Stepping off the FlySafair aeroplane at Cape Town International Airport after returning from a wonderful festive season holiday in Johannesburg, I was greeted by a familiar old friend: a raging southeaster. Cape Town saying “welcome home” in the only way it knows how.
Fortunately, I was in good spirits. The flight had been shared with the People Need Comedy crew, and I was thoroughly entertained by their make-up artist sitting next to me, filling me in on backstage stories. Spirits were high enough that, almost immediately, the crew began filming passengers attempting to disembark while the wind tried to knock everyone back into the aircraft. Classic Cape Town initiation.
Driving along Boyes Drive later, False Bay came into view — and with it, an unexpected sight: warships. Lots of them.
Now, I’d already seen the reports. Chinese, Russian and Iranian naval vessels in False Bay. Local WhatsApp groups were doing what WhatsApp groups do best: circulating detailed breakdowns of every ship, its history, its armaments, and probably its horoscope. Still, seeing it with my own eyes made it real. Right there, across the water from where many of us live, something distinctly naval was happening.
The explanations vary. News reports offer all sorts of reasons for the exercise, from the geopolitically alarming to the almost mundane. Google it, or consult your favourite AI — you’ll get plenty of theories. Some are fairly odious. Others suggest a more practical angle: in a world where oil tankers are seized and shipping routes increasingly risky, navies train together. Sometimes a naval exercise is just… a naval exercise.
That said, if you scroll through social media or listen to braai-side commentary, the South African Navy doesn’t exactly enjoy glowing reviews these days. Horror stories abound: ships unable to sail, the major arms and ammunition theft case in Simon’s Town, and the deeply disturbing News24 report showing the shocking state of the naval barracks. The images were bleak — hazardous, undignified, and frankly heartbreaking. One does wonder how people are expected to live, let alone serve, in such conditions.
Still, warships remain oddly fascinating. There’s something about them — the scale, the symbolism, the quiet suggestion of power — that draws the eye.
And who knows, there may even be a small upside. Perhaps your next Temu parcel, sailing all the way from China with millions of others, will face a slightly lower risk of being hijacked on the high seas.
On the economic front, Business Day reported yesterday on South Africa’s growing trade imbalance with its BRICS partners. As of July 2025, South Africa is sitting with a combined trade deficit of about R253 billion — roughly $14 billion — with the rest of the bloc. In simple terms, everyone else is trading fiercely with South Africa, but not buying much in return.
Anyway, by Saturday the wind has dropped — or at least paused — and hopefully it stays that way. It probably won’t. The southeaster does love a dramatic afternoon entrance. But maybe there’s time for a swim before it ramps up again, before settling back into the last stretch of summer in the Cape.
And honestly, that feels like a fitting return to Cape Town — stepping off a plane from Johannesburg after deliberately spending the festive season there, missing the crowds, packed beaches, and crawling traffic, and arriving just as the city starts to feel like itself again.
