Dec 1 - Boat projects

Lest anyone think it's all fun and games :)...we've filled up with petrol and diesel, arranged to pick up a case of Perkins oil filters in Cape Town (Peninsular Power Products), had one of our two propane tanks filled (295ZAR; the local chandlary is a drop off/pick up spot), checked an area of the port forward lower shroud for integrity (it's fine; I was looking at dirt in the strands...), installed new gaskets in the Raritan phII head, changed the Perkins engine oil and filter, checked the level of transmission hydraulic fluid, fixed the mounting of the galley sink mixer (this took 1/2 a day!), installed the remaining 15 machine screws in the bow pulpit, changed the water maker filters, cleaned and oiled the K & N air filter on the Perkins, and covered the staysail in its new bag. We're getting ready to go walk-about, so everything needed to be done this week; we've been told most businesses close for the holidays from about mid-December until mid-Jan, so anything anyone needs has to be ordered and shipped or picked up before that.
Pic: Resident Kelp Gull and chick, at the end of a finger pier.

Nov 30 - A tour of Cape Town and the surrounding area

Dave & Mary Margaret graciously invited us to accompany them on a tour of Cape Town, being driven around by their friend Johan, who picked the four of us up at the False Bay Yacht Club at 1000. The coastal highway that winds around from Simon's Town before splitting to go to Cape Town is really beautiful. The local passenger train also follows this road, its tracks right next to the ocean, and passes thru Glen Cairn, Fish Hoek and Kalk Bay before it turns towards Cape Town. Communities dot the landscape, and we passed thru the Flatlands just outside of CT, then diverted into a quick, scenic drive thru the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens; it would take a full day to see the Gardens. Our next stop was the Rhodes Memorial, built to honor Cecil Rhodes of the Rhodes Scholarship and De Beers Mining fame. Again, beautiful views from the the Memorial greeted us. We drove thru parts of the city of Cape Town on the way to Signal Hill. From the old Dutch Fort to the museums, from the mix of parks, office buildings, hotels and shops, we saw an eclectic mix of old and new which was quite beautiful. At Signal Hill, we met Johan's partner, Christy, a delightful, vivacious woman with a ready smile. She showed us around Signal Hill, eventually taking off to reserve us a table for lunch elsewhere. We stayed a bit longer to see the paragliders, who were taking off in droves; the weather was perfect and there were no clouds at all over Table Mountain. There was a great view of Lion's Head Peak and the Twelve Apostles Mountains. The recently unveiled Sun Star Sculpture is also found here, made from metal taken from the nearby offshore Robben Island Prison, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated during the apartheid years. After lots of picture taking and gawking at the scenery, we then drove to Hout Bay to see the small harbor and handicrafts there. A bit further, we stopped at the Chapman's Peak Hotel where we met up with Christy for a late lunch and enjoyed the pan-fried calamari; this turned out to be one of the best meals we've experienced here in SA. After, we drove thru Witsand on the way back to Simon's Town, following the coastline back. We returned to the YC after 1800; what a great day! Johan & Christy, thank you so much for taking your Sunday and showing us this part of your beautiful country! We had a great time and look forward to seeing more!
Pic: The view of Table Mountain from Signal Hill.

Nov 28 - A very busy day

I had chipped a tooth yesterday and finally found a Dentist who would see me immediately. This morning, we took the train to Fish Hoek, and Dr Kloppers (office number 021 782 1404) did a commendable job of using a composite to fill in the area and fix the problem. After, we ate lunch at the Beachcomber Restaurant, and returned the scenic train route back to Simon's Town to do some browsing along the shops lining the beautiful waterfront. In the late afternoon, we met with Sam (ZS1SAM) and his wife Marijke. Sam is the dedicated Amateur Radio enthusiast who runs the South African Mobile Maritime Net, and who provided us with weather summaries every morning (and some afternoons) on our passage from Madagascar to Richards Bay, then from there to here in Simon's Town, with assistance from Graham and others on the Net. His advice was spot on, and we came to rely on his interpretative skills. We had long looked forward to meeting him, and he and his lovely wife Marijke came over to the False Bay Yacht Club to get together. The conversation was lively, but was then interrupted by a waitress who brought over a couple of trays of hors d'oeuvres and we found ourselves at the book signing of a long time member of the FBYC who had just published a Commemorative History of the FBYC. To cap off that ceremony, the Club's cannon was set off, and Sue caught the moment perfectly from our vantage point on the bar's balcony. We later drove to nearby Dixie's Restaurant in Glencairn, where we had a very nice dinner. It was a wonderful evening, and we really enjoyed Sam & Marijke's company.
Pic: Cannon firing

Nov 27 - Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration aboard Infini. For me, the morning started with a brisk walk to a nearby barber for a long awaited haircut. Returning to the boat, preparations were well underway by Sue & Matt to get the 7 pound turkey in the oven (about the maximum size bird our oven holds), the artichoke dip made, and get the boat ready for company. Nine of us from four cruising boats enjoyed a holiday feast. Cor & Olga (sv Fortune), Dave & Mary Margaret (sv Leu Cat), Randy & Jenny (sv Mystic) and the three of us had turkey with dressing, apple sauce, cranberry sauce, whipped carrots, garlic mashed potatoes, string beans, fresh baked bread, chicken, and a huge salad. Desert was an apple crisp pie with yogurt topping. Everyone contributed to the feast and we were all stuffed. The weather cooperated, and we were able to sit in the cockpit as well as the salon to enjoy the food and one another's company. We all had lots to give thanks for this year, and tops on everyone's mind was the many blessings bestowed upon us by having completed safe crossings of the Indian Ocean.
For more pictures, check out Leu Cat's site: http://www.sailblogs.com/member/leucat/

Nov 25 - Simon's Town; the winds are howling!

It took exactly three days for us to get from Port Elizabeth to the anchorage just outside the False Bay Yacht Club. Most of the time the wind was E-ESE-SE but a bit variable in strength; the last 12 hours it was just ornery. Winds were sustained mid 40's with higher gusts, and I was very happy we had put that double reef in the mainsail; we had long since furled the headsail. I would have been even more happy if the mainsail had been doused and the storm jib was flying, but with winds so high, and seas running about three meters, turning from a very broad reach so that the main would come down was not a good approach. The boom was way out, the boat was surfing along at 8.5-9.5 knots and, thank God, the autopilot worked flawlessly. Surprisingly, the high winds lasted about 1.5 hours, before falling to a much more acceptable 25-30 knots. It was all good. The sunrise was beautiful and we made the anchorage in daylight (wind still mid 20's). After a few hours we received our berth assignment from the False Bay Yacht Club and motored into the marina. Fortunately for us, Dave (sv Leu Cat) was there to help with our lines or it would have been a mess with the winds doing their best to swing us into the neighboring boat. We now have doubled-up all our mooring lines, have visited the Yacht Club and Marina offices, and have met up with Cor & Olga (sv Future). Randy & Jenny (sv Mystic) have stopped by to welcome us; they're anchored nearby in the bay. Btw, we've now officially crossed the Indian Ocean, as Cape Agulhas is the southern most cape of Africa and this area is where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. A school of playful dolphins, and another of seals, welcomed us as we were abeam of the Cape Agulhas light; how cool is that?!
Pic: Heading to False Bay Yacht Club from our anchorage outside.

Nov 20 - Fuel Games

We've fueled up in the most remote places; some are easy to use the fuel hose at a dock; most you need to carry 20 liter (5G) portable fuel tanks to the pump, then back to the boat, then filter and decant into the tanks. It's often a 1/2 day to full day affair, and the trick, of course, is to get more fuel into the tanks than into the dinghy or onto oneself. Often, easier said than done. Today was one of the easier times. Dave of sv Leu Cat and I shared the cost of a rental car for the day. They're not running free taxi service around here, so after the cost of multiple runs to the fuel station, the cost of the rental car looked pretty affordable. We each toted our gas cans to the station, filled up, and returned to our respective boats and transferred the fuel to the tanks while the other person made a run to the station. It took each of us two trips to top off, but it's good to know we're set for motoring, if necessary, without worries during this upcoming leg to Simon's Town. In the late afternoon, we made a visit to one of the Spar supermarkets and picked up some last minute provisions. After, we drove to the Bridge Street Brewery, a local hot-spot, micro-brewery nearby the port. No museums or forts visited this trip; the cultural experiences will have to wait. Of course, many of us think drinking beer is a cultural experience, don't you know. For dinner, we ate at the Algoa Bay Yacht Club. The servings are large and the food delicious; a good choice for any cruisers coming this way. Tomorrow, we'll pick up the anchor we deployed off our port bow to hold us off the dock, hoist the dinghy, secure the fuel cans to the rail, and top off the water tanks. We expect to depart Port Elizabeth very early Sat morning as a favorable wind is forecast for passage all the way to Simon's Town. We'll report on the reality of this over the next few days.
Pic: Doesn't M look happy?

Nov 19 - Port Elizabeth

Apparently, the weather Gods and the weather gurus had a bit of a disagreement. The 136 mi distance between East London and Port Elizabeth was supposed to be an over-night passage with fair winds. Instead, it took us 35 hours. Lets see: that included head winds from the SW-WSW of 18-20 knots (not forecast), adverse current (not forecast), short, choppy seas (lol), and motoring just about the entire way (what else is new?). The good news is that we docked in Port Elizabeth before sundown, which is always a good thing coming into an unknown port. Two fishing lines trailed the boat; no hits. One of our tougher passages, mainly because it was so slow, and listening to the engine for so long wasn't expected.
Pic: Safely tied to the end of a very long, rickety pier; it's a long walk to the YC and showers.

Nov 15 - Off the boat

It took hours to recommission the Yamaha 15 motor. In the end, I rebuilt the fuel pump, stripped down the carb and thoroughly cleaned it, replaced the 6 gallon fuel tank pick-up unit, replaced the fuel bulb/hose assembly and replaced the two spark plugs! I told Matt he could work his way around the world being a small engine mechanic! After a bit of fiddling and adjustment, the motor started and we eventually dinghied over to the Buffalo River Yacht Club to check it out. The showers were hot (10 ZAR each) and the small, fully stocked bar was accommodating. On the TV, South Africa was playing England in rugby, and we, once again, tried to discern some of the many rules of that sport. The weather has been beautiful, albeit windy, today; I likened it to waiting for the hammer to drop; tomorrow is forecast to be overcast with high winds; temperature has been in the 60's F. While Matt and I worked on the motor, Sue did a bit of grocery shopping, going along with Dave and Mary Margaret with their friend Debbie (she and her husband Patrick live here) to see the local sights. In the evening, back aboard, we played dominoes (Sue won) and did a bit of reading.
Pic: We can watch the crew teams practice on the Buffalo River from our mooring.