As usual our stay in St.Helena was magic and much too short. They begged
us to stay for Christmas but with more than 5000nm to go and the Miami boat
show to attend, we had to decline :-((( The weather from there to the coast of
Brazil was predicted to be fairly light winds, which it was. We have two motors
and lots of fuel to assist in keeping our required average, but being sailors,
we will do anything to rather sail than motor. Such a thrill to switch the
motors off and just sail. Pure bliss. We have four sails, the mainsail, the
head sail, a gennikar and a screecher. Screechers are notorious for being
complicated for various reasons. I joked with Nathan and told him our screecher
is bipolar, and gave her two names, "Full of Shit" and "Halleluja" When she is
happy we are all happy, when she is moody, it gets complicated and can get
downright dangerous. The screecher and gennikar are made from much thinner
material than the main or head sails are designed for lighter winds. One can
sail the screecher with the main sail or by itself. The gennikar I named
Morning Glory. Easy to raise anytime, easy to drop, no problem here.
Nathan and myself were pondering how great it would be to be able to fly both
the screecher and the gennikar together. Having only one halyard made this
"impossible". Unheard of to fly both these sails together anyway. You will not
find it in any sailing book or being taught at any sailing academy. Uncharted
waters in a manner of speaking. It took me a couple of days to figure out how
we could safely do it, and a couple more days to build up the courage to give
it a go. I looked at it from all angles, slept on it, weighed up all the pros
and cons, and were certainly not rushing in. In the meantime we were
maintaining our required speed and burning a lot of fuel. One morning early I
woke up and decided, it is time. Today is the day. A dream without action just
stays a dream. I hoisted Dan up the mast with a 2m length of line, a long
length of spectra line, a block and two shackles. Gave him clear instructions
of where to tie every thing and hoped for the best. The wind was coming dead
from behind. Dan being an avid rock-climber, enjoys these type of activities.
He safely ascended and tied the 2m line with a shackle to the genoa uphaul, and
on the other end of the 2m rope tied the block. He threaded the long length of
spectra line through the block and tied the end to himself. As he descended
from the mast he brought the one end of the spectra line down with him. He
reported that he attached everything as explained and could now see what I had
in mind. We raised the screecher first on the fitted halyard and unfurled it.
Next we raised the gennikar with the halyard we just rigged and gently opened
her up. And there it was!!! Two big sails flying happily together wing on wing,
catching the light breezes and giving us great propulsion. High 5's and big
smiles all around when I turned the motors off and we were sailing smooth and
fast. From 10kts of apparent wind at 180* we were doing 7kts SOG. Yay!!!! A
spectacular sight to behold. A feeling of Morning Glory Halleluja :-))) In my
own little world we made a bit of sailing history. As per my previous blog, I
don't do content, always looking for a better way to do something. We sailed
like this for about 10 days before the wind gradually shifted to 120* in
relationship to where we needed to go. And again we did something I have never
done before. Raised the mainsail to 2nd reef and tied the boom down as wide as
it could go, the sail just not touching the shrouds. We were on a starboard
tack and tied the gennikar tack lines down as close as possible to our
starboard bow. And again we were amazed at the results. The main did not shadow
the gennikar and again both these sails happily farmed the light breezes for
miles and miles day in and day out. Another little trick I use is to tie a
length of bungee cord to the slings we tie to our headsails, whether genoa,
screecher or gennikar. It gives the sails a more gentle action and also pumps
them all the time adding extra power.
We were dragging our fishing lures behind us since St. Helena but no luck. For
fishing line we us 2mm flat braided line, breaking strength 1500kg. Lure on one
end and the other end tied to the boat. We then also tie a meter or so of
bungee cord to the boat, pull it out as far as it will go, and tie a loop in
the fishing line which we attach to the loose end of the bungee. When a fish
takes the lure, the bungee absorbs the shock of the fishing line, pulls tight
and the hook sets properly without ripping the fish apart. We use No.9 double
hooks and for lures mostly blue or pink squid like lures with a shiny head with
small holes that creates a jet stream behind the lure. Blue is best nine out of
ten times. Pink for when it is overcast. We also use a metre or so of trace
wire in case we pick up a wahoo. We normally start getting fish as we reach the
Brazilian coast, and it one again proved true. But we do try our luck before
the time as well, just in case. We thus use hand lines most of the times. Some
of the guys try a fishing rod and reel, and really struggle to get a fish in as
we are moving forward all the time. It is possible to stop the boat but it
takes quite a bit of time when you are sailing downwind. If we are sailing on a
beam reach we can stop the boat in a flash, just turn the bow through the wind
into a hove to position. Also the best manoeuvre to pull should someone fall
over board. Sailing schools will teach you a figure of eight manoeuvre with one
person allocated to watch the person in the water and counting 10, 9, 8, 7, all
the way to zero as you sail away from the person. You then tack the boat and
sail back to the person, counting from zero back to ten. You have to be able to
this when you do your Yachtmaster exams. Very convenient to have someone ready
to point at the person and counting, another person at the helm, and a third
person to control the sails. All good in a perfect world. So make sure before
you fall overboard you have all these people ready to assist :-))) Sorry to say
but doing it by the book is neither the fastest nor the best way in my book. By
turning my boat immediately through the wind I protect the person overboard
from the swell and wind, and don't stand any change of sailing over the person.
And I won't need two other people to make it work. On both manoeuvres you
should also hit the man overboard button on your chartplotter. It will make a
mark at exactly where the person went overboard. You press the same button
should a woman fall overboard :-))) Fortunately I have never had a person fall
overboard, but we do the hove to manoeuvre for various other reasons. In rough
seas you can use it to prepare a quick meal and eat before you go back on the
beat, or perhaps a line caught around the prop, sometimes to show my crew how
to do it in case they need to, or to reel in a fish on a rod and reel. We have
caught and released marlin this way as well. The number one safety rule on a
boat is to stay on the boat.
On a catamaran landing a fish is quite easy. If it is big dorado for example
one person will pull the fish on the hand line just past the sugar scoop, and
another person will slip a noose around the tail, and the other end of the
noose line
will be tied to the boat, about 5 metres will do. You let go of the the fishing
line and lure and drag the fish backwards through the water drowning the fish.
If you have a gaff you can use that to get the fish aboard, but normally you
can just pull the fish onto the sugar scoop. You can then either use a knife or
a baton to kill the fish, quite a bloody and messy process, and you can damage
the boat. The quickest and best way is to spray some alcohol into the gills of
the fish. Takes less than a minute before the fish no longer moves. No slapping
around spraying blood everywhere. Surgical alcohol works very well too. I hear
it is called rubbing alcohol in the States. A knife sharpener and a good
filleting knife also comes in handy. Once the fish is filleted and the skin
removed I prefer to wrap the fillets in paper towel and place it on a paper
plate. The plate is then placed in a jiffy bag and the air sucked out with a
straw. Recently I have used cling wrap instead of a jiffy bag and works just as
well. A section often goes straight to the pan, and the rest to the freezer. We
always have wasabi, pickled ginger and soya sauce and the freshest sushimi you
can wish for. A dash of lemon juice for those who like the fish slightly
cooked. For the more adventurous one can make proper sushi. Nathan is getting
quite good at it. Another factor when fishing is the moon. Time and again I
have seen that if the moon is right above you fishing is best. Right below you
is also good, and an hour before and after the moon rises or sets also not too
bad. As expected we started getting fish once we passed the corner of the
Brazilian coast. Two yellowfin tuna in short succession that Nathan and Jaryd
pulled in. It was a first time for Jaryd. A day later I caught a nice size
dorado, and after weeks of eating red meat and chicken, it was great to have
some fresh fish aboard. Our last six meals were fish :-))) Today I broke the
trend by making some beef stew.
To keep morale high I like to make a quick stop every two weeks if possible.
The crew can then catch up properly with their families via cell or wifi, we
can get some fresh fruit and veggies, and just basically good to touch land,
even just for a day. I decided to make a quick stop in Fortaleza as I have done
many times before. We anchored just outside the Marina Park Hotel, a 5 star
establishment. Was super eager to have a nice long chat with my daughter, have
a buffet breakfast at the hotel, and just laze around the pool sipping on
capharinhas with some tasty snacks on the menu. Normally we don't clear in.
This time they however insisted that we clear in and the hotel clerk assured me
it will just take ten minutes with the taxi, a quick visit to immigration,
customs and port control, and I should be back in an hour. It was a Sunday and
should go really quick. Nathan and Jaryd went shopping, Dan stayed at the pool
to keep an eye on the boat and I caught a taxi to go and do the necessary paper
work. South Africans don't need visas for Brazil, US citizens do. Nathan and
Jaryd are US citizens so I knew there would be a little problem, besides the
obvious language problem as I don't speak much Portuguese and they don't speak
much English. I asked the taxi driver to stay with me, I will pay him for his
time, as I thought he may speak a bit more English than I can speak Portuguese.
Arriving at immigration half an hour later was still ok. The hotel clerk said
ten minutes, but not so bad. I handed our passports to the immigration officer
who could speak no English. He was just pointing at the US passports and
shaking his head and waving his hands quite vehemently. He made a few phone
calls to try and find someone that could speak some English. The taxi driver
eventually called someone who could translate for us a bit. I showed the
immigration officer my South African passport again, pointing at the picture
and pointing to myself. Only then he realized I am South African and relaxed a
bit. This took about an hour. I then had to complete some forms, he made copies
of our boat papers and proceeded to enter the same information on his computer,
really struggling. I was then informed that the US citizens will have to stay
on the boat, and I assured him as Captain of the vessel that that is exactly
what will happen. I first pleaded ignorance about US citizens requiring visas,
then explained that we never planned to stop in Brazil, we are here just for a
day to get some fresh provisions, and that maritime law the world over allows
24 hrs for cases like this. I understood his reluctance. The US will not allow
me in without a visa, neither anyone from Brazil. So why should he. I
concurred, agreed with him, anything just to get out of there. After three
hours I had two passports stamped in and out,and shook his hand in a most
friendly manner. They were really friendly chaps just doing their job. I was
super frustrated but even happier to go. At one point I even told him to hand
me back the passports and boat papers, I will get on the boat now and go. I had
enough of this shit. I am not here to fight or talk politics, I just stopped to
get some fresh food. If I am not welcome he must tell me. We departed as
friends. Then customs, forms to fill in, same information on my boat papers
they made copies off, then transferring all this to their computer, another
hour. At last port control. I walked in and popped them a left handed salute.
They all jumped up and saluted me back. Right handed salutes :-))) The taxi
driver explained to them how much time it took to get us this far, and yet
again I had to fill in papers, they made copies of my boat papers containing
exactly the same information, and the gruelling process of duplicating all this
info onto their papers and computers. When at last they were done I now
extremely frustrated popped them a left handed salute again and once again they
all jumped up and saluted me back :-))) Including the taxi drive the whole
process took me six hours. I could hardly breath on our way back to the marina.
I was dying to speak to my daughter and with the time difference I was running
out of time. Arrived back at the hotel and found Dan. He told me the security
asked him to bring me to the reception desk so they can make copies of the
documents I obtained. I told the hotel clerk who could speak English and told
me the whole process would just take an hour, in clear and no uncertain terms,
that he must get his facts straight and not give out false information. If it
takes 5 hours, tell me so!!! He profusely apologised. He could probably see the
smoke coming out of my nose and ears :-))) I walked out of the hotel lobby with
Dan and had to let out a loud as possible swearword and sustain it for as long
as possible :-))) Felt slightly better after that. And the whole purpose of all
this bullshit I don't understand. If they came and checked the boat's papers
and searched the boat for drugs or arms or contraband etc, no problem, be my
guest. I didn't enjoy it, the officers didn't enjoy it, the hotel clerk didn't
enjoy it. I got to the pool, connected on the wifi with my daughter and for the
first time ever sent her 5 angry emoji faces saying I just wasted 5 hrs to
clear in. I have never even sent her one before. She send me a few smileys back
and said if life gives me lemons, I must think of her :-))) We then video
called and soon life was exceedingly good again. Spend a lovely afternoon next
to the pool catching up on my emails etc. And send my one and only 4eva friendy
Dianne the usual wish you were here 360 degree video :-))) Decided to not
depart that night, but do breakfast at the hotel again the next morning before
we depart. Also wanted to do a final check on the weather, send Dan up the mast
again to make sure everything is fine and check the motors before we set off.
As I walked into the hotel another gentleman approached me and requested copies
of my port clearance papers. My stomach jolted for a moment, but I calmly went
with him to reception where they made copies of the required papers. Don't
think I will visit Fortaleza again. I also told Nathan who will soon be setting
sail with his family that clearing in and out is probably the thing yachties
hate most. I understand that people can't just come and go, but damn, it is
2018. Speed up the process dudes !!! Breath...................:-)))
Catch up with you soon again, apologies for the sometimes crude language :-)))
Paul
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Friday, January 12, 2018
While my guitar gently weeps
A little bit off the beat I know, but as I mentioned in my previous blog,
perhaps time for some confessions :-))) If you were hoping for some saucy
story of some island girl on the beach, sorry, not today :-))). Before we left
Cape Town, Jaryd noticed I had my guitar on board. He said he wanted to learn
how to play the guitar. In my sometimes brutally honest way of speaking, I
told him I really don't expect him to share his wife with anyone, and likewise
I also don't share my guitar with anyone. I recommended he goes shopping for a
nice second hand guitar at a pawn shop and he should come right for less than
$50's. I thought he and Nathan may think it nice, buy a cheap nylon string
guitar to learn on, and the guitar can stay on the boat once we have delivered
her to the States. Nathan's kids may find use for it. Instead, Jaryd went to a
proper musical instrument store and came back with a beautiful steel string
guitar for $160. He also got some instructional books etc. Great travelling
guitar, a bit shorter than the normal size guitar, but excellent quality,
heavy, digital tuner built into the guitar and padded bag to keep the guitar
in. I told Jaryd my guitar's name is Angelique, Angy for short.
I had a few guitar lessons from a legend in SA, Ricardo Bornman, nearly
forty years ago. Spent hours every day learning how to play, earned proper
callouses on my finger tips and probably drove my parents a bit mad with
the twang twang twang coming from my room :-))) I practised hard, and once a
week went for my guitar lesson. Ricardo soon told me that I am playing the
guitar technically perfect, but that I now have to add some feeling to my
playing. I grew up in the days when Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, David
Bowie, Neil Young, JJ Cale, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin,
Pink Floyd etc were making music. I had a burning desire to learn how to
play the guitar, and to learn how to express something inside I could not put
in words. I learned to read music, learned to play classical guitar, and
would get lost in my inner world. I was fortunate that there was no tv when I
grew up which only came to SA in '76. I consider tv the biggest waste of
time, the greatest soul destroyer of all time. I know to be grammatically
correct I should write tv in capital letters, I would much rather write the f
word in capital letters. My blog, my rules :-))) In short, I escaped the mind
numbing and soul destroying effect of growing up in front of a tv. Instead I
grew up playing outside in the streets, the parks; the biggest evil of the
day being pinball, which I was also a wizard at :-))) Loved my chopper
bicycle as well, my first real taste of travelling and freedom.
Misspent youth you may cry. Really !!! In my teen years I enjoyed playing
rugby, cricket, and also had a professional tennis coach. My idol was Bjorn
Borg. I read just about all the non- fiction books at our local library.
Fascinating journey of one book leading me to the next. Autobiographies,
philosophies, how to books, travel books, my interests were wide and varied.
The librarian limited me to three books at a time. I pleaded my case with my
mom, she joined, and I could take out six books at a time. At school I
excelled in the subjects I enjoyed, like biology and geography. Took Latin as
a subject, sucked at maths :-))) Would stare out of the window looking at the
clouds drifting by. At night I studied theology at Hebron Theological College
and was a fully ordained minister of the Pentecostal Holiness Church when I
was 18. Gave the lecturers much grief, asking questions that should not be
asked :-))) Think I drove my parents mad with all my why's as well, following
every answer with another why, a genuine why, I really wanted to know and
understand. Unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Beat my uncle at chess at 7,
he was the best chess player in the family. Also read my first book at 7, The
Troubadour. Life in the fairest Cape 300 years ago. Narrow cobbled streets,
horse and cart carriages, sword fights and so on. I was 14 when my dad one
day arrived home from work with an F hole hollow body electrical Ibanez
guitar, with an amp that still worked with valves !!! They first had to warm
up before one could play. Now I could bend strings and sustain notes and make
a lot of noise. Learned to play lead guitar, bass and rhythm. Love you Dad,
love you too Mom :-)))
They allowed me to just be myself, and I could sit up till 2am or whatever
time studying or reading whenever I wanted to. They supported me in all my
endeavours. I was a bit of a free child, a wild child. 4 hours sleep a day
was enough for me. I also read a lot about sailing those days, dreamed of the
day I could get on a boat and float on the water and go where the Wind blows.
Back to my guitar :-))) Life went on, did my compulsory military service, got
married to a Lebanese lady. I was happy and content but the Higher Hand had
other plans for my life. She passed away in '99. Contentment is so contentious
and dangerous. I started my sailing courses in 2000 and sailed from SA to
Madagascar, still my favourite island in the world, extraordinary place that
is. Got married again a year later and became a dad at 38 on 01/07/2003. In
2006 I started my full time sailing career. I carried my late wife's ashes
with me wherever I sailed and for two years sprinkled her ashes all over the
world until there was no more. None of my crew ever knew about this, just
doing my own thing, as usual.
Having gone the full circle with my guitar playing, I am back where I started
again, classical nylon string guitar. Never really stopped playing but played
much less than in my younger days. The last few deliveries I have started
bringing my guitar along and really getting to enjoy her more than ever
before. Maestro Ricardo's words of feeling what you play is only now starting
to happen to me. I feel the vibrations of the strings against my body, I hear
and feel every note, feel the vibrations in my fingers as well. I always
wished that I could sing. My darling daughter expressed the same wish a few
months ago, and super duper uber dad :-))), got on the net, and
found some amazing vocal tutorials available. I paid my dues and joined the
songbirdtree group. And learned that one can actually learn how to sing!!!
An absolute beginner as with most things in life, I can now feel my voice
resonate with the notes I play on my guitar. Never played guitar for show,
and never will. It is like meditating so people can see how in tune you
are, or doing yoga poses in a busy shopping centre .... imagine :-))) Very
few people have heard me play, I only play with and for my daughter really.
Yes, she's also got a guitar. She's much more into dancing and such though,
following her own beautiful journey. And doing exceedingly well at whatever
she does.
Since very young I have been gifted at writing. Whether it was poetry,
advertising, stories, whatever. In primary school my teachers always said
they want to read my books when I grow up. Oops.....vouched never to grow
up :-))) Peter Pan :-((( Seriously though, in high school for example we had
to write a poem for homework. I just sat and let it flow, a long ode, and then
just for kicks, another short poem. I smiled when I saw my marks on both
poems. The teacher first gave me 8/10, then scribbled the marks out and gave
me 9/10, scribbled it out again and gave me 10/10 for both. She thus read both
poems three times! I was looking down and smiling shyly the next day when she
enquired where I got the poems from, that it was impossible for me to have
written those poems. I could have felt insulted, but I understood where she
came from. I also sat back after the poems were penned, read it, covered
my face with my hands and said wow. I thus took her comment as a compliment
and said thanks.
To say just let it flow....yes and no. I often write, rewrite, rewrite, and
rewrite again until it feels just right. A touch of inspiration and buckets of
perspiration. Just that I never really knew what to write about. I like to
keep things real, authentic. Lately I've realised I have tons to write about,
and it is bubbling up inside of me, a fountain or a volcano that is bursting
to explode. So much to be thankful for. So much to be grateful for. So very
blessed. And as I play more and more guitar, and learning to play all my
favourite songs, new songs are starting to take shape. I would wake up from a
dream, and capture the essence in a song. My notebook and pencil and guitar
always next to me in my cabin. Songs about love lost, some crazy fun songs as
well. One of these, translated, "Come let's dance a little more".
Just yesterday, 11/01, I decided it was time to re string my guitar. Got a set
of coloured strings a while ago, six strings, six different colours. Why would
one string your guitar with coloured strings? Why not? Never knew they
existed, never even thought of it. From the bottom up, pink, blue, green,
gold, copper and red. It will take a day or two until the strings are properly
stretched and will stay in tune. I removed all the old strings, cleaned my
guitar thoroughly, oiled the turnkeys, gave her some TLC. Now she is like a
rainbow :-)))
Please. Please please please. Do not think I am special and you are not. We
are most special, each in our own unique way, each with our own contribution
to make to this life. On that note I will sign off today.
Paul
P.S In my next blog I will share our run from St. Helena to Fortaleza, Brazil.
It will be much more about sailing, and much less about playing. We did some
very interesting things with our sails, and with spectacular results. We are
currently sailing 350nm off the Amazon River mouth. Lots and lots of rain and
squalls. Fun times.
perhaps time for some confessions :-))) If you were hoping for some saucy
story of some island girl on the beach, sorry, not today :-))). Before we left
Cape Town, Jaryd noticed I had my guitar on board. He said he wanted to learn
how to play the guitar. In my sometimes brutally honest way of speaking, I
told him I really don't expect him to share his wife with anyone, and likewise
I also don't share my guitar with anyone. I recommended he goes shopping for a
nice second hand guitar at a pawn shop and he should come right for less than
$50's. I thought he and Nathan may think it nice, buy a cheap nylon string
guitar to learn on, and the guitar can stay on the boat once we have delivered
her to the States. Nathan's kids may find use for it. Instead, Jaryd went to a
proper musical instrument store and came back with a beautiful steel string
guitar for $160. He also got some instructional books etc. Great travelling
guitar, a bit shorter than the normal size guitar, but excellent quality,
heavy, digital tuner built into the guitar and padded bag to keep the guitar
in. I told Jaryd my guitar's name is Angelique, Angy for short.
I had a few guitar lessons from a legend in SA, Ricardo Bornman, nearly
forty years ago. Spent hours every day learning how to play, earned proper
callouses on my finger tips and probably drove my parents a bit mad with
the twang twang twang coming from my room :-))) I practised hard, and once a
week went for my guitar lesson. Ricardo soon told me that I am playing the
guitar technically perfect, but that I now have to add some feeling to my
playing. I grew up in the days when Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, David
Bowie, Neil Young, JJ Cale, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin,
Pink Floyd etc were making music. I had a burning desire to learn how to
play the guitar, and to learn how to express something inside I could not put
in words. I learned to read music, learned to play classical guitar, and
would get lost in my inner world. I was fortunate that there was no tv when I
grew up which only came to SA in '76. I consider tv the biggest waste of
time, the greatest soul destroyer of all time. I know to be grammatically
correct I should write tv in capital letters, I would much rather write the f
word in capital letters. My blog, my rules :-))) In short, I escaped the mind
numbing and soul destroying effect of growing up in front of a tv. Instead I
grew up playing outside in the streets, the parks; the biggest evil of the
day being pinball, which I was also a wizard at :-))) Loved my chopper
bicycle as well, my first real taste of travelling and freedom.
Misspent youth you may cry. Really !!! In my teen years I enjoyed playing
rugby, cricket, and also had a professional tennis coach. My idol was Bjorn
Borg. I read just about all the non- fiction books at our local library.
Fascinating journey of one book leading me to the next. Autobiographies,
philosophies, how to books, travel books, my interests were wide and varied.
The librarian limited me to three books at a time. I pleaded my case with my
mom, she joined, and I could take out six books at a time. At school I
excelled in the subjects I enjoyed, like biology and geography. Took Latin as
a subject, sucked at maths :-))) Would stare out of the window looking at the
clouds drifting by. At night I studied theology at Hebron Theological College
and was a fully ordained minister of the Pentecostal Holiness Church when I
was 18. Gave the lecturers much grief, asking questions that should not be
asked :-))) Think I drove my parents mad with all my why's as well, following
every answer with another why, a genuine why, I really wanted to know and
understand. Unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Beat my uncle at chess at 7,
he was the best chess player in the family. Also read my first book at 7, The
Troubadour. Life in the fairest Cape 300 years ago. Narrow cobbled streets,
horse and cart carriages, sword fights and so on. I was 14 when my dad one
day arrived home from work with an F hole hollow body electrical Ibanez
guitar, with an amp that still worked with valves !!! They first had to warm
up before one could play. Now I could bend strings and sustain notes and make
a lot of noise. Learned to play lead guitar, bass and rhythm. Love you Dad,
love you too Mom :-)))
They allowed me to just be myself, and I could sit up till 2am or whatever
time studying or reading whenever I wanted to. They supported me in all my
endeavours. I was a bit of a free child, a wild child. 4 hours sleep a day
was enough for me. I also read a lot about sailing those days, dreamed of the
day I could get on a boat and float on the water and go where the Wind blows.
Back to my guitar :-))) Life went on, did my compulsory military service, got
married to a Lebanese lady. I was happy and content but the Higher Hand had
other plans for my life. She passed away in '99. Contentment is so contentious
and dangerous. I started my sailing courses in 2000 and sailed from SA to
Madagascar, still my favourite island in the world, extraordinary place that
is. Got married again a year later and became a dad at 38 on 01/07/2003. In
2006 I started my full time sailing career. I carried my late wife's ashes
with me wherever I sailed and for two years sprinkled her ashes all over the
world until there was no more. None of my crew ever knew about this, just
doing my own thing, as usual.
Having gone the full circle with my guitar playing, I am back where I started
again, classical nylon string guitar. Never really stopped playing but played
much less than in my younger days. The last few deliveries I have started
bringing my guitar along and really getting to enjoy her more than ever
before. Maestro Ricardo's words of feeling what you play is only now starting
to happen to me. I feel the vibrations of the strings against my body, I hear
and feel every note, feel the vibrations in my fingers as well. I always
wished that I could sing. My darling daughter expressed the same wish a few
months ago, and super duper uber dad :-))), got on the net, and
found some amazing vocal tutorials available. I paid my dues and joined the
songbirdtree group. And learned that one can actually learn how to sing!!!
An absolute beginner as with most things in life, I can now feel my voice
resonate with the notes I play on my guitar. Never played guitar for show,
and never will. It is like meditating so people can see how in tune you
are, or doing yoga poses in a busy shopping centre .... imagine :-))) Very
few people have heard me play, I only play with and for my daughter really.
Yes, she's also got a guitar. She's much more into dancing and such though,
following her own beautiful journey. And doing exceedingly well at whatever
she does.
Since very young I have been gifted at writing. Whether it was poetry,
advertising, stories, whatever. In primary school my teachers always said
they want to read my books when I grow up. Oops.....vouched never to grow
up :-))) Peter Pan :-((( Seriously though, in high school for example we had
to write a poem for homework. I just sat and let it flow, a long ode, and then
just for kicks, another short poem. I smiled when I saw my marks on both
poems. The teacher first gave me 8/10, then scribbled the marks out and gave
me 9/10, scribbled it out again and gave me 10/10 for both. She thus read both
poems three times! I was looking down and smiling shyly the next day when she
enquired where I got the poems from, that it was impossible for me to have
written those poems. I could have felt insulted, but I understood where she
came from. I also sat back after the poems were penned, read it, covered
my face with my hands and said wow. I thus took her comment as a compliment
and said thanks.
To say just let it flow....yes and no. I often write, rewrite, rewrite, and
rewrite again until it feels just right. A touch of inspiration and buckets of
perspiration. Just that I never really knew what to write about. I like to
keep things real, authentic. Lately I've realised I have tons to write about,
and it is bubbling up inside of me, a fountain or a volcano that is bursting
to explode. So much to be thankful for. So much to be grateful for. So very
blessed. And as I play more and more guitar, and learning to play all my
favourite songs, new songs are starting to take shape. I would wake up from a
dream, and capture the essence in a song. My notebook and pencil and guitar
always next to me in my cabin. Songs about love lost, some crazy fun songs as
well. One of these, translated, "Come let's dance a little more".
Just yesterday, 11/01, I decided it was time to re string my guitar. Got a set
of coloured strings a while ago, six strings, six different colours. Why would
one string your guitar with coloured strings? Why not? Never knew they
existed, never even thought of it. From the bottom up, pink, blue, green,
gold, copper and red. It will take a day or two until the strings are properly
stretched and will stay in tune. I removed all the old strings, cleaned my
guitar thoroughly, oiled the turnkeys, gave her some TLC. Now she is like a
rainbow :-)))
Please. Please please please. Do not think I am special and you are not. We
are most special, each in our own unique way, each with our own contribution
to make to this life. On that note I will sign off today.
Paul
P.S In my next blog I will share our run from St. Helena to Fortaleza, Brazil.
It will be much more about sailing, and much less about playing. We did some
very interesting things with our sails, and with spectacular results. We are
currently sailing 350nm off the Amazon River mouth. Lots and lots of rain and
squalls. Fun times.
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Cape Town to St.Helena on the run
Visiting Cape Town is always a most wonderful experience. We had a few
days to get a lot done for our passage to the Americas. A few adjustments
here and there, a replacement or two, and with the technical support from
Royal Cape Catamarans, things were running like clockwork. I consider them
to be the best when it comes to technical support. I also have the most
wonderful friends in Cape Town who I try to spend time with every time I am
there. In no particular order, there is Nicky. She used to run the Leopard
Catamarans delivery operations before they started shipping them. Having twenty
boats with at least three crew on each all over the world at any time, she had
to be ready to jump into action 24/7/365. A lot can go wrong on one boat, at
any time, you have no idea. Twenty boats, a whole different level of potential
trouble. She had to allocate skippers, approve of crew, organise flight
tickets, skipper's payments, deal with family queries, girlfriends and
boyfriends of the skippers and crew, take and compile position and condition
reports twice a week, unhappy crew, unhappy skippers, breakdowns and the list
goes on and on, and on :-))). She managed more than a thousand deliveries,
nobody else in the world can lay claim to that. Skippers can be another breed,
and crew as well. She ruled with an iron fist as there was no other way to
control a bunch of hooligans at times. She never got the credit she deserved.
How she managed I have no idea, but she did. I visit her often when I am in
Cape Town.
Then there is Chevonne. Fatally attractive :-))), I met her when I started
delivering yachts twelve years ago. Wild as the wind, we always make a plan
to have a night or two, or three out on town. Shooting pool, pub crawling,
open mike evenings, live music events, watching sunsets and sunrises, we
get on like a house on fire. Tons of fun, always running around and
carrying on like there is no tomorrow. She works hard and plays hard like
you won't believe. On the ball real estate agent, action netball superstar.
We will at times party real hard till three am, and at five she will get up to
go and lead a strenuous boot camping session on the promenade. I have often
asked her what her secret is, and her answer, give yourself no choice. I
love spoiling her, expensive perfumes from abroad, bikinis from Brazil, we
just have a crazy wonderful relationship, and in case you were wondering,
no, we don't have a physical relationship :-))). We rock each other's
worlds. And everybody around us can see that we have a most special kind of
magic. Vonny Love :-)))
And then Goddess Dianne. Divine, beautiful, classy, elegant, sophisticated,
a lady through and through. Fiercely independent, highly disciplined, super
intelligent, well travelled, she makes a most wonderful companion. We can
sit and chat for hours about all kinds of weird and wonderful things. We
enjoy frequenting the best sushi venues in Cape Town. At times we get take
away sushi and enjoy it on whichever boat I am on. Sometimes we do lunch,
sometimes dins as we call it. One of our most memorable evenings was on
Second Wind, a Leopard 58. We got us a choice selection of sushi, pink Moet
champagne on ice, and had a wonderful feast as the fog slowly rolled into
the V&A Marina next to Cape Grace hotel. In the distance the fog horn was
blasting every now and then. Thought I died and gone to heaven :-))) She was
also one of the VIP guests when Second Wind was initiated. One cold rainy
winters evening we had some lovely food at Rick's Cafe where we were seated
next to a fire place. Many more secret little eating places I would love to
explore with her. Recently, we had to take Ooga Chaka for a sea trial. I had a
dinner date with Dianne, and fitting two new props took a bit longer than
expected. Instead of her having to wait for us to return, I invited her for a
sunset cruise/sea trial. We have previously also been out on a Leopard
Powercat. They needed a skipper to take some guests out one morning, and I was
available. Life is mostly wonderful ;-))) Wherever I travel all over the
world, I always send Dianne a 360 degree video of where I am. It takes us
sometimes weeks, sometimes months to get to one or other exotic destination,
and it pleases me immensely to share these moments with her. She is in the
travel business, 1st class floating holidays to be exact. Whether it be on
luxury yachts at top locations around the world, or canal boats in Europe,
she is numero uno. I call her my one and only 4eva friendy :-))). So very
good to have real close friends with no expectations, no complications. So if
you wonder why I love Cape Town so very much, besides the scenery, above
are a few reasons.
The Volvo Ocean race was also in Cape Town with the start on 10 December. I
looked at the weather and realized that we will have to depart 7 December,
the day after the sea trial. There was a black South Easter coming through
and hitting Cape Town on 9-10 December with rough seas till Tuesday. Suddenly
it was time to go. We had to fill 2200 ltrs of diesel into tanks and jerry
cans, clear out, do the last bit of fresh provisioning and go. Otherwise we
will be in Cape Town for another week, and as we have to make it in time for
the Miami boat show mid February, we could not afford to hang around. Tough to
do all we had to do in one day, but when the going gets tough, the tough gets
going. Nathan also enquired about the possibility of leaving on Thursday as he
was quite eager to get going. I informed him I will give him an answer soon.
Just before midnight on Wednesday I had a final look a the weather and made the
call. I messaged him as well as my other crew to be ready to leave Thursday.
His reply - " I will await your orders Captain!" I wanted to get out before the
storms hits, and fortunately the wind was in our favour, although we expected
some heavy seas and strong winds.
Thursday morning the crew were amped and ready. We worked hard the whole
day, fuelling up, clearing out, provisioning etc. 9pm we were all set to go,
switched on the instruments, started the motors and by 10pm we requested
permission from Cape Town port control to exit the harbour. It was going to
be a tough test for the boat and for the crew, but we did have Friday and
part of Saturday to get some distance between us and land. We motored mostly
on Friday, the quiet before the storm. On Saturday the clouds loomed ominous
behind us and the sea state also started building rapidly. I learned from my
good friend Paul Rackstraw, also from Cape Town, to always add 10kts to the
predicted weather, and again it turned out to be spot on. 30kts was predicted
with 4.5 meter waves every 8 seconds, bad enough. We got 40 kts with 6 meter
waves close on each other. Saturday night the storm reached us and the roller
coaster ride began. As we have a heavy boat I had the full genoa out. Not a
big genoa, but also not a storm jib. With the waves in close succession we
started surfing down one wave, slowed down as the wave rolled through under us,
and the next wave would crash into us from behind. The nautical term is getting
pooped, when the waves smash into and onto the boat from behind. It was pitch
dark and quite scary as the back of the boat would be lifted up, pushed
forward at speed and the bows nearly getting buried in the water boiling up
front. Up on the fly bridge the motion was amplified somewhat, causing one to
lean back and with abated breath hold on tightly. I started both motors and
ran them at 2000rpm to keep our motion going forward. As usual it worked a
charm and we were no longer getting pooped. Exhilarating yes, but really not
my idea of fun. If anything had to go wrong with the rudders we would be in
very serious trouble. But I also knew we checked and double checked all the
systems before we left. We ploughed like this through the night and the boat
held up extremely well. Sunday the storm intensified. Always interesting to
watch the wind speed drop from 30kts to 20kts and then blows to 35kts, drop to
20kts and maxing out at 40kts. As if the wind is inhaling deeply, and then
blowing out harder. Our average speed is 6kts. During the storm we surfed
and maxed at 18.6kts. Closer to land it would have been far worse and I was
thinking about the Volvo Ocean race contestants. They had to go the other
way down south and to Australia. The wind was right against them and I wondered
how they navigated this storm. Monday things started to settle a bit and we
were well on our way. Once again a calculated risk we took which worked in our
favour. Nathan and Dan was fine, Jaryd was suffering a bad bout of seasickness,
again :-))) Why do I smile ? :-))) This is how you learn respect for the ocean.
She can wipe you out in a moment, or she can take you in and look after you. No
compromise here, just pure unadulterated reality. A massive amount of respect,
a bit of luck and thorough preparation is essential. Mwuhahahahaha !!! After a
few days Jaryd started coming around. Before that he was mostly hanging like a
bat on the safety rails with his head down and feeding the fish. He once lifted
his head and I uttered - "What !!! Are you still alive ???" :-))) The number
one safety rule aboard a yacht is to stay aboard the yacht. I always tell my
crew that there is a lot of paper work involved should one of them go missing
at sea :-))) If one of my crew bumps their head or toe or any other mishap the
first question I ask is whether the boat is ok :-))) It somehow shocks them
into forgetting about their injury for a moment, and soon they realize they can
manage their pain. The next time they injure themselves the first thing they do
is to assure me the boat is ok :-))) We then attend to whatever injury they
suffered. We had a splendid sail from Cape Town to St.Helena and made it under
twelve days, a very good time for a cat this size.
We had precious little sun on our passage from Cape Town to St. Helena. Not
much rain either. We are four crew and I changed my usual rotating watch
system to fixed hours every day and night. I tried it on my previous delivery
and it worked well for us. I took the 6 to 9 watch in the mornings and the
evenings. Most wind changes occur during these periods. I told my crew they
can divide the rest of the shifts as they choose. Jaryd follows my watch from
9 to 12, then Nathan takes over from there, and Dan does the 3 to 6 watches
every day. I found this system to work very well and we are all well rested. I
make breakfast most mornings, and lunch/dinner we do around 2pm. Every one gets
a turn to prepare our main meal for the day. Whilst in Cape Town we also got
two sprouting kits, a few packets of alfalfa seeds, mung beans etc. Jaryd is in
charge of this. I gave him a few pointers and soon we were having great
success. I have done this a few times before on crossings and always great to
have some fresh, healthy greens aboard.
One day rolled into the next and before we knew it St. Helena loomed on the
horizon. We had fair winds from behind most of the time and was using our
screecher and genoa wing on wing and maintained an above average speed. We
arrived on 20th December at about 6pm and could only clear in the next day at
11am as RMS St.Helena was in, and they had to be cleared first. We took time to
do some preventative maintenance, Dan went up the mast to check the rigging. At
11am we were ready and the ferry boat took us ashore. Clearing in was quick, we
exchanged some $'s at the bank, did some provisioning, and arranged with
Richard and Jane at Anne's Place for a bbq the next afternoon. The annual
Festival of Lights was happening the day we went ashore. Richard informed me
that it is a huge procession that is attended by everyone on the island. All
types of vehicles made up with colourful lights, everyone was wearing some
colourful flashing lights, and music and dancing as the procession moves down
the main street. The festival is in aid of raising funds for the primary
school. It was a wonderful event and went on late into the night.
The next day we did some more provisioning, and as usual I went to pay a visit
to my very good friend Hazel who owns The Consulate Hotel. A most amazing hotel
with an astounding collection of mostly maritime antiques. She hails from
Botswana where she owns quite a bit of commercial property. Her partner Peter,
who hails from the UK but also lived and farmed in SA, used to be a physics
professor, and many years ago sailed from SA to St.Helena single-handedly.
Besides the hotel they also farm on St.Helena. Busy getting off the grid, they
are planning to get the hotel also under solar panels. Currently Peter is
constructing a dam on the farm as well. Besides having a few pet cows :-))),
chickens for eggs, and a variety of veggies etc., Peter is now also growing
tobacco using no herbicides or pesticides. Since the airport at last opened
less than a year ago, he will be exporting his tobacco soon. He gave me a
portion to sample and I wish him the best with his endeavours. The battles
these two had to endure to keep afloat, what can I say. Legendary. Hazel is
probably one of the most enlightened people I have ever met, and does not
suffer fools gladly. I know perhaps 0.1% of her life, and that already leaves
me in awe. If ever you feel an urge to visit a place way off the beaten track,
this is where you should come. The most remotest inhabited place on the planet.
A new hotel has been constructed, Mantis, St.Helena. If you like cold, clinical
and boring accommodation, it will suit you fine. If you prefer a place with
heart and soul, character and so much more, The Consulate is where you will
feel right at home. Google Consulate Hotel, St.Helena, you should find their
website and perhaps get a glimpse of what I am talking about. As usual, I just
popped in to say hi quick, and ended up staying hours :-))). I had arranged for
a bbq at 6pm at Anne's Place as mentioned before and had to drag myself away
from these two wonderful characters.
Was just thinking if I blog a bit more often I wouldn't have to bore you for so
long at one time :-((( Also excuse my use of symbols and perhaps incorrect
words and tenses etc. I am not trying to impress anyone with my perfect command
of English. It is my second language, I am only trying to express and share
some experiences with you. Let me try and scribble a few more words :-)))
At Anne's Place we had as we always do another gastronomical experience. I have
known the Sim family who started the establishment in the 70's for 12 years
now, and we have become best of friends. It started off as a small place in the
Company Gardens, and has expanded substantially. Every time I visit something
new has been added, and it has a worldwide reputation with sailors around the
globe. Always an immense gathering around the fireplace. All the visiting
yachties are invited as well as a few locals. I bring lots of charcoal and some
meat, Jane adds more meat, makes a great bowl or two of salad, some potato
fries, and dessert at the end. And of course a few cold beers, but all in
moderation. We normally do lunch there as well, they have a new big coffee
machine, a choice selection of cakes etc., and wifi. Great to spend the day
there after exploring the island a bit. This time round we met Dawn, a real
warm character from St.Lucia in the Caribbean. Her hubby has a two year
contract on the island and instead of just sitting around, she serves behind
the bar. She adds an amazing vibe to an already amazing place.
So very much more I want to share with you, so many places I've been.
Experiences, close calls, confessions.... I probably should get a thesaurus and
not use the word wonderful so often. Would'nt that be awesome :-))) Have to at
least say awesome once. Well, I will end for now, and will catch up soon again.
Adios
Paul
days to get a lot done for our passage to the Americas. A few adjustments
here and there, a replacement or two, and with the technical support from
Royal Cape Catamarans, things were running like clockwork. I consider them
to be the best when it comes to technical support. I also have the most
wonderful friends in Cape Town who I try to spend time with every time I am
there. In no particular order, there is Nicky. She used to run the Leopard
Catamarans delivery operations before they started shipping them. Having twenty
boats with at least three crew on each all over the world at any time, she had
to be ready to jump into action 24/7/365. A lot can go wrong on one boat, at
any time, you have no idea. Twenty boats, a whole different level of potential
trouble. She had to allocate skippers, approve of crew, organise flight
tickets, skipper's payments, deal with family queries, girlfriends and
boyfriends of the skippers and crew, take and compile position and condition
reports twice a week, unhappy crew, unhappy skippers, breakdowns and the list
goes on and on, and on :-))). She managed more than a thousand deliveries,
nobody else in the world can lay claim to that. Skippers can be another breed,
and crew as well. She ruled with an iron fist as there was no other way to
control a bunch of hooligans at times. She never got the credit she deserved.
How she managed I have no idea, but she did. I visit her often when I am in
Cape Town.
Then there is Chevonne. Fatally attractive :-))), I met her when I started
delivering yachts twelve years ago. Wild as the wind, we always make a plan
to have a night or two, or three out on town. Shooting pool, pub crawling,
open mike evenings, live music events, watching sunsets and sunrises, we
get on like a house on fire. Tons of fun, always running around and
carrying on like there is no tomorrow. She works hard and plays hard like
you won't believe. On the ball real estate agent, action netball superstar.
We will at times party real hard till three am, and at five she will get up to
go and lead a strenuous boot camping session on the promenade. I have often
asked her what her secret is, and her answer, give yourself no choice. I
love spoiling her, expensive perfumes from abroad, bikinis from Brazil, we
just have a crazy wonderful relationship, and in case you were wondering,
no, we don't have a physical relationship :-))). We rock each other's
worlds. And everybody around us can see that we have a most special kind of
magic. Vonny Love :-)))
And then Goddess Dianne. Divine, beautiful, classy, elegant, sophisticated,
a lady through and through. Fiercely independent, highly disciplined, super
intelligent, well travelled, she makes a most wonderful companion. We can
sit and chat for hours about all kinds of weird and wonderful things. We
enjoy frequenting the best sushi venues in Cape Town. At times we get take
away sushi and enjoy it on whichever boat I am on. Sometimes we do lunch,
sometimes dins as we call it. One of our most memorable evenings was on
Second Wind, a Leopard 58. We got us a choice selection of sushi, pink Moet
champagne on ice, and had a wonderful feast as the fog slowly rolled into
the V&A Marina next to Cape Grace hotel. In the distance the fog horn was
blasting every now and then. Thought I died and gone to heaven :-))) She was
also one of the VIP guests when Second Wind was initiated. One cold rainy
winters evening we had some lovely food at Rick's Cafe where we were seated
next to a fire place. Many more secret little eating places I would love to
explore with her. Recently, we had to take Ooga Chaka for a sea trial. I had a
dinner date with Dianne, and fitting two new props took a bit longer than
expected. Instead of her having to wait for us to return, I invited her for a
sunset cruise/sea trial. We have previously also been out on a Leopard
Powercat. They needed a skipper to take some guests out one morning, and I was
available. Life is mostly wonderful ;-))) Wherever I travel all over the
world, I always send Dianne a 360 degree video of where I am. It takes us
sometimes weeks, sometimes months to get to one or other exotic destination,
and it pleases me immensely to share these moments with her. She is in the
travel business, 1st class floating holidays to be exact. Whether it be on
luxury yachts at top locations around the world, or canal boats in Europe,
she is numero uno. I call her my one and only 4eva friendy :-))). So very
good to have real close friends with no expectations, no complications. So if
you wonder why I love Cape Town so very much, besides the scenery, above
are a few reasons.
The Volvo Ocean race was also in Cape Town with the start on 10 December. I
looked at the weather and realized that we will have to depart 7 December,
the day after the sea trial. There was a black South Easter coming through
and hitting Cape Town on 9-10 December with rough seas till Tuesday. Suddenly
it was time to go. We had to fill 2200 ltrs of diesel into tanks and jerry
cans, clear out, do the last bit of fresh provisioning and go. Otherwise we
will be in Cape Town for another week, and as we have to make it in time for
the Miami boat show mid February, we could not afford to hang around. Tough to
do all we had to do in one day, but when the going gets tough, the tough gets
going. Nathan also enquired about the possibility of leaving on Thursday as he
was quite eager to get going. I informed him I will give him an answer soon.
Just before midnight on Wednesday I had a final look a the weather and made the
call. I messaged him as well as my other crew to be ready to leave Thursday.
His reply - " I will await your orders Captain!" I wanted to get out before the
storms hits, and fortunately the wind was in our favour, although we expected
some heavy seas and strong winds.
Thursday morning the crew were amped and ready. We worked hard the whole
day, fuelling up, clearing out, provisioning etc. 9pm we were all set to go,
switched on the instruments, started the motors and by 10pm we requested
permission from Cape Town port control to exit the harbour. It was going to
be a tough test for the boat and for the crew, but we did have Friday and
part of Saturday to get some distance between us and land. We motored mostly
on Friday, the quiet before the storm. On Saturday the clouds loomed ominous
behind us and the sea state also started building rapidly. I learned from my
good friend Paul Rackstraw, also from Cape Town, to always add 10kts to the
predicted weather, and again it turned out to be spot on. 30kts was predicted
with 4.5 meter waves every 8 seconds, bad enough. We got 40 kts with 6 meter
waves close on each other. Saturday night the storm reached us and the roller
coaster ride began. As we have a heavy boat I had the full genoa out. Not a
big genoa, but also not a storm jib. With the waves in close succession we
started surfing down one wave, slowed down as the wave rolled through under us,
and the next wave would crash into us from behind. The nautical term is getting
pooped, when the waves smash into and onto the boat from behind. It was pitch
dark and quite scary as the back of the boat would be lifted up, pushed
forward at speed and the bows nearly getting buried in the water boiling up
front. Up on the fly bridge the motion was amplified somewhat, causing one to
lean back and with abated breath hold on tightly. I started both motors and
ran them at 2000rpm to keep our motion going forward. As usual it worked a
charm and we were no longer getting pooped. Exhilarating yes, but really not
my idea of fun. If anything had to go wrong with the rudders we would be in
very serious trouble. But I also knew we checked and double checked all the
systems before we left. We ploughed like this through the night and the boat
held up extremely well. Sunday the storm intensified. Always interesting to
watch the wind speed drop from 30kts to 20kts and then blows to 35kts, drop to
20kts and maxing out at 40kts. As if the wind is inhaling deeply, and then
blowing out harder. Our average speed is 6kts. During the storm we surfed
and maxed at 18.6kts. Closer to land it would have been far worse and I was
thinking about the Volvo Ocean race contestants. They had to go the other
way down south and to Australia. The wind was right against them and I wondered
how they navigated this storm. Monday things started to settle a bit and we
were well on our way. Once again a calculated risk we took which worked in our
favour. Nathan and Dan was fine, Jaryd was suffering a bad bout of seasickness,
again :-))) Why do I smile ? :-))) This is how you learn respect for the ocean.
She can wipe you out in a moment, or she can take you in and look after you. No
compromise here, just pure unadulterated reality. A massive amount of respect,
a bit of luck and thorough preparation is essential. Mwuhahahahaha !!! After a
few days Jaryd started coming around. Before that he was mostly hanging like a
bat on the safety rails with his head down and feeding the fish. He once lifted
his head and I uttered - "What !!! Are you still alive ???" :-))) The number
one safety rule aboard a yacht is to stay aboard the yacht. I always tell my
crew that there is a lot of paper work involved should one of them go missing
at sea :-))) If one of my crew bumps their head or toe or any other mishap the
first question I ask is whether the boat is ok :-))) It somehow shocks them
into forgetting about their injury for a moment, and soon they realize they can
manage their pain. The next time they injure themselves the first thing they do
is to assure me the boat is ok :-))) We then attend to whatever injury they
suffered. We had a splendid sail from Cape Town to St.Helena and made it under
twelve days, a very good time for a cat this size.
We had precious little sun on our passage from Cape Town to St. Helena. Not
much rain either. We are four crew and I changed my usual rotating watch
system to fixed hours every day and night. I tried it on my previous delivery
and it worked well for us. I took the 6 to 9 watch in the mornings and the
evenings. Most wind changes occur during these periods. I told my crew they
can divide the rest of the shifts as they choose. Jaryd follows my watch from
9 to 12, then Nathan takes over from there, and Dan does the 3 to 6 watches
every day. I found this system to work very well and we are all well rested. I
make breakfast most mornings, and lunch/dinner we do around 2pm. Every one gets
a turn to prepare our main meal for the day. Whilst in Cape Town we also got
two sprouting kits, a few packets of alfalfa seeds, mung beans etc. Jaryd is in
charge of this. I gave him a few pointers and soon we were having great
success. I have done this a few times before on crossings and always great to
have some fresh, healthy greens aboard.
One day rolled into the next and before we knew it St. Helena loomed on the
horizon. We had fair winds from behind most of the time and was using our
screecher and genoa wing on wing and maintained an above average speed. We
arrived on 20th December at about 6pm and could only clear in the next day at
11am as RMS St.Helena was in, and they had to be cleared first. We took time to
do some preventative maintenance, Dan went up the mast to check the rigging. At
11am we were ready and the ferry boat took us ashore. Clearing in was quick, we
exchanged some $'s at the bank, did some provisioning, and arranged with
Richard and Jane at Anne's Place for a bbq the next afternoon. The annual
Festival of Lights was happening the day we went ashore. Richard informed me
that it is a huge procession that is attended by everyone on the island. All
types of vehicles made up with colourful lights, everyone was wearing some
colourful flashing lights, and music and dancing as the procession moves down
the main street. The festival is in aid of raising funds for the primary
school. It was a wonderful event and went on late into the night.
The next day we did some more provisioning, and as usual I went to pay a visit
to my very good friend Hazel who owns The Consulate Hotel. A most amazing hotel
with an astounding collection of mostly maritime antiques. She hails from
Botswana where she owns quite a bit of commercial property. Her partner Peter,
who hails from the UK but also lived and farmed in SA, used to be a physics
professor, and many years ago sailed from SA to St.Helena single-handedly.
Besides the hotel they also farm on St.Helena. Busy getting off the grid, they
are planning to get the hotel also under solar panels. Currently Peter is
constructing a dam on the farm as well. Besides having a few pet cows :-))),
chickens for eggs, and a variety of veggies etc., Peter is now also growing
tobacco using no herbicides or pesticides. Since the airport at last opened
less than a year ago, he will be exporting his tobacco soon. He gave me a
portion to sample and I wish him the best with his endeavours. The battles
these two had to endure to keep afloat, what can I say. Legendary. Hazel is
probably one of the most enlightened people I have ever met, and does not
suffer fools gladly. I know perhaps 0.1% of her life, and that already leaves
me in awe. If ever you feel an urge to visit a place way off the beaten track,
this is where you should come. The most remotest inhabited place on the planet.
A new hotel has been constructed, Mantis, St.Helena. If you like cold, clinical
and boring accommodation, it will suit you fine. If you prefer a place with
heart and soul, character and so much more, The Consulate is where you will
feel right at home. Google Consulate Hotel, St.Helena, you should find their
website and perhaps get a glimpse of what I am talking about. As usual, I just
popped in to say hi quick, and ended up staying hours :-))). I had arranged for
a bbq at 6pm at Anne's Place as mentioned before and had to drag myself away
from these two wonderful characters.
Was just thinking if I blog a bit more often I wouldn't have to bore you for so
long at one time :-((( Also excuse my use of symbols and perhaps incorrect
words and tenses etc. I am not trying to impress anyone with my perfect command
of English. It is my second language, I am only trying to express and share
some experiences with you. Let me try and scribble a few more words :-)))
At Anne's Place we had as we always do another gastronomical experience. I have
known the Sim family who started the establishment in the 70's for 12 years
now, and we have become best of friends. It started off as a small place in the
Company Gardens, and has expanded substantially. Every time I visit something
new has been added, and it has a worldwide reputation with sailors around the
globe. Always an immense gathering around the fireplace. All the visiting
yachties are invited as well as a few locals. I bring lots of charcoal and some
meat, Jane adds more meat, makes a great bowl or two of salad, some potato
fries, and dessert at the end. And of course a few cold beers, but all in
moderation. We normally do lunch there as well, they have a new big coffee
machine, a choice selection of cakes etc., and wifi. Great to spend the day
there after exploring the island a bit. This time round we met Dawn, a real
warm character from St.Lucia in the Caribbean. Her hubby has a two year
contract on the island and instead of just sitting around, she serves behind
the bar. She adds an amazing vibe to an already amazing place.
So very much more I want to share with you, so many places I've been.
Experiences, close calls, confessions.... I probably should get a thesaurus and
not use the word wonderful so often. Would'nt that be awesome :-))) Have to at
least say awesome once. Well, I will end for now, and will catch up soon again.
Adios
Paul
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