South Africa’s power supply crisis, which involves daily electricity load shedding, is affecting lighthouses, boatyards and marinas, causing serious concern to the country’s recreational sailing community. Find out how it affects visiting yachts in this report..
Available at all marinas.
Fuel berths in most ports.
Gas bottles can be exchanged or re-filled.
For any major repair, Cape Town and Durban have a complete range of services, prices are reasonable. Good for sails (repair and new).
There are good chandleries in most ports, however, cruisers have commented that it is surprisingly difficult to source parts.
Hout Bay: located some 20 miles south of Cape Town, is an excellent alternative for those who prefer a smaller port with surrounding beaches, wildlife and scenery to the busy marinas of Cape Town. Almost all repair facilities can be found here as well, often at a better rate and with more attention to detail.
Another alternative to Cape Town is Simons Town, on the NW side of False Bay, some 15 miles North of the Cape of Good Hope. Tradespeople from Cape Town come to Hout Bay and Simonstown on a regular basis or will visit you on request.
Note that many companies close for the holiday period mid-December until 4 January (approx.).
South African contractors and suppliers often (normally) quote prices ex-VAT and this can catch out customers who are expecting VAT-inclusive quotations. They will usually explicitly state that VAT is not included, but buyers must be aware of this and make sure they check the basis of the quotation. On the other hand, retail outlets almost always quote prices including VAT.
The current VAT rate is 15%
In South Africa, there are yacht clubs in different ports. Some of them also run the local marina (like in Richards Bay and East London).
In Durban, the marina is separate from the yacht clubs, but all facilities are at the clubs (showers, toilets, restaurant).
In Port Elizabeth, there used to be a yacht club with a building and restaurant, but they lost their legal fight with the port authorities, so now it’s only a virtual club. They run the Sailing PE website but have no physical assets, like a clubhouse or pontoons. The marina is totally separate from the club, but has no facilities either, other than the pontoons.
Excellent choice and prices are cheap.
Below is a list of lights and aids to navigation along the South African coast, which are reportedly not working (by OSASA May 2024). Some have been out of action for an extended period of time. Please exercise caution when cruising near these landmarks (dates of reports to OSASA have been noted).
Many lights and lighthouses are not illuminated during periods of 'loadshedding' (the practice of periodically switching off the national electrical power supply on a regional rotational basis, as a result of a lack of national generation capacity.)
Durban:
Port Control VHF Channel 9
Malcolm, Durban Marina manager, phone # 0763322289
East London:
Port Control VHF Channel 16
Conrad Bennet, in charge of moorings, phone # 0633097913
Port Elizabeth:
Port Control VHF Channel 12
John, Marina Manager, phone # 0828543961
Cape Town:
Port Control VHF Channel 14
If crossing the Indian Ocean towards South Africa, be sure to join the WhatsApp group “Sail to South Africa” managed by Jenny Crickmore-Thompson of OSASA. To sign up e-mail sailingjen-ny@osasa.org.za with your boat name, crew names and WhatsApp number.
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