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| Ready for inspection . |
Allan & Ursula Ward: Port Owen, Cape West Coast, South Africa.
Shearwater 39:
- L.O.A. 43ft (13.22m)
- L.O.D. 39ft (12m)
- L.W.L. 34ft (10.3m)
- BEAM 13ft(3.9m)
- DRAFT 6ft(1.8m)
HOW IT ALL BEGAN .
I placed my order on Nebe Boats on the 19/10/1992 for what was initially planned to be a complete factory built yacht that l would sail home to Durban from Capetown once she was completed. Unfortunately due to the demise of Nebe Boats in the early days of her construction it did not turn out that way, so l decided to truck her home to Ramsgate on the KZN South Coast to finish building her in our garden at home.
For many years we could proudly boast that we had the most expensive piece of garden furniture in town, but at the time l had no idea of how massive this project would turn out to be. As anyone who has built a blue water cruiser will tell you, particularly if she is kitted out with all the systems and the equipment that a modern cruiser has onboard these days, it is a daunting task . Looking at the positive aspects of this project, l know the boat intimately in that l designed and installed the systems, so from a repair and maintenance perspective l have no issues carrying out the work that is necessary from time to time.
The big day arrived on the 29/8/2008 when we craned her out of the garden onto a rig to truck her through to Durban for launching . What followed was three months of preparations to ready her for the maiden voyage to our home port in Port Owen on the Cape West Coast.
We had a fast passage down the South African East Coast including a storm off the notorious Wild Coast and arrived in Port Owen in dense fog. Windward had passed her first test with flying colours and since then we have enjoyed some great sailing on the West Coast.
We had a fast passage down the South African East Coast including a storm off the notorious Wild Coast and arrived in Port Owen in dense fog. Windward had passed her first test with flying colours and since then we have enjoyed some great sailing on the West Coast.
The master plan has always been to go cruising, so our plans are to leave for Brazil via Luderitz and St Helena Island at the end of February 2014. So far everything is on track although the “To Do“ list still grows each day.
The purpose of this blog is to record our adventure for ourselves, family and friends. Although it will probably end up being a brief summary of events while we are cruising, we hope you will enjoy and share some of our experiences with us.
LIVING THE DREAM .
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
SAMSA SURVEY .
One of the requirements to go cruising to far off lands is to register with SAMSA and today we had a full Hull and Upperdeck Survey which included our annual COF and we have just been issued with our O/N number meaning we have met the requirements necessary to go offshore .
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Well done Allan, I cant wait for the adventure to begin and to sail on the beautiful Windward
ReplyDeleteWell done Dad - there was never really any doubt as i'm sure you measured twice and cut once :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's brilliant Allan, nothing to stop you now! I'm hoping that Cathexis will be ready to leave in May so I'll be following you closely until then for inspiration. Fair winds!
ReplyDeleteSafely travel the sea to your destination. May the winds and weather favour you and your crew.
ReplyDeleteThis will be your ultimate experience !!! Go and create those moments in eternity !!! Safe sailing !!!!!
ReplyDeleteHi my friends hope you guys are going well. So proud of you Al for following your dream and Ursh for supporting Al to get there. Wish you all the best on this wonderful experience. God speed to you all.
ReplyDeleteWell after quite a boisterous sail for the first 24 hours out of port owen we arrived safely in luderitz on the 6th at 5am I must admit sailing is not for sissies but all went well we will stay in luderitz until Monday morning and the set of for the next leg to st Helena
ReplyDeleteHi Guys I know you are off again tomorrow, just thinking about you and Ursh please post more news.
ReplyDeleteI reckon you guys should be at St. Helena by now. Have a beer for me at Anne's restaurant! Looking forward to news. Pete
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are having a great sail. So proud of you. Lots of love
ReplyDelete