This morning we were overwhelmed by a massive thunderstorm at the anchorage in front of the Durban Point Yachtclub. This storm was an extraordinary one since the winds were upto 50 knots and we have witnessed about 30 lightning strikes around the anchorage of which several were within 100 meters of the ship. It is a small wonder that none of the yachts here suffered a direct strike!!!

As soon as the worst weather had passed over, we discovered that one of the yachts had been dragging on the anchor and was about to run into a large buoy behind it. Since it was clear that no one was on board, we immediately went over there with our dinghy to see if there was anything we could do.

On the way over there, we discovered a pigeon, fighting for its life in the water and we decided to pick it up and let it recover in the cockpit. After sorting out the other yacht, we discovered that the anchorage was littered with birds, all fighting for their lives. We were going through the bay, picking up as many as we could find and took them into our care. We also handed some over to one of the other yachts here. Clearly, the thunderstorm was so strong that it literally smashed these poor birds out of the air.

Two of the birds had not survived, but the other 7 seemed to be doing pretty well. We made them a hot water bottle and put them nicely under a warm towel so that they can get their strength and warmth back.

We were are a little worried, because after a while they were moving around again and one of them tried to fly away while soaking wet. We had to pick him up again out of the water and I hope they now understand that they are safe with us.

They have spent the night in the cockpit and the next morning, all but one flew away again. The last one seems to feel quite happy on board so we’ll try and take him to the shore later.