The Woes of life...

10 Dec. 13

The Oyster rally yachts left yesterday morning at slack tide. The wind was calm and the water was like a mirror so I checked the weather and wondered if we should follow them out. The predicted wind was around 20 knots which already was a problem for me but the sea state was the actual problem. Around 3 metre waves 7 seconds apart, I just couldn’t do it. It made me wonder once again if this was the right thing for us. We are honestly chicken shits and I don’t know why we are even considering this.

 

Anyway I packed my thoughts away and we decided to go for a dingy ride in the lagoon after lunch. During the morning the wind started to pick up and by lunch time it was blowing around 20 knots as predicted. The lagoon was choppy and I wasn’t sure if we should still go but we ate lunch then jumped on the dingy. Our plan was to motor across the lagoon to Brenton on Lake. Through my binoculars I had noticed a yacht on a mooring and wanted to see if we could move over to that side of the lagoon as I believed it would be more protected from the Southerly winds. The wind had stirred up quite a chop and we splashed our way across the lagoon until I decided to cut across between the channel markers and head straight towards our destination. Mistake number one.

 

We had only gone a few metres when the motor churned up mud as we hit the bottom. In my wisdom I decided it was only a short shallow piece so I tried to continue in the same direction instead of turning around. We somehow crossed the shallow headed across some slightly deeper water and hit bottom for a second time. Lola told me to turn around but I looked behind us and noticed a piece of ground so told her we couldn’t go back. Instead of listening to her I jumped off the dingy and started to pull us across the ground. For a while this worked and we slowly moved forwards but then it became even more shallow and we all had to get out the dingy to lift and pull it along. Rauen and I could manage quite well across the muddy ground but Lola and Kyle couldn’t keep up as we yanked the dingy a few metres forwards at a time as they tried to keep their balance while sinking into the mud. Kyle lost one of his crocs and caught it just in time before the current took it away as Lola got stuck in the mud again unable to free herself without losing both her shoes. At this point there was a lot of screaming and confusion as Rauen tried to help her and I held onto the dingy so it would drift away. When Rauen couldn’t get his mother unstuck and she had screamed at him to stop pulling her around I shouted at him to hold the dingy so I could help Lola. I managed to get her unstuck for a few steps before she got stuck again then told her and Kyle to get back in the dingy. The water was slightly deeper again but we were still surrounded by shallows and Rauen and I yanked and jerked the dingy with Lola and Kyle falling about and holding on for dear life.

 

By this time everybody was angry with everybody. We finally managed to reach a narrow channel of deep water and Rauen and I jumped in the dingy. I tried to start the motor but the current and the howling wind quickly blew us across the channel and back onto the ground on the other side. We grabbed our oars and tried to row back to the channel but only managed to move sideways and the channel wasn’t getting any closer. I tried the motor again and for a while we headed towards the channel before the prop hit the ground again so I lifted the motor quickly and grabbed my oar. We eventually reached the channel and I told everyone to continue rowing until I could get the motor running so we didn’t end in the shallows again. The motor started after the fifth pull and we could finally head up the channel. As we motored into the chop I looked around and noticed people on the shore staring at us. I knew they had been watching us the entire time and must be thinking what idiots we are. I just hope they didn’t record it on a cell phone and it is now on U-tube with the tittle “dumb ass idiots.” The trip back to Yrumoar was bouncy and very wet and we arrived back an hour later shivering and pickled in salt water.

Now, looking back, it was quite funny and we all had an experience not soon forgotten. At the time though, not so funny. I wonder if this whole trip will be like that. Funny afterwards.

21 Dec. 13

So many things have happened in the last few weeks I am not even sure where to begin. The discussions about our uncertain future came up again and we debated our available choices. This time however things were slightly different since we had an extra option we never had before. A few weeks ago I finally managed to get a job offer here in Knysna. The job, working in a factory that builds motorhomes. Wow, I find that so ironic. Is it just another sign telling us our choice of transport was wrong? Anyway ignoring the irony the money isn’t quite enough to sustain the lifestyle we want but I suppose half a loaf of bread is better than none. Or is it? With this new option in mind we looked at our choices. Keeping in mind our original plan was to sail across to New Zealand resettle, find work and continue with “normal” life. Our finances were time based and calculated on this option and we even had a small buffer. However things didn’t quite work out as planned so now what?

We have managed to get our oldest child educated at the end of 2012 but still have three kids to educate and anyone with kids will know this is not a cheap hobby so money remains a huge problem. Taking the job here with little money may not be a real solution and may only prolong the final outcome. As every month ticks by we have less and less money since our expenses exceed our income even with the job. Home schooling our kids is not free, as some people believe it is and neither is anything else. Everywhere you stop costs money and this doesn’t include sightseeing, things you want to do or boat repairs, it just costs money to park the boat. With this in mind we have to wonder if the job is even an option.

On a different less traumatising subject our time on the chain mooring ran out and we had to move back on anchor. The club informed us they had it booked for someone else so left us no choice and we moved a few days ago. We are now swinging on our hook and hope it doesn’t decided to drag again. When something goes wrong it takes a while for your confidence to return and we have not had much sleep since we moved.

Rauen flew up to Joey’s to see his dad and Amy arrived in SA on holiday. I didn’t get to see Amy since her time was limited but did speak to her on the phone twice. I miss her and Keagan a lot. It’s been more than a year since I saw Amy and slightly less for Keagan but it feels like a lifetime.

I finally managed to get our second hand water maker installed the day before we moved onto anchor. It is a 12 volt unit and only fills one glass in about 4 minutes so doesn’t make much water but should suffice. We ran it for a half hour to test it but the water still tasted salty. It was second or third of fourth hand when we got it and I don’t know its history or if it actually works but will test it again when it is sunny. It is overcast today and we need the power to run the freezer instead.

       

  

Knysna

 17 Nov. 13

Yesterday we set foot on land for the first time since we arrived here. The weather hasn’t been good enough for us to want to leave Yrumoar and we were still a bit shaken after our anchor dragging ordeal. Even though we are now tied to a swing mooring we still don’t feel secure. These kind of events tend to do that and it takes a while for your confidence, or is it faith, to return.

 Knysna reminds me of a quaint village and the surrounding area with its flowing mountains and lush green vegetation makes a spectacular view. The inner city buildings are unique and different to any other place I have been in South Africa. It is an obvious tourist attraction since everyone, and I mean everyone had a camera. Just walking and looking around I can understand why it would be a destination as opposed to a “passing through”. It has a good feel to it and walking around the waterfront and even into the city centre felt safe and secure.

 After checking out the town we headed to the Yacht club. We wanted to find the skipper on the fishing boat who had assisted in our rescue and thank him. We also needed to get some contact details of the owner of the Catamaran we had bumped into. We didn’t find the skipper or get our contact details but instead met some really wild and interesting characters at the pub. This led to yet another impromptu party and we eventually managed to escape back onto Yrumoar just before cruisers midnight, in other words nine thirty. The dingy motor? Well I am not sure if I managed to find the leak but at least it started again after I put it back together.

 18 Nov. 13

I sent my CV off again today. Hopefully I have some success at finding work here. There are much worse things I can think off than being stuck in Knysna for a year or two while I do a creative writing course and write my second novel. The place is beautiful and inspiring.

 I took some photos of the damage on Yrumoar and will have to start with the repairs soon. Still not sure about the rudder but hope to dive down this afternoon and have a look.

 

 

 

20 Nov. 13

I didn’t dive down the next afternoon but instead went to town to buy a wetsuit first. The water here is so cold I would’ve died of hyperthermia without it. Now all who know me will know that swimming is not my strong point. In fact, I have a water phobia. If you look back in the blogs you will find my post on my attempted Midmar mile swim where my phobia got the better of me. So it was with great trepidation that I climbed down the back steps and entered the water. Lola had tied a rope around me and her encouraging words “I have you and will not let you go” helped me to eventually succeed. It took close to an hour of repeated dives under Yrumoar and lots of hacking with a few different knives before I finally managed to free our rudder. I was relieved and couldn’t wait to get out the water. At one time while I was diving under I looked down into the depths and couldn’t see the bottom. It scared the crap into me and I had to come up quickly and gulp air repeatedly staying on top of the water for a while before I could dive under again.

 

At least our rudder didn’t suffer any damage and seems to be working again. My swimming phobia? Did I finally conquer my fear? No. I still shudder at the thought of having to swim in water where I cannot see the bottom.

 

We did eventually find the guy that came to our assistance and thanked him. He however had other ideas and thanks wasn’t enough for him so presented me with an invoice of R1000. Wow, I was surprised. I suppose it did cost him  money to help us so did a quick calculation to determine just how much. He assisted from the beginning and towed us across to the mooring bow. The entire operation took about three hours and covered a distance of about 500 metres. That equals just over R330 an hour. His time is obviously more expensive than the dentist I went to in East London since he only charged me R150 for the hour consultation including the local anaesthetic and tooth extraction. But hey, I suppose he is just a simple dentist with only six or seven years varsity studies behind him. I could never expect to pay him as much as this skipper with all his obvious courses and degrees. We bumped into him again later while we did some shopping and he offered to give us a lift back to the yacht club. We thought about it but decided to decline since we were not sure how much he may charge for the lift considering his 100 years driving experience.

 24 Nov. 13

We are still in Knysna and have decided to do the tourist thing here since it is such a beautiful part of the country with many attractions. I have seen most of these at one or other point in my life, some as a kid and some as an adult but my two boys haven’t. It is Rauen’s birthday on Wednesday and he wanted to ride an ostrich so Lola planned our tour around this.

 Last night we had a few visitors, Andy the farmer, his wife Anna and a friend of theirs Gordon. Andy called me during the day and was interested in Yrumoar so invited himself over to have a look. We had sundowners and he then invited us to stay over on his farm on Tuesday. That is the one thing I really enjoy about this life style, its unpredictability. You never know who you will meet or what is going to happen next and the time you spend with the new friends you meet is good quality enjoyable time. Sadly it comes with a twist at the end when you decide to move on but I don’t want to dwell on that part now.

 

I know I have mentioned this before but today I found myself comparing living on a boat as opposed to living in a house yet again. Being in the Knysna lagoon spurred it on. Today is Sunday, no not our proverbial every day is Sunday thing it is actually Sunday and half the country and their sister owns a power boat down here and is powering around the lagoon like it’s going out of fashion. There is no “no wake” zone around us so we are bouncing about every time someone decides to fly past us at warp speed. It’s been happening since we arrived here so we are getting used to it and have had to adjust our routine accordingly. The only time it becomes a real problem is when Lola is cooking lunch and we have to quickly get up and run over to grab the pots on the stove when a wake is about to hit us. This made me think about the house comparison. Imagine having to run over to your stove and grab the pots every time a car passes your house. Fun isn’t it.   

 

29 Nov. 13

We spent the last three days doing the tourist thing. First we hired a car and drove to Andy’s farm to spend the evening. He lives on the side of a mountain and his farm is very secluded from anything. After a twenty minute drive up a small gravel track his house appears between the lush green foliage. On one side a river flows gently towards the ocean and on the other a mountain grows up a steep incline. His home is constructed from wood planks and has many different levels as it stands on stilts up the incline with his main bedroom right at the top level. The setting was perfect and we enjoyed their good company well into the early hours of the next morning before going off to bed. We had a big day planned so had to rise early. I felt a bit rude as we rushed through breakfast and sort of forced our way into leaving without spending more time on our goodbye. It was easy to get captured by Andy and his wife Anna and not that easy to leave.

 

Even though we left quite abruptly we were now behind schedule and had to call the Cango Caves to change our time of arrival. We had a pleasant scenic drive through the Outeniqua Mountains and into the “Klein Karoo”. About 10 km from Outshoorn we were stopped in a routine roadblock and as they checked my drivers licence I mentioned it was Rauen’s birthday. To my surprise all the policemen and women stopped what they were doing, gathered together and started to sing happy birthday to Rauen. It was like being in one of those organised flash mob videos and I quickly looked around to see if I could see any cameras. When they eventually finished they told us we could leave and we drove off laughing and discussing what just happened.

 

We arrived at the Cango Caves just as our group departed into the cave and had to run to catch up. Once inside I became irritated when I discovered how large our group was, about fifty people. I couldn’t hear anything the tour guide was telling us as the whole group never seemed to shut up and someone also had a screaming baby with them. So the Cango Cave tour was a bit annoying. At least the boys got to see it.  

 

 After the tour we drove into the town of Outshoorn, had some Steers burgers for lunch then headed to the Highgate ostrich farm. It was Rauen’s birthday and he wanted to ride an ostrich. The tour around the Highgate ostrich farm was quite informative and we each picked up and held a baby ostrich. They are like all baby animals, really cute. After this we drove across the road and Rauen finally got to ride his ostrich. It was fun watching him hang on for dear life as the ostrich ran around trying to get rid of him. We wanted to go to the cheetah park but it was just too expensive so had to give it a miss and drove back to end our day on Yrumoar at about seven.

 

The next morning we took another drive. This time we headed up the coast and onto the R102, the old road through the Tsitsikamma forest. I wanted the boys to experience the “SA garden route” as I had done it before and it is well worth doing. On our way we passed a 3D puzzle park and the boys got so excited we had to stop and do the 3D maze on our way back. Lola and the boys love that kind of thing, mind puzzles and quiz games. I on the other hand don’t. I’m not very good at puzzles and thus don’t like to try them but went along with my family since it was something they enjoyed. At some point while struggling to complete one of the puzzles a question went through my head, am I with the wrong people? It was an intriguing question for a moment and came to me during a moment of frustration when I was doing something I don’t usually even bother trying. The question was still in my mind when the puzzle pieces fell suddenly back under the table as the game timed out. I was feeling frustrated and annoyed and stomped over to the next puzzle only to be timed out again before I finally realised I was being childish and got over myself.

06 Dec. 13

A few days ago 4 “Oyster” yachts arrived here and today another 3 arrived as part of the Oyster round the world rally. They are beautiful yachts as far as monohulls go but I couldn’t help but think about Barney’s cheerleader effect theory in "How I met your mother".   

 

Video of Port Elizabeth to Knysna trip

Never thought we would need the NSRI!

14 Nov. 13

We left PE six o clock on Tuesday morning and beat into a choppy uncomfortable Algoa Bay for four hours before rounding Cape Recife and turning west towards Mossel Bay our next stop. Once we turned the swell direction was more comfortable but still gave us a bouncy ride until we passed Saint Francis, about 45 miles and 10 hours later where we finally turned west and placed the swell behind us.

 

The sun set just after seven and we had a relatively good sail across Plettenburg Bay overnight.

 

At sunrise our speed dropped from almost six knots to under three and we started beating into an unpredicted South westerly wind. As the hours passed and the sun rose in the sky the sea became increasingly uncomfortable and our speed dropped to under two knots. The wind kept building and sea became more and more uncomfortable. Yrumoar was bouncing into big waves and was taking a beating as her bridge deck slammed onto the water each time she crossed a wave. Sometimes she crashed down so hard I thought her windows would smash. It was not even nine o clock in the morning and we still had a long way to go to get to Mossel Bay. At this point we started looking for options. We couldn’t carry on like this and wanted to get off the boat and off the ocean. Lola and I discussed our options, could we turn around, run downwind and anchor in Plettenburg bay or not. We searched through the pilot guide hoping to find an answer but the pilot guide did not recommend using Plett as an anchorage and especially in a big South Easterly which was predicted to arrive the following day so we discarded that option. Fortunately we had met up with Ian on HQ in PE and knew he was in Knysna so we called him and asked him for some options. Ian is a very experienced skipper and we needed help. We were not making any headway and started to panic. Ian told us he would come out on his duck and meet us if we could get to the Knysna heads. The entry to the Knysna heads is reputed to be quite adventurous and it is not recommended without local knowledge so we had no intention of trying it but now with our choices limited we decided we would take him up on his offer and continued beating into the wind and swell for the next nine hours till six in the evening when we finally arrived at the heads. Yrumoar took such a beating that her big heavy saloon table ripped off the floor and is now still loose.

  

About an hour before we arrived at the heads Lola finally broke down and released her tension. As the tears flowed she told me she hated me, she hated sailing and she hated the boat and it was all my fault. I did nothing to defend myself and understood how she felt. I actually felt much the same way so just kept quiet and let her get it all out. A few minutes later she was done and started smiling and talking about our next leg down to Simons Town. I was confused but still kept quiet. Was there two Lola’s on board and I hadn’t noticed? Anyway Ian met us on the leading lights and climbed aboard. He powered Yrumoar through the heads without a hitch and we finally dropped anchor behind HQ just after sunset. Ian was a lifesaver and we all thanked him multiple times before sending our aching overtired bodies off to bed.

 

16 Nov. 13

Yesterday morning when I got up I had no idea that yesterday was the day our trip may have ended in disaster. It was a beautiful morning and the sun was shining as I sat in the cockpit drinking my morning coffee thinking about the day ahead. I asked the crew what they wanted to do for the day and we thought we would head to shore and check out the waterfront. Knysna is a stunning place and my view from the cockpit is amazing so we all looked forward to a fun day. But first I had to fix our dingy motor since it leaked petrol and we had anchored quite far from land so needed it to work. I started stripping the motor when a friend called on Skype and asked how things were going. I told him things were good and we were excited about the trip except off course the money issues. With this mentioned I joked with him to go onto our website and make adonation. He then asked my why he should make a donation since we are living the dream life and he has to slave at work all day. He even equated my suggestion to the guys begging at the robots on his way home from work. I could see his point and understood what he was saying but told him our donation button on the website is not the same as begging. We take a lot of time to write about the trip and the places we visit. I think Lola spends about six to eight hours a day loading photos and making the website as attractive and user friendly as possible. For this “work” we do not charge anything. So the donate button is there for those people who enjoy reading what we wrote about and wish to continue reading so decided to “donate, or pay” for what they have read and seen.

 Anyway after saying goodbye I continued stripping the dingy motor. I don’t know how it happened but when I looked up I suddenly spotted a catamaran right next to us and we were heading rapidly towards it. I shouted to the crew, “oh shit our anchor has dragged” and everyone rushed outside. But it was already too late and we smashed into his bow with a loud crunch. I shouted for someone to get me the keys so I could start the motors and Kyle ran inside to get them. I started the motors and tried to motor off but our rudder was tangled in his bridle and we were stuck. A fishing boat was sailing by and we shouted for assistance but he couldn’t hear us over his engines and just continued on his way. Behind the catamaran we were now stuck to a low bridge crossed the road and I was concerned his anchor would also drag with our combined weight wrecking both our boats onto the bridge. I told Lola to call sea rescue for assistance and passed her the phone. She dialled the number at the same time as pushing our boat as hard as she could away from the bow spirit of the catamaran that was jutting over into our cockpit. She managed to get through the second time she dialled and sea rescue was on their way to us.

 In the meantime another fishing boat had spotted us and made his way over to help. He dropped his anchor some distance from us and tossed a line for us to cleat. He then tried to pull us off but couldn’t. The NSRI arrived about ten minutes later and took control of the situation. The owner of the other Catamaran also arrived and wasn’t in very good spirits. I suppose I can understand, I would also not be impressed if someone had dragged their anchor and got stuck on Yrumoar.

 For the next three hours we watched as NSRI devised a plan and saved our boat. Our rudder was no longer working so they, together with the fishing boat, towed us onto a mooring buoy and tied us up before departing back to wait for their next call. I can’t begin to tell you how thankful we are to them and the guy on the fishing boat for their help but was really glad we donate money regularly to the NSRI even though we never believed we would need them. 

 

Around Port Elizabeth

07 Nov. 13

We decided to take a walk to the Spar about two kilometres from the harbour entrance and passed the South End Museum so decided to take a look. The museum is about the forced removal in 1960 of the people who lived there and includes some history about all the different race groups in the Eastern Cape. It’s true that history is written by the victor and since I was taught history in the apartheid era I can see how it has been changed to suit the new South Africa. I was taught that Vasco Da Gama landed near here somewhere and was attacked by the locals. He killed many of them in the battle and drove them off. He obviously won at the time otherwise I wouldn’t have known about it since he would have been dead and couldn’t relay his story. Now the new history goes that he landed here and “stole” water so the locals attacked him suffered very little casualties and they drove him off. I suppose every story has two sides, depends who is telling it. I also noticed the new South African history starts in 1950. Before 1950 nothing happened and no humans walked the planet. I know the old government was stupid and did some really atrocious deeds that nobody is proud of but these things did happen and should be noted in history so we don’t make the same mistakes in future. We can get to make new ones instead.

 

My first impressions of Port Elizabeth. From where we sit in the harbour it is an attractive city. The buildings are interesting and modern and the landscape clean and good looking. About the locals, PE must have the most attractive women in SA and Rauen and I have been exercising our neck muscles as we have to spin our heads from one attraction to the next.

  

 08 Nov. 13

We caught a taxi to the airport to pick up a rented car. Afterwards we drove to one of the many malls in PE to meet Leon an old friend from Lola’s school days. We arrived a bit early for the meeting so took a walk around the mall and looked in one or two of the shops. Leon arrived a few minutes later and we had coffee while Lola caught up on years gone by departing with “lets not wait 20 years till we meet again.” However, our future is now so uncertain we can never tell when or if we will ever see someone again.

 

Yesterday we drove to Jeffreys Bay to see Lola’s gran, her uncle Reg and his wife Denise and Chantelle her brother’s ex. I wonder if it’s just me or what, but somehow all the people we are meeting are related to, or friends of Lola and nobody has anything to do with me. Must have something to do with my secret past as an undercover agent or the fact that I am from a distant planet.

Oh, two things I forgot to mention regarding our sail from East London. Lola was not seasick and it made a huge difference to our sail. And the second, Yrumoar developed a new creak near the Nav station. We tried to see what was causing it but couldn’t find anything so sent Rauen under the boat when we got here with my “test instrument” to tap around and make sure nothing had broken under the bridge deck. Fortunately he didn’t find anything wrong under there and since we can’t find anything obvious inside the boat either we decided to strengthen some of the bulkheads in that area and hope it stops the creak.      

11 Nov. 13

On Saturday we decided to go down to the beach and try out the IPTS. IPTS, integrated public transport system or in laymen terms, the bus. The bus stop was just outside the harbour and we only had to wait a few minutes before a bus arrived. The bus trip was short but enjoyable and we walked through the flee market had lunch, watched Rauen skate at the skatepark and finally headed to the beach. PE has a beautiful beach with soft clean sand and turquoise blue crystal clear water. In my opinion the beach in Port Elizabeth would be far better than the beach we saw in Mauritius except for one thing, the water temperature. In Mauritius the water was warm and inviting. In PE the water was not.    

On Sunday morning the Herald Newspaper came to the yacht club to do an interview with us. It seems fame has finally reached our doorstep. Okay no, it seems Lola knows people who know people who know other people. Thanks Leon.

We strengthened the bulkheads with an epoxy fillet and a layer of glass. Hopefully our creak disappears.

 

Last night we had an impromptu party on Yrumoar. Dylan arrived from Cape Town to sleep over and Ian on HQ whom we had met in Richards bay also arrived. We also made a new friend John. He owns a 24 vivacity that is moored next to us and I chatted to him about it since it reminded me of our time on Bluefin. He had some interesting stories about his time in Argentina and we all stayed up till after midnight having fun and catching up.

This morning two boats left and I helped Miscky undock and watched her leave. We then took a ride on the back of a bakkie to drop Dylan at the airport and bought the newspaper. We just had to see the article and couldn’t contain our excitement when we saw Kyle’s image on the front cover. Our story was on page 3 and it sounded great. Ian also left this afternoon and we are alone again. Well not quite alone since about 200 other boats are docked in the harbour but alone in my mind anyway. And of course the inevitable goodbye’s had to come again. I don’t know if I will ever get used to them.         

 

Sailing from East London to Port Elizabeth

23 Oct. 13

I sat in the cockpit and watched another cruising boat leave this morning. Another one is still here but plans to leave this afternoon. We considered leaving with them but don’t like the weather window and don’t want to set ourselves up for yet another failure. At least we all feel better again and have decided to carry on giving it one more attempt.

29 Oct. 13

Haven’t had much to say so couldn’t write anything. We are still in East London. The weather here has been terrible with howling wind for about a week now. I had toothache since Saturday and finally went to a dentist yesterday. He was quite good and I didn’t feel a thing when he pulled my tooth but suffered with severe pain afterwards and couldn’t even enjoy my Steers hamburger. This morning it is still a bit painful but at least the Genpayne tablets are working.


31 Oct. 13

Another month comes to an end and we are still sitting in East London. After our last attempt I had called 3 delivery skippers and asked them to deliver Yrumoar back to Durban so we could put her up for sale. I asked them all for an estimated price to do this but none of them gave me an answer. About a week went by and one of them came back to me telling me he is busy and won’t have time to do it. He is also a good friend and asked why we wanted to go backwards. Lola spoke to him on Facebook and she explained. The other 2 came back to me two days ago. They also told us to carry on. After I posted my blog we received an inspiring message from another good friend, Dylan also telling us not to give up yet. On Facebook Marc another friend on Atlantis also sent us a motivational line. Well, we had already decided to try again but it was great to have all the support and thanks guys. Oh I am still on the Genpayne tablets and I am not sure if I told the dentist to pull the correct tooth.

01 Nov. 13

So we launched another flight plan for PE today with the intention of sailing on Sunday morning. Now we wait and see if we are going to succeed this time round.

06 Nov. 13

On Friday night the harbour became so bouncy that by Saturday afternoon Lola was seasick and had to use the bucket. Seasickness is a terrible debilitating sickness that renders anyone who suffers from it helpless and I don’t enjoy watching my wife suffer feeling guilty once more for making her sail on Yrumoar. A good friend Sam told Lola she takes Adco Cyclizine the night before she goes out diving and it helps so Lola took a tablet. The tablet didn’t have time to work before she fed it to the bucket so she took another one. The seasickness also gave her a headache and she took two Genpayne tablets before finally passing out at about six in the evening. I sat alone in the cockpit and had a few very bouncy sun downers before going to bed at about nine. It was still bouncy in the morning when we woke up but Lola was feeling much better. She told me we may as well be out at sea with Yrumoar rocking and jerking away. The weather window said the wind would change from South west to North East at about one in the morning, blow at 15 knots until two in the afternoon then slowly calm. We waited until eight hoping the sea would calm down before we untied the lines and motored towards the harbour mouth.

I contacted port control to ask for permission to exit the harbour and was told to be careful when crossing the bar since a huge swell was running across it. Lola and I looked at each other. “oh crap” the thought entered my head. Where we going to turn around again? I wasn’t sure what to do but was still heading towards the exit. We couldn’t see the conditions outside so needed to get closer and around the north pier. Then my phone rang. It was John Barry. He asked me if we were planning to leave. I said yes. He then told me he thinks the sea outside is crazy and I should wait while he goes out on his rubber duck to check before we leave. This made me even more afraid and now I seriously considered turning around but Yrumoar just kept on heading closer to the exit. I then asked him if he thinks we should turn around and wait till the sea calms down. He said he would do that. Then the phone cut out before I could say anything else. I looked at Lola and told her what John had said. She sucked in a huge gasp of air and her eyes widened while clasping her hand across her lips. Her expression told me exactly how we both felt.

Yrumoar was still heading towards the bar. We turned the last corner and my eyes kept looking at the south break wall as the waves broke over it and came tumbled along and into the harbour towards us sending white spray in the air as it hit the bollards along the wall. Then I looked out across the bar and into the ocean. The swell was huge. On our starboard side a large roller tumbled across the edge of the south break wall. Directly in front of us but slightly off to port another huge roller ran across the harbour. A small gap existed between the two monsters and Yrumoar headed towards that gap. As we approached the gap the bow rose up suddenly and I could see a wall of water coming rapidly towards us. I froze and held onto the steering. Yrumoar climbed up the wall and reached the summit within a fraction of a second. My fear was mounting and the adrenalin was pumping through my veins as I wondered what was on the other side of this huge wall of water. Would it be a cliff face and we would plummet down the other side into disaster. I had been praying since we launched the flight plan on Friday and shot off another quick one. “please Lord, don’t let this be another Richards Bay Durban experience, I don’t know if my nerves can handle it.” Just then we reached the summit of the wave and I could see the other side. Yrumoar slid over the top and I swear I could hear her go swoosh as she surfed down the trough. We had crossed the bar. Yrumoar sped off towards the next wave and without any hull slam or complaints flew over the crest and swooshed onto the next one. I suddenly realised my fear was irrational and even though the sea was huge, about four metres, it was not dangerous or uncomfortable. The waves were far apart and Yrumoar sailed gently across them. Another sailing yacht “Miscky” had left at five in the morning and we caught up to them in the late afternoon just before sunset.

I took a few photo’s as we passed them and called them on the radio. We had a quick chat and sailed on into the night passing Port Alfred just as the sun was setting. We encountered a few large ships on route and I had to call one of them to find out if they had seen us on their Radar since our paths would cross. They said they did and changed course slightly to pass on our starboard side. They passed us close enough for a good photo and Lola snapped away happily at our new camera. This camera takes awesome photos and I am happy we made the investment.

 

We rounded Bird Island at three in the morning and headed on into Algoa Bay. Our speed dropped almost instantly from five knots to three and the short choppy sea slammed and slapped on our bows. A south west wind was blowing and I measured it at 10 knots. The weather forecast said nothing about it so I was a bit concerned. I shared my thoughts with Lola and she was also concerned. It was about five in the morning, both Lola and I were very tired since we hadn’t slept and I told her to try get some sleep. Since our speed had decreased we weren’t making much headway and our initial estimate of arrival wouldn’t happen so we needed to get some sleep.

As she got up to go inside a loud grunting noise came from the sea.
“What was that?” I heard her asking me.
“Shit I don’t know.” I replied.
And just like that we were wide awake again. After a while we decided it must have been a seal shouting at us as we may have passed to close by so our nerves calmed and we carried on at a tortoise pace towards Port Elizabeth. Lola went to sleep and I sat outside watching the sun rise over Algoa bay.

I woke her after an hour and she was much better and told me to go sleep. For some unexplainable reason I said no. Yrumoar was bouncing on the short choppy waves and the motion wasn’t comfortable. Lola took the pilot guide and read it for the first time. I don’t know why we didn’t check the guide before we left, we normally pour over it a few times but didn’t do it this time. After she was done she came outside and told me we should head back out to sea. I agreed and we turned away from our destination and headed back to deep water. The motion was even worse now as the waves hit us on the side. A motion none of us enjoy but our speed increased as we rolled out the Genoa so we accepted the slap and slam for the next four hours.

We had to round Riy Bank before we could turn back towards PE and sail the last twelve miles towards the port. At this point I was so tired I could no longer concentrate and went to sleep. As I lay down my toothache that I was still suffering with throbbed away but I closed my eyes and hoped the pain would go away while I slept. I woke up an hour and a half later with a throbbing tooth and very tight skin. I never realised it at the time but the sun must have got hold of me and roasted my skin to a bright red glow. I haven’t been sunburnt for a long time but I quickly remembered how it felt and decided to avoid the sun in future or use some of the sunscreen we sell.

We rounded the break wall and crossed the bar into Port Elizabeth harbour just after twelve. I was tired and irritable and struggled to park Yrumoar so ended up shouting at Lola for no particular reason. This lead to an uncomfortable afternoon as we went over to the yacht club to sign in and out to lunch afterwards. It took a few hours before I realised what I did, apologised and she decided to speak to me again.

 

 

To sail or not to sail, that is the question

16 Oct. 13

A big 30 knot easterly wind nearly blew the saw out of my hands as I was cutting some wood to repair the seats in one of John’s boats. It was one of those typical nothing is going to work out according to plan days. John told me to repair the seats on his river charter boat and if I need any screws or spares I could find them on his yacht on the hard in the harbour grounds. I carried the broken seats onto the jetty and collected my wood working power tools only to discover the jetty had no power so I had to cut the wood the old fashioned way. By hand. Next I tried to fetch screws from his yacht but as I approached the gate to the harbour the guard stopped me and told me no entry without a permit. At that point I gave up and called it a day.

 19 Oct. 13

I finished making the seats and installed them on John’s harbour tour boat not quite happy with the job I had done since he didn’t give me the products I normally use to do repairs. My mood was glum and Lola noticed it as I moped around on Yrumoar so she asked me what was wrong. I wasn’t sure myself but believed it was because we were still in East London and it was time to go. Lola listened to my sop story then went inside and checked the weather. A window was open to head to PE so we started preparing Yrumoar for the trip and went to the water police to launch our second flight plan. We thought the best time to leave would be about 11 at night but by 2 in the afternoon we became impatient and untied the lines. Even though the sky was covered in clouds and it was a miserable day John told us the sea was flat and he thought the conditions would be good to go. We motored out the harbour and turned to head out about 6 miles offshore to find the current. The sea was “flat” is a relative term in my opinion. Yes it was quite flat compared to our horror trip from Richards Bay to Durban, but it is never “flat” like a dam. A two meter swell was running directly at us and made our outbound journey quite bouncy with our bridge deck slamming the water every third or fourth wave. Then we turned southwest and the swell came from the side. This must be the most uncomfortable position for a cat to sail. The wave arrives and hits you side-on slapping against the side before it lifts the hull up tilting the boat up on one side before slipping under. Once it passes under the hull the bridge deck vibrates as the boat slams back down on top of the wave and then the other hull shoots up into the air tilting the boat the opposite way. It feels like the boat is going to capsize on almost every wave. Anyway this continued for 2 hours before we again gave up and turned around.

 Our second failed attempt made us question yet again if this is what we want to do. We discussed our options with the kids and we all agreed we should sell Yrumoar and fly to New Zealand. Although it is by far the most sensible decision considering our financial position it is not an easy one and soon got the better of us and we spent the day in deep depression with little to say to each other.   

 

 20 Oct. 13

The mood on Yrumoar is still sombre and each of us seems to have withdrawn into our own world. Rauen spends more and more time on his phone and Kyle disappears into his room to play with his teddies. Lola has buried herself deep in a book and I sit alone in the cockpit staring at the water. Two other cruising boats have arrived and one of them has two little kids on board. This makes me feel even more ashamed at our failure so I wasn’t surprised this morning when I woke up with feathers sprouting all over my body. I thought about Darwin and his theory, nature had finally evolved me into a chicken but then I woke up and realised my pillow had torn.

 

21 Oct. 13

Our mood has started to lift and this afternoon we all sat around the saloon table to discuss our options. Each of us has a different feeling about this trip. Lola wants to get to New Zealand but is worried that we may not have enough money to get there on Yrumoar since it would take another year at least. Rauen feels his teenage life is being stolen from him and he is missing out on the social life most other teenagers have. Kyle doesn’t really have an opinion but doesn’t want to go back to real life since he feels he never fitted in socially anyway. And me? Well I feel I have the opportunity in my hands to cross oceans and live my dreams but I’m not sure it will happen. I am not even sure if it’s what I want anyway. So I don’t know, will we continue? Send me your comments, if you have any and perhaps we can be convinced to continue and feel more positive.

 

 

22 Oct. 13

We managed to sell the car we bought in Durban today so have no reason to come back here again. Hopefully getting rid of our “anchor” helps.