In the News...

Sometimes we're so out of the loop when it comes to world events and even local events. We don't have a television (haven't had one for 15 years, in fact) and we don't often listen to the radio. News filters in via e-mails from family and friends (did you hear ... that so and so died? Or about the snowstorm in Boston or the hurricane in the Carolinas?) and what we see on the newspaper headlines as we walk into town (Poodle Saves Toddler from Croc) or what we pick up on the internet … when we have internet. Being in port, we're a bit more attuned to what's going on. Here's a sample of local news for you.

ZUMA'S SALARY INCREASE APPROVED

Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa, has just received a 5% salary increase of just over R130,000, meaning he’ll now be earning over R2.7 million a year (about USD$225,000). The ministers and members of Parliament also received increases and the increases were opposed by the opposition parties. By comparison,  Barack Obama makes $400K/year, plus expenses, of course. The last US Presidential salary increase was in 1999. The Queen of England also got a 5% “sovereign grant” increase this year. She gets a whopping £37.9million from the sovereign grant fund, in addition to the privy purse estimated at about £12.9million. I make no comment on whether increases are justified, I just want to say that politicians worldwide do tend to take care of themselves.

NEW VISA RULES HAVE HURT TICKET SALES TO SA

“JOHANNESBURG - The South African Tourism Services Association (SATSA) says new data from the International Air Travel Association shows ticket sales to South Africa were down by 20 percent year on the year in May and are down 32 percent year on the year for June. It’s also predicted that ticket sales for July will be 28 percent down.” We know about difficulties in renewing visitor permits or getting temporary visas first hand. Once again … no comment on this other than the more difficult you make it for visitors, the fewer visitors you'll have. There are so many other places in the world to go. Duh!

SA OFFICALS ACCUSED OF BRIBING FIFA

FOR 2010 WORLD CUP

Here's one story: “South Africa has denied paying a $10m bribe to secure the 2010 World Cup, in the wake of a US inquiry into corruption at world football body FIFA.” Here's a counter argument: “Chuck Blazer has admitted in court he conspired with fellow FIFA executives to accept bribes during the process to choose hosts for the 1998 and 2010 Soccer World Cups.”

And in local news …

CHAPPIES CLOSED FOR WEEKEND

“Chappies (Chapman's Peak Drive)will remain closed this weekend. Clearing the road of mud is going well but lots of work to be done to clear the catchment fences. Please be patient while we make the drive safe for all road users.” We were planning to drive this scenic route recently and only found out it was closed due to mudslides when we approached the gate. Sigh!

CAPE TOWN LP SUPPLY UNSTABLE

When David went to fill the propane tanks the other day, there was a long, long line. Why? It seems there's a propane shortage in Cape Town and perhaps throughout the country. Woodstock Gas, our local vendor, seems to be one of the few suppliers with any LP left and they were dispensing only 5kg per customer in order to serve as many customers as possible. They had no idea when a new shipment of LP would arrive. Glad our tanks are full. Economists here also warn of petrol and diesel shortages in the near future. And then, of course, there's load shedding …

And the most important news of all …

Our sail is scheduled for on-time delivery

The Blue View - Communicating with Hand Signals

When we first started cruising, one of the things we discovered was that there was a frequent need to communicate with each other at a distance. This happened most frequently when we were dropping or raising the anchor, but also occurred when I went up the mast or when one of us was positioned at the bow trying to direct us through a narrow channel, or around hazards.

In the early days, the typical procedure for raising anchor was for Marcie to go forward to the bow and operate the windlass while I maneuvered Nine of Cups. It takes a little teamwork to get the anchor up, especially when we are in a crowded anchorage and the wind is blowing. The wind causes the chain to be taut, which in turns makes the windlass work harder. I try to motor slowly in the direction of the anchor to take the tension off the chain while Marcie brings in the slack. When all the slack chain has been taken in and we are directly over the anchor, depending on the bottom type, it sometimes takes some finesse to break the anchor free. When it does finally break free, I need to hold position while Marcie brings the anchor up enough to ensure we don't snag it on anything - like someone else's anchor rode or a more shallow spot. Once she has the anchor in view, I can begin maneuvering around the other boats while Marcie secures the anchor. During this process, Marcie may need me to stop while she knocks the pile of chain down or to clean the chain of mud, kelp or seaweed.

Through it all, Marcie and I need to communicate quite a bit of information. She needs to tell me when to motor forward, how fast and in what direction. She needs to tell me when to stop, when the anchor has broken free, and when it is in view. Our initial method of communicating was by shouting at each other. When the wind was blowing, the engine was on, and Marcie was facing away from me, she needed to shout REALLY LOUDLY for me to hear her. Even then, I didn't always hear what she said, so I would have to yell into the wind as LOUDLY as I could, asking her to repeat what she said. There are a whole number of reasons why this wasn't ideal. The number one reason is that when we were yelling at each other, even when we started out with the best of intentions, we both got irritated and then angry. Even when things did go well, we spent the next few hours being snippy with each other. The next biggest reason was that voices really carry over the water. Even if we couldn't understand what the other was saying, everyone else within a half mile could hear us yelling at each other. Sometimes, this would be a source of amusement for the other yachties, but more often I'm sure it was quite irritating, especially when we were trying to leave quietly at the break of dawn.

We thought about getting small portable radios or one of the wireless intercom systems. But in the end, we decided to devise our own system of hand signals for communicating with each other. We needed to be able to communicate each command using only one hand, and each signal must be clearly discernible to the other at a fair distance. These are the hand signals we use:

There have been a number of times when one of us was on the bow or part way up the mast to improve visibility while maneuvering around hazards. The atolls in the South Pacific which were often strewn with numerous uncharted coral heads are an example. We use all the same hand signals, but added one more to the list:

We have a few other hand signals we use occasionally that aren't actually documented. They translate roughly to the following:

“Uhh – sweetie, I think you may not have recognized my last 6 signals and you will be embarrassed to know that you have just run over the mooring ball...”

or, “Actually honey, I did see your last 6 hand signals, and while I found your last hand gesture quite endearing, you may not have noticed that the wind has piped up just a skosh ...”

and my favorite, “That was quite a humorous response, love. While pondering it, I thought of a new storage location for the boathook I'm holding...”