Report on delivery of Magnum 32 Sport Fishing Vessel

Durban S.A to Vilanculos Mozambique

June 2007

A magnum 32 sport fisher manufactured by Two Oceans Marine Manufacturing, fitted with twin 250hp Yamaha 4 stroke outboard engines had been ordered for operation in the Vilanculos area in Mozambique.

With the initial planning of such a project the method of delivery of the vessel is an important and decisive factor. In this instance,logistics and economics dictated that a combination of road and sea delivery be utilised.

After successful sea trials in Cape Town, the Magnum 32 was prepared for abnormal load transport to Durban where she was launched by a straddle carrier and moved to the Royal Natal Yacht Club Moorings.Here final preparation for the approximately 650 nautical mile trip up the coast to Vilanculos in Mozambique was carried out.

The most vital aspect of any sea delivery is the detailed trip plan.This covers a host of items, viz. weather, food/water, spares, accommodation and in this particular case the availability of sufficient fuel.

Owing to the general unavailability of pumped petrol at marinas, either in SA or its neighbouring states, it was decided to start the trip from the Durban yacht mole fueling jetty, a 24 hour operation,offering both diesel and lead free petrol to vessels on the water where we could pump aboard our full fuel requirement.

As there are no known waterside fuelling facilities between Durban and Vilanculos,it was planned to refuel in Limpopo River which is approximately half way.

The Zoengene lodge, situated at the mouth of the Limpopo river,is managed by Craig who operates a Magnum 780 and a Magnum 25 in the area. Craig was to guide us in though the river mouth and assist with the loading of the fuel drums which had been delivered to Zoengene by the owner of the new vessel.

This stop,divided the trip into two legs of approximately 320 nautical miles each. Experience with other Magnum 32 sportfishers and the new four stroke Yamaha 250hp engines,allowed us to plan for a total fuel consumption rate,of four litres per nautical mile,at the cruising speed of 20 knots under fully loaded conditions.

The Magnum 32 carries a useable fuel volume of 680 litres in the two onboard fuel tanks,and therefore we would need to carry an extra, 600 litres plus reserve for each leg of the trip.

Owing to the remoteness of the Mozambique coast and the expected weather conditions for the trip, we loaded on to the vessel, a total of 2000 litres of fuel weighing 1550 Kg.This ensured adequate reserve to either push on to Inhambane,or to back track to Maputo or even Richards bay,should the Limpopo river mouth be impassable.

The customs and immigration formalities were completed and the trip plan, crew list, and the vessels documents were submitted to the Durban port authorities in order to obtain permission to leave port and to proceed to a foreign destination

Our trip planning had made use of weather forecasting from the synoptic chart and the USA based buoyweather computer programme.The weather from Durban to Inhaca island was expected to be calm with flat seas and no wind. Unfortunately these perfect powerboat conditions would not last past Inhaca island and we knew that we would experience approx 20 to 25 knots of wind with rising seas for the last half of the trip. Owing to the usual tight business schedules and aircraft availability ex Vilanculos, we were unable to plan to stop over at the Limpopo river mouth whilst waiting for the next forecast calm period to arrive some four days hence. If the weather were in fact to materialise as forecast, we were quite satisfied with our trip plan and the expected conditions. The weather for the entire trip and in fact the week thereafter was exactly as forecast. .

Having completed our fuelling we left the dock at 1030hrs on Thursday the 21st of June .

With the navigation system enabled and monitoring our progress from the flybridge,the port of Durban was soon left in our wake. The tachometer and gps readings settled at 4800rpm, 22 knots and 90 litres / hour fuel flow (total – both engines). The vessel load was a crew of 3, plus the fuel, spares, water and food. Our normal watch system of 2 hours on duty per crew member, was adopted and we settled down to enjoy the trip.

With the glass calm conditions a good lunch was enjoyed and the watch settled into a comfortable pattern of monitoring our progress. This particular vessel is rigged with a Furuno Navnet system which is duplicated on the fly bridge and linked to a Simrad AP16 auto pilot. Way- points selected for the trip, corresponded with light houses marked on the chart, which would assist manual navigation should any of the electronic systems fail. The log book which is filled in every hour, shows Richards bay at 1530hrs and Cape Vidal light with the sun fully set at 1730hrs.

With such calm seas and trouble free performance from the Magnum 32 the start of the trip could not have been more enjoyable.

Once opposite Jesser Point, (Sodwana Bay) it was decided to switch the fuel supply to the engines, then supplied from the main onboard tanks, to a piping system which would draw directly from the drums stowed on the aft deck.The fuel from the drum would then be supplied through the main fuel- water/separator filter to the engine.The need to transfer fuel from the drums to the onboard tanks at sea was thereby averted, reducing the risks associated with spillage.

At this stage the log book recorded a distance travelled of 170nm, with a total fuel volume used of 690 litres. This confirmed our trip plan of 4 litres per nautical mile under fully loaded conditions giving us a safe fuel availability for the remainder of the leg even if we had to re- route.

We enjoyed a healthy dinner and the two off duty crew were able to relax and sleep very comfortably in the bunks offered by the three independent cabins. At this point it had been decided to continue at the 22 knot cruising speed whilst we enjoyed the calm conditions and the early moon which allowed for safe visual navigation.Once the moon faded and depending on our progress and the weather conditions, we would reduce speed or stop in order that we enter the river mouth at first light.

The sea conditions remained calm, and with very light shipping traffic we maintained our cruising speed of 22 knots until we reached Inhaca Island at midnight. At this point the wind had started to freshen and it was decided to reduce speed and maintain our way rather than to have to stop and wait for daylight outside the river mouth in the steadily worsening sea conditions. The weather forecast was proving to be accurate almost to the hour and providing that this status would remain unchanged we would be able to complete the trip as planned.

We reduced speed to 8kn and arrived very comfortably at the Limpopo river mouth at sunrise at 0600 hrs.We were able to raise Craig on the cell phone enabling him to verbally guide us into the mouth. From the seaward side,the opening to the mouth appeared to be totally blocked by heavy surf.

Although the entrance to the mouth does change regularly, there is a safe and deep channel which runs parallel to the beach giving access to the river. This channel is entered from the Xai Xai side of the river, approximately 400meters up the beach.Once in the channel,there are marker buoys to assist you in the run up to the river bank on the Zoengene side. From this point on it is relatively easy to motor up river to the landing point which is easily identified by small fishing vessels at anchor,with others in various stages of repair pulled up on to the river bank.

At the time of our entry to the Limpopo river mouth there was no resemblance whatsoever, of the actual entrance, to that depicted on the paper or electronic charts. In our opinion therefore, although the entry is generally easy, it should not be attempted without the aid of local knowledge.

As we pulled up to the landing area, we were met by an older gentleman, dressed in shorts, tee shirt, grey hair complete with briefcase. As soon as you see a briefcase in Africa you know that you need documents, lots of documents.Fortunately with previous deliveries we had anticipated this and were well prepared with duplicates of ships papers and crew lists.

Fortunately Craig acted as our interpreter and as our papers were in order, we were allowed to land and collect our fuel. We could not stay over as Maputo had not advised the Port Captain of our intended arrival.

The log read 329nm with a total fuel volume used of 1210 litres.This giving an actual fuel consumption of 3,7litres/mile for the first leg of the trip.

At this stage the wind speed was continuing to rise and the sea state to worsen. We had a quick shower and a very welcome hot breakfast at the lodge, checked the buoyweather report, which had not changed, and returned to load the replacement fuel drums before continuing the journey.

At this stage we were to take on board the owners skipper, a local fishermen from Bazaruto, named Jose’. Now, as the owner was exceptionally efficient and caring, he had ordered and delivered 8 drums of fuel to the lodge for the remainder of the trip. Jose’ in his keeness to get aboard his new home and during our breakfast break, had loaded all 8 drums, to the 2 remaining fuel drums already onboard.We now had 10 full drums loaded on deck with the fighting chair perched on top and little room to move.This was obviously far to much fuel and we decided to remove 2 of the drums.This was not as easy as thought and it took some time to convince the locals that some of what just been loaded, now had to be removed without scratching anything.It is probably as well that we do not understand the local language but with our help the task was accomplished with the familiar wide smiles.


The Port Captain was presented with a take-out breakfast, and we were once again underway, fully loaded and now as a crew of 4. We made our exit of the Limpopo river mouth at 1010 on the 22 of June en route to Vilanculos.

This leg of the trip would have been particularly enjoyable under calm weather conditions, as you are able to travel close to shore and get a very good view of the lodges which are so well depicted in all the tourist brochures.

Unfortunately the buoyweather forecast was proven to be absolutely accurate with 20 to26 knot winds and 3 to 4 meter seas. However the air and the sea are warm and other than during some heavy rain squalls, we were able to spend the entire trip on the fly bridge and thereby maximise the view.

The sea, despite all the white horses, was a beautiful deep blue colour which with the dense vegetation on the coast line made for some spectacular views.Owing to the rapid development in the country as a whole, there is ample evidence of habitation all along the coast line. This was not the case on a previous trip some three years previous.

We maintained a cruising speed, although less comfortable than the previous leg, of 20 knots during daylight hours but were to reduce this once the light faded at 1700 hrs.Monitoring our progress against the trip plan we recalculated our speed in order to arrive at the Bazaruto area at first light so that we could safely negotiate the sand banks en route to Vilanculos.Although the speed had been reduced, the weather and sea conditions did not, in honesty, allow a comfortable nights rest.Other than for the absence of cold wind and cold sea spray the trip turned into the average Cape Town style tuna trip and we all looked forward to arriving at the islands.

Inhambane was abeam just as the sun was setting and at this point the fishing boat traffic increased significantly. Jose’ speaks limited english but was a wealth of knowledge regarding the numerous wooden fishing boats sighted in the area. At night these boats, which are approximately 30 to 40 ft long, are actively engaged in jigging for Grouper. These vessels do not show any return on the radar at all, and as lights are seldom used, one needs to maintain an extremely vigilant lookout.

Owing to the poor sea conditions, and the moonless night, the crew on watch had to continuously monitor the autopilots progress in the lively swell and ever present white breakers. This autopilot, a Simrad AP16 coped exceptionally well with the conditions and we were not able to improve the heading by manual steering. We used the autopilot for almost the entire trip and are happy to confirm that it worked faultlessly and without excessive input thereby saving on battery drain.

It is of interest to fellow delivery crew, to take note that between Inhambane and San Sebastio we picked up a very strong radar signal which approached to within a half a mile of our stern. This object did not display any lights and we were unable to detect its prescence visually. After approximately 20 minutes the signal moved up on to our starboard beam whilst maintaining the same distance off. Here it remained for a further 10 minutes before dropping back and disappearing altogether. No radio contact was made and none was forthcoming. Shortly after this event we were to come upon a Russian tug towing a 3 mile long cable. This tug made use of a very strong strobe light which and was visible for at least 10 miles. It would be really helpful if all tow operators made themselves as visible. The tug made radio contact to warn us of his towed gear and to request a 3 mile berth. It was reassuring to communicate with others in fluent although accented English in this remote area.

Despite the reduced speed over ground we were off the washing machine at Magaruque island shortly after 0200hrs. At this point it was hard to have to continue up the coast away from our destination but even in broad daylight it would not have been possible to navigate either the washing machine or even the Benguerra entrance to the protected bay and Vilanculos itself.

At first light having rounded the northern tip of Bazurota and beeing greeted by the dolphins in dolphin bay we activated the final leg of the navigation plan and arrived at the Vilanculos beach lodge at 0730 on Friday the 22 June.

The welcoming party soon had the boat unloaded and the crew housed in an immaculate lodge with hot water, another breakfast, and even hairdryers for the lady members.

By the time that we returned to the beach, Jose had excelled himself by cleaning the boat and draining the remaining fuel into the onboard fuel tanks. The outriggers were fitted, the engine oil levels checked, no oil had been burned at all, and the boat readied for the owner the next day.

Whilst a number of Magnum 32 vessels have been delivered on their own bottoms, this particular trip had been one of the most enjoyable as the area is everything that one dreams about when thinking about messing about in boats on the sea.

Mozambique is a wonderful place to visit and the general attitude of the people is most heartening. We will definitely return, although next time on a sailing yacht, which will give us more time to enjoy this beautiful area.

In summary, the total trip distance, including the extended route around Bazaruto island was 650 nautical miles. Total fuel used 2528 litres giving an overall consumption of 3.889 litres per nautical mile. Total hours on the water acknowledging that these were excessive owing to reduced speeds whilst awaiting daylight entry to the Limpopo river and the Bazaruto archipelago, 40hrs 20min.

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