The Caravel

In August 1487, Bartolomeu Dias left Lisbon with two caravels of 100 tons each and a bigger store ship. He had been sent by the King of Portugal to find the southernmost tip of Africa, as they wanted a sea route to India. He sailed along the western coast of Africa and then, because of the winds, he sailed into the open sea. Then, they headed back eastward and as they could see no land, they headed north. Without realising it, they had sailed round the southern tip of Africa, the first ship to do so. Eventually, in February 1488,  they managed to land and the place they landed, and where they found fresh spring water, was what is now known as Mossel Bay.

The museum by the harbour in Mossel Bay is a fascinating place, telling the story of Dias, but most spectacular is the full-sized replica of the caravel Dias sailed in. This was built in Portugal and sailed to Mossel Bay in 1988 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Dias’s landing.

It was raining this morning, so it was lucky that we had planned to visit the museum. We spent quite a time in there. Of course Gordon was in his element, clambering about the ship, as he reads a lot of books about ships. In fact our girls used to say their Dad only read books with old ships on the cover.


By the time we left the museum it was fine and the sun came out. We visited the Craft Art Workshop where local craftwork is made and displayed. We had some interesting conversations with some of the people involved. Excellent fish lunch at the Gannet Café by the museum – a real gem of a restaurant. Then we returned to the hotel and walked by the sea. The weather was perfect for sea watching – sunny, but not too hot, lots of waves.