Betwixt

 The view from the porthole making coffee in the morning is of Table Mountain.  Pinch me. Life on a small boat moored at the Royal Cape Yacht Club, which is in the very busy Table Bay Harbour of Cape Town, continues.  Tested the solar panels and worked on how they will be mounted onto the stern pulpit.  This will have to be trial and error as we go.  Being a ketch, we can have a lot of sail up.  The watermaker is the big challenge, but other yachties have told me they survive on rainwater.  Wash and do washing only when it rains.  No. On our voyage down the SA coast we made notes on problems encountered;  we need to fix this, we need to waterproof that.  Sometimes a solution is still to reveal itself.  So daily life involves making something new, fixing something, maintaining something, and cleaning something.  The reward is landing in a beautiful place with a view. Table Mountain as a backdrop. Fixing something, again Scary se...

 A month resting in Simonstown and time to cast off, before algae grows on the bottom of the boat.  In between the punishing winds that blew through this area this month, we worked on small jobs and bought all the parts and spares needed to finish the boat.   Every task takes longer on the boat, up to three times longer, so still work to be done when we get to Cape Town.  Worked on the engine alternator, the seawater pump, the solar panel, and made some oars for the dinghy. Friends and family visiting us, here in Simonstown and back at Richards Bay, has been appreciated.  Sister Sue flew here from the UK with an AIS transponder insisting that we needed one.   Hope we continue meeting up.  This is a small world. Our YOU and Huisgenoot magazines feature   Making the dinghy oars from Ash, on the walkway In rope heaven, 100m of braided rope for the sea anchor.  Hope we never have to use it!   One foggy morning One windy morning Fam...

The wind turned to blow gently south again.  We headed off escorted out the East London harbour by a pod of dolphins.  Up went the genoa and we sailed fairly easily with Hiero the self-steering windvane to assist.  The sea swells kept us watching our own balance, five points of contact all of the time as the boat rolled from side to side. At nightfall it started to drizzle and the clouds made it dark and hazy. This coastline was busy with ships due to the problems in the Red Sea.  Next a ship came barrelling down alongside us from behind.   I had that sinking feeling as I pushed the tiller hard away.  The monstrous bulk carrier churned silently passed us throwing a wave of water over us. That was close. Day time watches are a lot easier;  it does help if you are not sleepy.  The next night watch was in moon light, so much better.  Ships passing us seemed more considerate giving us a wide berth.  The following night was even easier a...

 To Cape Town with a few stops, first stop Durban.  We left the Zululand Yacht Club, our boat's home for the last 7 months under sail.  This leg was familiar, 20 hours, with the help of Hiero the windvane self-steering, and a lot of motoring.  The autopilot did not work again so back to hand steering when we motored.  In the evening we saw a storm overland which slowly moved above and around us.  If it was not so terrifying it would have been beautiful.  Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening me!  The squall brought 40kn wind. The engine hiccupped entering Durban port which meant a day of checking engine fuel lines etc.  Nothing obvious found.   We left next day for East London. Gentle winds again with sailing and motoring for 2 days.  A pod of dolphins came to check us out and found John taking a shower on our stern platform.  The sight of those black fins gave a brief skrik.  Not sharks.  We were 22 n...

The last two months saw us doubling down on work, but the more we did on the boat, the more new jobs popped up;  including re-doing and repairing things.  The weather window to leave Richards Bay is closing.  Cold fronts hitting the notorious South African coast line is not the place to be in a small boat; especially not on this maiden voyage. John designed and made the self-steering devise and succeeded after two tries.  We dropped the electronic auto pilot on a sea-trial and had to send it back to JHB for repairs.  No time to test these again, so worst case we will have to hand steer to Durban and fix it there. Electrics and plumbing were fitted which gave us lights, electronics and water.  My tech skills were challenged with the navigation system, trying to build one using Raspberry Pi.  Back to good old paper charts. The dodger was completed to shelter us from splashing waves.  My prescription sunglasses are ruined from salty water splashes ju...

 We joined the Zululand Yacht Club's sail to Durban and back over Christmas.  Our boat was just ready enough for a long trip, but comfort is overrated. Right?  Sailing is all about the weather and waiting for the right weather window to head south to Durban.  This delay caused most of the other boats to drop out but we were still a merry flotilla heading off  22 December midday;  Shiloh (34 ft), Betwixt (35) and Princess del Mer (35).  We sailed in that order all the way to Durban. The estimated time to sail to Durban is 20 hours.  We left the bay in a gentle southerly breeze sailing with the Jib.  As we had no self-steering yet, we took turns with the tiller.  After about 3 hours we put up the Main sail, and John was aghast to find that there were no reefing lines.  A bit of a panic and confusion, but it was sorted and the Main went up.   It turned out that he had forgotten to put the lines in after working on the reefing poin...

 With sailing season well underway, many international boats have sailed into Zululand Yacht Club, some staying a week, some many weeks.  The boatyard is a good place to do repairs.  Boats sailing in two rallies came through The Bay all within two weeks of each.  World Arc Rally and Grand Yachting World Odyssey.  The marina was jammed with enormous yachts and catamarans.  The Monday night braai was lively. We have spent many weeks working on the sails and rigging, going out sailing to test the rigging every opportunity.  Once the radio was fitted and working we could sail out the harbour, past the bay mouth which is called the washing machine for a reason.  Hectic!  Then out at sea in windy conditions with too much sail up initially.  More hectic!  Reefing was the key and learning to rig it and apply it took several trips out sailing.  Very grateful to have our sailing buddy Ernst join us on most trips out to help with the reef...