We arrived into Walvis Bay, Namibia on Sunday February 16th, just after noon. After our anchor beers we headed off to the Yacht Club to see about clearing into the country. However, when we arrived, the WBYC office was closed but the restaurant staff said we were welcome to stay and come back tomorrow morning….and the shenanigans begin!
View from the WBYC looking out at the anchorage trying the local Hansa draft beer.
The WBYC restaurant closed at 3 pm but we all heard live music from just down the way so we headed there…things got sloppy!
….and Windhoek, which is the name of the capital here in Namibia. There was a few rum and cokes, a few green colored shots, and a drink from the owner that I have no idea what it was.
But the 2 man band was fun, the locals started to dance so why not…what could go wrong…? We aren’t even legal in this country yet but making friends just can’t wait!
Oh $&*!…..It’s on!!!
Did I mention sloppy…?!
I honestly am not sure how we all got back to the boat…what I do know is that we were all soaked and laughing our heads off the entire dinghy ride. Showers for everyone, Nicole whipped up dinner for everyone, but these 2 guys continued for hours….Guitar playing, “We are sailing” song singing, and laughter was all I heard : )
The next morning came too soon but we had to complete the clearance procedures before Hennie and Nicole’s flight so off to the Walvis Bay Yacht Club (WBYC) we go….
Google image of the WBYC and dinghy landings 
WBYC dinghy dock. Our dinghy is actual near the charter boats but we will be using this dock when we come directly to the YC. 
WBYC office is open M-F 9am-1pm 
Danel got us all set up with temporary YC memberships for 1,000 Namibian dollars….we hadn’t been to the cash machine so South Africa Rand was acceptable. Mooring balls can be rented but we decided to just anchor which is free.
We were greeted by Danel who was just fabulous….gave us a name of a taxi guy, laundry place, diesel guy, and she even drove us to customs… bless her heart….maybe she knew how bad we were hurting!
Google image of where customs and Immigration is relative to the YC…. about 2 km. 
Danel dropped us off at the combined immigration/customs building… 
The combined immigration /customs building…for immirgation this is the correct place to be. However, we were told we had to go to another place to check into customs…. 
This young man escorted us to the right place. It is a small office on the side of the gate where the flags are flown. 
No entry form given…just our South African outward paper stamped….this is all we received. 
Next we walked back to the immigration/customs building for immigration. We all filled out an inward/outward form, similar to one you would for an intentional flight. We were told to ask for a tourist visa good up to 30 days but nobody asked anything and just stamped us in. I guess we will see if there are any issues when we check out.
After that we all headed to the mall to get MTC Sim Cards…and something in our stomachs. If I would of thought about it…I would of headed to the mall to get a Sim card first so I could call the taxi guy. There didn’t seem to be a rush to “clear in” and we ended up having to borrow a guys phone at immigration to call the taxi guy….but what ever…it always works out…and everyone is super friendly here! : )
Google image of the “new mall” relative to the YC. 
There was a Checkers grocery store with everything in it….we didn’t need to provision so much in South Africa for sure! 
MTC works here in Walvis Bay. We got 2 Sim cards: 1 data only (6GB), and 1 with phone and data (3 GB) for about $21 usd. It is only valid for 1 week.
After eating lunch at the mall, we headed back to the YC to pick up Hennie and Nicole’s bags. We said our final “sea you later” and “we better get a wedding invitation”…. we are going to miss you both..our SSB BFF’s!
The largest Slow Flight crew EVER… but frankly the BEST!
Hennie and Nicole, thank you for taking the time to do this passage with us and we hope it was worth it, both for Hennie’s RYA offshore certificate and just an overall experience of cruising. We had such a great time with you…. We will hold these memories close to our hearts….right after we recover from the night before…. hugs!
Up Next: Deserts, Flamingos, Pelicans…”oh my”….
ps: Being the best crew ever….there is a funny story behind this photo… Hennie…want to explain what’s in the bag…(hahaha)?!
