Finding shelter in Hout Bay

Although we had been evading the worst of the frontal systems sweeping across the country, as we proceeded towards our southern stations, the captain cautioned that we needed to seek shelter from a large approaching frontal system that would likely prevent sampling for a few days. After completing two stations on Sunday 28 May, we steamed to the shelter of Hout Bay and set anchor to await the imminent storm.

Although we arrived in Hout Bay to a rather balmy and calm winter’s day, it was just a matter of hours before the wind had increased and churned the ocean into white sheets of spray and began battering the Ellen from all sides. The storm continued through the night and on Monday 29 May the primary focus of the crew was to keep the ship steady on anchor. The top wind speed recorded on the ship anemometer on that Monday was 86 knots (159 km/hour), which is well above the Beaufort Wind Scale category 12 of “Hurricane force” (> 64 knots) and was the highest wind speeds ever experienced by the science team and many of the most experienced ship crew. I now better understand “extreme weather conditions” and the warnings associated therewith.

The arrival of the rain late on Monday, which meant a drop in wind speed, was a welcome relief for all and we could again walk more upright when moving around the ship. We remained on anchor in Hout Bay the whole of Tuesday, waiting for the sea state to calm to within manageable working conditions.

It was again a jubilant atmosphere onboard when we awoke early on Wednesday morning to the sounds of the anchor being hauled, which meant we could exit Hout Bay and attempt to survey and sample our few remaining stations offshore of Cape Point. Although the sea conditions were very challenging at these stations, we persevered and eventually managed to complete the required sampling, including an additional two stations en route back to Cape Town.

True to the wildly diverse moods of the Cape, we sailed into Cape Town harbour in the early evening of another magical, calm winters day which seemed very fitting to welcome us back, full circle, from when we had departed.

Overall, Voyage 221 onboard the R/V Ellen Khuzwayo was a resounding success, with a total of 21 west coast stations visually surveyed in eight different ecosystem types including three marine protected areas, 16 dredge deployments yielding > 300 epifaunal specimens for barcoding, 12 epifaunal specimens and 14 sediment samples collected to target for actinobacteria cultures, nine individual grab samples collected for infaunal community composition and eight sediment samples collected for particle size analysis.

Additionally, we collected some targeted specimens requested for projects being run through Iziko Museum and DFFE Oceans and Coast. All visual imagery and sediment particle size data will contribute towards the forthcoming National Biodiversity Assessment marine ecosystem classification and all specimens collected will contribute towards the barcoding component of the SeaMap project.

This success was only made possible by a large number of people, both behind the scenes on land and every single person onboard the vessel, from the bridge to the deck, the engine room, the galley and the scientists. The professionalism, dedication and flexibility displayed by the captain and crew of the R/V Ellen Khuzwayo was outstanding and much appreciated. The scientific team were equally exceptional and always enthusiastically ready to leap into action and get stuck into the work whenever needed.

After three years of waiting (mostly for the pandemic to end) and planning, I personally feel deeply satisfied with my renewed connection with South Africa’s offshore seabed biodiversity as a result of this research survey. Now for the lengthy data processing and taking the field work to the next level of the value chain.