Zulumoon Gondolas

Durban Weather Prevents Gondola Rides

Sand Blown in from the Beach

Strong winds “blew us away yesterday” – bringing Durban’s beachfront sand right down to the Point Waterfront Canal and onto our boats. We had to stop all operations for safety reasons and well, no one wants to ride in a sandy boat.

Batten Down the Hatches & Stop all Operations. Durban Weather Dictates the Day for Zulumoon Gondolas and much of Durban.

To batten down the hatches is a nautical term from the early 19th century. When a ship was about to enter rough seas, the captain would order the crew to batten down the hatches. The crew would close all the hatches (doors) on the ship’s decks and use lengths of batten (rods) to secure the hatches in the closed position.

While our gondolas are not ships and do not operate in any rough seas, we do use lengths of rods/battens to secure our boat covers. So batten down the hatches it was.

Trees Falling – Cars Shaking – No Gondola Rides…

People reported trees falling down & cars shaking. The Durban weather dictated no business for the day for many. Here are a few stories – what did you get up to? Let us know.

Durban Winds Uproot Trees in Breaking news from IOL

Durban – STRONG winds blew away more than hats on Tuesday, with trees being sent crushing to the ground around Tuesday afternoon in Durban.

A huge tree on Clarence Road in Morningside fell on the road, blocking the access towards the upper Berea area and Durban Girls College area. It went down dragging an electric cable with it, which appeared to be live.

The Berry and Jones families were on call at the scene, having noticed the fallen tree on their way home from the Maris Stella School where their children attend.

Kenneth Jones said they raced to the scene with his daughter Allegra, along with Lauren Berry and her daughter Cianna.

“This usually happens more in Glenwood, our trees are too posh to get pulled down by the wind,” the mother joked.

Kenneth said the strong winds made his car shake and said they brought the children to play on the tree when they saw it in the middle of the road.

We are not alone… In news from IOL

Durban – Shipping operations in the Durban harbour has been halted after strong winds continue to batter Durban.

The Durban Container Terminal Pier 1 has been advised of severe weather conditions heading towards the terminals.  The terminals have stopped all operations.

In a message circulated to logistics companies, transporters were advised to evacuate all trucks from the terminal with immediately.   Trucks were advised to park at safer areas until the conditions improve.

Durban Weather and Wind Speeds

A reliable source told the Daily News that wind speeds reached between 80 and 90 km/h which caused six-metre sea swells.

Durban Weather : Wind pummels the area