Across False Bay

Pringle Bay to Simon's Town

After a very blustery, noisy, 35-knot kind of night, we waited until dawn to leave Pringle Bay. We had some problems getting the anchor down, so it followed we'd have problems getting it back up. It was really, really stuck. With persistence and the help of the engine and the helmsman, I finally signalled “I can see it” in anchor-speak and we headed out of the bay, the notch still providing runaway freight train bullets of wind to speed us on our way. We raised only the staysail and waited to see what the wind would really do. In the meantime, despite the wind, the sky was clear and the sun coming up behind the mountains was astonishingly beautiful. At one point, it looked as if one of the peaks was erupting in volcanic fire.

Once away from the shore, we thought we'd lose the wind, but we didn't and it came from all directions  in big spurts. 8 knots SE, 35 knots E, 10 knots W, 40 knots NE. A 47-knot gust from the SE had us heeled to the starboard gunwale, but it quickly passed and we were moseying along at 3 knots again, too lazy to put up the main for so little wind and such a short sail. We cinched in the staysail to minimize the rock and turned on the iron jenny. The forecast indicated the lightest winds for the day would be before Noon. It was only a 20 mile sail and arriving in the calm after the previous night's bluster was very appealing.

Then the dolphins appeared, which of course, added some pizzazz to the morning after a weary night. They were everywhere. Long-beaked common dolphins were under, around and beside Nine of Cups in big numbers and they were here to play. We counted a dozen or more at one point and then more appeared and then more surfed in on the following waves. They put on quite a good show and kept us occupied for most of our short passage across the bay.

We spotted Simon's Town's outer breakwater where a South African naval ship was just heading out of the navy base assisted by a tug. We entered into the inner harbor and circled for awhile, getting all our lines and fenders ready for a port-side marina tie-up. We'd called in advance and the efficient Simon's Town marina had e-mailed us the layout of the marina and our berth number, so we knew where we were heading. We were surprised to see our friend's catamaran, Leu Cat, tied to an outer berth. A submarine was anchored off the port-side wharf.

The yacht basin was calm, but tight on space. We made our way slowly to our berth, passing Kittiwake, another friend's boat, along the way. A young dockman was waiting to help with our lines. What a luxury! We made fast to the dock. All tied up and tidied up, I put on the kettle for a cuppa. We sat in the cockpit on a warm, sunny South African morning and sipped our tea/coffee and though tired, we planned our day: Check-in with the marina and False Bay Yacht Club, hot showers and lunch at Bertha's, a bustling seaside restaurant we could see on the wharf. And then maybe, a nap!

It doesn't escape us that this is Easter Sunday. It's an Autumn holiday south of the Equator, signaling winter ahead, not the rebirth of Spring. Kind of hard to get your arms around the seasonal differences sometimes, but don't fret, there are chocolate bunnies galore in all the shops. Happy Easter!

Easter

 

Easter has always been a fun holiday in our family. As a kid, growing up in Massachusetts, I remember getting a new Easter dress, hat and shoes. Many times there was still snow on the ground. We went to church and then came home for a ham dinner with the grandparents. Easter baskets were filled with hollow chocolate bunnies and Peeps, those disgusting, bright yellow, marshmallow chicks which now, I find, come in any number of neon, unnatural chick colors.

With our own kids, Easter was more of a “welcome Spring” holiday than a religious event. We dyed and decorated eggs. Casey and I usually made a large 3-D lamb-shaped cake frosted white and covered in coconut. The two boys found great joy in leaving a trail of black jellybeans near the lamb's butt ... the ultimate gross joke on Mom. Hee, hee, hee. Of course, they forgot I was the one who bought the black jelly beans in the first place.

The Easter Bunny hid candy treats and plastic eggs all over the house and the yard. The kids used their baskets to collect all the booty. As they got older, the egg hunt became more of a scavenger hunt with clues to follow and riddles to solve and monetary treats as well as confectionery ones.

In Australia, it's the Easter Bilby, not rabbit, that brings all the goodies. The rabbit-eared bilby really does look bunny-ish, although Lord knows, there are plenty of rabbits in Australia, too, though they're not native.

So now, fast track to being in New England for Easter. I was here last year, as a matter of fact, and the whole family, all adults now, spent the morning coloring and decorating eggs. I thought it would make sense to try that again this year with Mom, Lin and family.

We'll have lots of flowers … tulips, lilies, alstroemeria, daffodils, colored Easter eggs, a bit of chocolate and generally a celebration of Spring and family. The bad part? David is not with us. He's celebrating with the refrig/freezer in Adelaide. Hopefully, he'll be in Boston with us soon.

It makes no difference if you're celebrating Easter or Passover or the coming of Spring (or autumn, if you're down under). In my book, it's the opportunity to celebrate that counts. Carpe diem … every single diem.

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

Crayola Day

Crayolas were first introduced in 1903. Remember getting a new box of crayons as a kid? No broken tips. All those wonderful colors. That waxy smell. Check out the Crayola website for some fun things to do and then checkWiki for a list of colors...WOW!

Bunsen Burner Day

Remember chemistry class? This day celebrates the invention of the Bunsen Burner by German chemist Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen. Do not melt your crayons!

Easter Sunday

Put on your Easter Bonnet and join the Easter Parade. Go to church, celebrate Spring, see what the Easter Bunny brought or participate in an egg hunt. Of course, if you're in Australia, you'll be checking to see what the Easter Bilby brought!