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| TRADEWIND SAILING. |
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| ROB HAD A VISITOR IN HIS CABIN. |
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| MY BETTER HALF CHECKING HER EYELIDS FOR LEAKS. |
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| ALL DRESSED UP AND NO WHERE TO GO. |
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| KEEPING EVERYTHING SHIPSHAPE. |
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| WINDWARD CHARGING. |
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, April 22, 2014
PASSAGE TO ST HELENA.
MEMORIES OF LUDERITZ.
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| DIAZ POINT LIGHT. |
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| DIAZ CROSS. |
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| PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM. |
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| KOLMANSKOP.BEAUTIFUL |
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| Kolmanskop. |
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| Kolmanskop. |
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Saturday, April 19, 2014
INTERNET AGAIN .
Unfortunately , the internet speeds at the Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club won't allow me to load our pics right now , but they will follow asap .
St HELENA ISLAND.
What an experience . From the moment we arrived it was magical.Unbeknown to us we sailed in 10 minutes before the authorities were about to close for the weekend and knowing that we were due anytime via my radio call, they had decided to clear us in to avoid having to come into work on the Saturday.We had Steve the ferryman alongside us before l could shut down the instruments and after stepping ashore at their famous landing using ropes to swing onto terra firma , Brian the harbourmaster was waiting for us in his car to rush us to Immigration and then to his office to sort out mooring fees . Then we arrived at Customs to clear in and we met our first Saint . Julie Balchin the customs lady completed the formalities and then asked us casually if we had a couple of hours to spare. Not knowing really what she had up her sleeve we all nodded.What followed was the first of three tours that she took us on in her Landrover showing us every square inch of her island . She was born on the island and has never left it and has no desire to ever leave it . She spoilt us rotten with gifts everyday and spent many hours with us making our stay very special . She heads up the SPCA on the island and we even got involved with micro-chipping dogs on the second day . Many thanks Jules , you are a special Saint .
In general the reason the islanders refer to themselves as saints is because they are saints in that they are the nicest , friendliest people and they can't spell the word crime.What blew us away is that this remote community has no crime .While we were on the boat we listened to their radio station , Saint FM which carries all the news of whats on around the island . While we were there a local guy was fined 300 pounds because his dog as the magistrate put it , was " irritating the poultry ". It was wonderful to know that in this day and age , people can live without fear of being robbed or murdered and can trust each other to maintain the status quo.
We visited Longwood , Napoleons last residence while being held by the British.
It was eerie standing next to the bed in which he died and walking about in the house where he spent his final years .We also spent time at the Boer cemetry where the age of the prisoners at their time of death ranged between 16 and 74 years .
I took on the famous Jacob's Ladder which is a steep staircase of 699 steps ,up and down.Eish.
We bumped into fellow cruisers at the famous Anne's Place including Peter and Cathy ,S/V Leto who spent time in Port Owen while passing through.
In the entire time we were on the island , we did not meet one saint who was in favour of the new airport opening next year .
We are very grateful that we were able to experience this remote island with these wonderful people before it all changes and the consensus is that it will never be the same again .
In general the reason the islanders refer to themselves as saints is because they are saints in that they are the nicest , friendliest people and they can't spell the word crime.What blew us away is that this remote community has no crime .While we were on the boat we listened to their radio station , Saint FM which carries all the news of whats on around the island . While we were there a local guy was fined 300 pounds because his dog as the magistrate put it , was " irritating the poultry ". It was wonderful to know that in this day and age , people can live without fear of being robbed or murdered and can trust each other to maintain the status quo.
We visited Longwood , Napoleons last residence while being held by the British.
It was eerie standing next to the bed in which he died and walking about in the house where he spent his final years .We also spent time at the Boer cemetry where the age of the prisoners at their time of death ranged between 16 and 74 years .
I took on the famous Jacob's Ladder which is a steep staircase of 699 steps ,up and down.Eish.
We bumped into fellow cruisers at the famous Anne's Place including Peter and Cathy ,S/V Leto who spent time in Port Owen while passing through.
In the entire time we were on the island , we did not meet one saint who was in favour of the new airport opening next year .
We are very grateful that we were able to experience this remote island with these wonderful people before it all changes and the consensus is that it will never be the same again .
PASSAGE TO ST HELENA ISLAND.
As we sailed out from Luderitz escorted by a large group of Dusky dolphins we watched the little town get swallowed up by the surrounding Namib Desert .With 25kn of wind,gusting 30kn it wasn't long before the African continent disappeared over the Eastern horizon.Windward was charging and in our first 24 hour run we put 185nm under our keel.First night out Rob woke me in the wee hours saying we were surrounded . I rushed up on deck and the sight that greeted me was similar to that of a small Karoo town at night on the NI.It turned out to be a large fleet of trawlers hauling nets and after calling up the leading boat we established that the nets were half a nautical mile astern so l was able to judge the distance we needed to clear them . By day two we had picked up the SE Trades and what followed was classic downwind sailing making good runs everyday.Unfortunately as the water warmed from 14 to 30 degrees and the ambient temperature climbed the wind started dropping off forcing us to motor the final day to St Helena .Even Urs was praying for wind which she wasn't doing on our first leg to Luderitz. The rule is if the boat speed drops below 4kn we fire up our Perkins and motor . What was pleasing on this leg of our crossing was the bird life and what astounded us was the hundreds of flying fish all over the place.Every morning l would clear them off the deck and Rob even had one fly through his portlight and land in his cabin. Strange fellas.We also kept an eye on the ocean floor beneath us as we sailed over massive seamounts and literally mountain ranges .One incident that was interesting was a large Chinese bulk carrier that appeared over the horizon without us picking him up on the AIS meaning his transponder was off or not working. I called him up on the VHF and he replied in his native tongue but unfortunately the day we had chinese lessons at school l was off sick so the conversation came to an abrupt end .On the morning of day nine we noticed a patch of heavy cloud on the horizon and St Helena Island lay beneath it .We sailed in late afternoon and picked up a mooring buoy off Jamestown.
Pics to follow .
Pics to follow .
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
BRAZIL .
We have arrived safe and sound in Brazil but first l need to catch up with posts and pics that we were unable to publish due to connectivity issues on St Helena Island .
Thursday, April 3, 2014
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