The birds are increasingly happy with us here. The terns preen themselves on our handrails, a wagtail tries to come in and say ‘hi’, and this morning a goose was standing on the cockpit coaming wondering when I was going to get up! A pair of mystery birds we cannot find in our books or on my South Africa bird app are confusing us. ‘Pied plovers’ is the only way I can describe them. Nothing like a little mystery to add to the mix.
I have had it brought to my attention that having told you about our Covid it has been a worrying length of time since I have brought you up to date. My apologies for that. Rob was still in decline after my last blog. His oxygen level struggled to maintain 91% for a few days and anything below 90% would require hospitalisation. For a couple of nights, I watched him carefully to make sure he didn’t slip away as so many victims seem to, after all we need his winch muscles for the voyage home!!
His profuse sweating, soaking towels, T-shirts and bed sheets brought me plenty of washing to do. Unfortunately, it coincided with a few days of wet weather, drizzly rain and grey skies, so getting the towels dry posed a challenge. To prevent them from taking on a musty smell I hung six of them up in the saloon as they weren’t going to dry outside.
But then all things pass and the towels finally flew in sunshine and warmth in the cockpit.
We relished the food bag that Conrad brought along and the juicy Queen Pineapples were delicious. It isn’t hard in South Africa to maintain Vitamin C levels with their delicious Pineapples, plums, nectarines, peaches, blueberries and bananas. We had them all and when the cat called Cinders arrived Cindy asked if there was anything we wanted at the shops as they were going there anyway. A while later they motored alongside with three bags bulging with goodies for which they would take no payment. As well as what I have mentioned there were baby plum tomatoes, washed butter lettuce, bottles of health drink, home-made cupcakes and three Get Well Soon cards created by the children. Not only was the food welcome but the cards, cupcakes and thought really lifted our spirits. And they wore their masks when they dropped the bags off. I just hope they don’t catch the virus.
Rob opened the fridge and exclaimed “It’s like a market stall in here” and he was right, so colourful I wish I had taken a photo.
Well today is day 1 of Biden’s Presidency and day 12 of our quarantine. Rob is much better, yesterday he topped up the tank from the yellow cans and as soon as we can go ashore, he will start on replenishing the fresh water supply. One tank is now empty and we are using water-maker water tank, so we need to at least partially fill the empty tank so Zoons doesn’t take on a list as we sail around to Cape Town or wherever our next stop will be.
It has been lovely receiving get well messages from friends and family and as we start to feel more normal, we feel we are in the advantageous position, having been fortunate enough to survive the virus, that we are much less likely to catch it again. But it was an uncomfortable kind of vaccination!
Here’s another excellent read for you, in fact Isabella Tree’s ‘Wilding’ is a seminal study of how she and her husband Charles Burrell of Knepp Castle in West Sussex, stepped back from intensive dairy farming and worked with nature to re-install natural processes on their estate in 2001 and have watched the incredible results since. They offer a way ahead for farming to work with nature in helping Britain recover from the ravages of ‘progressive farming’ with its destruction of nature and use of chemicals to a future where nature can thrive alongside the essential production of high-quality food. Can’t wait to get home and start planting trees!
The book is an inspiring read and one thing that struck me is that the kind of country that is in balance in Britain, that is what my parents knew and our ancestors before them, is exactly the kind of savanna/woodland mix we drove through on our safari in Zululand. Countryside largely maintained by nature itself. Knepp now also does safaris and there is a campsite, walking tours etc. so the new generation can learn about country and the revival of nature.
Our quarantine ends this weekend so Des and we will be looking for a window to get us at least to Mossel Bay if not right around to Cape Town. St Helena is still open just for 24 hours refuel and restock but they are very concerned about the new SA variant entering their island so we might be skirting that little island too. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, hopefully we’ll have a favourable wind anyway and not use the engine much and I wouldn’t want to buy anything much in the way of supplies from them, except perhaps for bread, because most of what they have is imported and we’d be taking their supplies.
Along with this blog comes the hope that you are all well and maybe in line for a vaccination. Rob’s mum has had hers which pleases us as she has been stoical despite the extreme restriction the virus has placed on her and can now look forward to a little more freedom. Each day that passes takes us a day nearer the end of this global ordeal.
Last Voyage South
On the 22nd the Port Quarantine Officer warmly confirmed we could venture ashore at the end of our quarantine period the next day. He is a kind man who often phoned us when we were ill just to see how we were and to offer any assistance we might need. Here in South Africa, we have found the local officials to be without exception kind, attentive and thoughtful.
The photos were taken on that first contact with the Yacht Club when we were just so relieved and grateful that we had survived Covid. Yet another adventure on our circumnavigation.
The day was beautiful and warm and sunny and we did five water runs with the 25 ltr container. Rob rowed and I winched the container on board using a masthead halyard onto a mast winch, and it didn’t get any easier! We chatted with family and heard from Bron’s brother Brian in CT that they have the red carpet all ready to roll out! So, a welcome awaits us there which is nice.
“The only way we knew you were still alive was when you hung the washing out!” Conrad told Rob when he was ashore recently on one of our ‘get fit and filled up’ water runs. He and his daughters Anna and Willow took us up to the local SuperSpar yesterday so we could shop while they did the same. So now we have enough fresh food to get us around to Cape Town.
Looking daily at the Windy App we had thought that there was no weather window for this week and we have given up on the idea of a four-day window to get right around to CT in one hop. Then Des emailed and pointed out the 24-hour window starting tomorrow, which will let us move on to Port Elizabeth, 130 miles south from here. Then there will be another window around Tuesday to get us to an anchoring spot in Mossel Bay just two days from CT with Cape Agulhas (the most southerly) and the Cape of Good Hope (the most south westerly) points on the African coast in between.
So, we have filed our flight plan with Conrad and John at Port Elizabeth and he has sent it to the Port Authority here and at PE. These flight plans may seem tedious to some but they are to give the rescue authorities an immediate identification of any craft that is in trouble and needs rescuing on this wild stretch of coastline. Besides they seem to get simpler to fill in the further we go.
Our friends on Mirabella are setting off from CT at the same time as we leave here tomorrow. They are heading 3,400 miles NW to Cabedelo in Brazil so naturally we wished them a safe passage. In fact, the weather in the South Atlantic looks perfect for them with 15 – 20 knot SE winds and a current to help.
So yesterday, with the good news we could move on tomorrow tucked under our belts, I set about cooking a meal to last for three evenings, with variations of course, and then made a batch of wholemeal scones just because I felt like it and because we have some nice squirty cream and strawberry jam. Our neighbours, Mary and John, from Bee Haven, came aboard in the afternoon for an English Cream Tea, without the clotted bit. We sat opposite them in the saloon, so we did practice social distancing and enjoyed three hours of happy discourse before they left long before the evening curfew of 9.00 o’clock. Even though we have had the virus and now should have antibodies to last us around five months, we do not rule out the possibility of catching it again.
It is raining today and this is forecast to continue right into tomorrow. We should pick up the last of the Agulhas Current for the first 30 to 60 miles before it heads south and then south east across the Indian Ocean while we head in the opposite direction, and at least the rain will ease the bird poo off Zoonie’s decks.
Dear Readers,
I wanted to get these photos off to you before we leave Port Elizabeth today at midday for the 430-mile passage to Cape Town. We have had just a long weekend in this pleasant place, with its busy fishing and shipping activities and the much enjoyed watching the weekend sailing of the other yachts and their crews.
I will write a fuller blog in a few days as weather and waves permit.
With best wishes from two Covid recoverees! and Zoonie.