O’ The Adventures…And Problems…We Will Have

Coming into Mossel Bay was something to see. In the dark, early morning, the bay looks like one straight line of lights and water. Until you get right up on the entrance to the marina, it’s hard to distinguish what light is leading to where and exactly which direction the boat should be pointed. Luckily, our instructor/skipper is more than familiar with each and every port we enter. He came up from hibernation and directed us in through the confusion.

In the daylight though, we woke up to another, little coastal town. We wandered off the boat that “morning” to go have breakfast and beer at the yacht club along the beach. With the way the marina is set up, the yacht club is a bit of a walk and those approaching by boat will have to leave the dock, walk through a manned security gate, go around the corner, and down the road to find a row of food truck type restaurants and eventually the yacht club. Seeing as that was where the food, drinks, and showers were, we didn’t mind the hike too much.

Mossel Bay was only a quick, 1 day trip, and then we were off again trying to make Port Elizabeth before the weather hit us. We were scheduled to pick up and extra member of the crew in PE and the window to get there was closing fast. Setting sail out of Mossel Bay was mostly uneventful. The weather was getting warmer along the coast, so I did get to break out the man-sarong and, to the chagrin of the rest of the crew, got enjoy a bit of breeze up my skirt.

Along the way, we caught our second fish. Michael will be glad to tell the story of how he was single handily sailing the boat, keeping watch, spotting fish-on, and realing in the line all at the same time. Truth be told, no one really thought we had a fish on the line except for Michael. We may have lost it if he had not kept insisting that something was chowing on the hook. With the helpful instruction of the “dirty-Dutchman” (Stephan), I learned how to clean and filet a saltwater fish and soon, the little guy was prepped, wrapped, and stored in our fridge to be made into snacks later that night.

Next, and what would end up being last, stop was Port Elizabeth. Looking back, it’s a bit sad. We were making great time up the coast and were either solidly making way to Durban, or at least, getting to head back a bit to St Francis where we had braai, hot showers, and a good host to welcome us for a few days off the boat. But en route to PE, our trip took a bit of a turn for the worse. The oceans are riddled with rubbish and our prop found a plastic bag floating on or just below the surface. No one could have seen the plastic before we ran over it, getting it wrapped up around the propeller shaft and ultimately causing poor Natasha to need some repairs.

With luck, we limped into Port Elizabeth and were able to pick up our newest member, Wouter (Voter). But, we would end up spending about 4 days stuck, trying to figure out what our next move would, or even could, be. The good side was that PE is actually a big town with plenty to keep us busy. The bad side was, the marina there is absolutely atrocious and none of us were happy with the facilities nor the service we received. However, making everyone on the boat really happy, we received a visit from our good friend and former crew member, Garth. He drove the hour from St Francis to come hang out with us. Of course, he bought a few rounds of drinks for everyone and ensured that we all had a great time.

The final verdict on Natasha was that she couldn’t leave until fixed, which would take a bit of coordination and a lot of time. Time that we didn’t have. So, we rented a van and trailer, stuffed our gear inside and started the long drive back to Langebaan. Used to being in close quarters, the road trip wasn’t too bad and we got so see some beautiful country side. It felt strange though, passing by the towns that we had, just days before, sailed in and out of. None of us were too happy with the way it played out, but we’ve learned throughout this course to remain flexible. This was just another adventure and challenge we would need to work through. After about 12 hours, we arrived safely in Langebaan and if there is any consolation, I finally got to see my son who arrived while we were sailing the coast. With the boat broken, a few different courses currently underway at Sail Due South, and now the weather rolling in, we’ll see how we deal with the issues. But for now, maybe we just take a moment to relax, have a beer, and say hello to our old friend Langebaan Lagoon.