Climbing the mast

08 Feb. 11


On Sunday we emptied out our store room trying to decide what we needed on the boat and what we could get rid off. A lot of the stuff I had never seen before and would have no idea when or where to use these things. Luckily we met a young guy that was going to open a chandlery in town and he went through each item with us explaining the use and purpose of everything. Afterward we managed to swap some of the things for a second hand outboard motor for our dingy.

By the time we had finished unpacking and repacking the store room it was about two o clock and we decided that we would go off to the yacht club for lunch instead of cooking. We ordered hamburgers and after Rauen found a fly in his patty he couldn’t finish his burger. Don’t blame him actually I am not sure if I would be able to continue eating after finding a fly. After lunch we went for a cool down swim in the pool. When we finished swimming and as we headed back for the boat I felt my stomach start to churn. Both Rauen and I got sick after that, Rauen for about two hours, and me for almost two days.

13 Feb. 11

Well we just arrived back home again today after just ten days on the boat. At least it feels as if we are starting to make some headway on the list of things to do. We had North Sails come out and measure the cut required on the main sail. After they left we removed the main sail and put in it a sail bag ready to go to them for repairs.

We also had to remove the head sail. I have never had to remove a roller furler sail before so I have been trying to find out what to do. At one point I lay on the deck with a pair of binoculars trying to see how the sail is attached up at the mast head. I checked and rechecked the bottom of the mast for a halyard or rope or anything that should be attached at the top of the mast onto the sail. This rope would then be used to pull the sail back up once it has been removed and would need to be released in order for the sail to come down. But I just couldn’t find one anywhere. We even took some photos of the mast head to try and figure out the puzzle. Anyway eventually I decided that I would have to climb the mast and loosen the shackle at the top of the sail and then I would tie a halyard onto the sail. So I climbed the mast and did just that, having to shout a warning to Lola at the bottom of the mast to get out of the way when I dropped the shackle pin nearly killing her. I am just glad it wasn’t the shifting spanner.

Up the mast

After getting down from the mast we discussed our next step only to discover that I would have to climb the mast again to remove the halyard I had tied onto the sail because it would wrap itself around the pole when we unrolled the furler, and the rope was down at the bottom already in any case so me taking it up just to bring it back down again was a pretty stupid exercise. Now the wind suddenly started to pick up and because I still wasn’t sure that the sail would come down I phoned a friend for some advice and he told me that I shouldn’t have removed the shackle as the drum is supposed to come down with the sail. The more he spoke on the phone about a drum and all other goodies the more confused I became since I hadn’t seen anything resembling a drum or a slide or in fact anything that he mentioned up there. Eventually I asked him if the sail would come down if I pulled at the bottom and he said yes but we would have to retrieve the drum afterwards. So before the wind picked up some more and without further ado we unrolled the sail and pulled it down onto the deck.

Up the mast again

Later that day we had a rigger come out to check the rigging and he explained that our furler system didn’t have a drum as it was of an older design. So you learn something new everyday.

Boat work

05 Feb. 11


So here we are back at the boat again. Today being Saturday there seems to be a party going on at the yacht club tonight because as I sit here on the boat I can hear loud music playing in the background. We haven’t gone down there to look because I know that I will spend more money than we have and will probably drink a bit too much and not be able to face anyone in the morning, so better avoided. Anyway we arrived on Thursday afternoon to a stinking maggot and cockroach infested boat. Last time we left we decided that since the power was quite stable we would be able to leave the fridges stocked with some meat and pies for the next time we came down. Well we didn’t calculate that the stupid clowns working on the boat across from ours would unplug our boat and leave it unplugged for long enough to make everything rotten and stink. Even now after two days the fridge still has a “special” smell every time the door is opened.

We had some boat work to complete in order to tick the jobs off our list. So yesterday we started measuring for a book shelve to put the kid’s home school books onto. After we cut the wood to size we had to paint a few coats of undercoat and allow for each coat to dry, so the shelf still isn’t up yet but at least the undercoat is done.

At the moment I feel as if we are not making any progress toward the trip but rather that things are going in reverse. The boat, as I sit here and think about it, is at the moment an oversized extremely underpowered and slow “power boat” with a huge pole sticking up in the middle of it. I cannot use any sails as both the head sail and the main sail aren’t working at the moment. The main sail has to be cut shorter at the foot by about 300mm due to the bimmini and then the bridle has to be sorted out so I can use it. The head sail has got worn out cars so I removed one to find out if it can be repaired or has to be replaced. Guess what, yes nothing can ever be repaired and always has to be replaced at an astronomical amount so no head sail at the moment either.

06 Feb. 11

I don’t know what has happened to me lately but it seems as if I have become completely incompetent. We had to by a new catch for the geyser cover because the last one broke while we were out sailing. The old catch was a swivel catch and not very strong so when we were looking for a new one I picked on up at the marine chandlery and inspected it to make sure that it would be strong enough and not of the same swivel type. We found one that would do the job and bought it along with some other stuff. I don’t know how it happened but when we got back to the boat and started fitting the new latch we were surprised to discovered that it was a swivel latch exactly the same as the previous one that broke. I even checked the till slip to try and find out how this happened and even on the slip it said swivel latch so my only explanation can be that I must have gone blind and stupid in the shop.

Next we decided that we should move the chartplotter screen to the outside next to the helm. A simple job really that should have taken about a half hour to do. Well after drilling the holes about 5mm to much to the one side we discovered that the plotter fits exactly and now the cover has no space to fit and has to be forced on. Next we had to drill a hole to fit the wiring through and even this didn’t work out as planned and I landed up having to fill extra holes afterwards. So it’s become official, when it comes to boat work, I am an idiot with two left hands.

Wow what a trip!

28 Jan. 11


At the moment I am sitting at the dining room table in a self catering accommodation named Monia in a small town named Graskop in what used to be the eastern Transvaal but is now called Mpumalanga. The accommodation is unusual in that it is a three bedroom house that has been converted to take guests but everybody shares the kitchen and dining facilities. Luckily we happen to be the only guests so we managed to avoid having to battle with somebody over who drank who’s coke from the fridge.

Anyway we left home on Wednesday morning at 04h30 and drove here. We arrived at eight in the morning at the Sudwala caves and had to loiter about until nine thirty for them to open. We all enjoyed a casual stroll through the dinosaur park before exploring the caves with a guide. Then we took a scenic drive through the mountain towards Sabie. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see much scenery because the mist was so thick that we just managed to see the road most of the time. After having Wimpy breakfast in Sabie we headed to Graskop and booked into our accommodation. On the way we passed by Mac Mac falls but the mist was still too thick so we didn’t stop to look. Once we had unpacked the car we decided to head of to Burkes luck potholes and the Blyde river canyon. The mist was still too thick to stop at Gods window when we passed but lifted as we went down into the valley and by the time we came past Lisbon falls it was clear so we stopped to look at the falls.

I was surprised to have to pay R10 per person to look at the falls as this used to be free the last time I was here. I suppose this is part of the government’s new job creation plan so we paid. Lisbon falls are quite impressive with the roar of the water rushing over the rocky cliffs and the shear drop into the gorge being about 40 meters down so I didn’t feel too badly ripped of. The next waterfall on the way is Berlin falls also R10 per person. Berlin falls is a single stream of water dropping about 40 meters and wasn’t half as impressive as Lisbon falls so I think the price should be adjusted accordingly. It also started raining so we had to run back to the car and leave just after getting to the falls. Anyway the sign clearly states “no refunds” so we didn’t ask for one and just headed on to the potholes instead.


Bourkes luck potholes were named after a guy that wasn’t very lucky so I suppose the name is ironic. The holes are formed when the two rivers meet and the swirling water causes large round holes to be cut out of the rocks in the cliff. The potholes are in the Blyde river canyon which is the third largest canyon in the world and the views of the canyon are stunning. The two rivers that meet are the Treuer and the Blyde river and history tells us that when the Voortrekkers arrived at the canyon they told the women that the men would have to continue on alone as the journey was too treacherous. If the men didn’t return after some time then the woman would turn around and head back. The woman waited at the one river and when the men failed to return on the discussed date the woman mourned and the river was named Treuer meaning “to cry”. The men however caught up to the woman at the next river and that river was then named Blyde meaning happy.

After the potholes we had booked a ghost tour of the Pilgrims rest graveyard but the tour operator called and told us that it was raining in Pilgrims rest so we postponed the tour till the next night.

In the morning we thought we would be able to go to Gods window but the mist was still too thick so we hung about Graskop town instead and went for pancakes at Harries pancakes before heading off at about lunch time to Pilgrims rest for our booked tours of the town.

The tour was very interesting and informative but the night visit to the graveyard was the most exciting. The tour guide had told us that a ghost of a young man lived in her house some way down the hill from the graveyard. Near the end of the tour some “ghosts” appeared at the top of the cemetery and when we left the gates Kyle spun around and closed the gates. The tour guide then told Kyle that by closing the gates the “ghosts” would stay inside the graveyard and he wouldn’t have to panic when he promptly reminded her that one of them had obviously escaped and lived in her house.

29 Jan. 11

We got back home to the land of the big smoke yesterday. Wow what a trip! Both Lola and I were finished our bodies not used to all the walking and climbing of steps. Before we embarked on the journey back home we decided to try Gods window one more time and even though it was still misted up everywhere we stopped at the pinnacle and the mist lifted just long enough for us to view this tall finger of rock standing in the middle of a deep 60 meter gorge. There had been so much rain that the usual stream that ran through the gorge provided a roaring river with wild rapids flowing past the pinnacle and away into the valley. After the pinnacle we drove through the thick mist on to Gods window. When we stopped the mist was still thick but we proceeded to climb the steps up to the top to the many view points anyway. Lola suffered along having to stop every so often to catch her breath and I decided to go on ahead with the kids to the rain forest at the top hoping to catch a glimpse of the great view.

We reached the top lookout spot but the mist was just not going to give us a chance so we gave up and went back down to find an angry Lola on her way up towards us. After being in trouble for a while because we had left her behind and did not return promptly enough to fetch her, she calmed down and forgave but somehow I felt that I would probably be on rations for a while. The mist had cleared sufficiently by the time we passed MacMac falls so we decided to stop and take a look. Unbeknown to us this also included a hike across some rocky terrain. The view was spectacular and worth the struggle.

The rest of the car journey home wasn’t as pleasant because firstly we took a wrong turn that added some kilometres to the already uncomfortable journey and then we had to take an unpleasant phone call from an irate client. Sadly my aching body caused by a combination of the extremely uncomfortable bed at the place we were staying and all the exercise that I wasn’t used to had made my mood dark and when Lola was trying to collect answers for the client I snapped and started shouting at her as if it was her fault. You know what they say “don’t kill the messenger”. Well lets just say I forgot that saying. I think I must have apologised later because she is still talking to me.

30 Jan. 11

All those of you that know me well can visualise me sitting in the garage on one of the green plastic chairs. The garage has always been my entertainment area of the house and I sometimes wonder why we even built the rest of the house because it only serves as sleeping quarters. When we are awake be it alone or with visitors, we are sitting in the garage on the green plastic garden furniture. Anyway this morning I am up earlier than everyone else in the house and I’m sitting in the garage thinking about leaving on the boat when suddenly the reality of the situation dawns on me and I can feel the emotions well up inside. I don’t know how I am going to say goodbye to my kids Amy and Keagan. Its one thing to say goodbye in the morning when they are off to school and will be home that afternoon. Being divorced from their mother has also allowed me to get used to not seeing them for about a week at a time and this has been okay. But now I have to say goodbye and not be able to see them for an indefinite period. I have joked with them about the situation by saying that I not going to tell them when we leave and just phone from Brazil or send an sms saying “oh by the way we are in Brazil at the moment so I wont be able to pick you up from school this afternoon, hope this message gets to you in time for you to arrange a lift”. Funny ha ha, but I really have no idea what I am going to do. So here I am standing at the forefront of the greatest adventure of my life so far, but feeling like I am treading water at the same time.