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Where am I ? > Journals
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Day
150, Monday 27 December 2004
Day
151, Tuesday 28 December 2004
We are not going to the top of the mountain though, no bicycles allowed there. But there should be amazing mountain bike trails over here, so I'm sure it will be fun. We go past the long queue of people waiting to get into the cable car. It's peak season now and the people will probably have to wait more that 1,5 hours to get up. We'd like to go up next week, with Stefan's parents and sister, but we'd better be as early as possible to avoid this queue. The smell of exhaust-gases produced by the many cars and buses is terrible. After a few minutes the crowd is gone, we pass a barrier and enjoy the total quietness. The views are stunning and the air is completely fresh.
We turn into a boulder-path that runs steep down. Keep sitting low, keep your balance and don't forget to brake. "Don't lose your control!" It's fun and thrilling, a combination we always prefer. Speed lover Stefan is already out of eyesight. I can't help thinking of that accident in France, when I toppled over with my mountain bike. Some scars on my shoulder and elbow still remember me of this rather silly action. 
A few hours we enjoy ourselves extremely well, climbing and descending the mountain. By the way, one couple in our group is travelingthrough Africa for six months: Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia. That sounds wonderful. Completely equipped fourwheeldrive, tent on top of the roof and off you go. Maybe in a couple of years time?
Day
154, Friday31 December 2004
The yacht club organizesa braai with a party afterwards on new year’s eve. Practical and a lot more economical than the top-prices they charge at the Waterfront. Marjolein even cooks fritters, another Dutch treat that is typical for new year’s eve.
HIt’s a great party. We even see the commodore and his wife dancing – mind you, they are both in a wheelchair. They both got paralyzedin an accident and even met each other because of this (he was her counselorjust after the accident). Fantastic to see how people refuse to give in and make the best out of their lives. We were told that the commodore still races his boat fanatically, taking the helm himself. Good man!
Camps Bay – enclosed by the “Twelve Apostles” mountain chain is advertised to be one of the best beaches in the world. And to that, al hot Cape Town babes are supposed to be there as well. Taking a chance this one is closed as well we head off to get our feet wet. And well, it isn’t closed, but reaching the place is nearly impossible. Both the road there and the beach itself are completely stuffed. Nothing reminds anymore of the trendy place it used to be. We only see a vast amount of black families cooking lunch in small vans and lying on the beach with their clothes on against the fierce wind. Very colorfuland enjoying to see.
Day
156, Sunday 2 January 2005
The landscape is a bit similar to the Alps, except for the amazing strange flowers and of course the waterbuck and baboons that suddenly pop up. The latter are not to be fed to prevent them from getting used to people. It’s best if they keep their natural shyness because they might grow violent if they get too close to humans, and their food.
We are now almost at the most Southern point of Africa. Next stop is the South Pole 6,900 kilometers.further. I’m thinking of all these people that rounded this cape, for the better or the worse, including my own son. And you bet that makes me feel proud.
We walk down to the actual Cape of Good Hope after lunch. We see small “dassies” fleeing under the rocks, according to the guide a kind of marmot related to the elephant. Beats me. The landscape is absolutely stunning. The raw power of the waves rolling on the coast. Stefan advises me not to go into the water. "Wait until Elephants Bay" he says. Ostriches are supposed to be found here but apparently they hate the sand blasting. The sand is not going to stop Evelien and myself from getting our feet wet.
[Natascha
>>]
Our first stop is the lovely situated Simonsig. For only 10 Rand we get to taste five wines and we can even keep the beautiful glass. We start with a South African champagne, followed by a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. I don't remember the names of the three red wines, but who cares. Wine tasting is great! Number two is the Morgenhof estate. Same thing: five wines for 10 Rand. We decide it's better to have lunch before continuing drinking...uhm...tasting. 
When tasting you're supposed to spit the wine out but that would take away at least 50% of all the fun. This leaves us all a bit drowsy so at the third farm Vergelegen (meaning: Far away) we feel only two tastes will do. Except for Stefan who dutiful keeps us his task of tasting five wines per winery.
[Stefan
>>]
A bus takes us around the island to visit some other important places, amongst which the "limestone cave", a cave in the sandstone mine where the prisoners had to chop stones for 10 hours a day. The prisoners had to use the cave to rest, to eat and to relieve themselves. In the absence of the guards' immediate presence because of the smell, this place became the most important forum for the higher ranking ANC leaders to have political discussions and educate each other, which was a privilege often taken away as further 'punishment'. It is said that the Robben Island University was founded on this very place, a place where ANC leaders could take education.
Though I don't want to play down the injustice that was done to the political prisoners, the situation was not as bad as often seen in other countries. Both solitary confinement and corporal punishment were not exercised, probably out of fear for the inevitable turn-around and the place held for less political prisoners than I expected. It could only house about 150 prisoners, a lot less than other regimes sometimes imprisoned. The island became an important political centerpoint when members of parliament secretly visited the ANC leaders to negotiate their release and the ultimate turn-around through free elections for everybody. All in all a very interesting tour that gives a good view on the acts of the previous white government and the independence struggle of the black population to gain freedom.
Day
159, Wednesday 5 January 2005
On the way back it crosses my mind that you can also abseil from Table Mountain. They advertise it as "Fear is temporary, regret is permanent." I try to talk Natascha into it as well but she won't budge this time. And there you are, looking 500 metersdown, of which you 'only' have to do 120. Ah well, 120 metersisn't too bad and you are double secured, so it can't be so bad, can it? The guy from Abseil Africa takes one more picture of me before I take off.
The first metersare easy and I casually chat to the guy next to me. The going is very slow due to the security line that holds you so tight that even if you let go completely you still wouldn't fall. Without being able to take jumps it's really abseiling for nitwits. Guess they don't want to loose that 100% safe rate. About halfway the mountain has a nice surprise to satisfy the true thrill seekers amongst us. The wall curves away negative leaving you hanging in mid-air for the last 60 metersRight, am I truly properly secured? Yes I am, but I do curse that speed stopper because I'm quite ok to get this over with fast.
I'm a bit light in my head at touch down and my jelly legs carry me hesitantly to the spot where they take the harness off. One more look up and I'm ready to climb up the path to reunite myself with my loved ones. 
[Natascha >>]
We promised the family to take them out for a booze cruise in the afternoon, but so far couldn't do anything due to the adverse weather conditions, we've had either 35 knots or dead calm, both far from ideal for a comfortable ride. Ignoring the forecasted rain squalls, the 10 to 20 knots look promising enough to go out, not before supplying every crew member with an Espiritu T-shirt.
The plan is to sail to Hout Bay, so we set a south-westerly course that will lead us past the Twelve Apostles rocks. The girls' stomaches decide otherwise as the sea is a bit lumpy causing the boat to pitch and roll a bit. When Evelien finally gives in and donates yesterday's meal to the sea we decide to search for a bit more wind in deeper water which will smooth out the motion of the boat.
We head out on a beam-reach to Robben Island followed by a spinnaker run back into Cape Town. Time to get the bikinis and beers out; this is how sailing is meant to be. To top it off, some dolphins decide to take a ride on Espiritu's bow wave which is always a spectacular sight. And believe it or not, after 15 minutes they clear the show for the next stars: two gigantic whales that come halfway out of the water. A perfect day that can only be concluded with a serious sun-downer. 
Day 162, Saturday 8 January 2005
[Stefan
>>]
A splendid lunch at the Waterfront concludes my parents' holiday. Too bad, all good things must come to an end eventually. We surely had a terrific time.| Destination | Timing |
| St. Helena | End January |
| Brazil (Fernando de Noronha & Fortaleza) | Mid February |
| French Guyana | Start March |
| Suriname | Mid March |
Caribbean
|
End March until 1st half of May |
| British Virgin Islands | 2nd half of May |
| Bermuda | Begin June |
| Azores | Mid June/start july |
| Channel Islands | Mid July/begin August |
| Scheveningen | 2nd week August |
[<< Natascha]
Day 165, Tuesday 11 January 2005
Capetown
GPS: 33° 55.1' S 18° 26.6' E
Due to Christmas holidays the dinghy is still spoiling Espiritu’s shining image with its deflated chambers. The tear is so big that I didn’t trust myself to it so that we had to wait for the guys to return to work and when they did actually return my phone calls. Guess everybody is still very laid back from their summer leave and not too anxious to get to work.
In my view it’s only a simple job: fix the tear and patch up the seams between the rigid bottom and the tubes which are loosening at some places. I’d say maximum 250 Rands. Well, the experts feel otherwise. They can patch it all up for the sweet sum of 2,500 Rands but they’re not too inclined because it will be a crappy job that might come off in two months time again. They’d rather sand down and refurbish the rigid bottom and replace the tubes entirely. This will effectively give us a brand new dinghy. All in all 5,000 Rands! And I was going to spend only 250..., right. Let me sleep on this one to at least get accustomed to the idea of spending more money then foreseen again.
I feel like a second opinion and ask the other supplier I contacted earlier if he would mind to take a look at it even though he would have to go over to a competitor since the dinghy is there. “Not a problem, always nice to have an excuse to see what they’re up to.” His reply is, however, even more drastic. New tubes might indeed work but why not buy a new one – he can offer me one for only 9,000 Rands (1,200 Euro). Errr, got to think this over, ok?
Day 166, Wednesday 12 January 2005
Capetown
GPS: 33° 55.1' S 18° 26.6' E
Some more calls to get everybody’s views, especially on their competitors’ suggestions, to figure out what best to do. This under the assumption that people are more inclined to highlight the drawbacks of someone else’s advise than of their own. And it turns out these guys are no exception.
We also try some second hand shops but all they have is tenders with inflatable bottoms or wooden folding floors. Both will not work with dive tanks and the 8 hp outboard.
The guy from Royal calls me in the afternoon with the best proposition so far: He can offer us a new showroom model for only 6,000 Rands. Only catch is the colour: Yellow as only yellow can be. Ah well, it makes my wallet feel less mellow so why not?
[<< Stefan]
Day 167, Thursday 13 January 2005
Capetown
GPS: 33° 55.1' S 18° 26.6' E
[Natascha >>]
I’m calling TNT again to learn about our package’s whereabouts. They do know where it is, and it is actually already in South Africa, yet held up by customs who don’t know what to do with it. How about releasing it and fast? We were hoping to receive the stuff tomorrow so that Stefan could put it in over the weekend enabling us to leave Monday. Keep our fingers crossed.
May we introduce to you our brand new yellow rubber duck? It is indeed more yellow than any duck I’ve ever seen. Very proud we put it in the water to do a test run. After 10 minutes, Stefan’s face darkens. “The thing is a bit heavier than our old one and because of that it won’t plane! Maybe I can find a way to trade the 8 hp in against a 15 hp.” Well, up your #*X#**!...
Shirly returns our email. We can join Shosholoza for a training session tomorrow! Exiting!
Thoms' Bookshop is an excellent place to trade books. For only 5 Rands commission you can swap paperbacks as long as they are in a reasonable state. So for only 60 Rands we’re the happy owners of 12 new books (who cares for books already read?). We also find some posters to brighten up the boat’s interior and find a printer who can print the boat cards that I had already designed in Singapore but never got to actually printing them.
[<< Natascha]
Day 168, Vrijdag 14 January 2005
Capetown
GPS: 33° 55.1' S 18° 26.6' E
[Stefan
>>]
TNT keeps its promise and delivers the package at 11 am, which gives me almost a full day to install the stuff. The generator’s track record hasn’t been flawless to say the least and I resolved to fix it in South Africa for once and for all by replacing every part that looks even the slightest bit suspicious. The engine itself was never a problem and the same applies to the electrical system. The cooling side of things, however, has always been a source of trouble so I decided to spend a small fortune to replace every part I haven’t replaced yet.
Fortunately, I have a spare parts manual for the animal which dramatically simplifies ordering the correct parts. With it, I can just give the HFL guys in the UK the part numbers rather than asking for that ‘flat oval part with two nuts that sits on top of the fresh water pump’. And all is nice indeed. No parts missing, all of them fit and none of the old parts gives any serious headaches to get them off. After only 6 hours, I can start the generator again which seems to sing from gratitude for taking such good care of it. Well, don’t mention it, as long as you keep taking care of us old boy.
[<< Stefan]
[Natascha >>]
Meanwhile, I’m getting pretty bored. Every now and then Stefan calls for a spanner or a screw driver while sweating his guts out in the engine room. All I can do is keep spirits up by telling him he’s doing such a great job. My mind wanders off thinking of the new places we’re going to see. We’ve had a superb time in South Africa and we’ve seen and done what we wanted to, so it’s time to move on. I’m surprised at the thought that I actually look forward to some sailing again – I’m in this for seeing places, sailing is only a means of transportation for me.
The South Atlantic is supposed to be a breeze compared to the Indian Ocean. Everything down-wind and with an average of 12 knots and resulting moderate waves, live should be quite comfortable on board. And it better be, because it will take us some time to get to the other side. It’s about 1,700 miles to St. Helena, from there 2,100 to Fortaleza, Brazil and the last lap to Trinidad is another 1,600 miles.
Two locals we meet, Jennifer and Mike, not a couple though, invite us for sundowners at Blauwberg beach tomorrow afternoon. We happily accept. It’s so great how people receive you and are willing to take you around when sailing around the world.
Day 169, Saturday 15 January 2005
Capetown
GPS: 33° 55.1' S 18° 26.6' E
At 7 am, team Shosholoza sends an SMS that the training session is off because of the strong South Easter. A quick look at the wind meter learns us that it blows between 50 and 60 knots in the marina, so we tend to concur with their view that this could be a bit over the top. Let’s hope Monday will be better.
Hey, that boat looks familiar. It’s Bacanas with Fernanda en Christian who we last saw on Cocos Keeling. We already heard over the HF radio that they and Born Free were in Richard's Bay and Durban, and were hoping to see both them and Hans again somewhere down the road in South Africa. Chances of seeing Born Free again are however slim since he was held up by some female companionship in both Rodrigues and Durban. Not the same by the way. Too bad we would have loved seeing Hans again, perhaps we catch up on the last leg to Europe.
Yesterday’s mess from the generator hasn’t been cleaned up yet because Stefan has more dirty jobs to do. Both the generator and the main engine need new fuel- and oil filters, as well as new oil. And guess who has the honour of assisting him? After dumping about 15 liters of old oil, I’m finally dismissed and flee away on my bike to pick up the laundry.
Day 170, Sunday 16 January 2005
Capetown
GPS: 33° 55.1' S 18° 26.6' E
Team Shosholoza has some promising news: Tomorrow is probably on, they will confirm timing later. Yes! It would be splendid if we can squeeze this one in before we leave.
The Pick 'n Pay supermarket at the Waterfront does home deliveries for free if you spend over 250 Rands. Well, that’s a threshold we easily surpass. We load six huge trolleys with huge supplies of boxed wine (75 litres), beers (250 cans), pasta, rice, meat, juices, soft drinks, bottled water and plenty of tins with tuna, salmon, ham, etc. Looking at the amount of meat I pray the generator lives up to its promises so that we don’t have to throw another fortune over the side.
Jennifer pick us up at 5 pm and she’s right about Blauwberg beach. The view on Table Mountain is absolutely stunning. Everybody sits just on the lawn with a beer and a slice of pizza. While I enjoy the setting sun, a guy next to me remarks that I look as if wishing to sail away over the ocean. You should have seen his face when I tell him that’s exactly what we’re going to do in two days time!
[<< Natascha]
Day 171, Monday 17 January 2005
Capetown
GPS: 33° 55.1' S 18° 26.6' E
The day starts a bit slow, especially Natascha has some trouble dealing with yesterday’s wine. She warns me to be very silent, very sweet and to not expect her amongst the living for at least two hours. That’s when the phone rings. Team Shosholoza apologising for the short notice, but the wind is blowing at 25 knots which is just the limit to go out, so if we could kindly report at the dock in 20 minutes because the boat’s sailing in 30 minutes from now. Right. “Honey, I’m terribly sorry to mess up your day, but with the 15 minutes bike ride you’ve got about 5 minutes to get organised.”
Her objections are quickly killed by the suggestion to let Henk have her place instead. Off you go, speed it up! The America’s Cup is to sailing as the Formula 1 to the automotive world and when on earth do you have an opportunity to take a ride in a car like that? So being able to join these guys for a training session is too unique to miss.
When we arrive the boat is already in the water with all guys onboard. Looking at our sailing jackets they assume we know what a boat is and position us on the aft deck where normally the onboard referee does his job. Since races are cancelled above 25 knots, we have the honour to see them operating at their upper limits, so we’re in for a rough and probably wet ride. To give you a sense of its extreme set-up, here are some dimensions. She measures 25 metres with a mast that sticks 35 metres high. Displacement is 25 tonnes, of which the rig takes up 1 ton, the hull 4 tonnes, which leave 20 tonnes for the keel. Talking about rig tension, 13 tonnes on the forestay, 10 tonnes on the genoa sheet, 7 tonnes on the main sheet and 7 tonnes on the running backstays. In short, put your fingers anywhere they don’t belong and they’re gone
Lacking an engine, a large rubber duck pulls us out to the leeside of Table Mountain where the sails are hoisted. The procedure for the main is slightly different from regular yachts. The foredeck man is winched into the mast before hoisting the main itself with the spinnaker halyard. He then clicks the main on a hook and comes down again taking the spinnaker halyard with him. When finally the genoa goes up, we’re ready to go and bear away to a beat pushing the boat on a 45 degrees heel.
The spectra sheets and running backstays make an enormous cranking noise when finding their way over the huge winches. Each of them has its own designated coffee grinder with two gorillas on them to winch them in as fast as possible. Their life is confined by the terms ‘grind’ and ‘hold’ and the selection criterion only has one variable: brute force. They should put 200 pounds on the scale, mind you fat-free, and lift at least 300 pounds on the bench press. The coming three years, they spend 6 days a week in the gym to shape themselves a bit further up.
After the last tack, the pole is set for a bear away spinnaker hoist at the windward mark. For the sailors amongst you that assume that yelling is preserved for amateur yachts, I’m sorry to thoroughly destroy that impression. When the foredeck has trouble getting the pole up – because of the usual problem of messing up the lines – it’s "Get that fucking pole up now!!" from the aft deck just as on every racing boat I’ve seen so far. The same goes for screw-ups. The foredeck man lets the spinnaker slip out of his hands before the boat is fully on a downwind course and with a rattling noise a few thousand Euro's of spinnaker cloth is killed. The second hoist, the cloth sticks behind something in the forward hatch and is again ripped to pieces. That’s number two.
The third and last round is better. Gently the spinnaker unfolds and pushes the boat easily to 18 knots. The gybes go well, though you can see they haven’t done this very often in such heavy conditions. The boom swings over in an controlled manner and the foredeck manages to manoeuvre the pole across despite its length and position 7 meters over the water. Dousing almost kills the third spinnaker of the day when a problem with the halyard lands it in the water. With a lot of hard work and a bit of luck they manage to pull it in undamaged and stow it away below decks.
Desert of the show is a man-overboard situation. On the last run, even without spinnaker, the foredeck man apparently looses concentration and lands in the water. While the skipper throws the life buoy, one man keeps pointing so that the rubber duck can pick him up. Two minutes after his unfortunate swim he sits in the rubber duck shivering from the cold. The giggling of a couple of his team mates is quickly killed by the captain: “Shut the fuck up, and I mean it, get back to work!” We can’t help returning the navigator’s grin though who sits right next to us.
On the way back, he patiently explains how they work out their course. Instead of VMG (Velocity Made Good) they use the ideal course as calculated by the computer based on the wind direction and force, current, position of the buoys, boat position and probably some other variables. The B&G instruments indicate the ideal course and theoretical boat speed under the given circumstances, and the computer indicates tacking points to the navigator. Impressive toys but as on any boat, no more than aids that need to be properly interpreted by the crew as the competition has access to the same kind of toys, perhaps even better.
All in all a terrific experience. Shosholoza, many thanks and good luck at your challenge in 2007!
[<< Stefan]
[Natascha >>]
The rest of the day is for stowing away supplies that should last for at least a couple of months.
And what is Stefan up to? I told you earlier he felt the need for a larger outboard about which he continues nagging. He tries to convince me that the current 8 hp won’t suffice to get us to more remote dive spots because it won’t let us plane and that we would get wet any time we have a bit of waves. All nice and good, but the spending on new toys does come to an end. We’ll just have to do with what we have and go a bit slower than we would like to. Big deal.
Big deal it is. Stefan calls me in the afternoon informing me that he is about to buy a used 15 hp Mercury. While I clearly objected against the whole idea. I’m not impressed to say the least!
[<< Natascha]
[Stefan >>]
I do understand Natascha’s state of mind and normally I wouldn’t push through without seeking her concurrence, but we are now in the situation that we want to leave tomorrow, which kind of limits the time we can talk about this. Fact is the new dinghy is too heavy to plane, which is of course slower, but moreover less comfortable as rather than riding over the waves, we will be steaming through each one of them, leaving us with a wet bum after each shore ride. And I’m quite positive this will darken Natascha’s mood in the future even further.
When it turned out that I could trade in the old engine for the same price we got it for, I didn’t have to think twice. With a very reasonable price for the Mercury it was a deal too good to walk away from.
[<< Stefan]
Day 172, Tuesday 18 January 2005
Capetown
GPS: 33° 55.1' S 18° 26.6' E
[Natascha >>]
The plan to leave today seems unrealistic looking at the list of things to do. Besides the last minute chores we need to visit immigration, port control and customs for the port clearance formalities. Customs is the most important one from our point of view as we can arrange for the VAT on all goods purchased, including that #$@! outboard, with them. 14% on all purchases, including the groceries at Pick 'n Pay does add up to a nice sum.
[<< Natascha]
Although it’s difficult to catch two months in such a large, divers and complicated country in a few words, we would like to share with you the impression it leaves us.
We thoroughly enjoyed the astonishing beauty in all its variety from the rough coast line, nice beaches, beautiful wild parks, enormous mountains, lovely vineyards, modern cities and for all, it’s warm, genuine people. Too good to be true? Well, almost.
The success of the new black government varies. It appears that on a local level, especially in the East, some strange unproductive decisions are taken that seem to aim at redistributing the pie rather than enlarging it. On a national level, things are actually running quite well with a stable government that managed to put inflation to a halt and grow the economy, reducing a bit the ever huge unemployment. A possible factor is the huge popularity of the ANC eliminating the need for a coalition with other parties that often leads for tit-for-tat politics rather than taking rational decisions. And because of its popularity, they are also in the position to implement some necessary in the short run harsh decisions that ultimately will grow the country’s potential.
Despite all government efforts to offer the less-privileged opportunities to work themselves out of their poverty, wealth is still almost an exclusivity for the whites. The majority of the blacks still lives in the same slumps, which were previously known as the townships, though some improvements have been made in respect of water supply, sewage and electricity. Unfortunately, there is a limit to the extend to which you can redistribute prosperity, something that is fortunately acknowledged by the new government, which prevents the country sliding of in the direction of other African nations that were liberated from white suppression earlier. It is, however, imaginable that people might stand up against their continuing relative poverty and use violence to pursue their goals.
There is less crime than the horror stories try to make you believe, though you wouldn’t put it in your mind to take a walk in downtown Durban at night or on the beach. This would be unthinkable in the Netherlands, where you can walk around in any commercial centre in any town at any time of the day or night. Especially in the Eastern part of the country you see a lot of black hatred against the whites. Guess that’s somewhat understandable considering the way they’ve been treated for decades. Most crime takes however place amongst the blacks and is predominantly race and tribal driven. This also rises some concerns regarding the country’s stability.
All in all it’s a very interesting country that has made huge progress and has lots of potential, under the condition that the government manages to control any outbursts of dissatisfaction and disappointment amongst the black population. And whatever people might say regarding the unfair treatment of white males these days, we believe there are still plenty of opportunities for starting your own business here, provided you work hard and can put up with the sometimes frustrating bureaucracy.
[Stefan & Natascha]
