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.


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 .

Thursday, November 12, 2015

TIGRE . A DIFFERENT WATERWORLD .

The wonderful thing about the cruising life or just travelling in general is all the unplanned places or unexpected experiences that come your way on a day to day basis and when you are not expecting these events to take place you have no high expectations. The golden rule is to try and avoid having high expectations about places you plan to visit , that way you can never be disappointed .

But l digress , our time spent in Tigre is a classic example . We were planning on crossing the Rio de la Plata to visit Uruguay and discussing this with our friend Sarah she suggested that maybe we should think about a visit to the town of Tigre which is situated on an island formed by rivers and streams and lies in the Parana River Delta , which by the way is the only river delta in the world that flows into another river and not directly into the sea .

We took the scenic option and caught the Tren de la Coste Train which runs up the coast from Buenos Aires to the town of Tigre . Our first sight of Tigre was their huge amusement park and casino that stands opposite the train station but as we walked into the town the river came into view and a whole new world appeared .

Vintage motor launches built out of mahogany loaded with passengers cruised up and down the canal and once we had reached the town’s ferry dock we realized how important a means of transport they are as the town is connected to the Parana River Delta System which is a multitude of rivers and streams all finally flowing into the Atlantic Ocean .Further down the canal we discovered some fairly large coasters tied up alongside the wharves so there are obviously deep channels in these rivers .

While walking around the waterway we noticed many English style rowing clubs dotted along the banks with tracks leading from their clubhouses to special slipways fitted with wooden battens to protect their boats from damage on the concrete . The most popular boat is a classic vintage wooden sculling boat complete with sliding seats and these come in various sizes from singles to eight man configurations . Effortless to row with their clear varnished hulls with men and women , young and old getting their daily exercise while having time-out on the water , magic stuff .

We decided to do the tourist thing and went on a river tour on one of the classic boats and discovered a whole new world of riverside communities living alongside these waterways , some in grandiose homes while others living in humble riverside shacks surrounded by lush vegetation . Most of the riverside properties had private jetties as a boat is by far the most effective way of getting about .

Tourism is a big part of Tigre’s economy and there are museums , pubs/restaurants and antique shops alongside the waterways and apparently over the weekends the town is packed with people who travel up from Buenos Aires to unwind and enjoy the beauty of the waterways .


We had never heard of the place a couple of days before visiting it , so it was a wonderful surprise to learn of its existence and then to experience this different waterworld .     
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