18 Mar. 12
The last few days I have become more and more restless as I try my absolute best to sit still and rest my arms as prescribed by the doctor. My eyes keep wandering across towards the repairs that I have to get done and I feel I have to keep stopping myself consciously from touching and working on them. I find myself discussing the many different solutions to each problem in my mind and want to check each possible solution to pick the easiest one but I am not allowed. This situation makes me want to do it even more because I am not allowed. However the first few days on medication I did do some work and found it to be very painful so armed with this memory I am able to win the battle that is raging in my mind being fought against myself.
This morning I decided to read last night’s blog to Lola. Now I should probably explain the situation first. The day before yesterday the cirrus clouds appeared from the North West and the barometer dropped from about 10 12 millibars to 10 00 millibars. So we waited patiently armed with the knowledge that the weather was going to turn bad and the wind was going to increase dramatically over the next few hours. During the course of yesterday the cumulous clouds came hurtling faster and faster across the sky above the boat and by late afternoon the wind started to build. The wind continued building and building until it peaked out at about eleven o clock last night at which point it was howling through the rigging and created quite some chop in the waves in the marina. The marina is quite well sheltered and doesn’t have a very long fetch so the waves are never very big but do allow the boats to bounce and move around quite a bit. In fact our last set of visitors that came when we were still in the water and the conditions where similar felt quite seasick. Now back to the point. So I read my blog to Lola and she eyes me suspiciously then says. “so let me get this straight, the weather goes really crap and suddenly you want to take the kids and me sailing.” “I think we are going to have to rethink this thing.” Ha ha.
20 Mar. 12
We started planning yesterday for the Inhaca race that we entered at the end of this month. The boat isn’t nearly ready and we would have to move faster if we hope to get ready in time. It hasn’t helped that I have been on medication and had to take it easy in order to rest my sore arms. Yesterday we started clearing out some of the shelves in the starboard passage and threw away two dustbin bags full of unwanted rubbish that had been on Yrumoar since we bought her. This guy we bought her from kept so much useless stuff everywhere that I can’t really explain. Things like old pieces of plumbing and half rusted away hose clamps. He also left a selection of spanners that had been cut grinded and modified into art pieces that could never be used anywhere besides on a display at a scrap dealer.
Ryun from “Sea Shoes” came around last night to help with the planning of the race. We decided to take him along since we enjoy his company and he had volunteered very eagerly when we approached the subject.
I switched on our chart plotter to view the electronic chart in an attempt to establish whether our machine has the chart we would require for the trip. As I am scrolling around on the screen I hear Lola’s voice in the background asking me what I am doing. I also felt her presence directly behind me and could sense her impatience as she shifted around from one foot to the next trying to lean over my shoulder. Now as I zoom in and out and shift the chart up and down slowly trying to find our required destination Lola asks me again what I am doing. This time I heard her quite clearly and picked up the irritation in her voice, so I decided to step out of the way and watched as she took over and fiddled with the machine. She pressed one or two buttons then quickly gave up and sat down.
We started to discuss the passage plan again and the moment I mentioned that we cannot even discuss a passage plan without a chart Lola’s tone changed and I could again pick up the irritation in her voice. Our conversation became more and more tense as she reminded me of a stubborn mule refusing to budge. I wasn’t sure what to do anymore and changed the subject instead. As the evening progressed I discovered that even every time I broached the subject of charts Lola became quite irritable. At some point I could take it no more and told her that she reminded me of a stubborn mule refusing to move. Luckily she found it amusing and then she explained that somehow even though we have done exactly the same amount of sailing and all the same sailing courses she doesn’t have the same confidence as me in our ability to do this trip.
This morning when I read my blog to Lola she first tells me jokingly that she’s not sure that I love her anymore. Then she adds “I suppose there must be people that love their donkeys”.
21 Mar. 12
We have between now and the 28th of this month to repair and prepare Yrumoar for her first maiden race voyage. There is so much to repair and so little time that I am hoping we don’t run out of time.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Health comes first
12 Mar. 12
Today both Lola and I went to see a doctor. Our health hasn’t been as good as it normally is. Lola developed a rash some time ago and now it has gone septic with huge boils that are popping and running down the back of her legs and on her side. We thought it was stress related with the lifting and moving of the boat so hoped it would go away with a little topical cream. It only got worse so we eventually did the doctor thing.
My forearms have been in a lot of pain since we installed the solar panels and without taking pain killers I am unable to even lift my coffee cup without flinching.
The doctor that we saw for Kyle’s arm was an attractive female doctor and I hoped we would get to see the same doctor again. Not just because she was attractive but also because she was female. This would have been less embarrassing for Lola and way more fun for me. But alas this wasn’t to be and we seen a gentleman doctor instead. Anyway, he prescribed a course of antibiotics for Lola and some steroids for me. We hope the medication works, but only time will tell.
14 Mar. 12
It’s our fourth night spent on the water and I had to have the “obligatory” we are sinking dream. This isn’t the first time I had this kind of dream, once before when we owned our previous boat I woke up believing that she was going under. Last night I woke up so confused after the dream that I dismissed any other thoughts besides that we were still on land. My mind still believed that we were on land this morning when I woke up. Looking out through our bedroom portlight (window) I used to face the direction of the marine store. The owner of the store repaired boats outside his shop. A familiar site of one boat in particular that was standing there for a long time whilst we were on the hard used to greet me whenever I looked out our bedroom portlight. This was the sight my mind expected to see this morning and for a few minutes my mind couldn’t understand what it was seeing. I blinked a few times and tried to focus through the window at the unrecognisable sites outside and just couldn’t understand where I was or why everything appeared so unfamiliar.
15 Mar. 12
There is absolutely no wind this morning and I can see the reflections of the boats surrounding us in the water. The sky is clear with small patches of cloud scattered sparsely above my head. On the distant horizon towards the south some fluffy cumulus clouds are instructing me that this afternoon may bring rain. The fresh silence that the morning brings enchants my mind and I sit quietly listening to the sounds of nature. An occasional fish momentarily breaks the surface of the flat calm water causing small ripples to run across the surface distorting the water’s perfect mirror image. An assortment of birds chirps away excitedly to each other in the surrounding tree tops. I can even catch the sound of my own breath if I listen for a moment. Yes I definitely enjoy these early mornings.
17 Mar. 12
It’s been so easy to forget why we decided to go sailing in the first place when we where sitting on the hard working like slaves trying to fix the boat. But now, back on the water, when the wind blows and the small waves build up here in the marina. Yrumoar starts to tug at her mooring lines. As she gently rocks my body around, my fantasies are re born and the romantic notion of sailing to the most remote places on earth floods back into my mind. Then I am reminded why.
Today both Lola and I went to see a doctor. Our health hasn’t been as good as it normally is. Lola developed a rash some time ago and now it has gone septic with huge boils that are popping and running down the back of her legs and on her side. We thought it was stress related with the lifting and moving of the boat so hoped it would go away with a little topical cream. It only got worse so we eventually did the doctor thing.
My forearms have been in a lot of pain since we installed the solar panels and without taking pain killers I am unable to even lift my coffee cup without flinching.
The doctor that we saw for Kyle’s arm was an attractive female doctor and I hoped we would get to see the same doctor again. Not just because she was attractive but also because she was female. This would have been less embarrassing for Lola and way more fun for me. But alas this wasn’t to be and we seen a gentleman doctor instead. Anyway, he prescribed a course of antibiotics for Lola and some steroids for me. We hope the medication works, but only time will tell.
14 Mar. 12
It’s our fourth night spent on the water and I had to have the “obligatory” we are sinking dream. This isn’t the first time I had this kind of dream, once before when we owned our previous boat I woke up believing that she was going under. Last night I woke up so confused after the dream that I dismissed any other thoughts besides that we were still on land. My mind still believed that we were on land this morning when I woke up. Looking out through our bedroom portlight (window) I used to face the direction of the marine store. The owner of the store repaired boats outside his shop. A familiar site of one boat in particular that was standing there for a long time whilst we were on the hard used to greet me whenever I looked out our bedroom portlight. This was the sight my mind expected to see this morning and for a few minutes my mind couldn’t understand what it was seeing. I blinked a few times and tried to focus through the window at the unrecognisable sites outside and just couldn’t understand where I was or why everything appeared so unfamiliar.
15 Mar. 12
There is absolutely no wind this morning and I can see the reflections of the boats surrounding us in the water. The sky is clear with small patches of cloud scattered sparsely above my head. On the distant horizon towards the south some fluffy cumulus clouds are instructing me that this afternoon may bring rain. The fresh silence that the morning brings enchants my mind and I sit quietly listening to the sounds of nature. An occasional fish momentarily breaks the surface of the flat calm water causing small ripples to run across the surface distorting the water’s perfect mirror image. An assortment of birds chirps away excitedly to each other in the surrounding tree tops. I can even catch the sound of my own breath if I listen for a moment. Yes I definitely enjoy these early mornings.
17 Mar. 12
It’s been so easy to forget why we decided to go sailing in the first place when we where sitting on the hard working like slaves trying to fix the boat. But now, back on the water, when the wind blows and the small waves build up here in the marina. Yrumoar starts to tug at her mooring lines. As she gently rocks my body around, my fantasies are re born and the romantic notion of sailing to the most remote places on earth floods back into my mind. Then I am reminded why.
Disaster Strikes
11 Mar. 12
Things just never seem to go according to plan and my bad luck, as opposed to other people, doesn’t come in threes but rather in sixes. Yrumoar sat on the trailer overnight whilst we repaired her damaged keels. In the morning we painted undercoat and anti foul. Then we discussed the procedure of getting her back into the water with the lift driver Eric. The previous day I overheard Eric telling one of his assistants that one of the trailer jacks had been put in the wrong place and had subsequently been damaged by the hydraulic back wheels whilst lifting Yrumoar. He also mentioned that the broken jack would have to be cut out in order to remove it. This small detail led to the events that occurred afterwards.
We were understandably very nervous about moving Yrumoar due to our last disastrous experience with this trailer. I tried with my limited experience at moving Yachts to check and double check all the ropes and knots that tied Yrumoar down onto the trailer and the packing materials that she rested on. Lola and I even measured and marked exactly where each bulkhead was situated so that she would be packed correctly and her weight would be distributed evenly.
We invited Eric to join us at the yacht club for breakfast but he declined and said that he would only have a cup of coffee instead. Whilst we waited for our breakfast and Eric drank his coffee Eric informed us that he was going to move another yacht and would meet us at our yacht after breakfast. Breakfast arrived and we ate. Some other friends from the boatyard arrived and we chatted for a few minutes. I was struggling to concentrate on the conversation because I felt a nervous tension building up in my chest. I then tried to cut the conversation short and told Lola that I just want to get back to Yrumoar and get the move over and done with. We started to leave when another friend from the boatyard came over and told us that we should relax our boat in on its way to the water. I was a little more than surprised and started walking faster towards the boatyard. The impending feeling of doom growing in my mind made my chest tighten even more and I was listening out for a crashing sound all the time. The crashing sound never came but I could see something was wrong as I approached Yrumoar. They had moved her out of our parking and past the slipway, but now she was standing still. My heart started racing and I felt my blood pressure soar through the roof as I noticed the reason she was standing still.
Her starboard rudder had dug a half metre long gash into the concrete and the rudder end was smashed as her weight rested upon the rudder. The trailer had not been lifted high enough and couldn’t lift any higher because the bent jack was preventing the hydraulics from operating. At this point I felt my body shaking uncontrollably as the adrenalin coursed its way through my veins. Everybody was standing around trying to puzzle out a solution and I went straight to Eric. Using some not very well chosen words I explained to him that last time this happened I was calm but this time I want to (unmentionable) him up. Some of my boatyard friends tried to calm me down but I felt an almost uncontrollable urge to throttle the life out of everybody that has anything to do with the lift service and had to walk some distance away to calm myself.
I sat on a piece of broken walk-on, waiting to be repaired, watching as they placed other jacks under the trailer and jacked the trailer up high enough to get the rudder off the concrete. All the time evil thoughts of sledge hammering someone to a pulp kept entering and leaving my mind. Eventually they managed to lift the trailer high enough to take the pressure off the rudder and the broken jack. Then they proceeded to grind and cut out the broken jack which they should have done before moving Yrumoar. Now the trailer hydraulics could function again. Eric came over and informed me that he would now take Yrumoar back into the boatyard so that we could assess the damage. I fought back the urge to break open his skull with a pipe and told him that he will not take Yrumoar back into the boatyard but he will take her onto the slipway just high enough out of the water for me to repair her rudder.
The damage to the rudder was limited to a small section at the bottom and most of the time taken to do the repair was time spent waiting for epoxy to cure. I am going to write a letter to the commodore of the yacht club and I am going to send an invoice to the lift company. Whether or not the commodore responds or the lift company pays is still to be seen.
We finally managed to get back into the water yesterday with a bit of help from a friend, Norman, and the chocolate family. When we arrived at our walk-on we were met by champagne and smiles organised by the chocolate family. We toasted Yrumoar and took some photos. The chocolate family went back to work on their project, Sea shoes, and both Lola and I felt overwhelmed by emotions whilst we sat in the cockpit still reeling from the experience. Now the preparation work on the water can begin. It seems that boats are just one never ending repair job.
Things just never seem to go according to plan and my bad luck, as opposed to other people, doesn’t come in threes but rather in sixes. Yrumoar sat on the trailer overnight whilst we repaired her damaged keels. In the morning we painted undercoat and anti foul. Then we discussed the procedure of getting her back into the water with the lift driver Eric. The previous day I overheard Eric telling one of his assistants that one of the trailer jacks had been put in the wrong place and had subsequently been damaged by the hydraulic back wheels whilst lifting Yrumoar. He also mentioned that the broken jack would have to be cut out in order to remove it. This small detail led to the events that occurred afterwards.
We were understandably very nervous about moving Yrumoar due to our last disastrous experience with this trailer. I tried with my limited experience at moving Yachts to check and double check all the ropes and knots that tied Yrumoar down onto the trailer and the packing materials that she rested on. Lola and I even measured and marked exactly where each bulkhead was situated so that she would be packed correctly and her weight would be distributed evenly.
We invited Eric to join us at the yacht club for breakfast but he declined and said that he would only have a cup of coffee instead. Whilst we waited for our breakfast and Eric drank his coffee Eric informed us that he was going to move another yacht and would meet us at our yacht after breakfast. Breakfast arrived and we ate. Some other friends from the boatyard arrived and we chatted for a few minutes. I was struggling to concentrate on the conversation because I felt a nervous tension building up in my chest. I then tried to cut the conversation short and told Lola that I just want to get back to Yrumoar and get the move over and done with. We started to leave when another friend from the boatyard came over and told us that we should relax our boat in on its way to the water. I was a little more than surprised and started walking faster towards the boatyard. The impending feeling of doom growing in my mind made my chest tighten even more and I was listening out for a crashing sound all the time. The crashing sound never came but I could see something was wrong as I approached Yrumoar. They had moved her out of our parking and past the slipway, but now she was standing still. My heart started racing and I felt my blood pressure soar through the roof as I noticed the reason she was standing still.
Her starboard rudder had dug a half metre long gash into the concrete and the rudder end was smashed as her weight rested upon the rudder. The trailer had not been lifted high enough and couldn’t lift any higher because the bent jack was preventing the hydraulics from operating. At this point I felt my body shaking uncontrollably as the adrenalin coursed its way through my veins. Everybody was standing around trying to puzzle out a solution and I went straight to Eric. Using some not very well chosen words I explained to him that last time this happened I was calm but this time I want to (unmentionable) him up. Some of my boatyard friends tried to calm me down but I felt an almost uncontrollable urge to throttle the life out of everybody that has anything to do with the lift service and had to walk some distance away to calm myself.
I sat on a piece of broken walk-on, waiting to be repaired, watching as they placed other jacks under the trailer and jacked the trailer up high enough to get the rudder off the concrete. All the time evil thoughts of sledge hammering someone to a pulp kept entering and leaving my mind. Eventually they managed to lift the trailer high enough to take the pressure off the rudder and the broken jack. Then they proceeded to grind and cut out the broken jack which they should have done before moving Yrumoar. Now the trailer hydraulics could function again. Eric came over and informed me that he would now take Yrumoar back into the boatyard so that we could assess the damage. I fought back the urge to break open his skull with a pipe and told him that he will not take Yrumoar back into the boatyard but he will take her onto the slipway just high enough out of the water for me to repair her rudder.
The damage to the rudder was limited to a small section at the bottom and most of the time taken to do the repair was time spent waiting for epoxy to cure. I am going to write a letter to the commodore of the yacht club and I am going to send an invoice to the lift company. Whether or not the commodore responds or the lift company pays is still to be seen.
We finally managed to get back into the water yesterday with a bit of help from a friend, Norman, and the chocolate family. When we arrived at our walk-on we were met by champagne and smiles organised by the chocolate family. We toasted Yrumoar and took some photos. The chocolate family went back to work on their project, Sea shoes, and both Lola and I felt overwhelmed by emotions whilst we sat in the cockpit still reeling from the experience. Now the preparation work on the water can begin. It seems that boats are just one never ending repair job.
In the water?
08 Mar. 12
During all this rain we noticed water inside the cupboards and under the floorboards. So the great searching adventure begins again. Step one, test if it is salt or fresh water. Oh yes, skip step one, we are on land so it can only be fresh water. Anyway we traced the leak to the coach roof directly behind the mast. Next we had to break open the ceiling boards in our quest for creating self employment. When I eventually get the boards open we discover a huge ant’s nest behind the ceiling board. So out comes the “doom” and I start to fumigate the nest. This made a light bulb switch on in Lola’s head and she runs outside onto the deck to see where the ants are going to escape and thus lead us to the source of our leaking problem. She finds the fleeing ants at the same time finding two tiny holes just below the window seals. Now all that remains to do is seal the leaks, dig out the wet composted wood, and replace the whole lot with foam and glass.
After getting some professional advice as to the structural damage caused by the leak from our friendly neighbourhood expert, Dylan. We decided to do the repair once we are back on the water because we are just so sick of being on land at the moment.
The trailer arrived yesterday afternoon at about five and is now parked under our boat waiting to lift us this morning. Today I am supposed to repair some damage under the keels, caused by the drop from the trailer when they were taking us out of the water. But, as my life goes, this morning it is raining again.
09 Mar. 12
The rain disappeared at about twelve which was about an hour after they finally lifted Yrumoar. Now she sits precariously balanced on her stomach, both her keels flying in mid air. Today she will be going back home into the water where she belongs.
During all this rain we noticed water inside the cupboards and under the floorboards. So the great searching adventure begins again. Step one, test if it is salt or fresh water. Oh yes, skip step one, we are on land so it can only be fresh water. Anyway we traced the leak to the coach roof directly behind the mast. Next we had to break open the ceiling boards in our quest for creating self employment. When I eventually get the boards open we discover a huge ant’s nest behind the ceiling board. So out comes the “doom” and I start to fumigate the nest. This made a light bulb switch on in Lola’s head and she runs outside onto the deck to see where the ants are going to escape and thus lead us to the source of our leaking problem. She finds the fleeing ants at the same time finding two tiny holes just below the window seals. Now all that remains to do is seal the leaks, dig out the wet composted wood, and replace the whole lot with foam and glass.
After getting some professional advice as to the structural damage caused by the leak from our friendly neighbourhood expert, Dylan. We decided to do the repair once we are back on the water because we are just so sick of being on land at the moment.
The trailer arrived yesterday afternoon at about five and is now parked under our boat waiting to lift us this morning. Today I am supposed to repair some damage under the keels, caused by the drop from the trailer when they were taking us out of the water. But, as my life goes, this morning it is raining again.
09 Mar. 12
The rain disappeared at about twelve which was about an hour after they finally lifted Yrumoar. Now she sits precariously balanced on her stomach, both her keels flying in mid air. Today she will be going back home into the water where she belongs.
 |
| The trailer goes under the boat |
Jaw dropping experience
03 Mar. 12
I had the most surreal experience in my life, so far, two nights ago. Lola myself and a friend Ryan went for a swim after having a few drinks. Yes, I know, swimming after a few drinks, danger and warning signs everywhere. Well we were all splashing about having fun when suddenly my jaw dislocated itself and I turned into an instant spastic. I tried by all means to get it to go back but it just refused, and I couldn’t speak properly. Visions of eating jelly through a straw for the rest of my life flashed on and off in my head. Ryan went off, woke his father, and together we all rushed off to the hospital. The visit to casualties is but a vague memory in my mind with only little snippets of the event appearing when I try to replay it. But it goes on and off and I remember dislocating my jaw a few times. The doctor relocated it, then I dislocated it, then he relocated it, then I dislocated it. The nurse then relocated it, I dislocated it again and the nurse showed Lola how to relocate it. It seems that this became a game and every few minutes I would have another set of hands stuck in my mouth shifting my jaw bone around trying to relocate it. There are pieces that I of course can not recall but along comes Laurence, Ryan’s dad, to the rescue. He filmed most of the event on his cell phone and the whole next day showed it around the yacht club. So the joke in the club at the moment is “jaw dropping”.
We finally managed to get the crossbeam back up, reattaching the forestay and the furler. Now all that is left to refit is the trampoline mats and Yrumoar is officially ready to go on the trailer and back into the water. At the moment we are waiting for a storm to pass that is supposed to arrive on Monday and Tuesday and be gone by Wednesday. Then we will be lifted onto the trailer hopefully in the morning, staying on the trailer for the day and overnight to fix the damage on the underside of the keels. Next day, back onto the water, if all goes according to plan.
The forecast said that a tropical revolving storm is marching its way across the Mozambique Channel, heading straight for Maputo, about two or three hundred kilometres away from here. The result of that storm will bring excessive rain and predicted fifty knot winds down here. Some of the boats moved out of the channel in case the channel floods which apparently has happened before when one of these storms hit Maputo. We packed all our spares and things that we stored under the boat away to protect them from the rain and also because we had to clear under the boat in preparation for our trip back into the water. Now we are sitting inside watching the rain. There has been little wind up till now but the barometer has dropped considerably during the course of the day so we are expecting the wind to arrive soon. Its been a while since we had big wind but the memory of it is still fresh in my mind.
05 Mar. 12
We are still hiding out in the boat trying to stay dry, warm and out of the howling wind outside. The roar of that wind makes the hair on my neck stand up as it tears its way across the decks screeching and whistling as it passes through the rigging. We spent the whole night awake, not so much because of the wind but more because we knew that today the conditions would be the same. We decided to watch some movies, first with the boys, then with a friend, in an attempt to tire ourselves out and be able to spend the day in bed today. During the course of the evening we checking around the boat periodically to make sure nothing came loose and would be turned into a projectile that could smash our windows.
The boats rocks and shakes as the gusts come blasting through between the buildings and past the boat. This time however, wasn’t as bad as last time and the boat feels a lot more stable than it did before we repaired the bridge deck. The trees behind the boat didn’t look like they were going to rip out of the ground and get hurtled along into space like last time either so the wind didn’t reach the same climax as before. Lola only paced up and down a few times when the gusts really shook the boat. I think that the experience of the last storm made her a bit more confident so she was able to cope better this time.
I had the most surreal experience in my life, so far, two nights ago. Lola myself and a friend Ryan went for a swim after having a few drinks. Yes, I know, swimming after a few drinks, danger and warning signs everywhere. Well we were all splashing about having fun when suddenly my jaw dislocated itself and I turned into an instant spastic. I tried by all means to get it to go back but it just refused, and I couldn’t speak properly. Visions of eating jelly through a straw for the rest of my life flashed on and off in my head. Ryan went off, woke his father, and together we all rushed off to the hospital. The visit to casualties is but a vague memory in my mind with only little snippets of the event appearing when I try to replay it. But it goes on and off and I remember dislocating my jaw a few times. The doctor relocated it, then I dislocated it, then he relocated it, then I dislocated it. The nurse then relocated it, I dislocated it again and the nurse showed Lola how to relocate it. It seems that this became a game and every few minutes I would have another set of hands stuck in my mouth shifting my jaw bone around trying to relocate it. There are pieces that I of course can not recall but along comes Laurence, Ryan’s dad, to the rescue. He filmed most of the event on his cell phone and the whole next day showed it around the yacht club. So the joke in the club at the moment is “jaw dropping”.
We finally managed to get the crossbeam back up, reattaching the forestay and the furler. Now all that is left to refit is the trampoline mats and Yrumoar is officially ready to go on the trailer and back into the water. At the moment we are waiting for a storm to pass that is supposed to arrive on Monday and Tuesday and be gone by Wednesday. Then we will be lifted onto the trailer hopefully in the morning, staying on the trailer for the day and overnight to fix the damage on the underside of the keels. Next day, back onto the water, if all goes according to plan.
The forecast said that a tropical revolving storm is marching its way across the Mozambique Channel, heading straight for Maputo, about two or three hundred kilometres away from here. The result of that storm will bring excessive rain and predicted fifty knot winds down here. Some of the boats moved out of the channel in case the channel floods which apparently has happened before when one of these storms hit Maputo. We packed all our spares and things that we stored under the boat away to protect them from the rain and also because we had to clear under the boat in preparation for our trip back into the water. Now we are sitting inside watching the rain. There has been little wind up till now but the barometer has dropped considerably during the course of the day so we are expecting the wind to arrive soon. Its been a while since we had big wind but the memory of it is still fresh in my mind.
05 Mar. 12
We are still hiding out in the boat trying to stay dry, warm and out of the howling wind outside. The roar of that wind makes the hair on my neck stand up as it tears its way across the decks screeching and whistling as it passes through the rigging. We spent the whole night awake, not so much because of the wind but more because we knew that today the conditions would be the same. We decided to watch some movies, first with the boys, then with a friend, in an attempt to tire ourselves out and be able to spend the day in bed today. During the course of the evening we checking around the boat periodically to make sure nothing came loose and would be turned into a projectile that could smash our windows.
The boats rocks and shakes as the gusts come blasting through between the buildings and past the boat. This time however, wasn’t as bad as last time and the boat feels a lot more stable than it did before we repaired the bridge deck. The trees behind the boat didn’t look like they were going to rip out of the ground and get hurtled along into space like last time either so the wind didn’t reach the same climax as before. Lola only paced up and down a few times when the gusts really shook the boat. I think that the experience of the last storm made her a bit more confident so she was able to cope better this time.
Trip into town
27 Feb. 12
We were supposed to go back into the water today but the tractor is broken. So instead we started with some of the repairs that we would have had to do on the water or on route whilst we wait. My son received his first letter from me yesterday and he sent me such an emotional sms that I felt overwhelmed with emotions and couldn’t finish reading it in one attempt. He turns eighteen in May and I am not sure if I will see him which is really going to be hard. I am not sure how I am going to deal with my emotions on that day. Even now as I think about it I feel a well of emotion so coping in the future on that day makes me concerned.
Yesterday we spent the day moving the life raft from one position to another on the boat trying to find a suitable place for it. It is in a big blue unsightly looking bag so we want to hide it but in the same time make it easily accessible. The bag is about the size of a typical mother in law’s suitcase when she pops over from England on a quick two month long visit. Okay, I used the cliché “mother in law” which doesn’t apply to my “mother in law” just for the record. My mother in law is actually quite easy to get along with, a very thoughtful person with a bit of an adventure side to her. No I’m not just saying this in case she reads my blog or trying to get brownie points from the wife.
Back to the big blue heavy bag. We lugged it onto the new dive platform and placed it under the gas bottle as our first option thinking that this may be just the spot. After staring at it for a while and climbing on and off the stairs onto the dive platform a few times we decided that it was going to be in the way. It may also ruin our possible future plans of widening the back steps in that position. Next we lugged it to the centre of the dive platform and turned it around and onto its side a few times. No this didn’t work for us either. We then thought about using it as a base for a small table in the cockpit so we lugged it into the cockpit and brought up some foam core to use for the table top. This plan failed because the bag together with the table would steel most of our cockpit area. We eventually decided to place it under the helmsman chair which meant we had to build a helmsman chair since we don’t have one anyway.
28 Feb. 12
Yesterday turned out to be one of those, work the whole day on the same thing, without actually getting anywhere, days. The helmsman chair that we built turned out to be a hideous monstrosity that invaded our entire cockpit space. So we had to dump that idea and go back to the drawing board with the life raft situation. At least I can still cut the hideous monster smaller and transform it into a top cupboard for the kitchen, so only half of the previous day was wasted building it and not the whole day. We decided that we would do one job per day towards getting on the water and one that was on the list to be done once we were already on the water, since we are stuck for the moment on land anyway.
This all sounded great in theory, but some days, like yesterday, it just doesn’t work like that. We spent the entire day wrestling with the backing plates and crossbeam. By the end of the day we were not one step closer to completion. It’s as if we didn’t touch or do anything for the day yet were completely exhausted and very frustrated.
Today the plan is to catch a taxi into town, let the kids go to the movies while Lola and I walk around to a couple of different shops for some spares. The last stop will be pick and pay for some groceries and coke. Then catch another taxi back.
29 Feb. 12
The persistent mosquitoes woke me up this morning and forced me to get out of bed. I then looked at my phone to see what time it was and discovered it was only four o clock. During the course of the night I received a long ass sms from my son and when I read it my emotions ran away with me again. For a while I just sat outside in the cockpit with tears in my eyes. Eventually I calmed down, reread the sms and found his typical humour in the message. This made me feel better and I even found myself laughing out loud at some of the things he typed. It amazes me how you can feel so low and so high all at the same time.
The taxi collected us at eight thirty, after a long days shopping and thousands of miles of walking, dropped us back at the boat at four.
I don’t know if all countries in the world are the same, but here in Africa things work like this. A person decides to start a small business for whatever reason of his own. Be it because he has delusions of grandeur or feels that he can make lots of cash. Perhaps he recognises a gap in the market place and believes that he could fill that gap, or maybe he just can’t find employment and life leads him into a situation where he has no choice. Anyway the reason isn’t relevant the end result is. Usually the business is started with little or no capital. The taxi service down here is one of those small businesses.
The first time we called the taxi service the phone was answered by a female voice, that I believed to be sitting in a control centre somewhere. The voice informed us that the taxi would take about fifteen minutes to collect us at our pickup point. The taxi arrived with a male driver and on the journey he reported to his control centre over a mobile two way radio. This was all within my expectation and seemed normal at the time.
Yesterday however the voice herself arrived to collect us in the taxi and we got to experience true African entrepreneurial compromise. As she was driving us to town she was also playing the part of call centre, taking five or six calls on her cell phone with no hands free kit, making notes in her book, giving cost prices and instructing other taxis from one destination to the next. I must admit the voice could multitask but there were a few moments that my concern levels went up a notch or two as she was trying to do everything at once and still stay on the road. At no point did I feel we were going to die, but more than once I had visions of us heading through the bushes on the side of the road.
Today Lola and I are celebrating our anniversary of our first date. An easy one to remember since it only comes once every four years.
We were supposed to go back into the water today but the tractor is broken. So instead we started with some of the repairs that we would have had to do on the water or on route whilst we wait. My son received his first letter from me yesterday and he sent me such an emotional sms that I felt overwhelmed with emotions and couldn’t finish reading it in one attempt. He turns eighteen in May and I am not sure if I will see him which is really going to be hard. I am not sure how I am going to deal with my emotions on that day. Even now as I think about it I feel a well of emotion so coping in the future on that day makes me concerned.
Yesterday we spent the day moving the life raft from one position to another on the boat trying to find a suitable place for it. It is in a big blue unsightly looking bag so we want to hide it but in the same time make it easily accessible. The bag is about the size of a typical mother in law’s suitcase when she pops over from England on a quick two month long visit. Okay, I used the cliché “mother in law” which doesn’t apply to my “mother in law” just for the record. My mother in law is actually quite easy to get along with, a very thoughtful person with a bit of an adventure side to her. No I’m not just saying this in case she reads my blog or trying to get brownie points from the wife.
Back to the big blue heavy bag. We lugged it onto the new dive platform and placed it under the gas bottle as our first option thinking that this may be just the spot. After staring at it for a while and climbing on and off the stairs onto the dive platform a few times we decided that it was going to be in the way. It may also ruin our possible future plans of widening the back steps in that position. Next we lugged it to the centre of the dive platform and turned it around and onto its side a few times. No this didn’t work for us either. We then thought about using it as a base for a small table in the cockpit so we lugged it into the cockpit and brought up some foam core to use for the table top. This plan failed because the bag together with the table would steel most of our cockpit area. We eventually decided to place it under the helmsman chair which meant we had to build a helmsman chair since we don’t have one anyway.
28 Feb. 12
Yesterday turned out to be one of those, work the whole day on the same thing, without actually getting anywhere, days. The helmsman chair that we built turned out to be a hideous monstrosity that invaded our entire cockpit space. So we had to dump that idea and go back to the drawing board with the life raft situation. At least I can still cut the hideous monster smaller and transform it into a top cupboard for the kitchen, so only half of the previous day was wasted building it and not the whole day. We decided that we would do one job per day towards getting on the water and one that was on the list to be done once we were already on the water, since we are stuck for the moment on land anyway.
This all sounded great in theory, but some days, like yesterday, it just doesn’t work like that. We spent the entire day wrestling with the backing plates and crossbeam. By the end of the day we were not one step closer to completion. It’s as if we didn’t touch or do anything for the day yet were completely exhausted and very frustrated.
Today the plan is to catch a taxi into town, let the kids go to the movies while Lola and I walk around to a couple of different shops for some spares. The last stop will be pick and pay for some groceries and coke. Then catch another taxi back.
29 Feb. 12
The persistent mosquitoes woke me up this morning and forced me to get out of bed. I then looked at my phone to see what time it was and discovered it was only four o clock. During the course of the night I received a long ass sms from my son and when I read it my emotions ran away with me again. For a while I just sat outside in the cockpit with tears in my eyes. Eventually I calmed down, reread the sms and found his typical humour in the message. This made me feel better and I even found myself laughing out loud at some of the things he typed. It amazes me how you can feel so low and so high all at the same time.
The taxi collected us at eight thirty, after a long days shopping and thousands of miles of walking, dropped us back at the boat at four.
I don’t know if all countries in the world are the same, but here in Africa things work like this. A person decides to start a small business for whatever reason of his own. Be it because he has delusions of grandeur or feels that he can make lots of cash. Perhaps he recognises a gap in the market place and believes that he could fill that gap, or maybe he just can’t find employment and life leads him into a situation where he has no choice. Anyway the reason isn’t relevant the end result is. Usually the business is started with little or no capital. The taxi service down here is one of those small businesses.
The first time we called the taxi service the phone was answered by a female voice, that I believed to be sitting in a control centre somewhere. The voice informed us that the taxi would take about fifteen minutes to collect us at our pickup point. The taxi arrived with a male driver and on the journey he reported to his control centre over a mobile two way radio. This was all within my expectation and seemed normal at the time.
Yesterday however the voice herself arrived to collect us in the taxi and we got to experience true African entrepreneurial compromise. As she was driving us to town she was also playing the part of call centre, taking five or six calls on her cell phone with no hands free kit, making notes in her book, giving cost prices and instructing other taxis from one destination to the next. I must admit the voice could multitask but there were a few moments that my concern levels went up a notch or two as she was trying to do everything at once and still stay on the road. At no point did I feel we were going to die, but more than once I had visions of us heading through the bushes on the side of the road.
Today Lola and I are celebrating our anniversary of our first date. An easy one to remember since it only comes once every four years.
Daily life...still on the hard
22 Feb. 12
Posted a letter to Amy and Keagan a few days ago and I wonder how they will react when they receive their mail. I feel that letters are different to e-mail and sms and the old ways still have some merit. I used to receive letters from a friend when I was still a young man. My memory can still recall the excitement that I felt so many years ago each time I collected the mail and discovered one of his letters amongst the pile of cold windowed bills. Somewhere along the way we lost contact and since that time the mail has lost its appeal. I in fact avoid fetching the mail for as long as possible nowadays.
Finished painting the second coat onto the crossbeam and it is ready to be refitted to the bows. We ordered four new impellers two days ago from Cape Town, two will be used to replace our old ones and two are spare for the trip. So we patiently await their arrival. We finally booked the trailer to put Yrumoar back into the water on this coming Monday. Now we have a deadline and will have to double our efforts to get her ready for the re launch. Still haven’t got around to that starboard engine service. Things on a boat just take longer to do than they would in normal life.
The days are getting shorter since it is now dark when I get up in the morning reminding me that the season is rapidly coming to an end. It is a lot more noisy so early in the morning when it is still dark than it was a few weeks ago. The night time insects haven’t gone to bed yet and they seem to want to have their voices heard until the very last minute when the sun wakes up.
There are some strange characters down here as I suppose there are anywhere in the world. One day I will attempt to describe some of them obviously using some poetic licence and changing the names to protect the innocent.
25 Feb. 12
Today I don’t feel like doing anything, I just want to lay in my bed. The lyrics to a song and so appropriate today. We can’t get back in the water on Monday anyway because they are having a problem with the tractor. We are having some problems of our own to with the crossbeam. It seems to have grown longer whilst it was waiting on the ground for us. And not just a little longer like 5mm or so but a whole 25 to 30 mm. Now the only way it will fit is by being hammered in with a four pound hammer and seems to be under tremendous strain. I can’t seem to figure out why it is suddenly to big but something changed and I sit in the dark trying to think up a solution. I wish I knew more about boat construction and that it will be fine if I just hammer it into place. But alas I am but a mere mortal with no boat construction experience. I have asked about five different people and got about five different answers to my problem. Some easier than others but some involving quite some engineering. So now we wait until the answer reveals itself to me.
26 Feb. 12
During my fitful sleep last night, caused mainly by a mosquito invasion, I woke up a few times to what sounded like chanting in the distance. I couldn’t quite make out what the sounds were but it reminded me of an Indiana Jones movie, “the temple of doom”. The chanting and screaming is still going on this morning with hundreds of African people in buses and taxis mulling about as they prepare to end their religious vigil and make the journey back home. I thought about creeping across the forested field across the road from us to where they were having their gathering. However weird premonitions crawled through my mind that I may become part of some religious sacrifice if I was discovered. These premonitions were probably sparked off by the newspaper that I read yesterday that had a headline “Two year old girls body is found with genitals removed.” “possible muti killing suspected.” Yes this is Africa.
I am still giving the crossbeam some thought and haven’t made a decision as of yet. I believe that the hulls probably moved when we jacked the one side up to repair the damaged keel. The keel popped back out about 40mm once that side hull was lifted and we reinforced the keel with eight layers of glass. When we placed her back down afterwards she must be standing slightly skew since we didn’t change the woods she was resting on to compensate for the 40mm change in height. This may have caused the hulls to be twisted inwards towards each other which would explain why the crossbeam no longer fits and is about 25mm to long. This was also the only time that the crossbeam was removed during the whole repair job since it was still in place when we repaired the bridge deck.
And just like that they are all gone. In the time it took me to sit down and write this about four buses and fifty or so mini bus taxis with full occupancy disappeared. Now as the sun starts to make its appearance through the trees, and the silence takes over again, my mind can still hear the chanting that sounded like a sports event in a busy stadium, but with an eerie ring to it.
Posted a letter to Amy and Keagan a few days ago and I wonder how they will react when they receive their mail. I feel that letters are different to e-mail and sms and the old ways still have some merit. I used to receive letters from a friend when I was still a young man. My memory can still recall the excitement that I felt so many years ago each time I collected the mail and discovered one of his letters amongst the pile of cold windowed bills. Somewhere along the way we lost contact and since that time the mail has lost its appeal. I in fact avoid fetching the mail for as long as possible nowadays.
Finished painting the second coat onto the crossbeam and it is ready to be refitted to the bows. We ordered four new impellers two days ago from Cape Town, two will be used to replace our old ones and two are spare for the trip. So we patiently await their arrival. We finally booked the trailer to put Yrumoar back into the water on this coming Monday. Now we have a deadline and will have to double our efforts to get her ready for the re launch. Still haven’t got around to that starboard engine service. Things on a boat just take longer to do than they would in normal life.
The days are getting shorter since it is now dark when I get up in the morning reminding me that the season is rapidly coming to an end. It is a lot more noisy so early in the morning when it is still dark than it was a few weeks ago. The night time insects haven’t gone to bed yet and they seem to want to have their voices heard until the very last minute when the sun wakes up.
There are some strange characters down here as I suppose there are anywhere in the world. One day I will attempt to describe some of them obviously using some poetic licence and changing the names to protect the innocent.
25 Feb. 12
Today I don’t feel like doing anything, I just want to lay in my bed. The lyrics to a song and so appropriate today. We can’t get back in the water on Monday anyway because they are having a problem with the tractor. We are having some problems of our own to with the crossbeam. It seems to have grown longer whilst it was waiting on the ground for us. And not just a little longer like 5mm or so but a whole 25 to 30 mm. Now the only way it will fit is by being hammered in with a four pound hammer and seems to be under tremendous strain. I can’t seem to figure out why it is suddenly to big but something changed and I sit in the dark trying to think up a solution. I wish I knew more about boat construction and that it will be fine if I just hammer it into place. But alas I am but a mere mortal with no boat construction experience. I have asked about five different people and got about five different answers to my problem. Some easier than others but some involving quite some engineering. So now we wait until the answer reveals itself to me.
26 Feb. 12
During my fitful sleep last night, caused mainly by a mosquito invasion, I woke up a few times to what sounded like chanting in the distance. I couldn’t quite make out what the sounds were but it reminded me of an Indiana Jones movie, “the temple of doom”. The chanting and screaming is still going on this morning with hundreds of African people in buses and taxis mulling about as they prepare to end their religious vigil and make the journey back home. I thought about creeping across the forested field across the road from us to where they were having their gathering. However weird premonitions crawled through my mind that I may become part of some religious sacrifice if I was discovered. These premonitions were probably sparked off by the newspaper that I read yesterday that had a headline “Two year old girls body is found with genitals removed.” “possible muti killing suspected.” Yes this is Africa.
I am still giving the crossbeam some thought and haven’t made a decision as of yet. I believe that the hulls probably moved when we jacked the one side up to repair the damaged keel. The keel popped back out about 40mm once that side hull was lifted and we reinforced the keel with eight layers of glass. When we placed her back down afterwards she must be standing slightly skew since we didn’t change the woods she was resting on to compensate for the 40mm change in height. This may have caused the hulls to be twisted inwards towards each other which would explain why the crossbeam no longer fits and is about 25mm to long. This was also the only time that the crossbeam was removed during the whole repair job since it was still in place when we repaired the bridge deck.
And just like that they are all gone. In the time it took me to sit down and write this about four buses and fifty or so mini bus taxis with full occupancy disappeared. Now as the sun starts to make its appearance through the trees, and the silence takes over again, my mind can still hear the chanting that sounded like a sports event in a busy stadium, but with an eerie ring to it.
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