An epic crossing of the South Atlantic Ocean starting or finishing in Cape Town, including five days exploring Saint Helena Island
Get ready to build some serious sea miles aboard a beautiful Atlantic ’49 sailing between Cape Town and St Helena.
This incredible adventure is designed to teach you exactly what is needed to plan and sail a major ocean crossing. Led by an experienced skipper and first mate.
The trip is split into two legs – you can join either leg, or the full return trip.
Embark on a journey like no other with our dual-leg sailing adventure, each leg offering a unique exploration of St Helena Island and beyond.
Commencing with Leg 1 in Cape Town, your adventure kicks off with the exclusive “Prep week” at the Royal Cape Yacht Club, providing you with the essential knowledge for planning and executing a major ocean voyage.
Sail along the captivating African coastline to Lüderitz in Namibia, where the desert’s ghost town of Kolmanskop invites your curiosity. A stopover in Lüderitz allows you to explore before setting sail across the South Atlantic to the mesmerizing St Helena Island.
Enjoy five days of bed and breakfast, immersing yourself in the magic of this sub-tropical paradise. Choose to fly back to Jo’burg or seamlessly continue the adventure to Leg 2, spanning approximately five weeks.
For Leg 2, crew members fly in five days before the return journey, ensuring an extended stay on St Helena Island. Witness the arrival of the Aurora and actively participate in voyage preparations.
Interact with incoming crew members and explore the island’s wonders together. Departing from St Helena, our course takes us westward, deep into the South Atlantic, before turning south towards Tristan Da Cunha—an untamed realm of dynamic weather and colossal seas.
Brace yourself for real adventure sailing, a challenging yet secure experience backed by the skipper’s extensive expertise.
Leg 2, spanning over 1,500 nautical miles, serves as the ideal opportunity for Celestial Navigation practice and counts towards your “mileage” trip for RYA qualification. Leg 2 unfolds over approximately three thrilling weeks.
For the ultimate maritime odyssey, those joining both legs will savor a 48-day expedition covering around 4,500 nautical miles. Another World Adventures invites you to embrace this unparalleled voyage, where every moment promises a new discovery on the high seas and exotic shores.
This is a real ocean adventure.
Wavy Immelman will be your Skipper for the duration of the trip. He grew up in Cape Town and has been sailing these waters for many years. A RYA Qualified instructor, he has over 500,000 miles of professional sailing experience. He was Skipper of the prestigious Clipper Round the World Yacht Race (‘19/20 edition).
More than that, a key ethos of the crew is providing a very personal service to the six guest crew on board. Expect to be contacted in advance of your trip to ensure the sail training and experience is well adapted to your needs and expectations.
You’ll also have a First Mate on board and you’ll have your own berth (in a cabin) on board this small group adventure. It’s usually a 50:50 men/women mix and perfect for solo travellers to join.
Why you'll love this adventure
- Epic ocean sailing in the South Atlantic - massive, desolate and isolated!
- Experience everything hands-on - planning and executing a big ocean trip with loads of time for questions and discussion along the way.
- Perfect for solo travellers or friends
Dates
Itinerary
See the Additional Notes below for a summary of the itinerary and complete the Enquiry Form for full details!
What's included
- all food and drink (non-alcoholic) on board
- Safety equipment including a full safety briefing (of course)
- Your own cabin (unless otherwise stated)
Not included
- You’ll need travel insurance – this is a condition of joining – we’ll advise on the specific cover you need, but it’s essentially to ensure you’re covered if you fall ill on board
- Meals and activities ashore if we dock during the trip are not included, so you’ll want some “pocket money”
- Immigration and custom fees are not included if we travel to another country, you’ll need to ensure you’re eligible to enter that country, with the necessary documentation
Trip notes
Price
Min age
Accommodation
You sail on a beautiful Atlantic ’49. She’s comfortable and beautifully kitted out with 8 berths, so there’ll be plenty of space on board. She’s perfect for long trips. You’ll have your own berth. The yachts has cabins (not open bunks) which gives a little more privacy.
Meals
This voyage is designed for you to take an active role – that means everyone will take turns in cooking (all the menus are planned already and step by step instructions given, so you don’t need to be a masterchef!)
Who is this trip for?
All sail levels are welcome but for ocean voyages it’s advised that you’ve done some sailing already before going off shore on a big trip!
Many guest crew have or are working towards Day Skipper, or RYA Yachtmaster or similar and looking for mileage and expert guidance to improve their skills.
Perhaps you have a boat of your own and want some ‘expert’ experience.
Solo travellers are welcome. Crew’s are usually a 50:50 mix Male / Female.
If you want to learn and share an experience with others but tend to be less about “instagramming everything” and more about experiencing in real-time with the people you are with then you’ll fit in just fine!
Additional notes
LEG ONE – OUTBOUND TO ST HELENA
WEEK 1 – PREP WEEK
Your journey starts in Cape Town at the Royal Cape Yacht Club, where we spend the week fully preparing the boat for the expedition ahead. Over the week you will get to know your fellow crew and the vessel from end to end. We have a detailed checklist, deciding on a Menu plan, shopping, passage planning and much more – there’s a lot to do, but it’s fun and all under expert supervision.
WEEK 2 – CAPE TOWN TO LUDERITZ
A gentle sail up the beautiful African coastline. You will get used to the watch system and sailing together. For those who need, you can use this leg for your skippered 60NM passage or just relax and spot the dolphins that often follow us up the coast.
DAY 15 – 17 – VISIT THE DESERT AND A REAL “GHOST” TOWN
We stay a couple of days in the historic, desert town of Ludertiz. Time to relax, stock up for the voyage ahead and also perhaps take a trip out to Kolmanskop – an abandoned German mining town where you can get a guide to explain it’s history and then wander the town at leisure, exploring the buildings slowly filling with sand.
DAY 17 – 29
We set out to sail to St Helena island, more than 1,000miles in the middle of the South Atlantic. The weather and sea state tends to be gentle, but this is a true ‘blue water’ passage that will take between 10 – 12 days – far from the coast, where Whales are often our only company.
LEG 2 – ISLAND EXPLORING AND SOUTH ATLANTIC VOYAGE
DAY 30 – 35
St Helena remains one of the world’s most isolated places – only accessible by boat until a couple of years ago and still wonderfully remote and unspoilt. Arriving by yacht is the best way to appreciate it. Once ashore, we settle into the cosy Blue Lantern hotel (Bed and Breakfast include in the trip cost). You can visit Napoleon’s house and indeed his tomb or you can say hello to Jonathan the tortoise, the world’s oldest living animal (190years old!). Relax with a beer in the old-world charm of Jamestown or take a hike into the Jungle on one of the ‘post-box’ trails. There is so much to do and see. St Helena always gives our crew a fabulous welcome – we spend approx. 5 days on the island, before we wave farewell and return to sea.
DAY 35 – 48
The return to Cape Town is a true expedition sail. Heading out into the wild South Atlantic, routing towards Tristan Da Cunha, you will experience every kind of weather and, at times, this is really challenging sailing where you will make use of everything you’ve learned so far. Out here is the perfect place to learn and practice Celestial Navigation. We spend time each day on all aspects of sailing theory and practice. We’ve done the trip countless times and know these waters extremely well – so safety will never be a concern but it’s a long leg and when Cape town appears on the horizon, you will know you have achieved a truly “once in a lifetime” ocean adventure.
There are now TWO flights a week from South Africa to St Helena island so it’s much easier for those doing 1 leg to get too or from the island.
Tour operator
There are few places as wild and unexplored as the open ocean. And if you’re going to explore it you’ll want to do so with an accomplished and experienced skipper alongside you at the helm. The skippers bringing these small group (max 6 guests) ocean voyages to life have at least half a million nautical miles under their belts so you’ll be learning from the best. Think small groups, amazing destinations and incredible ocean experiences. Whether you want the mileage for an RYA Ocean qualification, the thrill of taking a small boat to incredible destinations or the privilege of a sailing masterclass with hugely experienced skippers by your side, they’ll make it happen.
Enquire today
Sail Cape Town and St Helena
Please complete the enquiry form above with as much detail as you can and we will send you all the trip information and connect you with the operator so you can make a booking directly.
If you have queries and questions about the trip include those in your form and we’ll personally reply to you within 24 hours.
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