19th August
The regatta went off without a hitch, it was cancelled for the Thursday which worked out perfectly and allowed Barry to come with us to the airport to see Rauen off. We discovered our anchor holds, how to get our bridle to work once all the chain is out and we are using warp and that we can still manage to sail this huge yacht at 1.2 knots in as little as 2 knots of wind. Anchoring was fantastic…can’t wait for it be all the time. But lifting that huge anchor is a great deal of work. We discussed an electric windlass but decided to give our manual one a chance as we will not normally be anchored in 25m of water with 80m of scope that takes over an hour to hoist. We will normally be sitting with 3 -5m of water and 15 – 20 metres of scope and Rauen and I have lifted that in a few minutes without a problem.
We have dropped off our EPRIB at SMD in town once again, this time for a battery replacement. We had to have our brand new navigation computer tested and the BIOS updated…we had better make a plan to reboot that today and check that it is now fully functional before we have to leave in a few weeks!
Today is that special day of the year for Barry and me…our wedding anniversary. We have officially been married for 12 years today! We have never done gift exchange or major celebration, it usually ends up a trip to a restaurant that cost more than R30 a head for a quick lunch or supper with all the kids. Today we have only 1 kid with us and we have a yacht club AGM to go to so our celebration will be even more subdued than normal. Oh well, it is technically just a number…we enjoy everyday together and when Barry asks me how long we’ve been married for…he always says “That’s impossible! It’s only been a year…we are still on honeymoon!” As long as we feel like that about each other I think we are on the right path here.
Happy Anniversary Honey!
22nd September
Yes, it has been a whole month!
We took a trip to Joburg for a couple of weeks but did not manage to see everyone in that time to say goodbye. I feel really sad about not seeing Tara, my sister and Lella, Rauen’s gran, we also promised Warren we would pop past before left again and just did not make it! I’m really sorry everyone, but my itinerary did not go according to plan and the main plan was to see Amy and Keagan, so we prioritised them and went with their plans.
When I went up there I realised I never want to live there again. That is not just the rat race, that I may end up back in at some stage, hopefully somewhere else…but the scenery, the landscape, the rudeness of the people in general, the hurried way they push past you, the way they cut you off when they drive and never apologise. I don’t know all these things coupled with high crime and that nervous feeling when I try to sleep at night or have to drive at night to go out after dark…nope I don’t see me returning to Joburg again…definitely not to live!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
12th July
The kids are still visiting so no actual work either school work or boat work has been done. We have received a few parts that were previously ordered and have been given Friday as a date for the last one.
We have spent the last few weeks doing holiday type things that seem to wear me out completely…we stay up late, get up early and fill the day with activities…I am not used to this so will probably need 2 weeks extra sleep once the kids head back to Joburg.
Rauen and Kyle have already agreed to long school hours to make up for 3 extra weeks of holiday…so we will be concentrating hard on getting Rauen’s next assignments in after that.
At least we have been doing some exciting things lately…playing on the Macski, making a potjie in the braai area at the club house, having Monday night braai, a murder mystery party at Nicolette’s house, movie marathon, dinghy ride through the harbour and the list continues…we are grateful that the weather has been great up to now…but it seems to have taken a turn for the worse today.
The kids are still visiting so no actual work either school work or boat work has been done. We have received a few parts that were previously ordered and have been given Friday as a date for the last one.
We have spent the last few weeks doing holiday type things that seem to wear me out completely…we stay up late, get up early and fill the day with activities…I am not used to this so will probably need 2 weeks extra sleep once the kids head back to Joburg.
Rauen and Kyle have already agreed to long school hours to make up for 3 extra weeks of holiday…so we will be concentrating hard on getting Rauen’s next assignments in after that.
At least we have been doing some exciting things lately…playing on the Macski, making a potjie in the braai area at the club house, having Monday night braai, a murder mystery party at Nicolette’s house, movie marathon, dinghy ride through the harbour and the list continues…we are grateful that the weather has been great up to now…but it seems to have taken a turn for the worse today.
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| Why I love Catamarans - Keagan stands at sea and boxes don't move! |
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| Amy and me |
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| Hubbly at the potjie evening |
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| The food is not yet ready...potjie takes forever...but is worth the wait. |
Monday, June 25, 2012
24th June
Barry went to the doctor during the last 2 weeks and was instructed to do absolutely no activity with both his arms. He gave him some medicine and we are trying to treat his arms with special care. This actually means that no boat work is being done and we spend our days relaxing and enjoying the time together rather than work, work, work. The doctor explained that it should improve within 3 weeks, if not we are to return for some injections. So we are being very careful, following his instructions to the letter and we will see once 3 weeks have past. Hopefully by then there is a marked improvement.
This last week has flown by, we took a trip up to Amamzimtoti to see Barry’s parents and brought them back to the boat with us. While there Barry bought me a new dress and a couple of new tops.
Yesterday I wore the dress and received a heap of comments so I am very happy with the purchase…something that is relatively unusual for me.
We managed to get a lift with Anne, Ryun’s mom, up to Toti so did not have rent a car and came back down with Barry’s parents. On the way up we made a pit stop at Makro, where we purchased a few items, and then headed for Toti beach.
We stayed at the Toti Cabanas on the beach front and enjoyed our morning coffee on the balcony overlooking the ocean. Beautiful setting. We went to the Thirsty Whale for lunch and took a stroll on the beach front.
I think Barry’s mom and Charles enjoyed their visit to Richards Bay as well. Charles commented that he had never been here before and that it was absolutely beautiful! Perhaps he should sell up in Joburg and move…guess he loved the place.
On Friday night Keagan arrived and Barry and Charles went to fetch him at the Macdonalds in town. He was rather ill when he arrived and I drugged him up a bit and put him to bed almost immediately. He woke yesterday feeling much better and back to his jovial self.
Today was washing day and I have spent the morning doing hand washing yet again. It seems to be a never ending job but it beats the 9-5 grind everytime.
Barry went to the doctor during the last 2 weeks and was instructed to do absolutely no activity with both his arms. He gave him some medicine and we are trying to treat his arms with special care. This actually means that no boat work is being done and we spend our days relaxing and enjoying the time together rather than work, work, work. The doctor explained that it should improve within 3 weeks, if not we are to return for some injections. So we are being very careful, following his instructions to the letter and we will see once 3 weeks have past. Hopefully by then there is a marked improvement.
This last week has flown by, we took a trip up to Amamzimtoti to see Barry’s parents and brought them back to the boat with us. While there Barry bought me a new dress and a couple of new tops.
Yesterday I wore the dress and received a heap of comments so I am very happy with the purchase…something that is relatively unusual for me.
We managed to get a lift with Anne, Ryun’s mom, up to Toti so did not have rent a car and came back down with Barry’s parents. On the way up we made a pit stop at Makro, where we purchased a few items, and then headed for Toti beach.
We stayed at the Toti Cabanas on the beach front and enjoyed our morning coffee on the balcony overlooking the ocean. Beautiful setting. We went to the Thirsty Whale for lunch and took a stroll on the beach front.
I think Barry’s mom and Charles enjoyed their visit to Richards Bay as well. Charles commented that he had never been here before and that it was absolutely beautiful! Perhaps he should sell up in Joburg and move…guess he loved the place.
On Friday night Keagan arrived and Barry and Charles went to fetch him at the Macdonalds in town. He was rather ill when he arrived and I drugged him up a bit and put him to bed almost immediately. He woke yesterday feeling much better and back to his jovial self.
Today was washing day and I have spent the morning doing hand washing yet again. It seems to be a never ending job but it beats the 9-5 grind everytime.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
New port...different day
30th April
Okay…decision made, we head for East London as soon as we have repaired the motor, the reefing mechanism, the autopilot and the power problems.
We have removed the impellor unit and stripped it as we found the raw water leak in this unit. Being a series of public holidays this week we have not yet been able to arrange the spares but are working on it.
We have a navigation system technician seeing us tomorrow, even though it is a public holiday, to give us some advice and information so we can improve the systems on board and possibly add an AIS system.
In the meantime my sister Kim has been to visit and will pop past again tomorrow…it has been wonderful seeing her since it has been a long time, not to mention the fuel, cold drinks and bread rolls she brought us to tide us over . We had a great braai and took them out to the boat to see the new look Yrumoar.
Ryun will be leaving us in the next few days so we are taking it slow at the moment and spending some relaxing time with friends but come Thursday we will be in full action mode getting through our “at this port” list so we can move on.
As a whole Durban is similar to Richards Bay apart from the visiting pelicans. We sit on the yacht and watch in awe as these huge birds glide up and down and swim by ducking under the water and catching large fish only to swallow them whole. We have spent many lazy hours in the last two days just watching these fascinating birds.
Okay…decision made, we head for East London as soon as we have repaired the motor, the reefing mechanism, the autopilot and the power problems.
We have removed the impellor unit and stripped it as we found the raw water leak in this unit. Being a series of public holidays this week we have not yet been able to arrange the spares but are working on it.
We have a navigation system technician seeing us tomorrow, even though it is a public holiday, to give us some advice and information so we can improve the systems on board and possibly add an AIS system.
In the meantime my sister Kim has been to visit and will pop past again tomorrow…it has been wonderful seeing her since it has been a long time, not to mention the fuel, cold drinks and bread rolls she brought us to tide us over . We had a great braai and took them out to the boat to see the new look Yrumoar.
Ryun will be leaving us in the next few days so we are taking it slow at the moment and spending some relaxing time with friends but come Thursday we will be in full action mode getting through our “at this port” list so we can move on.
As a whole Durban is similar to Richards Bay apart from the visiting pelicans. We sit on the yacht and watch in awe as these huge birds glide up and down and swim by ducking under the water and catching large fish only to swallow them whole. We have spent many lazy hours in the last two days just watching these fascinating birds.
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| Bluff Yacht club from the water |
Hitting the ocean
27th April
Well…because I’m typing this we obviously arrived at the Bluff yacht club safely. But the real question is how did the trip go?
Well, we dropped the mooring lines at 12H40 and headed out into the harbour. I took the helm while Barry and Ryun tried to hoist the main sail in a reefed position so that we could keep it that way for the duration of the trip…this however, turned out to be our first obstacle. We discovered that the new stack pack did not have the reefing holes in the correct place and therefore did not work. We ended up making a jury rig…not a promising start but we stuck to our guns and after an hour we succeeded in getting the system working and headed out the harbour mouth.
The sea conditions were good even though there was a large swell running at 3.1m. The swell was stable but there were few eddies which made for a relatively comfortable ride. The wind was still blowing SE but was reducing and expected to swing before nightfall. We all sat comfortably in the cockpit until the sun set…Ryun and I were slowly becoming more and more queasy so I took a motion sickness tablet but it helped very little. Ryun took one later and had a similar experience…we should probably be taking these before we leave port next time.
At about 20H00 the wind swung around to the North and we had to change the genoa and drop the main as it was masking the wind to the genoa…this is normally a relatively simple task but while we were working with the sails we heard a beeping sound coming from the auto pilot.
Barry headed back to the helm and reset it a few times without success…we would have to hand steer the rest of the way. Kyle decided to go to sleep and headed to his room, luckily Rauen had had a nap already and was awake and ready to take shifts with the steering. Ryun slotted in occasionally when he felt up to it and I kept a look out for ships and plotted fixes on the paper charts we had laid out on the saloon table, taking naps on the saloon bench in between.
The weather stayed stable and we had a comfortable motor sail…we learned a few important things, the first being that we need to keep record of the bearing we are on as when the autopilot went down we did not know this bearing and it took almost an hour to get us back on course and heading the right direction. During this hour we only managed to make 2 miles headway which was highly frustrating.
We discovered that we should hoist more sail rather than less and cut the motors but being our first passage I was nervous and I guess we kept them on the whole way just for my sake.
We discovered that we can motor at the same speed using 1 motor only and do not need to run both which would make fuel efficiency much better but we had had trouble with this in the harbour…in the ocean the swell sends you off course with every wave so the difference is negligible and we will in future only use 1 motor at the time whilst in the ocean.
This last discovery was made when about an hour out of Durban, our starboard motor warned us it was overheating and we had to shut it down…our speed was maintained even using only the port motor…lesson learned.
Today we plan to replace the impellor on the starboard motor as we believe this is the problem, we are presently sitting in the yacht club typing and doing school work but have a few small boat projects to do…the autohelm will definitely need to be sorted out before we can head off again, if we want to head off again…I think our general consensus is that the passages are long and boring…do we want to spend all that time bored? If we changed our minds about the trip we would have to think of another mode of transport, none of us were afraid or feel we can’t do the trip the question is more if we want to do the trip? This is a discussion we will be having before spending any money but in the mean time we have a few things to do while we mull over the idea of heading to East London.
Well…because I’m typing this we obviously arrived at the Bluff yacht club safely. But the real question is how did the trip go?
Well, we dropped the mooring lines at 12H40 and headed out into the harbour. I took the helm while Barry and Ryun tried to hoist the main sail in a reefed position so that we could keep it that way for the duration of the trip…this however, turned out to be our first obstacle. We discovered that the new stack pack did not have the reefing holes in the correct place and therefore did not work. We ended up making a jury rig…not a promising start but we stuck to our guns and after an hour we succeeded in getting the system working and headed out the harbour mouth.
The sea conditions were good even though there was a large swell running at 3.1m. The swell was stable but there were few eddies which made for a relatively comfortable ride. The wind was still blowing SE but was reducing and expected to swing before nightfall. We all sat comfortably in the cockpit until the sun set…Ryun and I were slowly becoming more and more queasy so I took a motion sickness tablet but it helped very little. Ryun took one later and had a similar experience…we should probably be taking these before we leave port next time.
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| Leo seeing us off in his Dinghy |
At about 20H00 the wind swung around to the North and we had to change the genoa and drop the main as it was masking the wind to the genoa…this is normally a relatively simple task but while we were working with the sails we heard a beeping sound coming from the auto pilot.
Barry headed back to the helm and reset it a few times without success…we would have to hand steer the rest of the way. Kyle decided to go to sleep and headed to his room, luckily Rauen had had a nap already and was awake and ready to take shifts with the steering. Ryun slotted in occasionally when he felt up to it and I kept a look out for ships and plotted fixes on the paper charts we had laid out on the saloon table, taking naps on the saloon bench in between.
 |
| Last of the ships achored off Richards Bay |
The weather stayed stable and we had a comfortable motor sail…we learned a few important things, the first being that we need to keep record of the bearing we are on as when the autopilot went down we did not know this bearing and it took almost an hour to get us back on course and heading the right direction. During this hour we only managed to make 2 miles headway which was highly frustrating.
We discovered that we should hoist more sail rather than less and cut the motors but being our first passage I was nervous and I guess we kept them on the whole way just for my sake.
 |
| Kyle on route before sunset |
We discovered that we can motor at the same speed using 1 motor only and do not need to run both which would make fuel efficiency much better but we had had trouble with this in the harbour…in the ocean the swell sends you off course with every wave so the difference is negligible and we will in future only use 1 motor at the time whilst in the ocean.
This last discovery was made when about an hour out of Durban, our starboard motor warned us it was overheating and we had to shut it down…our speed was maintained even using only the port motor…lesson learned.
 |
| Rauen early morning after helming all night |
Today we plan to replace the impellor on the starboard motor as we believe this is the problem, we are presently sitting in the yacht club typing and doing school work but have a few small boat projects to do…the autohelm will definitely need to be sorted out before we can head off again, if we want to head off again…I think our general consensus is that the passages are long and boring…do we want to spend all that time bored? If we changed our minds about the trip we would have to think of another mode of transport, none of us were afraid or feel we can’t do the trip the question is more if we want to do the trip? This is a discussion we will be having before spending any money but in the mean time we have a few things to do while we mull over the idea of heading to East London.
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