Cruise along St Francis with Braveheart

YOU get huge and intimidating fishing vessels . . . and then you get Braveheart Fishing Charters – beautiful and relaxed just like the residents of St Francis Bay.

On the morning of our one-hour boat cruise along the pristine coastline of St Francis Bay on board of one Braveheart Fishing Charters’ cruise boat, we are met by local skipper Bryce Hendricks. Bright headband, shorts, T-shirt, flip-flops . . . and a big smile.

It is hot – the perfect day for a boat trip.

Boat cruise

“Can everyone swim?” asks Hendricks with a chuckle as we boarded the boat, anchored in the beautiful Port St Francis.

“If anyone falls overboard, just shout: man overboard . . . left or right! There is no need for port or starboard – it will not happen that fast.”

With the assurance that the boat is unsinkable – reminding me of the Titanic – we left the commercial harbour of Port St Francis. Built in 1995 and home to luxury catamarans, yachts and large fishing vessels.

Hendricks carefully manoeuvres the boat through the port entrance into the open sea – picking up speed us he heads for Shark Point.

But not before he throws out a fishing line – just maybe we catch a nice yellowtail.

We sit back and soak up the sunshine and spectacular panoramic views of the town, inclu-ding the look-out point and Shark Point between St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis.

Shark Point? Aptly named due to the large number of sharks that hope to feast on the large penguin and seal colonies in the area.

Remains of shipwrecks can also be found there.

One can also see the Seal Point Lighthouse built in 1878 to warn ships of dangerous reefs that stretch more than a kilometre out to sea. It is the tallest masonry tower on the South African coast, standing at a height of 27.5 metres and is now a National Monument.