Distance travelled from Cape Town: 3,704 nautical milesFrom Walvis Bay we have been on a North Westerly heading. We crossed over the Angola Basin at a depth of 5000m, just over 3 miles deep, before crossing the equator. Rounding the 'bump' of the African continent we sailed past the coast of Liberia and headed north toward Dakar, Senegal.The day before we docked we received a notice from MSC in our cabin: ‘As a measure of general precaution, as the ...

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever-        Jacque Coustaeu –We have now been at sea for almost seven days. There have been no further medical emergencies or stabbings to report!! After a series of initial misgivings about MSC we are now starting to settle down, enjoying our lengthy sojourn up the West Coast of Africa.No one came to sort out the Wi-Fi problem in our cabin so I had to report it once again. This time...

It had been blowing a gale all night so it was no surprise when we went down for breakfast that the terrace where we had breakfasted the previous two days was closed and all the residents were enjoying their repast inside. This freak of nature is what is referred to as the sou'wester. The phenomenon is that the winds are not constant. There is calm before a gust of wind suddenly catches you off guard and it’s then a case of 'hold on to your toupee!!...