Cape Town II

Certain intersections of land and sea leave deep imprints in a sailors memories:
– Passing under the Bridge of the Americas after transiting the Panama Canal, heart in mouth, thinking about the vastness of the Pacific Ocean to come.
– Sailing into Sydney Harbour, turning west past Bradley’s Head, seeing the early morning sun light up the Opera House and Bridge, suspecting you had probably found a home.

This time it was sailing into Table Bay, into the lee of that iconic flat-topped mountain, buildings cascading off its slopes to the water’s edge, a sense of satisfaction for the job done, tempered by anticipation of the southern ocean leg to come.

Our welcome to Cape Town was heart-warming and practical. Contacts, friends of friends and distant cousins all stepped up to fix the broken, supply needed stores, wash clothing (and crew), accommodate and entertain. Who could forget that first Brai at the Palmer’s: dinosaur-sized steaks, SALAD (missing in our diet since the end of week two), sausages, cold beer and a stationary bed? Or the swift way Andre and his team dismantled the boom vang and spirited it away to be repaired. Or Indeed Joshio and Richard and the team at the V&A marina so helpful in so many ways from rubbish collection to avoiding seals on the pontoons to just plain common sense advice on Cape Town and the authorities. Thank you all.

Getting things done in Cape Town is entirely possible, it just needs time and a bit of local knowledge (thanks Rob & Eric). Take clearing into the country. In Cape Town, visiting yachts are supposed to clear in at the Royal Cape Yacht Club (according to a law passed in the ’60’s). However these days there is very little room at the RCYC and certainly not enough for Kialoa. So on arriving at the V&A marina, you get a note from the V&A to the RCYC so you can drive over to the RCYC to collect a letter from them explaining to Immigration Department that Kialoa can’t be accommodated at the yacht club. Then you go to the Port Authority to get a letter from the Port Captain explaining that they cannot accommodate Kialoa either as the docks walls are too high and Immigration officials would find it dangerous to climb down. Then you take this ever-expanding file of notes and letters to the Customs and Immigration building along with all the crew to complete formalities. Simple…

Another example: There is no one stop shop like a Whitworths or Force 7 to buy yacht parts for example. Fasteners (screws, bolts, circlips etc) come from the fastner shop. Pipe (for bilge pumps and watermakers) comes from the pipe shop, and filters come from… yes you get the drift. This can be a pain but occasionally it is a joy. Take engine oil for example. Changing the oil in the main engine is time consuming but simple and you need to have 17 litres of the right oil, approved by Cummins (to make sure we don’t void the warranty). Enter Freddie, the main man and agent for Ravenol. A more knowledgeable and enthusiastic man about oil you will never meet. After a not inconsiderable lecture on current oil standards, the difference in diesel engine oil and petrol engine oil, and the specifics of the most up-to-date Cummins approval rating, we left with 20l of Ravenol’s finest, secure in the knowledge we had the absolute best Cape Town had to offer our engine. Thank-you Freddie, much appreciated.

The joy being meeting people like Freddie, seeing parts of Cape Town you might not otherwise see, chipping away at the job list before heading out into the Indian Ocean and home to Aus.

Paddy