Overnight sail to nowhere

19 Sep. 13

We sat happily on the dockside when a man in Transnet uniform walked over and informed us we have to move off the docks as they are derelict and could fall down at any time. I asked him about the steel boat next to us and he said it also has to move but they don’t have a contact number for anyone to inform them. He told me to contact port control to confirm his story and gave me a number to call. I made the call and port control confirmed we had to move. Lola and I discussed our options and decided to check the weather. The forecast was mild but the wind was variable and from all directions which was not an ideal window for a trip down to PE in our opinion. Other more experiences sailors would have taken this window with a smile but for us it wasn’t what we wanted. However since we had been chased off our spot we went to the police and lodged a flight plan for PE.

 At five in the afternoon we motored out the harbour and headed out to sea hoping to find the current to give us a push down the coast and add a few knots to our speed. The current however had other ideas and instead of helping pushed against us slowing us down from 5 to 3 knots so we turned and headed further out to sea. After 3 hours and about 12 miles offshore we were still heading into the counter current and the swell had now teamed up with it so we found ourselves heading into the waves making our ride rather bouncy and uncomfortable. Lola was slowly turning green and I knew she would be talking into her bucket soon so asked her if we should head inshore to try avoid the counter current instead of continuing our fruitless search for the current. She agreed and we turned inshore. As we headed inshore our boat speed steadily decreased until we could only do 2 knots under motor. At that point the wind started to pick up but it was coming from the south west, directly on the nose. So now we had the current and the wind against us. We decided to close haul and raised the sails hoping the wind would help. In order to sail against the wind we had to change course again and this time headed almost directly towards the shore. Our speed increased slightly from 2 to 3 knots but now we were tacking in towards the coast then back out to sea. Two hours went by and we had only made a few miles headway although we had sailed a lot more in distance. The wind was steadily increasing and the waves grew bigger, Lola was speaking seriously into her bucket and was not a happy camper and me, I of course, was feeling guilty for making her do it. In between her discussions with the bucket Lola mentioned that the prediction had only called for wind between 5 and 10 knots coming from the north. We had about 15 to 20 coming from the south instead so the next time we closed in on the shore I asked her to go online and see if we could get an updated prediction. She did and the conditions had changed dramatically with the south west wind climbing all the way to 30 knots in the morning. We looked at the prediction and calculated where we would be at that time considering our pathetic boat speed. We had hoped to be near bird island at lunch time but our current rate would place us somewhere before Port Alfred. This was not going well and it meant we would be out at sea when the wind arrived so we decided to turn around and head back. We arrived back just before sunrise and waited outside the harbour until it was up wanting to find a spot to drop our hook in the daylight. So our first attempt at PE turned out to be an overnight sail to Hamburg, about a quarter of the way, and back.  

Technical difficulties along the way? Yes we had a few. My repair in the starboard hull seemed to work as it stopped creaking but we took on water instead. About a litre during the trip in the starboard hull. The port hull however took a lot more, about ten litres. I wouldn’t have noticed the water intake since I did not check the bilges until we hit something under the water. We don’t know what it was but heard the bump as we collided with it and I went to open the bilges to check. It sounded like it came from the starboard side so I checked that side first. If I didn’t find water in it I’m not sure if I would’ve have bothered checking the port side. So it was quite a surprise when I opened the port bilge and found it half filled with water sloshing all over the place. There wasn’t enough water in it to make the electric bilge pump switch on but was still annoying and I had to keep an eye on it the rest of the way. Electric bilge pumps are a dumb design in my opinion and they normally only work when the bilge is completely full and the water reaches the floorboards. I would like a bilge pump that keeps the bilge completely dry but this would probably be impractical. I don’t know where the water comes from but we had the same problem on the sail down from Durban. I had dried the bilges after we arrived here and they had stayed dry the entire time this means the water ingress only happens when we motor sail. Just one more thing to add to my list.   

 

21 Sep. 13

A beautiful 54 foot Royal Cape Catamaran arrived here from Durban with a delivery skipper and his two crew members. We were still at anchor and they dropped their hook nearby. For most of the day and into the evening the two boats swung happily next to each other as the wind shifted direction from north east to south west. At about eight the south west picked up to over 20 knots and I noticed their boat slowly drag passed until they were no longer next to us and well on their way back out the harbour. We tried to grab their attention and blew our fog horn repeatedly but they did not come outside. As they dragged further and further down the channel Kyle decided to test his vocal skills and screamed at the top of his voice hoping to warn them of the danger they were in. His voice echoed back at us from across the harbour but the crew was still unaware of their plight. At that moment Kyle noticed a reflection of a TV screen coming through one of their windows and informed us they would not hear us since they were pre occupied by a PlayStation game. With no other choice we launched our dingy and rowed across to warn them. A very surprised young man came out the door when we knocked and thanked us for the warning. We rowed back to Yrumoar as they reset their anchor. This incident stole all Lola’s sleep as her mind wouldn’t stop worrying so she was up and down all night making sure our anchor stayed put. In the morning we moved Yrumoar and tied her onto the wall. I guy we had met here runs a charter company and he rents the wall from Transnet so had invited us to tie up here while one of his boats is on the hard undergoing some repairs. We were really glad he had made the offer since we needed to leave Yrumoar somewhere while we go to the wedding next month and couldn’t leave her at anchor. Another amazing East Londoner, this town seems to be filled with really helpful people.

 The Royal Cape catamaran followed us shortly afterwards and also tied onto the wall to wait out a forecasted south west blow. Even though we exchanged a few words when they came in to anchor we actually met the crew officially once they had tied up to the wall. They invited us over for tea and cake in the evening and we had a great time chatting and getting to know them. The time just flew by and by the time we noticed it for the first time it was almost midnight. As we prepared to leave we noticed a dingy rowing across the harbour towards us. We all exchanged glances and none of us knew who would be rowing across to us at midnight. The skipper Brad asked me if we knew who it was and we said no. So we all waited as he rowed across. He was struggling to keep his dingy pointed in our direction and we could hear him talking to himself as he came closer. At that point we all realised he was on his way over from the Yacht club after the bar had closed believing he wasn’t quite drunk enough and needed more. He arrived and got onto the boat without listening to a word we said. When the skipper finally managed to explain to him that the party was over and we were all on our way to bed he became obnoxious and mumbled a few insults under his breath as he climbed back on his dingy. While he rowed away back across the harbour we could all hear him speaking to himself again. This time however we had become the centre of his conversation and he described us a bunch of shitheads that didn’t do him any favours. I wonder if he is going to remember anything in the morning or next time we bump into each other over at the yacht club.

 People who get that drunk fascinate me. I don’t know how they do it or why. It surely can’t be fun and even if it is they normally can’t remember it anyway. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy a good dop as much as the next guy, I just don’t enjoy making an ass of myself. I think I did enough of that when I was younger.