The arrival of the fishing vessel Conquistador (2025) at Kalk Bay harbour on Sunday, 20 July 2025. A crewmember throws out the heavy mooring line from the bow as the boat eases into position.
She came in just after the weekend, looming large between the green and red lighthouses at Kalk Bay harbour. A true sight to see—Conquistador, a tuna boat registered out of Cape Town, pulling in after weathering a north-westerly.
I saw her on Sunday, 20 July 2025.
The vessel filled much of the narrow entrance, dwarfing the regular fleet moored nearby—many of them now permanently tied up due to dwindling catches in False Bay. Some of these boats haven’t gone to sea in months. A few haven’t left the harbour in years.
That’s what made this arrival such a moment. It’s not every day that an ocean-going fishing vessel of this size steers into Kalk Bay. Standing at the slipway, it was easy to see Conquistador was in good shape. Boats that work the high seas need to be. Her lines were clean, the hull steady, and she carried the kind of quiet confidence that only a working boat can wear.
Based on markings visible on the hull and cross-checking with publicly available records, the vessel is registered as CONQUISTADOR (CTA 794), and is classified as an ice vessel—equipped to preserve her catch at sea. She appears to be linked to commercial tuna fishing and may operate further offshore than the small-boat fleets traditionally seen in False Bay.
As a boy, I spent many afternoons watching the boats come in at this very harbour. That was during the heyday of the snoek fleets—big hauls of yellowtail, kob, and the bustling drama of working boats offloading catch. One boat I remember clearly was the Malgas, which returned from Seal Island with its grim cargo. In those days, seals were culled to manage their numbers, and I can still picture the concrete tables behind the harbour where the crew would skin the animals. Seal biltong, seal meat, and pale blubber—strange memories from a different time.
Harbours are never short on stories. But Sunday’s visit was special. Seeing Conquistador enter like that brought a deep satisfaction—a rare intersection of sea, memory, and presence. The past and present, docking side by side.
