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.

 

 

East London - An abandoned town?

24 Jul. 13

Our new raw water pump finally arrived and I had to strip the gear from the old one and fit it to the new one. Typical boat stuff, you buy a new part and it comes incomplete and you have to use pieces of the old part before you can use it. Not to mention the “half part” costs the price of a small house. Next thing to do is get into the engine room under the bed and refit the pump. I am so looking forward to the job, it’s all I can think about.

 

I discovered that I love walking on the beach so have dragged Lola andKyle off to the beach twice now in a week. Strange how we live on the ocean but getting to the beach is still a half hour car drive away, or an hour sail out of the harbour.

 

A few days ago a pelican decided that it was going to make our mast its home and landed on it bending our VHF antenna. Next it proceeded to crap all over our windows. By the time we got up in the morning we couldn’t see through the window under the mast it had so much bird crap on it. I went to investigate the source and spotted it sitting on the mast. I tried chasing it away but the mast is high and he just ignored me and continued empting his insides onto our window. I don’t know how many fish this guy ate but judging from the state of the window I think the oceans are now completely empty. I wanted to throw something at him but struggled to find anything on the boat that wasn’t going to come crashing through the windows on its way down. I thought about climbing the mast to chase him away but was afraid he could just bombard me with crap on my way up and by the time I got to him I would be blind. So I eventually crumpled and empty cigarette box and tossed it at him. It missed the target completely but he got the picture and flew away. After he left we cleaned up the boat and decided we need a plan of action in case he decides to make our mast his permanent home. The mast head has lots of equipment on it and we can’t have him damaging it.

 

Now I know my next paragraph is going to determine my future in the bird lovers community so I state this at my own peril. We went to the Toti mall and I bought a slingshot. In SA it is also known as a “ketty”. I don’t want to kill the pelican but I also don’t want him on our boat. I could’ve bought a pellet gun but as I said my intention is not to maim or kill the bird. Next I had to get some ammo for the ketty and we decided that some rubber balls would do the trick. The balls would have enough weight to make the ketty effective yet at the same time shouldn’t hurt the bird or more importantly our boat when gravity pulls them back down. We searched all over the mall but couldn’t find any shop that sold rubber balls. On our way out we noticed a pet store and went inside. They sold old bones and all kinds of pet toys and treats including some rubber balls, so we found our ammo. A bit ironic how we found our ammo to shoot a bird in a shop that specialises in spoiling animals. I did feel quite guilty when we stood at the counter to pay. Luckily they didn’t ask why I wanted so many rubber balls.  

 

After leaving the mall we went to the beach to practice with our new weapon. We found a wall in an empty car park and all took turns shooting. Lola and Kyle had never used a ketty before and would need some practice. My childhood quickly came back and I instantly knew how to use it and hit the target. I hope the pelican flew over and saw my skills making him find another home so I don’t have to shoot at him.

 

27 Jul. 13

This morning we went off to the Bluff flea market to have a look around. We have driven passed it a few times and it looked busy so our curiosity drove us to find out what everyone found so interesting. It wasn’t quite the typical flea market you would find up in Joey’s these days where it has become quite commercial and you would find the same things in various stalls and the same things in general at all the flea markets. Anyone who goes to the flea markets in Joey’s will know the products, some cheap Chinese Reeboks or Nike shoes, the same heavy metal T shirts, a few funny T shirts and a whole array of cheap toys. This market was like the old flea markets before cheap Chinese products flooded the markets. Some old tools, a few different electrical suppliers and even an old car or two. Of course there was a few stalls with the “what you would expect to find” and being in Durban, the capitol of India, the selection of hot and spicy Indian food was everywhere. We decided to stay local for a change and Kyle had a vetkoek and mince while Lola and I ate a boerie roll.

Then to our surprise we bumped into some old friends from Brakpan. They had moved down here about three months ago and we had a great afternoon catching up on the old times we had left behind. Tomorrow we are going to have a braai at their house and I promised to take them fishing some time before we leave Durban.

 

03 Aug. 13

Well it seems I am a man of empty promises since I didn’t take our reunited friends out fishing and instead left Durban to sail down the wild coast and onto East London. In my defence it all sort of happened at the spur of the moment. One minute we had no real plan to go anywhere and the next, Lola happened to look at the weather forecast and mention that it looks like a good window to head down the coast. From that moment it all became a blur and the next time I opened my eyes we were 20 miles offshore looking for the fast flowing current that rushes down the SA coast towards the cape.

 

 

 

Since Lola and I are not real sailors, she gets very sea sick while I have a knot in my stomach the whole time we sail, obviously worried about all the things that can go wrong, we decided to create a “safe word”. If either of us feels we cannot cope anymore one of us would say the word “lobster” and we would turn the boat around and head back to port putting the boat up for sale when we get there and forget about the whole sailing around the world thing forever. It was not the first time we discussed this option, in fact, we do it every time before a passage.

So true to form the knot arrived in my stomach before we even cast off and I could see the nervous tension written across Lola’s face. Anyway we left the harbour with this option in our minds and while searching for the current Lola started to feel sick and I gave her a bucket. She spent the next few hours speaking into the bucket while I watched her feeling very guilty that I was forcing her to follow my ridiculous dreams. After a while she had nothing left to offer the bucket and my guilt coupled with the stomach knot won and I uttered the word “lobster”.

 

Lola pulled her head out of the bucket and asked me if I was sure I wanted to go back. I said yes. We went inside and broke the news to the boys. Kyle, who doesn’t like sailing either, smiled and agreed instantly. But Rauen didn’t and anyone who knows him has surely seen the look of disappointment he can muster up and paste on his face. Lola and I looked at his disappointed face and went back outside. We sat down in the cockpit and looked out across the ocean in silence. Neither of us went towards the steering wheel and we didn’t broach the subject again.

 

After six hours we found the current and managed to stay in it till Port St Johns, about halfway, where we lost it again. I had been up for 24 hours at that point and went to sleep in the saloon while Lola and Rauen headed out to sea to find it. It was an uncomfortable sleep on a bouncy surface but I did manage to get about three hours of restless sleep before getting up again.

 

We still had a long way to go but they found the current and it pushed us along making up a lot of time. When we did our original calculations we anticipated doing between four and five knots arriving at East London on Friday morning at about eight. With the help of the current we averaged seven and arrived at East London nine hours earlier than planned and in the dark around eleven on Thursday night. I did not want to enter the harbour in the dark but the current kept pushing us even though we tried to slow ourselves down by dropping all our sails and running the motor at idle speed we reached the harbour mouth at one o clock and decided to go in.

Our pilot guide told us to tie up at Latimers Landing near the end of the small harbour. When we got to Latimers landing we discovered we would need a wooden plank to tie onto our fenders to create a fender board before we could tie onto the docks. Since we don’t carry large planks with us we decided to raft onto another yacht already tied onto the docks. Lola and the boys attached our fenders and I pulled up next to it. Rauen jumped across quickly tying our ropes onto it. We all fell asleep before the boat had even settled.

I woke up at about eleven and found everybody already awake. While I had my coffee some guy came over and started telling me that I was going to damage the yacht next to us and I should get some tyres and a plank to tie onto it. I thought about this for a while while he was still speaking to me and asked him if he had any tyres or a plank with him that he could donate to us since we don’t really carry these things with us. He stared at me and said no. I then asked him if it was his boat since he was obviously very concerned. He said no it belongs to some guy that died about six months ago. I asked him if they were related still sensing his concern. He said no, turned around without saying goodbye and left. It was a strange surreal conversation and I was confused. Anyway I forgot about him soon after he left and we all decided to go find a shower since we hadn’t had one in a while. We climbed across the steel yacht onto the docks and were very surprised by what we found.

 

The docks are made up of wood decking that was badly in need of repair and we had to pick our way carefully across the decking so as not to fall through. I wondered about the state of the decking but didn’t even notice that nobody was around. Some palisade fencing surrounds the decking and we found a gate tied up with wire to keep it closed and I also wondered why someone had tied it up. While I untied the wire I noticed all the shops were empty and the place was deserted then I turned around to look at our boat and noticed the sign. “Construction site, enter at own risk”.

So we discovered that all the businesses had closed down and Latimers landing is no more. As for showers, they don’t exist anymore either. Luckily the yacht club is across the river from us and we managed to row across and use the showers. I hope the rest of East London has more to offer and hasn’t closed down. I also hope the rest of the people are not as weird as the first one we met.