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September to December 2007
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The 1st September was Spring Day in South Africa and in Mossel Bay we had the best day out. The weather was absolutely glorious. This was a good omen for a good summer.
As Tertius (du Plessis) had left for home in Rheenendal (just outside Knysna), I was left alone to complete the last few jobs on Seven Seas which included fixing the bow roller and aft stair case. In the mean time the two painters were hard at work giving the ferry a new coat of paint top-sides and anti-fouling down below. Also completed by this stage was the fitting of the prop shafts complete with brand new propellers and anodes. The twin rudders were also fitted. We were going to take Seven Seas off the beach on Saturday 1st September in the afternoon on the high tide but the painters were not quite finished so Gerhardt decided to wait one more day in order to finish the painting.
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Teaching the ISAF kids to sail |
Sunday 2nd September was ISAF day. ISAF stands for International Sailing Federation and sailors the world over take part in a sail with the idea of introducing newcomers to sailing. This is a free event and every person who goes on a sail gets a certificate. So Tertius and I took a bunch of people out for a sail in the morning and what a pleasant surprise awaited us as soon as we left the harbor. There were six Southern Wright whales waiting for us and the experience was fantastic as we gently glided past them a few times. The passengers were suitably impressed as well. I am sorry that I did not have my camera with me, there were some very nice shots that I missed!!
As soon as we got back I went over to Seven Seas to help get her off the beach, Gerhardt asked me to be on the radio as I am suitably qualified. After getting all the securing lines organised we waited for the tide to come in.
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Rudders and new propellors waiting for the sea |
About 30 minutes before we floated free, Tertius (Cloete) came over to lend a hand. At 4:45pm she floated free and we asked Port Control if we could take a quick spin in the bay before taking her back to her moorings. Port Control said that will be fine so we took Seven Seas and tested her in the bay for 20 minutes before coming back and mooring her in her birth. Gerhardt was almost besides himself as everything worked 100%. A job well done.
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Wes, Caig and Caroline |
Caroline arrived safely in South Africa on the 4th September and Wes and his family, mom and dad Teddy and Nancy as well as uncle and aunt Dennis and Elaine, on the 10th. They all went up to the Kruger National Park with Ann for a few days. On the 17th September Caroline, Craig and Wes flew down to George where I picked them up and brought them down to Mossel Bay. Wes's other family members flew to Cape Town for three days sightseeing. Caroline and Wes were accommodated aboard Zephyr and Craig and I aboard Yacht Orpa. The weather was fantastic and I arranged a trip for us on the ferry, Seven Seas for the afternoon.
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Caroline and a beautiful sunset |
In the evening we went out to a local "ethnic" restaurant called Die Pampoen (The Pumpkin). A great time was had by all. The next morning Craig made coffee for he and I with some Pop-tarts he had brought with. Later, after we had all showered and Craig and I watched the whales playing with the mooring buoys in front of the Yacht Club, we had a nice breakfast at a restaurant overlooking the sea. We then drove to Gouritz River Gorge to do a bridge swing, the highest bridge-to-bridge swing in the world!! I had my doubts whether Caroline would jump once she had seen the setup and how high it really was but she has more guts than I gave her credit for and she did a tandem jump with Wes.
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Craig about to jump.... |
Craig did a solo jump and was very proud of himself afterwards. All three of them collected their certificates and we headed back to the yachts to relax a bit before going out sailing with Tertius on a sundowner cruise aboard Plain Sailing. The cruise was most enjoyable with two whales lazing nearby. We had drinks and snacks and headed back, arriving just after dark. A little later we went to a nice steak restaurant and when we got back to the boats, we all fell into bed quite exhausted.
On the 19th September, their last day in Mossel Bay, we had breakfast out and afterwards we toured Pinnacle Point Golf Club which is situated in a beautiful setting above the Cape St Blaze cliffs. I think this was an interesting trip especially for Wes who was able to look around freely and chat to Wayne all about grasses used on a golf course.
In the afternoon I took them all back to George where they caught their flight back to Johannesburg. For me it was a fantastic time and very good to see everybody again.
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The three of us at the Orthopaedic Suppliers display stand |
A few days later, on Monday 24th September, Ann and Crag drove down to Mossel Bay in one go. I have driven this route quite a few times and let me tell you it is a l-o-o-o-n-g drive - 12 to 14 hours minimum. Ann stayed aboard Zephyr and Craig and I took up residence aboard Orpa once again. I showed them around Mossel Bay and we spent some really nice quality time together chatting and just relaxing which I think Ann also enjoyed. The reason for their visit was the fact that the bi-annual Orthotic and Prosthetic Congress was taking place in George from Thursday 27th to Saturday 29th September. On Wednesday 26th Ann and Craig went through to George to do the setting up of the display stand. Ann stayed at the hotel for the rest of the congress but Craig came back to Mossel Bay every day as he had free accommodation here. On the 27th I drove through to the congress to see the Orthopaedic Suppliers display stand but ended up staying until after lunch, chatting to my colleagues and also staying for the group photo which is the first one where Craig, Ann, and I are all together - nice!!
While I was at the congress we took the opportunity to find a practice for Craig to work at for 2008. My first choice for Craig, and he agreed wholeheartedly, was at George Orthopaedic with Mike Barkley, Alan Oats and Dave Herman. Craig and I asked Mike if he is interested in having Craig and he immediately said he will love to have Craig for his Intern year. We went into town to the practice right away to fill the forms in and hand them back to Mike the next morning. Good thing we reacted quickly because the next day a coupe of other Interns asked Mike if they could apply for 2008, but as Mike only takes ONE Intern a year, that position was already occupied - by Craig!!!
The congress ended at around lunch time on Saturday so the display stand was packed up. Ann drove through to Mossel Bay afterwards to collect Craig and start the long drive back to Johannesburg. They had a sleep-over and arrived home safely on Sunday afternoon. I really enjoyed spending some time with Ann and Craig. Craig is maturing very nicely and seems to be enjoying his chosen career.
In the mean time, I have had to purchase a mooring in order to stay as a "live-aboard" in Mossel Bay. I did not budget for this purchase but it all worked out in the end. Now nobody can kick me out of Mossel Bay which gives me a sense of security at least. Right after I became a Mooring Rights Owner, I was asked to become a committee member of the Moorings Section. I decided to join this committee as my friend Tertius Cloete is the Chairman (called the Rear Commodore Moorings) and I thought I should assist him wherever I can and support him in the difficult task of getting the Moorings back into shape as the previous Rear Commodore Moorings really let the place go down quite badly.
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Taking Zepher out for a sail with Tertius and Jan |
As far as my cruising plans go, Tertius and Ken Bayman are keen to join me and we have had several meetings in this regard. However, Ken has had to pull out as he has commitments in December, but Jan Nel is still available and now it looks like we are on track again. Our departure date is set for the first weather window after the 18th December 2007.
On Zephyr's birthday, 6th October, the three of us took Zephyr out for a thorough testing in strong winds (25 to 35 knots) and high seas (4 to 5 meter swells) and she handled everything very well. There are a few small items to attend to but nothing major. I do need to finish and fit the hard spray dodger as soon as I can, as well as make a bow-sprit. I also need to buy two more pieces of equipment, a ginnaker sail and a spinnaker pole as the sailing towards the west is all downwind and without these the sail will be slow and take too long. Both Tertius and Jan have about 6 weeks for this trip and we need to maintain as much boat speed as we can for this leg. We have also been looking into either an Iridium satellite phone or a SSB radio. A SSB radio would be the better option, (the one Ann bought for me was stolen from the courier company), but it is expensive and takes a lot of work to fit correctly. An Iridium phone is a quick option but calls are expensive. We have since found out that one can hire Iridium phones and this is probably the route we will go as each of us can have our own calling cards and when we complete this leg, Tertius can bring the phone back to South Africa and hand it in for me. I will then see what is available in the Caribbean or USA afterwards. My only regret with regards our sailing plans is that Craig will arrive in the Western Cape just as we leave......
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Zepher's first fish, a Bonito. 20th October 2007 |
Things are hotting up nicely as far as our sailing plans go. Our only uncertainty is whether Jan Nel will be joining us as he is worried that we may not make it to Brazil in time for him to catch his flight to China where he will be meeting the Clipper boat "Durban" for the final three legs of the Clipper Round The World Race that he is booked to go on. But Tertius and I are going full steam ahead !!! We took Zephyr out for a sail again on Saturday 20th October to test a couple of alterations we made and we also decided to put a line out to see if we can catch a fish - and we did! Zephyr's first fish, a Bonito.
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Dry fitting the hard spray dodger |
Ken and I finished the frame of the hard spray dodger off and did a dry fitting on Zephyr. Ken, Tertius and I took a long look at the dodger and we have decided to shorten the open end down and add a sliding section in as we don't want the companion way to be restricted as far as getting in and out of the boat is concerned. Otherwise it should work very nicely. We also brought my rubber duck and outboard motor from storage and set the whole lot up and spent Sunday afternoon whizzing around the harbor giving it a thorough testing. All worked well and the duck size is perfect for Zephyr as it fits on the foredeck perfectly.
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"Mal" Tertius |
On the 18th October, "Mal" Tertius from Knysna came back to Mossel Bay to help a friend of his re-build and run a restaurant here. He is staying on Kobus's yacht "Friendship" so now I have somebody else to talk to on the moorings. His friend, Annelie, is involved in a popular bar / restaurant previously called "Tidals", now renamed "Big Blue". Big Blue has to have one of the best locations in South Africa!! Situated right on The Point just below the lighthouse it is going to have a regular bar, a tappas section, a formal restaurant, an outside breakfast / snack area as well as an aquarium. Should be nice once the re-fitting is completed.
On the 21st October I flew to Johannesburg to attend to some business there and help sort a few things out at Orthopaedic Suppliers with the computers etc. Ann picked me up at the airport and I spent a wonderful week with her and Craig. I also went to visit Craig's workplace at Boksburg-Benoni Hospital and ended up giving lectures and practical demonstrations to the youngsters there on lower extremity orthotic manufacturing. It was really fun for me to do and after being off "the bench" for so many years it all fell into place so easily that it felt as if it was just a few days ago that I last made a caliper or corrected a profile. I should do more of this sort of thing sometime in the future maybe?? I enjoy teaching.
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The stainless steel bow sprit Tertius and I made |
I arrived back in Mossel Bay on Friday 26th October and was informed that the V3 ginnaker sail that I ordered from Quantum Sails via Seven Seas Marine had arrived. So on Saturday Tertius and I spent the whole day (14 hours) making a Bow-Sprit for Zephyr and on Sunday we fitted the ginnaker and went out for a first test. What a sail we had (Ken and Mal Tertius joined us) and in about 10 knots of wind we flew along at around 6,5 knots of boat speed. This is wonderful !!! We also put a fishing line out and easily caught 3 Bonito fish, one of which Tertius cooked for us when we got back into port - delicious fish these Bonito's, a fine flesh with very few bones and as they are predatory fish (with lot's of very sharp teeth) they don't have scales either so cleaning them is a breeze.
We also noticed that the wind steering system was a bit too stiff so I made a few changes to it as well as the bushes in the steering wheel itself so now it should be just fine. We will go out this coming weekend again and test it all out.
On Monday 29th October disaster struck Schalk and Heila. They have spent the past 2 months getting ready to sail down the coast towards Cape Town, they fully provisioned the boat last week and all was made ready for their departure. They cast the lines off at around 9am, did a couple of circuits in the harbor to pick their stern anchor up and then went over to the fuel jetty to fill up with diesel, the last task just before sailing out. After filling up, Schalk pulled away from the jetty forwards and caught his mast spreader on the jetty crane snapping his mizzen mast clean in half. What a mess. I went over to help them get the pieces out of the water as his wind generator was mounted on top of the mast as was his radar dome. So now they are back in their mooring with a lot of expensive work to be done not to mention the time delay which will probably run into months.
As they say - "Shit Happens"...
Tertius, Ken and I went sailing on Sunday 11th November to test the modified steering system as well as fly the ginnaker again. The steering is perfect now and flying the ginnaker is getting easier and easier as we get used to it. We had a fishing line out again but before we could catch anything, another boat passed close behind us and snaged our lure which we lost - damn!!! Jan Nel came to Mossel Bay to have a chat with me about his sailing plans and our time table. At the end of it all, Jan has decided not to come sailing with us. It is a pity as he has helped me quite a lot on Zephyr but it was his choice. Now it will be Tertius and myself only which has it's advantages as far as provisioning and water etc. is concerned.
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Tertius fitting spreader pulleys |
Tertius and I have been quite busy doing all manner of small but essential jobs on Zephyr and sometimes work late into the night. We have also sorted all the problems surrounding the hard spray-dodger out and we hope to complete this job within the next week. We are also eagerly awaiting the arrival of the SSB ham radios I bought on e-Bay. I managed to find two Icom IC-735 radios which we will install, one on Zephyr and one at Tertius's home, so we can keep in touch with our family and friends while we sail. Caroline was kind enough to buy the one radio on my behalf as the seller did not want to sell to a South African and I managed to buy the second unit. A BIG thanks to Caroline for taking delivery of all the goods and mailing them onto me. She also bought me a special brass antenna which she said is my Xmas present - thanks Caroline !!!
We did not go out sailing on Sunday 18th November as it was the annual "Ladies Race" and I was asked to run the Bridge. So Zephyr was motored out into the bay and anchored in front of the club from where I started the race and took the finishing times of the 5 yachts that took part. It was a beautiful day and so peaceful out in the bay all by myself aboard Zephyr. The only bad thing on the day was that Tertius lent his rubber-duck to somebody and they broke the outboard engines gearbox - boy, was Tertius angry !!!
Ann and Craig came to visit from the 22nd to 25th November as Craig attended a prosthetic course in George on the 23rd and 24th. They were due to arrive at George Airport at 4:30pm but their plane could not land due to cross winds so they were diverted to Port Elizabeth. After re-fueling they took off for George and made it down. We eventually left the airport at 8:55pm after chatting to a few of my colleagues who were on the same flight. We stopped on the way to Mossel Bay for a late supper and got to bed around midnight. Craig had to be in George at 8am the next morning so we were up early to take him through. Ann and I spent the rest of the day chatting and relaxing. I don't think Ann really relaxed as we had heard that Orthopaedic Suppliers was struck by lightning the previous afternoon and the damage was quite extensive. 3 computers, the switchboard, alarm system, UPS, and intercom were all damaged. This was the last straw for Ann as over the last couple of months so much has gone wrong at work, the sliding gate motor has been stolen several times and the delivery vehicle was stolen one night as well.
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Ann on the wheel and Tertius trimming the sheets (ropes) |
Anyway, in the afternoon we went back to George to fetch Craig and also went looking for his apartment that he will be sharing with a chap who works next door to where Craig will be working. We found the place and had a look through the windows and it looks neat - small bedrooms but plenty of space for two young guys. That evening we went to the Sea Gypsy restaurant for supper. We were up early again the next morning to take Craig back to George for the last day of the seminar and again spent the rest of the day relaxing, walking on the beach and eating ice-cream. I cold see that Ann was starting to relax and in the afternoon we fetched Craig from George stopping at McDonald's for more ice-cream. That evening we were supposed to have dinner with Tertius and Elsabé Cloete but we got our wires crossed so we ended up having a braai aboard Zephyr instead. Sunday dawned a bright and clear day with a moderate easterly wind so a bit of sailing was on the cards. We got Zephyr ready and Tertius and I took Ann and Craig out for a sail. This was the first time Ann and Craig sailed aboard Zephyr and we had quite a good sail. The sea was a bit choppy but I think everybody enjoyed it. We got back around 3pm, tidied up, had some coffee and got ready to go to George airport so that Ann and Craig could catch their 6pm flight back to Johannesburg. All around the visit was great. Craig enjoyed the seminar, Ann enjoyed a break and we all enjoyed the sailing and each others company - what a nice long weekend !!
With only a few days to go, things are very hectic at the moment getting the last tasks done. We are hoping and praying that the SSB radio arrives in time!!! The antenna and tuner have arrived however. Everybody has been so good to us, lending a hand where they can. Ken has been a star, he is even re-painting the deck for us!! Heinz has lent us his fuel cans and Gert has given us a pile of navigation charts to copy, Wilhelm has supplied various goods at cost, Elsabé has baked us about 1,000 rusks. The list goes on... The spray dodger has been modified and works well. The weather is looking good for our departure date which is still set for the 18th December 2007. We have been given Customs clearance and the forex has been arranged. We are almost there....
We had a small disaster on filling the diesel tanks. The top tank had a slow leak. So I spent hours draining the top tank, putting the diesel into all the empty containers I could find, including the deck water containers!!! What a job siphoning 200 liters of diesel through an 8mm pipe - it took hours and I finished at around 2am. I read on the internet about a fluid that is for repairing leaking fuel tanks which reminded me a lot about a product I had on board called "Stag". Stag is a pipe sealing fluid that is impervious against oil and fuels, so I cleaned the tank where the leak was and painted three coats of Stag on and left it to dry overnight. I then covered the Stag with a layer of epoxy to protect the Stag from the outside. The diesel was then poured back into the tank and I am happy to say that the leak was sealed. The only problem now was the fact that the containers for our spare drinking water were tainted with diesel. Elsabé suggested we wash the containers out with chlorine, (and she should know as she has about 47 degrees and 19 PhD's to her name including Chemical Engineering - well, maybe not quite that many, but enough to last anybody a life time!!) so off I went to Pick 'n Pay to buy a bottle of swimming pool chlorine (HTH granules) which we added to the five 25 liter and one 75 liter containers after washing them out with an acid based boat soap. The containers were filled with water and left for 36 hours to soak. Once we rinsed them out there was still a diesel smell in the containers but it was not too bad and we went ahead and filled the containers with fresh water, adding Hydrogen Peroxide as a preservative and disinfectant.
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Tertius fitting the SSB Radio |
As luck would have it, the SSB radio arrived in the nick of time, on Friday 14th December. Tertius has a lot of experience with ham radios as his Father was a radio ham, so he made brackets and fitted the radio and it's tuner on Saturday as well as the "slinky" antenna that Caroline sent as my Xmas present. There was no time to do all the setting up of the SSB so Tertius said he will do that at sea while we were on our way. Ken finished painting the anti-slip on Zephyr,s deck and a fine job he did too - thanks Ken !!! The hard spray dodger was as complete as it needed to be and it was fitted and secured down. Tertius and I also went on a food shopping trip buying over 5 big shopping trollies of food and drink. Tertius grouped and packed the food at his house keeping a weeks supply separate for the start of our trip. Where we were going to pack and stow everything aboard Zephyr was a mystery to me but somehow we managed using every nook and cranny including a bunch of black storage crates I have.
We spent Sunday 16th December packing and sorting the inside of Zephyr out as best as we could, the diesel tanks were full as were the spare diesel deck containers, we had a total of 420 liters of diesel, and 20 liters of petrol for the dingy's outboard engine aboard. The water tanks were due to be filled on Monday and together with the deck containers we will have 775 liters of water, enough for 77 days at 5 liters per person per day. Ken also spent hours in the hot sun "doctoring" our butter - in order to preserve butter un-refrigerated, an 8 to 10mm layer of butter is taken off the top of the container and replaced by a layer of course salt. This is a messy task but Ken did a sterling job for us on the 20, 500 gram containers.
On the Sunday evening at around 10pm I got a call from Ann and Craig telling me that they had decided to drive down to Mossel Bay to come an help us on the last day (Monday) and to see us off on the Tuesday. I can not begin to describe the happy feeling I had knowing that they were coming down..... They drove right through the night arriving around mid-day on Monday 17th December. It was so good to have them down although I could see that they were very tired, especially Ann. They were a big help, Ann tidied and cleaned the inside of Zephyr and Craig helped me with all sorts of last minute jobs, including fitting the spray dodger with a rain curtain and filling the water tanks. Craig also tidied and washed the cockpit down.
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Our bon-voyage party |
At 5pm on Monday we (Tertius and I) were informed that our presence was required at the Yacht Club for a little send off. When we got there I was surprised to see almost all the active yacht members waiting for us. Present were Natie and Blumé Myerson, Gert and Anita van Dyk, Ken and Ruth Bayman, Jan and Shana Nezar, Rob (Rear Commodore Sailing) and Elthia Holden, Ann and Craig Lishman, Elsabé Cloete, and Hansie von Schutz. Rob made a speech and gave us a bottle of Rum and a Club Burgee which was signed by everybody present. Natie then said a few words and gave us a wrapped parcel with strict instructions to only open it when we crossed the Equator. Jan also said a few words of encouragement, it was all very special. Tertius then stood up and gave a reply of thanks with his theme of "follow your dreams" which was very touching. I then stood to thank every body for their help and almost did not make it as I was choked up with emotions. I also took the opportunity to congratulate Craig on qualifying as a Medical Orthotist and Prosthetist which happened earlier that week, I was so proud of him, not only was he my Son, but a colleague now as well. After the get-together at the club, Tertius, Ann, Craig and I went back to Zephyr to carry on working - Ann and Craig also went to Steers to buy us supper as we were all starving. Just as we started eating, Anton and Hessie von der Westhuizen came over with a couple of bottles of wine which we enjoyed in Zephyr's cockpit. Thus came to an end the last evening before our departure.......
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