Knysna - Boatyards
The Knysna Yacht Company (http://knysnayachtco.com) builds large catamarans here, so it may be possible for cruisers to work with them re. repairs/spares, or with relatively near-by Cape Town vendors (overnight courier service at reasonable rates) to manage any special orders or needs.
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Related to following destinations: Knysna, South Africa
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The best place to visit in South Africa! If you follow the track on all maps the entry when the sea is calm is very easy with not less than 5mt depth. Even in the yacht club you still have 3mt at low tide.
The yacht club offer the best welcome we had and not to mention that they give you 5 free days on the dock with facility. The place is very nice with lot of activity and the commodore will help you for everything.
Beautiful harbour, majestic entrance. See https://www.knysnayachtclub.com/home/safety/5-entering-the-knysna-heads before attempting to enter. Noonsite here says 2m swells max, the yacht club page says max 3m swells.
We entered on a mid-rising tide with 2 to 3m swells from the south, keeping the alignment over the outer bar( close to the rocks on the west side over outer bar ) and then move to the east near the submerged rock on maps for inner bar,and had no problem and didn’t see any breaking waves on or near the entrance alignment. Of course, the skipper should wait at the entrance and watch conditions for 10-15 minutes before entering if large swell to make sure there are no breakers on larger wave sets or compounding waves.
Once the inside route is obvious. Nice anchorage and facilities, great town!
Knysna is a must stop for cruisers visiting the east coast of South Africa. It provides a safe and beautiful anchorage with a quaint town and excellent repair facilities. We spent 7 months there and thoroughly enjoyed our time making great friends and had a lot of work done to Evenflow.
The infamous Knysna Heads do require respect, but entry is not a problem as long as you watch conditions – 2m or less swell, preferably easterly winds and at tide change. Best done in daylight for sure. See https://www.knysnayachtclub.com/home/safety/5-entering-the-knysna-heads. Note the NSRI will not have anyone come out to guide you in – purely for accountability issues, but they can be contacted to check conditions. Real-time conditions can be viewed at http://www.theheads.co.za
Once inside the heads the lagoon has buoys marking the channel to the anchorage and marina. The anchorage has a nice sandy bottom and anchoring is free. The marina has walk-on slips and rates are reasonable. Contact Herbie at [email protected] to arrange a slip.
Knysna has a beautiful town with all services. The marina has haul-out facilities and comprehensive supporting industry. The yacht club is friendly and social. Highly recommended.
We went on a fantastic Township tour and visited an innovative art and education HIV project run by the community for children. It is well worth a visit to see another side of life in South Africa. It is a short drive from Kynsna, we paid R150 each (Dec 17), they can arrange transport from the Yacht Club at an extra cost. Email [email protected] or contact Beaty 078 382 7548 or Liz 082 340 8308. http://www.madaboutart.org
Knysna harbour is in our opinion the best on the South African coast and we spent several months here between December 2013 and March 2014. The entrance is not difficult with care and the NSRI on VHF16 can give advice and may be able to send a RIB out to guide you in. One tip on approaching with a swell running is keeping speed to a maximum and course straight. Once inside the calm lagoon you can anchor or contact Herbie Kostens Knysna Quays 044 3820955 (Office)044 3820741 (Office Fax)0824941607 (Cell) or email [email protected]. He may be able to help.
The town is all within walking distance and there are many good restaurants – our favourites were Cruise Cafe and a few minutes from the marina and Freshline near the refuse transfer station for the best fresh fish around. Also Marios very good but gets very busy. (See our Trip Advisor reviews under “Oceanwander”) Excellent engineering services are available at Tangent Engineering in the industrial area. Outboard services are available at Tait Marine (Mariner/Mercury – expensive) and Volvo. All major supermarket chains are well represented. Europcar has a hire car office just across the road by the station. Spectra Watermakers have an agent Peter Bakker 072 683 0797 who is very helpful