'Gooday Gooday' this blog comes from Simons Town which is of course the reason for the switch from 'Good Morning' for we have sailed round the Cape of Good Hope and have entered the Indian Ocean with Australia in our sites.

As with most things in life the divide between the Atlantic and Indian Ocean seems to have a number of claims on it. Speaking to locals in Simons Town it soon becomes apparent that those who live by Cape Agulhas feel the great divide lies in their patch. The reality of course is that nature doesn't conform to man's need for clearly defined borders that allow either ownership or the illusory comfort that definition gives some kind of control over that which is beyond us. The divide moves up and down the coast as one ocean takes precedence over the other and the cycles of seasons play their part.

For those of us on Spirit of Mystery yesterday the divide was without doubt Cape of Good Hope for one could sense that we were trespassing in an area of great confluence. As we sailed across what at times felt a disturbed and fretful surface the colour of the sea seemed to keep changing as did its smell. This great ocean goulash was obviously a tasty and nutritious meal for it was teeming with life both above and below the surface. Seals were in abundance as they frolicked about the ocean, popping up for a quick glance at the passing of Spirit of Mystery before getting back to what seals do best. Above them birds were circling as they waited for a free side order from whatever the seals were feeding on. That is between the seals dozing on their backs with flippers drying in the air or leaping out with a summersault for the hell of it. We saw albatross, sharks and dolphins to name but few others who were feeding off the rich menu that nature has served up for the taking. And take we do as trawler after trawler passed us on the way back to a huge great canning factory in Houts Bay where we stopped for the night on the way round from Cape Town.

The Headland that has Cape of Good Hope on it is a headland to remember but the actual Cape of Good Hope is a rather disappointing offshoot that lies just to the west of the lighthouse. In keeping with its reputation the wind rose as we closed the lighthouse and we were forced to drop the jib and consider a reef in the working lug. Once we had turned north into the bay and the sea had eased we put the jib back up and settled into a pleasant beat to Simons Town. The coast is dramatic and Simons Town itself is a delightful spot with the lovely False Bay yacht club and marina that lies under the great walls of the Naval Dockyard.

As with Cape Town we could not have been made any more welcome and I just don't know where to start when it comes to giving you a sense of our time and the great people that we have met both here and in Cape Town. I think the best thing to do is to drip feed it over the next leg which at the moment looks like starting on Tuesday. This is due to a small weather window and a job list that thanks to a lot of effort last week is pretty small but at the same time important. The main thing is that coming round yesterday we found a few more deck seams that have opened up in the harsh South African sun and a dry wind coming off the continent. The foredeck really suffered and so we spent a couple of busy days digging out all the caulking and making good in Cape Town. One of our mainstays has been Paul Moody who flew out from Falmouth to help out and help out he has so it was great to have him join us for the sail round Cape of Good Hope.

Other than the deck and a few other odd jobs we are ready to go in that Andy has the boat fully stored apart from water and fresh fruit which we will do on Monday. Logistics have been made so much easier thanks to the generosity of Bernhard Diebold who loaned us his van in Cape Town. In fact he even took the time to drop it off in Simons Town where he was on the pontoon to meet us with a friendly smile and the keys. He is a man of many adventures of his own and we spent a lovely evening at his home where we met some real characters from the world of sailing and mountaineering. Indeed, we had the good fortune to meet Roy who has visited the remote Island of St Paul which lays half way between Cape Town and Australia.

The original crew on Mystery might not have stopped there but to sail past without a look on our voyage would seem to be the waste of a once in a life time opportunity. It is two miles across and is the remains of a volcano that has been breached to make a perfect anchorage. It has a rare albatross colony, a penguin colony and is a haven for seals so his local knowledge is priceless and we are all very excited. It will make a fantastic break in what I sure will at times be a long and testing voyage.

Whilst I might not be looking forward to leaving, thanks to having had such a good time here, I am certainly looking forward to going for we have so much ahead of us and new horizons are calling. It's time to go and put some more miles under the good ship Spirit of Mystery and carry on paying our respects to the original voyage and those giants that preceded us all those years ago.

Cheers Pete

Made it after a fantastic sail round the Cape. We could not have been made any more welcome and are about to have a meal and good nights sleep. This is Eliot on the veranda with the marina in the background. I was going to do a big blog at sea but felt pretty ill - never takes long to lose the sea legs.

Cheers Pete

We are beating into Simons Town after an exciting passage round the Cape of Good Hope. It's so good to be at sea again after such a frantic time partying and working on the boat in Cape Town. Hope to be alongside by darkness and will do a proper blog tommorow.

Cheers Pete

Hi All - Happy New Year; I am sure 2009 will be a good one for us all and I can tell you that it has been outstanding so far. I will do a proper blog once I get a bit of time but for starters we are now working hard on Spirit of Mystery to get her ready for the next leg. Tracey, Gina and the kids flew back to the UK on Friday evening after a wonderful time together and since then our focus has been Australia.

At the moment it looks like we will be leaving Cape Town for Simons Town on Thursday for we should have a North Westerly to carry us down the coast. This should make a nice shake down for the boat and of course give us a chance to work on our sea legs. Simons Town will be a short stop or really a staging post for a weather window to head off into the big blue yonder and Melbourne.

Cape Town could not have been better and I will write it up later - possibly tonight - but I have to say that the ocean is starting to call and the urge to get out there is building by the day. Cheers Pete