Arrived in East London at first light this morning after a rough night of beating. Yesterday we had the most dramatic weather conditions this crew member has experienced yet when a South West ‘buster’ blew through in the afternoon. Around 1:30pm a low band of puffy clouds approaches and directly underneath it the wind switches from 10-15NE to 15 SW. In 5 minutes the wind is 20 – 30 knots. 5 minutes later it is blowing 30, 40, sometimes 45 knots from the South West. We’re sailing straight for the coast. In the 20 minutes of sailing it took us to get out of the current was the gnarliest conditions I’ve ever seen. The wind blew 40+ consistently. The anemometer recorded a gust of 59.5kts. However, once we got 2 miles offshore, the conditions were manageable, with 30 – 35 knots of wind and much calmer seas. And then, by 6pm it had blown through. We were left with 20 – 30 knots of wind from the South West and 50 miles to East London, due South West. Yup, that means we had to beat into it. Sucky. Pulled into East London at 5am this morning exhausted.