Getting your boat and yourselves into South Africa is a much simpler process post COVID-19, as long as the requirements issued by SAMSA and the Department of Transport are followed, according to the latest newsletter from OSASA.

Published 1 year ago

The South African Maritime Safety Authority​ (SAMSA) stipulate that ALL small craft entering South Africa from international waters MUST register online for pre-arrival authorisation before entering the first Port of Entry which can be done through the OSASA website. This applies to South African as well as foreign boats, say OSASA directors John Franklin and Jenny Crickmore-Thompson.

OSASA has also been collating figures for the past two years, of yachts that have made landfall in South Africa, from both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans and they make for interesting reading as John and Jenny outlined in the OSASA newsletter (below).

Action required

When COVID-19 hit back in 2020, we had to take major action to allow cruisers into a country that was in total lockdown. The way the Department of Transport did this was to grant yacht crews access to land, the first country to do so during the pandemic, with the help of OSASA. Crews were subject to strict conditions and had limited movement, but they were at least able to get out of the Indian Ocean islands and into South Africa. This was a boon to them and also helped a South African economy that was hit hard by the lack of tourist activity.

2021 is the first year for which we have reliable figures. In the 12 months from January to December 2021, some 103 yachts with 223 cruisers on board (some South Africans, but predominantly foreign travellers) reached our shores. They spent an average of R300,000 per boat (that’s just shy of R31 million!), mostly on much-needed maintenance and repairs after months stuck out at sea. There was also significant spending on re-provisioning for the Atlantic passage, as well as on berthing. Tourism spending was limited.

Steady increase in foreign boats

Between January and December 2022, we hosted 162 yachts arriving from international waters, carrying a total of 479 cruisers. Once again, some of these were South African boats returning from charters and trips to Mozambique, but most were foreign visitors.

The majority of visitors were circumnavigators. Included this year were two large rallies, the World Oyster Rally (with 19 big Oyster yachts) which made landfall in Durban and the World ARC Rally (nine yachts) stopping in Richards Bay. In addition, the Golden Globe Race entrants (singlehanded, non-stop and round-the-world) anchored off Cape Town for a media stop, although they didn’t officially enter the country. Five yachts taking part in The Ocean Race entered Cape Town. We also had several yachts arrive which had sailed across from Brazil, in order to race back to South America as part of January’s Cape2Rio race.

Significant increase in spend

The average spend by these yachts was determined by means of an exit survey. Unfortunately, the survey was only completed by a few of the yachts and by none of the big rally participants – so the figures are somewhat skewed. The 2022 spend was approximately R285,000 per boat, which covered berthing, fuel, provisioning, repairs, and tourism expenditure. These figures are drawn from those who responded to the survey, and varies dramatically yacht to yacht, with a small single-handed boat spending far less than a large cruiser with five crew. Our gut-feel, however, is that the overall spend of foreign money in South Africa by visiting cruisers has been far more significant and of huge financial benefit to the country.

Yacht clubs and industry goodwill

Of immeasurable value is the fantastic publicity and goodwill that has been generated, through the yacht clubs (who make sailors feel at home) and by the local maritime industry (who have provided excellent services). The most common reaction of visiting international yachties has been overwhelmingly positive, as evidenced by excellent social media postings. This has been very beneficial to the South African cruising community, with yacht clubs upping their game so far as facilities are concerned and the Maritime Sector of Government sitting up to take notice of the needs of the maritime leisure community as a whole. Next year promises further steps forward, and we hope that there will be an added incentive from Government’s side to put much-needed investment and cash into this area.

Major issues to be addressed

Two major problems were highlighted by visitors, and will hopefully be addressed by all – that is, OSASA, the local clubs and marinas, and Government.

One was the fact that our coastal facilities are generally not up to international standards and are in need of major investment and maintenance. Our services are fantastic, but our facilities are not nearly at the same level. Together with crime and loadshedding (the latter being Complaint No. 1), our facilities are generally scored low.

The other constant complaint is about visa extensions, and the difficulty of working with VFS/Home Affairs. Many visitors need longer than the 90 days allowed if they require major repairs – or would simply like to spend more time in our beautiful country. The laborious process of extending visas is therefore a major problem. In both cases, they end up spending more money in South Africa, so solving these issues is of direct interest to the maritime and tourism sectors.

We are heading into the slow season now, so we have some time to work on the problems that have been raised before the next visitors start to arrive around October. The Oysters will be back in 2024/25, the World ARC later in 2023. The 2023/24 Clipper Race will also drop in, as will the Ocean Globe Race. And that is before we even mention all the dozens of intrepid circumnavigating yachts heading across the Indian Ocean to spend some time in sunny South Africa.

John Franklin and Jenny Crickmore-Thompson
Directors, OSASA

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Related Links:

Noonsite – South Africa Formalities

Ocean Sailing Association of South Africa

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.

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