Arrival in Namibia

We found the entrance to Luderitz Harbour in thick fog, and proceeded using our radar and AIS to watch out for hazards.  We came across a diamond dredger moored in the channel, and it was shocking to see how close we came before it was visible.

Penguins appeared in fishing flocks swimming in the fog.

Sunshine kept breaking through the fog, which was only as deep as our mast in some places, and then it rolled back so that we could dimly see a red striped lighthouse.  

and then the barren rocky landscape as we entered the harbour.  

The town seemed an insignificant cluster of buildings from the distance, with a church built on a rocky height.

Luderitz

We found our way to a mooring buoy, indicated by a man in a rowing boat.  He turned out to be a diver who had come out to seek his fortune with diamonds, bringing his specialist deepsea diving suit with him.  He had famously used it in Scotland to dive down to recover the remains of Donald Campbell"s "BlueBird".

Jack and his amazing deep sea diving suit

We found Luderitz to be more colourful than expected with charming 1930 style German buildings left over from the diamond rush.  It all felt very different from other places we had visited.   After formalities were concluded with the friendly staff at the port we explored the town, and found a place to rent a car.

Windy sand-blown streets of Luderitz