tormentoso — the Cape of Storms — and that is by sea.
Thankfully, rounding one of the world’s great capes by sea is far easier than you might imagine. No lengthy sea voyages or sheeting in the foresail in an Atlantic gale… all an adventurous visitor to Cape Town (or local for that matter) needs to do is nip down to the historic seaside village of Simon’s Town and hop on board the Southern Right; a powerful motor cruiser owned and operated by the affable Dave Hurwitz.
Dave runs cruises to Cape Point pretty much every day of the week as long as the ferocious south-easterly wind, affectionately known as the ‘Cape Doctor’, doesn’t arrive to churn False Bay into a seething mass of white horses.
Drier than Dias
Humming along at 24 knots (about 50 km/h), Southern Right covers the 14 nautical miles (about 28 kilometres) to the point in just under half an hour, making for an exhilarating ride across the bay. Dave’s informative commentary along the way brings this historic coastline to life: from the state-of-the-art Navy frigates berthed in the harbour to the history of the precarious Roman Rock lighthouse, there’s more to the cruise than simply zipping through the waves at high-speed.
Although the sea breeze can be chilly (make sure you take a jacket), Southern Right is surprisingly dry for a boat travelling at speed, so by the time you arrive at the Cape you’re sure to be a lot warmer and more comfortable than Dias and his motley crew!
While Dias evidently didn’t think much of the Cape as he fought his way round, on the day we sailed (well, motored) around the point we were evidently enjoying the same calm waters that the legendary circumnavigator Sir Francis Drake encountered on his voyage along this coastline in 1580. After many months at sea the sight of the Cape of Good Hope led him to describe it as "the most stately thing and the fairest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the world."
Even that glowing description could be described as understatement: no photograph can prepare you for the sight of this majestic Cape rising from the depths, swathed in morning mist and sea spray.
After vainly attempting to capture the imposing peninsula on film we motored slowly back into the bay and along the sea cliffs of Buffels Bay, a small pod of Dusky dolphins playfully following in our wake. While visitors to the park above would never realise it, the cliffs are filled with sea caves, like something from a Secret Seven novel, carved out by years of ocean action. Make sure you ask Dave, a veritable mine of information, about the intriguing story behind Antonie’s Gat…
With white-breasted cormorants sunning themselves on the rocks above we turned towards home. As the sea mist slowly evaporated in the morning sun it struck me that no visit to the Cape could possibly be called complete without taking in a sea view of this astounding peninsula. And besides, what better reason could you want for being allowed to rest one elbow on the dinner table!
- For more info...
- The 2½-hour Cape Point trip costs R250 for adults and R125 for children under the age of 16. For further information and to book, contact Dave Hurwitz on 083 257 7760 or dhurwitz@iafrica.com.