18 Feb. 12
Woke up this morning to find cumulus cloud cover everywhere with scud and rain. Now it is bucketing down and we managed to fill the bucket we are using to wash the dishes within about three minutes so we don’t have to get off the boat to get water from the tap. We have discovered that we have a power problem since we installed the fridge and haven’t been able to keep the batteries fully charged. Even with the addition of the wind charger the battery voltage is still to low. My knowledge of this stuff is also a little more than rusty so I have been trying to think a solution rather than do anything but the answer hasn’t revealed itself to me just yet.
Yesterday we painted undercoat on the cross beam and sail drives using this new MCU paint that we have been convinced is the best paint invention since paint was invented. Something like the invention of sliced bread in the baking industry for the paint industry I suppose. Only time will tell if it was just salesman talk or has some basis of fact.
We also started servicing the motors and after I drained the practically new oil from the sail drives I considered not servicing the motors since the sail drives had been serviced quite recently. I decided rather safe than sorry and was very glad about my decision when I drained the motor oil and found that this had not been done for a very long time. The oil was black and not very viscous with some thick gumph at the very bottom. Thus once again we discover that the guy we bought this boat from is a pathological liar since he told me he had just serviced the motors and replaced the oil. On the subject of this ass he must have the thickest skin on the face of this planet. He still arrives here at the boat with stupid little pieces of plastic parts that we don’t need even though I explained to him that I think he is a fraud and had full knowledge of the boats problems.
19 Feb. 12
This morning Lola and I were sitting in the cockpit and an insect kept buzzing around Lola’s head slowly driving her towards insanity. So I thought about the insects and goggas in this place. Flies, mosquitoes, miggies, cockroaches and wasps. Not listed in any particular order but each has acquired a special place in my psyche. Let me start with my personal favourite the cockroach. Now we had roaches in Joey’s but not anything like the mother of all roaches that I have met down here. Sometimes they are so big that I expect them to start growling and barking when they see me. They also are not afraid and timid like the ones I was used to that used to scurrile and scatter as soon as you spotted them. No these animals still scurrile and scatter but not away from you instead they head straight for you making your instinct take over and the fight or flight adrenalin has to kick in if you wish to escape their fearsome approach, heading straight for your feet. I have heard more than one man whimper and shriek like a little girl when attacked by one of these monsters. I myself being a real man that has been known on occasion to wrestle down a nun or two have had to consider attacking or fleeing at the mere site of these alpha males of the species. The only thing that has saved mankind from complete denomination by these creatures is the fact that they haven’t learnt to hunt in packs as of yet.
Next we will discuss the mosquitoes with their power of invisibility and their insatiable lust for human blood. There is no escape from them and they hunt at night whilst you are sleeping finding there way stealthily past any net or poison trap that mankind has invented. They have adapted so well that they even breed in the mosquito doom liquid traps that we have placed all over the boat for defence from their invasion. Soon you will be woken by their annoying buzzing little wings and switch on the light just to discover that they have mastered the art of ventriloquism by being in a different place to the sound. As you eventually discover this and find their sneaky little hiding place, nowhere near the buzzing sound, they quickly and quietly slip on a cloak of invisibility and go into stealth mode. Now you have absolutely no escape and just have to accept defeat as they spray some sort of toxin in the air making you become too drowsy to defend yourself anymore. As you close your eyes and slip back into an unconscious state you realise too late that all your defences have been breached and you are about to be eaten alive.
Then believing that you are saved with the arrival of the morning sun it suddenly dawns upon you that this will only allow a small respite before the next wave of attack will arrive. This attack comes in the form of a little black creature with clear transparent wings and huge multi focal eyes. Common name, the fly. To us in the know rather referred to as bringer of germs, disease and great anger. The flies in Joey’s had it seems many years of great training and they would instantly fly off into the distance when you moved towards them or picked up a fly swat. Down here however the flies are on anabolic steroids and just move far enough away to avoid collision with any weapon you may be wielding at them. They zoom around waiting and studying your face waiting for the moment you happen to loose focus for a millisecond and accidentally open your mouth. Then they attack going straight for the kill passing through your open lips and only stopping once they reach their target in the very back of your throat, nearly choking you to death and causing you to gag spit splutter and cough uncontrollably all the time closing in on death’s doorway.
Next I will discuss the wasp community. At this point I would like to mention that I have no personal vendetta against wasps as a community. I am stating this fact because these large creatures carry weapons of mass destruction and are very capable of full scale invasion at any time they may chose to do so. Wasps are generally lone hunters and usually won’t send out an unprovoked attack, but occasionally and for no apparent reason at all sometimes they will strike. I believe they do it to remind us puny humans that they are actually in charge and only tolerate our existence and could at any time bring an end to us all.
I mentioned earlier that we have only a small respite at sunrise somewhere between the mosquitoes and the flies. This is the time the miggies choose to launch their attack. Fortunately these almost microscopic creatures haven’t had to much training as of yet and only manage to upset a humans mood for the day by slowly flying around your head over and over again causing you to swipe at what seems to be nothing in the air thus making other humans from visiting places frown on your apparent insanity.
Well I think I will now return back to reality and leave that place that seems to be taking over my once normal mind.
20 Feb. 12
Yrumoar is almost ready to go back to the water where she belongs and I can’t wait to hear her happy voice again. The gentle lapping of water as it flows smoothly over her hulls and the soft billow as the wind grabs her sails as she starts to run, holding hands with the wind. Here on land her voice has been one of groaning and complaining with every step taken upon her. Sometimes I could hear her screaming as I stuck the grinder into her belly and cut open her stomach to remove the cancer that had been growing and festering deep inside her skin. But now after all the pain she has endured she has finally recovered and sits majestically and patiently waiting for me to heal the last of her wounds. I can almost feel her joy as she stares longingly at the water not twenty metres away waiting to welcome her back to her home and ready to take her on a long journey of discovery.
Yes I know I am no longer in touch with reality, okay. It must be all this boat work that has eventually made me loose my mind completely. We replaced the sail drive boots yesterday and I finished servicing the port motor. I still need to replace the impeller but first have to go and buy one. Today we will paint two coats of topcoat onto the crossbeam and then tomorrow two coats on the other side. I will service the starboard motor today after we have found impellers for both, sometime between the top coats. I still have to fix the sea cocks that I paid someone to do. After that? Well we are pretty much ready to go back into the water.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The final mile is the hardest
12 Feb. 12
Sunday, my absolute favourite day of the week. It’s always been the day to relax rest and recharge. Even though we don’t really take the day off I tend to potter around a little and not take on any challenging work for the day. Specifically on a day like today when it is raining it is great to just spend most of the day watching movies or just lying in bed. We still haven’t managed to install our new 12 volt fridge and have the old one under the boat with all our stuff inside so when we need a drink or something we have to climb off the boat and fetch it downstairs. It has been very convenient owning a cat instead of a mono hull having the workspace under the boat so we didn’t require a garage to work from. The last mile of a race is the hardest is what Ryan told me when I described to him how de motivated I was feeling. Wise and true words. Perhaps the predicted rain for the next few days will be just what we needed to get back our drive and allow us to eventually get the boat finished. Lola and I have been debating taking some time off away from the boat to try and rebuild our will to get finished. Normally the rain just pissed me off as if it was sent to prevent me from working but now I am grateful for the break.
15 Feb. 12
The last few days have just flown by and it feels as if we don’t get anywhere no matter how much we work, nothing gets done. Our new isotherm 12 volt fridge is working eventually after having to take the long cut and run new wires directly from the batteries but is still not properly built into the cupboard that we made. Our wind charger bracket has finally been fitted but the charger itself still has to be painted before we can install it.
Yesterday we had a guy from Durban come and see us about our water maker. He said he would send us a mail with the prices to modify test and fit the water maker but will only install it on the boat once we get to Durban.
16 Feb. 12
The last few days have seen me slowly slipping into despair again since nothing ever seems to get done on the boat. We started installing the new fridge about a week ago and only managed to complete the installation this morning only to discover this afternoon that the whole thing heats up and all the cupboards around it are getting excessively hot. So I drilled a few holes into the cupboards and hope this solves the problem. We sanded down the crossbeam and will start painting it tomorrow as we know this is a week’s process. We installed the wind charger but that is also not working and seems to drain the batteries as opposed to charge them. All in all nothing is working and I feel as if I am just wasting my time. Oh and after inspecting the new sea cocks that we hired someone to do I don’t have any faith in what they did so will have to re-do them myself.
17 Feb. 12
Last night after the kids went to sleep Lola and I took a slow stroll down to the foreshore and sat on the one and only broken bench. When we passed the clubhouse bar I commented that some people spend their entire lives in the bar and I am glad that I passed that point in my life for there was a time that this was all that I did. For a while we just sat in silence in my own thoughts I tried to remind myself why we are doing this trip. I don’t know what was floating around in Lola’s head but she allowed me the time to stare longingly at the few boats tied to the mooring buoys. When we spoke I told her that the dream of cruising is locked in those boats gently bobbing away on an anchor in a remote anchorage. But the reality of cruising is going from yacht club to yacht club, possibly meeting the same people in all of them along the way. She then told me that it won’t always be like that and we will find remote islands and seclusion somewhere along the way. To which I sarcastically replied yes we will find these “remote islands” on a week day and on the weekend they will be infested by thousands of fisherman arriving in their four wheel drive double cab bakkies just like Pelican island directly across the water from us. She smiled at me and started easing me into an obviously planned discussion about how little work we actually have left to do on the boat and how soon we could be on our way. The discussion was filled with obstacles from my side but she managed to climb over these as they arrived one at a time and somewhere during the moonlit night she managed to lift my mood. Wise woman.
Sunday, my absolute favourite day of the week. It’s always been the day to relax rest and recharge. Even though we don’t really take the day off I tend to potter around a little and not take on any challenging work for the day. Specifically on a day like today when it is raining it is great to just spend most of the day watching movies or just lying in bed. We still haven’t managed to install our new 12 volt fridge and have the old one under the boat with all our stuff inside so when we need a drink or something we have to climb off the boat and fetch it downstairs. It has been very convenient owning a cat instead of a mono hull having the workspace under the boat so we didn’t require a garage to work from. The last mile of a race is the hardest is what Ryan told me when I described to him how de motivated I was feeling. Wise and true words. Perhaps the predicted rain for the next few days will be just what we needed to get back our drive and allow us to eventually get the boat finished. Lola and I have been debating taking some time off away from the boat to try and rebuild our will to get finished. Normally the rain just pissed me off as if it was sent to prevent me from working but now I am grateful for the break.
15 Feb. 12
The last few days have just flown by and it feels as if we don’t get anywhere no matter how much we work, nothing gets done. Our new isotherm 12 volt fridge is working eventually after having to take the long cut and run new wires directly from the batteries but is still not properly built into the cupboard that we made. Our wind charger bracket has finally been fitted but the charger itself still has to be painted before we can install it.
Yesterday we had a guy from Durban come and see us about our water maker. He said he would send us a mail with the prices to modify test and fit the water maker but will only install it on the boat once we get to Durban.
16 Feb. 12
The last few days have seen me slowly slipping into despair again since nothing ever seems to get done on the boat. We started installing the new fridge about a week ago and only managed to complete the installation this morning only to discover this afternoon that the whole thing heats up and all the cupboards around it are getting excessively hot. So I drilled a few holes into the cupboards and hope this solves the problem. We sanded down the crossbeam and will start painting it tomorrow as we know this is a week’s process. We installed the wind charger but that is also not working and seems to drain the batteries as opposed to charge them. All in all nothing is working and I feel as if I am just wasting my time. Oh and after inspecting the new sea cocks that we hired someone to do I don’t have any faith in what they did so will have to re-do them myself.
17 Feb. 12
Last night after the kids went to sleep Lola and I took a slow stroll down to the foreshore and sat on the one and only broken bench. When we passed the clubhouse bar I commented that some people spend their entire lives in the bar and I am glad that I passed that point in my life for there was a time that this was all that I did. For a while we just sat in silence in my own thoughts I tried to remind myself why we are doing this trip. I don’t know what was floating around in Lola’s head but she allowed me the time to stare longingly at the few boats tied to the mooring buoys. When we spoke I told her that the dream of cruising is locked in those boats gently bobbing away on an anchor in a remote anchorage. But the reality of cruising is going from yacht club to yacht club, possibly meeting the same people in all of them along the way. She then told me that it won’t always be like that and we will find remote islands and seclusion somewhere along the way. To which I sarcastically replied yes we will find these “remote islands” on a week day and on the weekend they will be infested by thousands of fisherman arriving in their four wheel drive double cab bakkies just like Pelican island directly across the water from us. She smiled at me and started easing me into an obviously planned discussion about how little work we actually have left to do on the boat and how soon we could be on our way. The discussion was filled with obstacles from my side but she managed to climb over these as they arrived one at a time and somewhere during the moonlit night she managed to lift my mood. Wise woman.
Cruiser Style
08 Feb. 12
I don’t know if it’s because the project is coming to an end or if it’s because it has carried on for to long now, but I am finding it harder and harder to motivate myself into doing the final few tasks. After struggling for about two minutes I decided to go into the boatyard and hire someone to come and prepare the see cocks for our visitor from SAMSA. Since the boatyard is a small place and we have somehow managed to make a few enemies along the way I found myself with few choices and landed up using the services of a guy with the nick name of plastic. He arrived promptly with his assistant and got stuck into the job. Within about two hours they had removed all the sea cocks. I now understood why the guy from SAMSA wanted us to remove them since they were all broken and had to be replaced.
Mike from SAMSA arrived with another guy, Jerry I think, they walked around the bottom of the boat and asked about some of the repairs we had made. Knocked here and there and felt around a little bit then complimented us on our rudder repairs. Inspected the old sea cocks and stated that they did actually need to be replaced. They then came upstairs into the boat and checked that I had in fact strengthened the keels from both the outside and the inside and wasn’t just making up stories. We then spoke a while about the safety inspection requirements and that concluded his and Jerry’s visit.
Yesterday we spent our first day as “real” cruisers by catching a taxi into town since we no longer have a car. We spent the day walking from place to place all around town buying cigarettes, motor spares and some groceries. Had lunch at a Fish Aways franchise with a memory of my son Keagan flashing into my head since the last time we were in that shop he had been with us. I also thought about him earlier in the day when we went into “The Hub” since this was the store he made up the story about mannequin man. I am still obviously struggling with my decision to go on this trip without him and my daughter.
Anyway we called a taxi outside the mall entrance one and it arrived promptly. Whilst loading our groceries into the boot Lola somehow slipped off the pavement and fell onto the road injuring her ankle.
We spent the evening back at the boat watching Trevor Noah and limping off to the bathroom on occasion.
09 Feb. 12
Our new 12 volt 130 litre fridge arrived the day before yesterday so we removed our old 220 volt big fridge, broke out the wood flooring and built a new fibreglass and foam cupboard yesterday. This morning we have to add a few layers of glass to the edges run a new electrical wire to the fridge and rewire the batteries correctly. We still haven’t finished repairing and installing our new second hand wind charger but we did start making the mould to replace the old broken cover. The guys we hired to replace our sea cocks are still not finished. They are typical coastal workers that arrive slowly at about ten-ish in the morning and leave again at about one-ish without really having achieved anything, besides be in my way, and borrowing my tools leaving them in random places all over the boat for me to play hide and seek whenever I need one of them. I can’t see us getting back in the water for quite some time still and feel as is we don’t really get anywhere. Like one of those exercise bicycles that you can pedal as hard and long as you like but will never get you out of your bedroom.
It’s about eleven at night and I am just sitting in the cockpit alone. Lola and the kids are in bed possibly asleep. I sent an sms to my two other kids and I am feeling still quite glum not having them here with me. I had such a lot to say before I sat down to type this but the words seem to be escaping me right now. All I can say is the moon is hidden by the clouds, the evening is still and peaceful outside with only the occasional sound of a car passing by somewhere in the distance. Oh and of course the typical African crickets chirping away. Occasionally I am reminded that we are in a harbour by the ship horns sounding in the channel as they pass each other in the dark. I can understand if Lola feels that I have been a bit withdrawn or distant. I haven’t been myself lately in fact from about the first day of this year I haven’t felt quite like myself. Every so often the old me returns but vanishes just like the morning mist without a trace. This new guy isn’t able to kick himself into gear and seems to just be idling along in neutral. As if he is waiting for life to happen around him instead of going out to find it and make it happen. I can’t begin to understand this new guy but he has started to get on my nerves.
10 Feb. 12
Well a boat named Pelagic came out of the water a week or so ago, parked next to us, had some repairs done and went back into the water today. Us, well still sitting just at the same place as yesterday and the day before and the day before that.
We painted our first coat of antifoul paint today even though it was spitting with rain periodically and I just didn’t feel like doing it yet still dragged myself through it. Decided to go for a t-bone steak at the club house this afternoon and then have a few drinks on the boat but now that we are back I just want to go to bed and sleep. Got two sms messages from my daughter reminding me that she misses me but also telling me that she is going through a difficult time. I wonder if its my fault.
I don’t know if it’s because the project is coming to an end or if it’s because it has carried on for to long now, but I am finding it harder and harder to motivate myself into doing the final few tasks. After struggling for about two minutes I decided to go into the boatyard and hire someone to come and prepare the see cocks for our visitor from SAMSA. Since the boatyard is a small place and we have somehow managed to make a few enemies along the way I found myself with few choices and landed up using the services of a guy with the nick name of plastic. He arrived promptly with his assistant and got stuck into the job. Within about two hours they had removed all the sea cocks. I now understood why the guy from SAMSA wanted us to remove them since they were all broken and had to be replaced.
Mike from SAMSA arrived with another guy, Jerry I think, they walked around the bottom of the boat and asked about some of the repairs we had made. Knocked here and there and felt around a little bit then complimented us on our rudder repairs. Inspected the old sea cocks and stated that they did actually need to be replaced. They then came upstairs into the boat and checked that I had in fact strengthened the keels from both the outside and the inside and wasn’t just making up stories. We then spoke a while about the safety inspection requirements and that concluded his and Jerry’s visit.
Yesterday we spent our first day as “real” cruisers by catching a taxi into town since we no longer have a car. We spent the day walking from place to place all around town buying cigarettes, motor spares and some groceries. Had lunch at a Fish Aways franchise with a memory of my son Keagan flashing into my head since the last time we were in that shop he had been with us. I also thought about him earlier in the day when we went into “The Hub” since this was the store he made up the story about mannequin man. I am still obviously struggling with my decision to go on this trip without him and my daughter.
Anyway we called a taxi outside the mall entrance one and it arrived promptly. Whilst loading our groceries into the boot Lola somehow slipped off the pavement and fell onto the road injuring her ankle.
We spent the evening back at the boat watching Trevor Noah and limping off to the bathroom on occasion.
09 Feb. 12
Our new 12 volt 130 litre fridge arrived the day before yesterday so we removed our old 220 volt big fridge, broke out the wood flooring and built a new fibreglass and foam cupboard yesterday. This morning we have to add a few layers of glass to the edges run a new electrical wire to the fridge and rewire the batteries correctly. We still haven’t finished repairing and installing our new second hand wind charger but we did start making the mould to replace the old broken cover. The guys we hired to replace our sea cocks are still not finished. They are typical coastal workers that arrive slowly at about ten-ish in the morning and leave again at about one-ish without really having achieved anything, besides be in my way, and borrowing my tools leaving them in random places all over the boat for me to play hide and seek whenever I need one of them. I can’t see us getting back in the water for quite some time still and feel as is we don’t really get anywhere. Like one of those exercise bicycles that you can pedal as hard and long as you like but will never get you out of your bedroom.
It’s about eleven at night and I am just sitting in the cockpit alone. Lola and the kids are in bed possibly asleep. I sent an sms to my two other kids and I am feeling still quite glum not having them here with me. I had such a lot to say before I sat down to type this but the words seem to be escaping me right now. All I can say is the moon is hidden by the clouds, the evening is still and peaceful outside with only the occasional sound of a car passing by somewhere in the distance. Oh and of course the typical African crickets chirping away. Occasionally I am reminded that we are in a harbour by the ship horns sounding in the channel as they pass each other in the dark. I can understand if Lola feels that I have been a bit withdrawn or distant. I haven’t been myself lately in fact from about the first day of this year I haven’t felt quite like myself. Every so often the old me returns but vanishes just like the morning mist without a trace. This new guy isn’t able to kick himself into gear and seems to just be idling along in neutral. As if he is waiting for life to happen around him instead of going out to find it and make it happen. I can’t begin to understand this new guy but he has started to get on my nerves.
10 Feb. 12
Well a boat named Pelagic came out of the water a week or so ago, parked next to us, had some repairs done and went back into the water today. Us, well still sitting just at the same place as yesterday and the day before and the day before that.
We painted our first coat of antifoul paint today even though it was spitting with rain periodically and I just didn’t feel like doing it yet still dragged myself through it. Decided to go for a t-bone steak at the club house this afternoon and then have a few drinks on the boat but now that we are back I just want to go to bed and sleep. Got two sms messages from my daughter reminding me that she misses me but also telling me that she is going through a difficult time. I wonder if its my fault.
Nearing the end of the boat work
05 Feb. 12
Managed to stick the scuppers on yesterday which officially ends the bridge deck repairs. After many sweaty hours of struggle frustration and a little bit of swearing we also stuck the name Yrumoar onto the front sides thus branding her with our chosen name. We still have to paint the back steps and put the other two stickers with the name onto the back but decided to wait until after our hull inspection on Monday to do this. Our life raft came back from servicing so now we are going to have to find an accessible yet out of the way place to keep her. Servicing the life raft cost over four thousand rand and feels like a rip off but I suppose in the event of actually having to use her we would be overjoyed that we did service her. Today we have a guy coming around to make a stainless steel bracket to attach our new second hand wind charger. We will have to paint the charger and make a new cover for it since the old one is shattered but with our newly acquired skills in fibreglass this shouldn’t be to much of a challenge. Lola is dealing with the official side of things making a million phone calls and sending emails to everyone and their sister trying to make sure that officialdom doesn’t prevent us from leaving once the boat is ready. Of course everyone and their sister wants a piece of the pie and thus the bank balance is disappearing in front of my eyes with every email sent.
My thumb is feeling a bit better today for the first time since I hurt it on the front deck. It has been very frustrating to work, or in fact do anything, without the use of my right thumb. I will still have to watch how I touch anything since tom thumb is still a bit sensitive to touch on the one side but at least he has stopped throbbing.
Yesterday the question of weapons on the boat came up whilst having a conversation with Linda the Australian Israeli and Afgani the Russian Israeli. Afgani reckons that he would like an M16 or an Ak47 on his boat when the pirates approach he would fire some rounds into the air to let them know that he is armed. He also believes that the pirates don’t want your boat but that they want to take you alive and use you in order to get ransom paid to them. I have debated this very question in my mind many times and perhaps if I had access to a South African R4 with a laser site and five or six hundred rounds I would want to take it with me. Or better still have a twenty mill with high energy explosive rounds mounted on each bow and one on the crows nest up the mast that would definately be the solution to any small military invasion. But since I don’t have access to these weapons of mass destruction and I don’t believe that any country in the world is going to believe me when I try to convince them these are purely for self defence purposes, we probably won’t be taking any guns. I can just imagine my conversations with customs officials. “No sir, I promise these limpid mines attached to the hulls are for underwater diver attack prevention, oh, and occasionally also used for antifouling since everything on a boat has to have two purposes.” Customs, “ and the hand grenades!?” Me “we use them to blast out any bacteria in our water tanks of course” Yup the more I think about it the more I believe it should work.
06 Feb. 12
We have the guy from SAMSA coming today to do our hull inspection and he told Lola over the phone that he wants us to strip all our sea cocks so that he can inspect them. Not one or two of our sea cocks, but “all of our sea cocks”. When Lola told me this I was busy sanding our port bow and the fact that he wants to inspect “all” of our sea cocks irritated me slightly so I started mumbling under my breath “ huh huh huh all of our sea cocks hey” does this twat know that I now have to get my hands into the bilges and strip the plumbing pipes. Not one or two of them, but “all” of them. Fortunately after a while my mind gained control of itself and it started to see the reason he would possibly want to see “all” of our sea cocks. When I had finished mumbling and groaning to myself I went into the saloon on the boat. I called Rauen and Kyle and told them that when the guy came for the inspection the three of us would have to stand naked in the saloon. The stared at me with disbelieve in their eyes until I explained that I would be the only one that would have to be naked but since the guy wants to inspect “all the sea cocks” and there are three boys on the boat, we would “all” have to be naked.
Last night we went for KFC after spending most of the day up in the pub at the yacht club. I drove Debbie’s car since we no longer own a car and because I only had two vodkas for the whole day as apposed to Debbie that had perhaps a little more wine than that. My eyes are always bigger than my stomach at take away places and I couldn’t finish my food so still have some chicken for today.
The guy finished our wind charger bracket in the late afternoon yesterday and we now have to drill a few holes and install it onto the boat. It always sounds easier than it is but hopefully this time not a mammoth task.
I miss my kids a lot this morning. Not knowing exactly when I will see them again is what makes it so hard for me to cope.
Rauen suffered from a huge stomach cramp last night before he went to bed so I hope he is going to be okay this morning.
Managed to stick the scuppers on yesterday which officially ends the bridge deck repairs. After many sweaty hours of struggle frustration and a little bit of swearing we also stuck the name Yrumoar onto the front sides thus branding her with our chosen name. We still have to paint the back steps and put the other two stickers with the name onto the back but decided to wait until after our hull inspection on Monday to do this. Our life raft came back from servicing so now we are going to have to find an accessible yet out of the way place to keep her. Servicing the life raft cost over four thousand rand and feels like a rip off but I suppose in the event of actually having to use her we would be overjoyed that we did service her. Today we have a guy coming around to make a stainless steel bracket to attach our new second hand wind charger. We will have to paint the charger and make a new cover for it since the old one is shattered but with our newly acquired skills in fibreglass this shouldn’t be to much of a challenge. Lola is dealing with the official side of things making a million phone calls and sending emails to everyone and their sister trying to make sure that officialdom doesn’t prevent us from leaving once the boat is ready. Of course everyone and their sister wants a piece of the pie and thus the bank balance is disappearing in front of my eyes with every email sent.
My thumb is feeling a bit better today for the first time since I hurt it on the front deck. It has been very frustrating to work, or in fact do anything, without the use of my right thumb. I will still have to watch how I touch anything since tom thumb is still a bit sensitive to touch on the one side but at least he has stopped throbbing.
Yesterday the question of weapons on the boat came up whilst having a conversation with Linda the Australian Israeli and Afgani the Russian Israeli. Afgani reckons that he would like an M16 or an Ak47 on his boat when the pirates approach he would fire some rounds into the air to let them know that he is armed. He also believes that the pirates don’t want your boat but that they want to take you alive and use you in order to get ransom paid to them. I have debated this very question in my mind many times and perhaps if I had access to a South African R4 with a laser site and five or six hundred rounds I would want to take it with me. Or better still have a twenty mill with high energy explosive rounds mounted on each bow and one on the crows nest up the mast that would definately be the solution to any small military invasion. But since I don’t have access to these weapons of mass destruction and I don’t believe that any country in the world is going to believe me when I try to convince them these are purely for self defence purposes, we probably won’t be taking any guns. I can just imagine my conversations with customs officials. “No sir, I promise these limpid mines attached to the hulls are for underwater diver attack prevention, oh, and occasionally also used for antifouling since everything on a boat has to have two purposes.” Customs, “ and the hand grenades!?” Me “we use them to blast out any bacteria in our water tanks of course” Yup the more I think about it the more I believe it should work.
06 Feb. 12
We have the guy from SAMSA coming today to do our hull inspection and he told Lola over the phone that he wants us to strip all our sea cocks so that he can inspect them. Not one or two of our sea cocks, but “all of our sea cocks”. When Lola told me this I was busy sanding our port bow and the fact that he wants to inspect “all” of our sea cocks irritated me slightly so I started mumbling under my breath “ huh huh huh all of our sea cocks hey” does this twat know that I now have to get my hands into the bilges and strip the plumbing pipes. Not one or two of them, but “all” of them. Fortunately after a while my mind gained control of itself and it started to see the reason he would possibly want to see “all” of our sea cocks. When I had finished mumbling and groaning to myself I went into the saloon on the boat. I called Rauen and Kyle and told them that when the guy came for the inspection the three of us would have to stand naked in the saloon. The stared at me with disbelieve in their eyes until I explained that I would be the only one that would have to be naked but since the guy wants to inspect “all the sea cocks” and there are three boys on the boat, we would “all” have to be naked.
Last night we went for KFC after spending most of the day up in the pub at the yacht club. I drove Debbie’s car since we no longer own a car and because I only had two vodkas for the whole day as apposed to Debbie that had perhaps a little more wine than that. My eyes are always bigger than my stomach at take away places and I couldn’t finish my food so still have some chicken for today.
The guy finished our wind charger bracket in the late afternoon yesterday and we now have to drill a few holes and install it onto the boat. It always sounds easier than it is but hopefully this time not a mammoth task.
I miss my kids a lot this morning. Not knowing exactly when I will see them again is what makes it so hard for me to cope.
Rauen suffered from a huge stomach cramp last night before he went to bed so I hope he is going to be okay this morning.
Life in the boat yard
03 Feb. 12
The month of January has gone forever and the clock is ticking away into February with us still sitting on the hard. The repairs are all so close to finished yet still feels so far away from completed. The problem being that no boat repair is a simple task that can be completed in one day. Everything has a process that has multiple steps to be completed and each step has a waiting or curing time. Today I will fair and sand the bow hopefully for the final time since I applied fine fairing compound yesterday and have spent the last two days sanding the initial course fairing compound. We then have to paint undercoat and two top coats to complete the last of the repairs on the boat. We still have other things to do but they are small strengthening upgrades as opposed to fixing old problems.
Last night I watched Lola as she looked up at the moon and my eyes followed hers to find an absolutely picture perfect half moon peering out through some clouds. I touched my arm and my mind wandered to a memory of my daughters face and the smile in her eyes when see looks at me, and I missed her. I am still not sure how I am going to cope on this trip without my kids considering that I am so emotional at the moment and we are still in the same country with them being only a couple of hours away by car. I am hoping that by the time we get to Cape Town I have managed to gain control of my emotions and will be able to face the trip across the Atlantic.
This morning as I am sitting outside in the cockpit I discovered that my senses have started to awaken again and I look up at the sky. A thin film of cloud is hiding the normally blue sky and there is not a breath of wind. A bird is sounding tock tock tock tock in the background with other birds chirping away to each other. Nobody is awake yet and the roads are silently waiting for the traffic to arrive. The last six months or so have just flown by without me being able to stop, taking some time to listen to the sounds of land and savouring the moment because my mind has just been too clouded with the boat work. I think that now that the work is coming to an end I may be able to rediscover the reason we are doing this in the first place.
04 Feb. 12
Yesterday we painted the port side, the curve under the trampolines and the deck repairs. Today we will have to paint and prepare the deck fittings in order to re attach them. Whilst painting the side I heard a loud crash and instantly recognised the sound as that of a boat being dropped from the trailer. I jumped down the scaffold and ran towards the slipway to see if I could help but once it fell, it has fallen and is now part of history that cannot be undone. The two people that own this boat, Linda and Afgeni, took it quite well and managed to maintain poker face in the chaos that followed whilst the trailer crew scurried around like rats trying to re secure the now damaged boat. I would be devastated after spending all this time on the hard working on the boat just to have it dropped when it is about to go back in the water.
I really enjoy this time in the morning when I have just got up and made my first cup of coffee. The world is silently waiting for the new day to begin and there is a freshness in the air that you can almost taste. At this time my mind can wander taking me by the hand and leading me to anywhere it wants to be, somewhere and nowhere all at the same time.
Some time ago at one of the Monday night braai’s Lola and I met an extremely attractive young lady from Norway or Sweden or somewhere there. She has been on my mind quite a lot, not because of her looks but because of our conversation that evening. She had been reading Nelson Mandela’s book, the long walk to freedom and was trying to establish how South Africa was actually doing. I don’t know if it was because I was too busy staring at her boobs or something to be able to answer her interrogation but feel that she misunderstood my answers or tried to read more into my casual not very well thought out replies. It had been such a long time since the change over from the old South Africa to the new that it was no longer a fresh issue in my mind. I keep replaying this conversation in my mind and when I do I have so many better replies compared to the ones I offered that night. Maybe next time I meet someone who has a keen interest in this topic I will be better prepared. It would probably help if they are ugly so that I can actually use my big head to think for me and not the little one.
The conversation went somewhere along these lines.
She” I am busy reading Nelson Mandela’s book, the long walk to freedom, have you read it.
Me” no” (I wonder what she would look like naked in a construction yard with a jackhammer in her hands)
She” is it because you don’t like the man”
Me” no I have nothing against him he is a great man that has done some wonderful things” ( hmm if that bra strap breaks would those drop down an inch or so)
She” why are there no black people here.
Me” uh uh don’t know” (what kind of a shit answer was that. Hey maybe running around on the beech in a tiny bikini bouncing a huge beech ball)
She” are the blacks not allowed to come here”
Me” what?” (does she have green or blue eyes)
She” so they aren’t allowed here then”
Me” what? (no the jackhammer one is definitely my favourite)
And so this continued without me being able to give any logical answers till Lola comes to the rescue and I walk away.
The month of January has gone forever and the clock is ticking away into February with us still sitting on the hard. The repairs are all so close to finished yet still feels so far away from completed. The problem being that no boat repair is a simple task that can be completed in one day. Everything has a process that has multiple steps to be completed and each step has a waiting or curing time. Today I will fair and sand the bow hopefully for the final time since I applied fine fairing compound yesterday and have spent the last two days sanding the initial course fairing compound. We then have to paint undercoat and two top coats to complete the last of the repairs on the boat. We still have other things to do but they are small strengthening upgrades as opposed to fixing old problems.
Last night I watched Lola as she looked up at the moon and my eyes followed hers to find an absolutely picture perfect half moon peering out through some clouds. I touched my arm and my mind wandered to a memory of my daughters face and the smile in her eyes when see looks at me, and I missed her. I am still not sure how I am going to cope on this trip without my kids considering that I am so emotional at the moment and we are still in the same country with them being only a couple of hours away by car. I am hoping that by the time we get to Cape Town I have managed to gain control of my emotions and will be able to face the trip across the Atlantic.
This morning as I am sitting outside in the cockpit I discovered that my senses have started to awaken again and I look up at the sky. A thin film of cloud is hiding the normally blue sky and there is not a breath of wind. A bird is sounding tock tock tock tock in the background with other birds chirping away to each other. Nobody is awake yet and the roads are silently waiting for the traffic to arrive. The last six months or so have just flown by without me being able to stop, taking some time to listen to the sounds of land and savouring the moment because my mind has just been too clouded with the boat work. I think that now that the work is coming to an end I may be able to rediscover the reason we are doing this in the first place.
04 Feb. 12
Yesterday we painted the port side, the curve under the trampolines and the deck repairs. Today we will have to paint and prepare the deck fittings in order to re attach them. Whilst painting the side I heard a loud crash and instantly recognised the sound as that of a boat being dropped from the trailer. I jumped down the scaffold and ran towards the slipway to see if I could help but once it fell, it has fallen and is now part of history that cannot be undone. The two people that own this boat, Linda and Afgeni, took it quite well and managed to maintain poker face in the chaos that followed whilst the trailer crew scurried around like rats trying to re secure the now damaged boat. I would be devastated after spending all this time on the hard working on the boat just to have it dropped when it is about to go back in the water.
I really enjoy this time in the morning when I have just got up and made my first cup of coffee. The world is silently waiting for the new day to begin and there is a freshness in the air that you can almost taste. At this time my mind can wander taking me by the hand and leading me to anywhere it wants to be, somewhere and nowhere all at the same time.
Some time ago at one of the Monday night braai’s Lola and I met an extremely attractive young lady from Norway or Sweden or somewhere there. She has been on my mind quite a lot, not because of her looks but because of our conversation that evening. She had been reading Nelson Mandela’s book, the long walk to freedom and was trying to establish how South Africa was actually doing. I don’t know if it was because I was too busy staring at her boobs or something to be able to answer her interrogation but feel that she misunderstood my answers or tried to read more into my casual not very well thought out replies. It had been such a long time since the change over from the old South Africa to the new that it was no longer a fresh issue in my mind. I keep replaying this conversation in my mind and when I do I have so many better replies compared to the ones I offered that night. Maybe next time I meet someone who has a keen interest in this topic I will be better prepared. It would probably help if they are ugly so that I can actually use my big head to think for me and not the little one.
The conversation went somewhere along these lines.
She” I am busy reading Nelson Mandela’s book, the long walk to freedom, have you read it.
Me” no” (I wonder what she would look like naked in a construction yard with a jackhammer in her hands)
She” is it because you don’t like the man”
Me” no I have nothing against him he is a great man that has done some wonderful things” ( hmm if that bra strap breaks would those drop down an inch or so)
She” why are there no black people here.
Me” uh uh don’t know” (what kind of a shit answer was that. Hey maybe running around on the beech in a tiny bikini bouncing a huge beech ball)
She” are the blacks not allowed to come here”
Me” what?” (does she have green or blue eyes)
She” so they aren’t allowed here then”
Me” what? (no the jackhammer one is definitely my favourite)
And so this continued without me being able to give any logical answers till Lola comes to the rescue and I walk away.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Final work begins in ernest
25 Jan. 12
South westerly wind howling away outside since yesterday just after lunch time. It’s just typical that the weather would be crap because I am in a hurry to get finished. I am still feeling a bit tender about my kids and the work helps to take my mind elsewhere.
I received a phone call from the police a few days ago informing me that my companies firearm license has been approved and is ready for collection. Now that is what I call good competent government service. It took them nearly five years to approve this license after loosing my application twice and having absolutely no record of my application on their computer system. Considering that we were providing a security service in a violent and dangerous country, having no firearms made the job impossible and caused me to close the company down. Now almost one year after I have closed the company down they decide to issue me with the required license. Why thank you is all I can say. They now want me to write an email informing them that the company is closed. Yes definitely I am going to do that straight away after about five or six years have passed.
Living on the hard here for the last few months has not been pleasant. My hands are always covered in paint and epoxy and my feet in grinding dust and mud. I don’t believe they will ever come clean again.
We have been running the solar panels for a few days now but they aren’t able to keep up and all we are running is a freezer and a couple of lights. We have three 50 watt panels and one 85 watt panel which in theory should be able to cope but isn’t.
I drilled some holes in the rudder yesterday and grinded it open today in preparation for the good weather so that I can laminate some glass over the broken piece. But otherwise not much else happened. We watched Forest Gump again since it is one of my favourites then watched one night with the king whilst hiding from the rain.
27 Jan. 12
Woke up early this morning to a beautiful sunny day for a change. Whilst I was sitting in the cockpit having my first cup of coffee I looked at my new tattoo and thought about my daughter. The tattoo artist was however not very talented so instead of me looking at a boy sitting on the moon fishing I am looking at a slightly deformed dinosaur wearing a dog leash. So this morning I decided to name my tattoo and give it some character, you know make it come to life. Instantly the name Ameosourris Rex flashed in my head and now it is named. Just for you famous just for you. Ha ha.
Managed to tick off a few things on the list today and almost completed the rudder repairs. Should be able to tick those off tomorrow then the port bow is the last big repair left to do.
30 Jan. 12
The rudders were almost finished then we applied some No Mosis to them which ran and now has to be sanded. We painted the starboard side with undercoat and the first coat of top coat. Only one more top coat and we can tick that side repair off the list. Started stripping the hardware from the port bow and hope to finish stripping today so that we can grind it open to be able to decide what needs to be done.
Last night we went down to the foreshore and had a braai with a couple of the locals down here. .
We sold our car a few days ago so now we have to leave soon or start getting used to public transport.
At some point during the installation of the solar panels I managed to pull the muscles on my left forearm so working with a sensitive weak left hand hasn’t been very easy. A couple of days ago whilst jumping over one of our new repairs I hooked my toe into the cleat by accident and injured it quite badly. Then later on that same day I was concentrating so hard to avoid any obstacles with my sore foot that I completely forgot I have another foot and injured my other foot in the doorway. So for the last few days I have been limping on both feet. Today I was tearing off the fibreglass on the port bow using a crowbar and rough stabbing movements. Then suddenly the crowbar broke through a piece of the fibreglass and shot forward with my hand still attached stabbing the sharp mangled edges of the broken fibreglass under my right hand thumb nail. So now with two useless feet and two useless arms I am going to have to use my mouth and forehead to complete the repairs.
South westerly wind howling away outside since yesterday just after lunch time. It’s just typical that the weather would be crap because I am in a hurry to get finished. I am still feeling a bit tender about my kids and the work helps to take my mind elsewhere.
I received a phone call from the police a few days ago informing me that my companies firearm license has been approved and is ready for collection. Now that is what I call good competent government service. It took them nearly five years to approve this license after loosing my application twice and having absolutely no record of my application on their computer system. Considering that we were providing a security service in a violent and dangerous country, having no firearms made the job impossible and caused me to close the company down. Now almost one year after I have closed the company down they decide to issue me with the required license. Why thank you is all I can say. They now want me to write an email informing them that the company is closed. Yes definitely I am going to do that straight away after about five or six years have passed.
Living on the hard here for the last few months has not been pleasant. My hands are always covered in paint and epoxy and my feet in grinding dust and mud. I don’t believe they will ever come clean again.
We have been running the solar panels for a few days now but they aren’t able to keep up and all we are running is a freezer and a couple of lights. We have three 50 watt panels and one 85 watt panel which in theory should be able to cope but isn’t.
I drilled some holes in the rudder yesterday and grinded it open today in preparation for the good weather so that I can laminate some glass over the broken piece. But otherwise not much else happened. We watched Forest Gump again since it is one of my favourites then watched one night with the king whilst hiding from the rain.
27 Jan. 12
Woke up early this morning to a beautiful sunny day for a change. Whilst I was sitting in the cockpit having my first cup of coffee I looked at my new tattoo and thought about my daughter. The tattoo artist was however not very talented so instead of me looking at a boy sitting on the moon fishing I am looking at a slightly deformed dinosaur wearing a dog leash. So this morning I decided to name my tattoo and give it some character, you know make it come to life. Instantly the name Ameosourris Rex flashed in my head and now it is named. Just for you famous just for you. Ha ha.
Managed to tick off a few things on the list today and almost completed the rudder repairs. Should be able to tick those off tomorrow then the port bow is the last big repair left to do.
30 Jan. 12
The rudders were almost finished then we applied some No Mosis to them which ran and now has to be sanded. We painted the starboard side with undercoat and the first coat of top coat. Only one more top coat and we can tick that side repair off the list. Started stripping the hardware from the port bow and hope to finish stripping today so that we can grind it open to be able to decide what needs to be done.
Last night we went down to the foreshore and had a braai with a couple of the locals down here. .
We sold our car a few days ago so now we have to leave soon or start getting used to public transport.
At some point during the installation of the solar panels I managed to pull the muscles on my left forearm so working with a sensitive weak left hand hasn’t been very easy. A couple of days ago whilst jumping over one of our new repairs I hooked my toe into the cleat by accident and injured it quite badly. Then later on that same day I was concentrating so hard to avoid any obstacles with my sore foot that I completely forgot I have another foot and injured my other foot in the doorway. So for the last few days I have been limping on both feet. Today I was tearing off the fibreglass on the port bow using a crowbar and rough stabbing movements. Then suddenly the crowbar broke through a piece of the fibreglass and shot forward with my hand still attached stabbing the sharp mangled edges of the broken fibreglass under my right hand thumb nail. So now with two useless feet and two useless arms I am going to have to use my mouth and forehead to complete the repairs.
Calling all Emo followers
20 Jan. 12
Time roars on towards the end of January heralding the end of the first month of 2012 with us no closer to the water than we have been for the last six or seven months. Today is the last day that my daughter will be visiting and tomorrow she will undertake the long trek back to Pretoria and back to the reality of big city life. Yesterday we woke up early and went for a row down the channel and across to Pelican island. Then we had dunky eggs for breakfast and headed off to the tattoo parlour at Tuzi Gazi waterfront. For years now we discussed getting a small tattoo together and we decided on the little boy fishing from the moon that is the DreamWorks logo. Once long ago we tried to find an astrological body that we could look at anytime we missed each other even though we may be on other sides of the earth. The stars are an option but since neither of us knows to much about them the moon became the obvious choice. Some nights however there is no moon or it may be overcast hence the moon tattoo which will be carried around on our arms easily available when required. Last night we had a pizza party and made five different pizzas which turned out really tasty and made for a most enjoyable evening. Right now it is raining again so we will probably watch a movie on the boat. I am not looking forward to tomorrow but don’t want to type about that yet and wish to remain in denial for the day.
23 Jan. 12
“And then one day, just like that, she was gone.” It’s a quote from my favourite movie of all time, Forest Gump, and it was a thought banging around in my head repeating itself over and over again for most of the day yesterday. My daughter stayed one extra day before she left and still there just is never enough time. The extra day just flew by like a high speed freight train in front of my eyes and then she was gone, just like that. I feel as if I am grieving the loss of a loved one and didn’t prepare myself well enough for this. I know that in the future I will see them again but the future is so uncertain at this moment that my heart cannot accept this and move on. The saying goes, “time heals all wounds” hopefully this is true.
24 Jan. 12
Finished painting the bridge deck this morning so that repair can be ticked off the list. Still need to make scuppers, fix the port bow, repair the rudder and a bit of painting here and there. We are going to attempt to get back in the water within the next two weeks. Hopefully we succeed and get on our way soon after. Right now it’s raining again so I am sitting indoors typing this blog. I know my kids read the blog occasionally but I sometimes wonder if anybody else ever happens to stumble across it. The last few inserts have been a bit emotional so I may have attracted some emo followers.
Time roars on towards the end of January heralding the end of the first month of 2012 with us no closer to the water than we have been for the last six or seven months. Today is the last day that my daughter will be visiting and tomorrow she will undertake the long trek back to Pretoria and back to the reality of big city life. Yesterday we woke up early and went for a row down the channel and across to Pelican island. Then we had dunky eggs for breakfast and headed off to the tattoo parlour at Tuzi Gazi waterfront. For years now we discussed getting a small tattoo together and we decided on the little boy fishing from the moon that is the DreamWorks logo. Once long ago we tried to find an astrological body that we could look at anytime we missed each other even though we may be on other sides of the earth. The stars are an option but since neither of us knows to much about them the moon became the obvious choice. Some nights however there is no moon or it may be overcast hence the moon tattoo which will be carried around on our arms easily available when required. Last night we had a pizza party and made five different pizzas which turned out really tasty and made for a most enjoyable evening. Right now it is raining again so we will probably watch a movie on the boat. I am not looking forward to tomorrow but don’t want to type about that yet and wish to remain in denial for the day.
23 Jan. 12
“And then one day, just like that, she was gone.” It’s a quote from my favourite movie of all time, Forest Gump, and it was a thought banging around in my head repeating itself over and over again for most of the day yesterday. My daughter stayed one extra day before she left and still there just is never enough time. The extra day just flew by like a high speed freight train in front of my eyes and then she was gone, just like that. I feel as if I am grieving the loss of a loved one and didn’t prepare myself well enough for this. I know that in the future I will see them again but the future is so uncertain at this moment that my heart cannot accept this and move on. The saying goes, “time heals all wounds” hopefully this is true.
24 Jan. 12
Finished painting the bridge deck this morning so that repair can be ticked off the list. Still need to make scuppers, fix the port bow, repair the rudder and a bit of painting here and there. We are going to attempt to get back in the water within the next two weeks. Hopefully we succeed and get on our way soon after. Right now it’s raining again so I am sitting indoors typing this blog. I know my kids read the blog occasionally but I sometimes wonder if anybody else ever happens to stumble across it. The last few inserts have been a bit emotional so I may have attracted some emo followers.
Emotions run wild
09 Jan. 12
Today is the last full day I get to spend with my son Keagan. This life we chose seems to be full of goodbye’s, some of them easier than others. But always goodbye’s. It seems you make friends with someone today and tomorrow you find yourself saying goodbye as you watch them sail off into the distance. Never quite sure if you will ever get to see them again. Sometimes you don’t even get to see them leaving because they leave during the middle of the night and the next day when you walk down to the docks, you are met by an open void. Most of the people down here that we became close to have already left since the season is marching on to its end and they had to go. Saying goodbye to Keagan tomorrow at the airport is going to be hell and this is going to possibly be the toughest goodbye I’ve ever had to do.
Since it is his last full day I woke him at five this morning when I got up and we went for a walk down to the foreshore sitting on a concrete chair staring at the water made me realise just how much I enjoy his company. He has always been pleasant company but through the years as he has grown into the near adult that he now has become he has evolved into someone I really enjoy and love. The next time I see him he will probably be all grown up and I would have missed some part of his life forever. I have to stop this right now before I break down into tears. Oops to late have to go now and hide in my room so he doesn’t see me.
11 Jan. 12
Although it sounds stupid, airports and graveyards have a lot in common to me today. The mood here on Yrumoar is sombre and sad this morning. I find myself staring into the empty cabins that just yesterday were occupied by my children. Not knowing when I will see them again due to this absolute uncertain future path that I have chosen makes it so difficult to deal with. If I was sure that I would be able to see them again in a couple of months or perhaps even a year it would be easier to cope. However I have no funds available to be able to get them to me until we reach New Zealand on the other side of the earth. Even this isn’t guaranteed if we don’t get work in that country. So, I am going to throw myself into the boat work for the next few weeks to occupy my mind and help heal the open wounds.
At least I have been left with some awesome memories to help tide me over till next time. Times spent with my son rowing down the river on our inflatable canoe. Time spent sitting having sundowners in the cockpit watching him explain passionately about his life, experiences and friends back home. The walk down to the beech sitting watching the water in calm serene silence. Other times once my daughter arrived joking and laughing, sometimes poking good humoured innocent fun at her boyfriend. The memory of my daughter explaining how her brother has such gay statuses on facebook that he may as well say “ahh boo boo boo boo boo”.
My son was down here for a month and a half but it flew by so fast that it felt like he was only here a few days. My Daughter arrived the day after Christmas and left yesterday but will be back in a few days. Her visit was so short that it felt she just arrived for the day and left again. I hope her next visit feels longer and I am going to make a point of spending some alone time with her. That time is the quality time that makes for good memories. In the past when we where still living up in Joey’s she always tried to make a point of spending some alone time with me but my life was so wrapped up in work and other unimportant crap that it didn’t always work out. I don’t want to make that mistake again. Life teaches you lessons but always after the fact and then you wish things had been different but cannot change what has already been done.
15 Jan. 12
The wounds are still raw since my son left and I haven’t really been able to motivate myself or pull myself out of the sinking feeling in my chest. Working on the boat hasn’t been very rewarding and even though I have fitted the solar panels and some hooks at the back to tidy the ropes I feel uninterested and slightly detached. Yesterday we hired some labour to sand under the waterline so we can get ready to paint antifoul paint. Today he sanded the rudders and found problems with them. I didn’t want any more problems so this just added to my woes. My wallet also got stolen when Lola went to the shop with all my licences and things in it. The licences are inconvenient but the photo that I carried in my wallet of my kids is not replaceable. One a positive note my daughter is on her way back here today so I am looking forward to spending a few more days with her. I hope my glum mood doesn’t get in the way. I can see Lola studying me every now and then. She isn’t really sure how to handle me at the moment and I can’t give her advice because I don’t know myself.
16 Jan. 12
Yesterday we drove about 150 km to Princes Grant to visit some family on Lola’s side. The distraction and the time away from the boat were most rewarding and helped to lift my dark clouded mood somewhat. I was much quieter and less humorous than my normal self but perhaps it was a blessing in disguise giving other people the chance to take the limelight and saving the souls of those that aren’t used to my often inappropriate behaviour.
Today it is raining so I am not sure what we are going to achieve for the day. All I do know is that I want to spend some time with my daughter Amy. She is still sleeping at the moment so I’ll have to wait patiently. Lola and Rauen are getting ready for class since today the kids will go back to being home schooled by their mother after more than a months break. It’s going to be pleasant to have a bit of routine going again after such a long time. The boys started getting on each other, as well as our nerves for about two weeks now. It seems that even their favourite pastime, playing Playstation or on the laptop, and even swimming can only be fun for that long.
Today is the last full day I get to spend with my son Keagan. This life we chose seems to be full of goodbye’s, some of them easier than others. But always goodbye’s. It seems you make friends with someone today and tomorrow you find yourself saying goodbye as you watch them sail off into the distance. Never quite sure if you will ever get to see them again. Sometimes you don’t even get to see them leaving because they leave during the middle of the night and the next day when you walk down to the docks, you are met by an open void. Most of the people down here that we became close to have already left since the season is marching on to its end and they had to go. Saying goodbye to Keagan tomorrow at the airport is going to be hell and this is going to possibly be the toughest goodbye I’ve ever had to do.
Since it is his last full day I woke him at five this morning when I got up and we went for a walk down to the foreshore sitting on a concrete chair staring at the water made me realise just how much I enjoy his company. He has always been pleasant company but through the years as he has grown into the near adult that he now has become he has evolved into someone I really enjoy and love. The next time I see him he will probably be all grown up and I would have missed some part of his life forever. I have to stop this right now before I break down into tears. Oops to late have to go now and hide in my room so he doesn’t see me.
11 Jan. 12
Although it sounds stupid, airports and graveyards have a lot in common to me today. The mood here on Yrumoar is sombre and sad this morning. I find myself staring into the empty cabins that just yesterday were occupied by my children. Not knowing when I will see them again due to this absolute uncertain future path that I have chosen makes it so difficult to deal with. If I was sure that I would be able to see them again in a couple of months or perhaps even a year it would be easier to cope. However I have no funds available to be able to get them to me until we reach New Zealand on the other side of the earth. Even this isn’t guaranteed if we don’t get work in that country. So, I am going to throw myself into the boat work for the next few weeks to occupy my mind and help heal the open wounds.
At least I have been left with some awesome memories to help tide me over till next time. Times spent with my son rowing down the river on our inflatable canoe. Time spent sitting having sundowners in the cockpit watching him explain passionately about his life, experiences and friends back home. The walk down to the beech sitting watching the water in calm serene silence. Other times once my daughter arrived joking and laughing, sometimes poking good humoured innocent fun at her boyfriend. The memory of my daughter explaining how her brother has such gay statuses on facebook that he may as well say “ahh boo boo boo boo boo”.
My son was down here for a month and a half but it flew by so fast that it felt like he was only here a few days. My Daughter arrived the day after Christmas and left yesterday but will be back in a few days. Her visit was so short that it felt she just arrived for the day and left again. I hope her next visit feels longer and I am going to make a point of spending some alone time with her. That time is the quality time that makes for good memories. In the past when we where still living up in Joey’s she always tried to make a point of spending some alone time with me but my life was so wrapped up in work and other unimportant crap that it didn’t always work out. I don’t want to make that mistake again. Life teaches you lessons but always after the fact and then you wish things had been different but cannot change what has already been done.
15 Jan. 12
The wounds are still raw since my son left and I haven’t really been able to motivate myself or pull myself out of the sinking feeling in my chest. Working on the boat hasn’t been very rewarding and even though I have fitted the solar panels and some hooks at the back to tidy the ropes I feel uninterested and slightly detached. Yesterday we hired some labour to sand under the waterline so we can get ready to paint antifoul paint. Today he sanded the rudders and found problems with them. I didn’t want any more problems so this just added to my woes. My wallet also got stolen when Lola went to the shop with all my licences and things in it. The licences are inconvenient but the photo that I carried in my wallet of my kids is not replaceable. One a positive note my daughter is on her way back here today so I am looking forward to spending a few more days with her. I hope my glum mood doesn’t get in the way. I can see Lola studying me every now and then. She isn’t really sure how to handle me at the moment and I can’t give her advice because I don’t know myself.
16 Jan. 12
Yesterday we drove about 150 km to Princes Grant to visit some family on Lola’s side. The distraction and the time away from the boat were most rewarding and helped to lift my dark clouded mood somewhat. I was much quieter and less humorous than my normal self but perhaps it was a blessing in disguise giving other people the chance to take the limelight and saving the souls of those that aren’t used to my often inappropriate behaviour.
Today it is raining so I am not sure what we are going to achieve for the day. All I do know is that I want to spend some time with my daughter Amy. She is still sleeping at the moment so I’ll have to wait patiently. Lola and Rauen are getting ready for class since today the kids will go back to being home schooled by their mother after more than a months break. It’s going to be pleasant to have a bit of routine going again after such a long time. The boys started getting on each other, as well as our nerves for about two weeks now. It seems that even their favourite pastime, playing Playstation or on the laptop, and even swimming can only be fun for that long.
The new year begins
01 Jan. 12
Typical beginning to the year, going to bed after eight in the morning then waking up midday with an oversized head and shaky body. Not quite remembering the entire evening before with large gaps and missed events. Lost four glasses in our quest to have the most memorable of all new years but deciding today never to do it again as with every other new years before. Hopefully the rumours floating about that 2012 is the end of the world aren’t true since I still have lots of things to do.
02 Jan. 12
My daughter and her boyfriend came back yesterday from their party in Balito in high spirits having had a more successful trip this time round. Today I am hoping to be more productive than yesterday. During the course of the day I am hoping to get all the preparations done for the installation of our solar panels. We have to fit some channels on the bimini roof, then install wires and lay one layer of fibreglass over the entire roof to give it a bit of strength. With all my kids here visiting me I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, wanting to spend as much time as possible with them and at the same time getting the boat finished.
04 Jan. 12
The time is flying so fast this year already it feels as if I am missing days, every two days feels like one. Whenever I look at the date on my cell two days have gone even though I think I checked it yesterday. The rain halted us dead in our tracks yesterday halfway through laminating the bimini top. Now this doesn’t really sound like a big deal because we can just finish it today if the sun reappears. However because we didn’t manage to finish it all in one go I will now have to grind it down to remove any high spots and the amino blush that comes with the product as opposed to just being able to complete the work. Well I suppose that is just how it goes sometimes. Normally we go to bed at about nine thirty, which someone told me is cruisers midnight, but since the kids are here we find ourselves going to bed after twelve and this morning it is finally taking its toll with me only being able to surface at eight as opposed to my normal five o clock rising time.
05 Jan. 12
Yesterday we took the day off and went to the mall with the kids to do some shopping. We lunched at milky lane on a couple of waffles and bought some movies at Musica. Then we bought groceries at Pick and Pay, tried to by cigarettes at Sha’s, but they didn’t have our brand so landed up buying one carton of another brand and headed back to the mall to fruit and veg to by meat and veggies. We landed up with two overloaded trolleys and it still amazes me every time when we get back to the boat where Lola finds place for this ton off stuff but yet magically and within minutes the cockpit is empty and it’s all gone. Last night a friend invited us over to his house for a braai which was a lot of fun but Lola got chest pains during the evening and I had to remain relatively sober in order to drive us all back. Nevertheless we still only managed to get back to the boat after twelve and it was past one before we got to sleep, again.
07 Jan. 12
Yesterday we decided to spend the day with our kids down at the foreshore playing ball swimming and rowing in our blow up canoe. Today we all look a bit like well cooked lobster but it was worth it having some time off and bonding with the kids. I am not quite sure why but both Lola and I suffer from self inflicted stress all the time. Because of this we are always pushing each other to get things done feeling that we will get fired or something if we don’t get finished quickly enough. Unexplainable and weird but perhaps a good thing.
08 Jan. 12
With a bit of help from my son Keagan, Lola and I managed to laminate the bimini top this morning. Now I have to grind down the rough spots then we can paint it and finally fit our solar panels. This is going to be exciting since it is an improvement on the boat that we planned unlike the repairs we have already done that were not planned for but rather thrust in our faces. Sadly I have only one more day to spend with my son before he flies back home and I don’t really know when I will see him again. It’s going to be a tough goodbye which I am not looking forward to and I hope I am able to cope with some of my dignity still in tact.
Typical beginning to the year, going to bed after eight in the morning then waking up midday with an oversized head and shaky body. Not quite remembering the entire evening before with large gaps and missed events. Lost four glasses in our quest to have the most memorable of all new years but deciding today never to do it again as with every other new years before. Hopefully the rumours floating about that 2012 is the end of the world aren’t true since I still have lots of things to do.
02 Jan. 12
My daughter and her boyfriend came back yesterday from their party in Balito in high spirits having had a more successful trip this time round. Today I am hoping to be more productive than yesterday. During the course of the day I am hoping to get all the preparations done for the installation of our solar panels. We have to fit some channels on the bimini roof, then install wires and lay one layer of fibreglass over the entire roof to give it a bit of strength. With all my kids here visiting me I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, wanting to spend as much time as possible with them and at the same time getting the boat finished.
04 Jan. 12
The time is flying so fast this year already it feels as if I am missing days, every two days feels like one. Whenever I look at the date on my cell two days have gone even though I think I checked it yesterday. The rain halted us dead in our tracks yesterday halfway through laminating the bimini top. Now this doesn’t really sound like a big deal because we can just finish it today if the sun reappears. However because we didn’t manage to finish it all in one go I will now have to grind it down to remove any high spots and the amino blush that comes with the product as opposed to just being able to complete the work. Well I suppose that is just how it goes sometimes. Normally we go to bed at about nine thirty, which someone told me is cruisers midnight, but since the kids are here we find ourselves going to bed after twelve and this morning it is finally taking its toll with me only being able to surface at eight as opposed to my normal five o clock rising time.
05 Jan. 12
Yesterday we took the day off and went to the mall with the kids to do some shopping. We lunched at milky lane on a couple of waffles and bought some movies at Musica. Then we bought groceries at Pick and Pay, tried to by cigarettes at Sha’s, but they didn’t have our brand so landed up buying one carton of another brand and headed back to the mall to fruit and veg to by meat and veggies. We landed up with two overloaded trolleys and it still amazes me every time when we get back to the boat where Lola finds place for this ton off stuff but yet magically and within minutes the cockpit is empty and it’s all gone. Last night a friend invited us over to his house for a braai which was a lot of fun but Lola got chest pains during the evening and I had to remain relatively sober in order to drive us all back. Nevertheless we still only managed to get back to the boat after twelve and it was past one before we got to sleep, again.
07 Jan. 12
Yesterday we decided to spend the day with our kids down at the foreshore playing ball swimming and rowing in our blow up canoe. Today we all look a bit like well cooked lobster but it was worth it having some time off and bonding with the kids. I am not quite sure why but both Lola and I suffer from self inflicted stress all the time. Because of this we are always pushing each other to get things done feeling that we will get fired or something if we don’t get finished quickly enough. Unexplainable and weird but perhaps a good thing.
08 Jan. 12
With a bit of help from my son Keagan, Lola and I managed to laminate the bimini top this morning. Now I have to grind down the rough spots then we can paint it and finally fit our solar panels. This is going to be exciting since it is an improvement on the boat that we planned unlike the repairs we have already done that were not planned for but rather thrust in our faces. Sadly I have only one more day to spend with my son before he flies back home and I don’t really know when I will see him again. It’s going to be a tough goodbye which I am not looking forward to and I hope I am able to cope with some of my dignity still in tact.
The end of another Year
24 Dec. 11
Yesterday it rained the whole day so we spent most of our time indoors watching movies eating popcorn and sweets. It’s great to have a movie day every now and then not thinking about the boat work. It’s not so great for your figure eating popcorn and sweets for the day so today I feel a bit guilty about the over indulgence of yesterday. It’s also not great for our January deadline that is rapidly approaching us. The rain seems to have settled in for a few days so not much will be achieved until it passes. We try to convince ourselves that we can do indoor work during the rain but seldom actually get any of it done. We do get some done when its just overcast with a few spits of rain periodically, but when it persistently comes down as it does most of the time down here, we can do nothing but hide indoors, sit and watch the rain waiting for it to end.
28 Dec. 11
Christmas came and went along with Boxing Day and the deputy president of South Africa declared that Tuesday will also become a public holiday since Christmas fell on a Sunday. This no longer has any effect on us except that some of the shops may be closed for a day longer.
My Daughter and her boyfriend arrived on Boxing Day making that day even more special for me. I am not sure how long they will be staying but it can never be long enough anyway. Time is the one thing we cannot stop as it flies past so quickly and consistently taking the exact special moment you have right now and turning it into a distant memory of the past in a matter of seconds.
31 Dec. 11
Well the year has sprinted to an end and we are still no further or shall I say no closer to the water than we have been for the last six months. My daughter Amy and her boyfriend Dean have gone off to enjoy New Year celebrations in Balito. It’s apparently Africa’s largest street party. They did it last year to but landed up having a very miserable evening due to mismanagement by the event management. A typical African story really. I hope this year shows better results and they have an absolute blast. We are just going to hang around on the boat and maybe later we will take a walk up to the club to see what’s up.
Yesterday it rained the whole day so we spent most of our time indoors watching movies eating popcorn and sweets. It’s great to have a movie day every now and then not thinking about the boat work. It’s not so great for your figure eating popcorn and sweets for the day so today I feel a bit guilty about the over indulgence of yesterday. It’s also not great for our January deadline that is rapidly approaching us. The rain seems to have settled in for a few days so not much will be achieved until it passes. We try to convince ourselves that we can do indoor work during the rain but seldom actually get any of it done. We do get some done when its just overcast with a few spits of rain periodically, but when it persistently comes down as it does most of the time down here, we can do nothing but hide indoors, sit and watch the rain waiting for it to end.
28 Dec. 11
Christmas came and went along with Boxing Day and the deputy president of South Africa declared that Tuesday will also become a public holiday since Christmas fell on a Sunday. This no longer has any effect on us except that some of the shops may be closed for a day longer.
My Daughter and her boyfriend arrived on Boxing Day making that day even more special for me. I am not sure how long they will be staying but it can never be long enough anyway. Time is the one thing we cannot stop as it flies past so quickly and consistently taking the exact special moment you have right now and turning it into a distant memory of the past in a matter of seconds.
31 Dec. 11
Well the year has sprinted to an end and we are still no further or shall I say no closer to the water than we have been for the last six months. My daughter Amy and her boyfriend Dean have gone off to enjoy New Year celebrations in Balito. It’s apparently Africa’s largest street party. They did it last year to but landed up having a very miserable evening due to mismanagement by the event management. A typical African story really. I hope this year shows better results and they have an absolute blast. We are just going to hang around on the boat and maybe later we will take a walk up to the club to see what’s up.
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