Life at the Royal Cape

I've been writing so much about Cape Town, that I've neglected to fill you in on life here at the Royal Cape Yacht Club. Each marina and yacht club is different. Each place we berth seems to have its own flavor and its own persona. Do you recollect the marina in Kettering, Tasmania? Though we remember our time there fondly, there was the ick factor issue to contend with. Well, that's not Royal Cape. Uh, uh … this is a classy, albeit somewhat dated, yacht club/marina. We alternately enjoy it and dislike it.

The Royal Cape Yacht Club was founded in 1907 as the Table Bay Yacht Club. It changed its name to Cape Yacht Club in 1914 and received its “Royal Charter” from the Crown to become the Royal Cape Yacht Club shortly thereafter. It's probably the most prestigious yacht club in South Africa. Dubbed “The Tavern of the Seas”, it currently boasts nearly 3,000 members. It hosts the bi-annual Cape 2 Rio Race and is a stopover port for the Volvo Oceans Race (aka Whitbread Round the World Race) and the Velux 5 Oceans Race (aka Around Alone). Of course, it holds special significance for us since we completed our circumnavigation here.

As a visiting yacht, we are the requisite 100 miles away from the clubhouse. I counted … it's actually a circuitous 412-step walk from Cups to the clubhouse toilets/showers. The piers are old and rickety, like many we've seen. They're probably 1970s-80s vintage, built when the club moved to its current location inside the Duncan Docks. The dock planks are uneven and oddly spaced and sometimes quite slippery. They flex and creak and moan when you step on them. The finger piers are wobbly and much  too short for today's bigger sailboats. Consequently, Cups' stern protrudes significantly into the waterway and the turning room between docks is quite limited.

We have found the members to be cordial, but not overly friendly. We've made a few friends here, but not nearly as many as we've had in the past at other yacht clubs like Mandurah, Western Australia, for instance. We've discussed this and think it's probably due to the fact that hundreds of foreign yachts visit Cape Town and not many get to Mandurah. A visiting yacht is not novel here. That said, they did include a small blurb on us and other visiting yachts in their weekly newsletter and the folks in the office were extremely helpful when we were trying to locate our missing package.

The facilities and amenities at the yacht club are good, but not glitzy. They've just completed a renovation of the Ladies' shower and toilets which is nice, but there are only two showers compared to about 12 in the Mens' room. Like many yacht clubs, RCYC was  a “Men's Only” club, for years and some relics of that day still persist like the Men's and Ladies bars, for instance. “The yacht club has two main bars, the traditional “Men’s” bar and the “Ladies” bar. The Men’s Bar provides the club with memories of years gone by set with its collection of plaques, memorabilia and photos of famous boats from yesteryear. The Ladies Bar is situated in the water side of the club and overlooks the marina for that soft and tranquil setting.” The restaurant, bars and patio have a generous open hours schedule. The food is adequate and the prices are reasonable.

The club is quite active.  Beyond competitive racing, there always seems to be something going on. We attended a Jazz on Deck brunch one Sunday afternoon and though Afro-Brazilian jazz (samba, bossa nova) is not our favorite, it was an enjoyable way to spend the day.

The neighborhood surrounding the yacht club is a working port with a commercial boatyard and loading docks. The water at our end of the marina is dirty, with lots of floating debris, detritus and oil slicks. Big wakes are generated from large fishing boats coming and going day and night. There's banging and clanking from the boatyard works as well as from freighters tying up and unloading not far away. Lots of dust and grime is generated and seems to find its way to Cups' deck and cockpit like a magnet. Depending on what is being offloaded, we get strong whiffs of fish meal and other undesirable odors.

We're not complaining, just giving a slice of life in the 'hood … which isn't all that bad. Views of Table Mountain from Nine of Cups' deck make up for any and all other shortcomings!

Feeling Like Winter in Cape Town

Whenever I think of South Africa, cold and winter do not come to mind. Instead, I think hot, dry deserts or humid, sultry days with a blazing ball of African sun beating down. I don't think cold. So it's with regret I have to tell you that it's starting to feel like winter in Cape Town. Some locals have told us that there is no autumn here. There is no easing into it. But we have felt a gradual change over the past few weeks and it's getting chilly. On our trip to the Cape Winelands, we noticed  the vines and leaves were changing color. Nothing like a Vermont autumn, but beautiful nonetheless.

I've found myself wearing jeans lately and long sleeve shirts. I'm wearing shoes AND socks. I've dug out my fleeces. Even David, who seems to have a built-in furnace, is wearing a sweatshirt. Typical winter temps here reach an average high of 17C (63F ) and dip to 8C ( 45F) on June, July and August nights. I still find it difficult to think of August as the coldest month of the year. Rainy days are more common with as much as 3-4” average rainfall per month in the winter. The prevailing winds change from the southeast Cape Doctor to northwest gales as Atlantic cold fronts move in. We're told the winters are fairly mild with the following caveat: “ … spectacular storms are not uncommon in the winter months, earning the region the nickname Cape of Storms.” I nicked a picture of a Cape Town winter storm to share with you. Wow!

Capetonians call it the “green season”. Winter is the time the Western Cape turns from dry and brown to  lush and verdant. Flowers bloom profusely. Grapevines begin to come alive after a dormant period. Trees blossom and leaf out. We're told it's possible to experience all four seasons in one day … cold and rain in the early morning, warm and dry by afternoon. The drastic weather changes are not so different than what we've experienced in Colorado.

Cape Town proper does not get snow, but hail and sleet have occurred in the past. Capetonians head inland to higher latitudes to experience a bit of snow. That's okay with me … shoveling the deck is not something we look forward to. I remember a snowball fight aboard Cups in Tierra del Fuego … not my idea of a good time when the inside temp was pretty close to the outside temp. Brrrr!

We've dug out the flannel sheets and blankets for the bed. It's downright cold during the nights. The humidity has increased significantly, making mornings raw. We sometimes see our breath on our way to the clubhouse in the mornings. One positive … the fridge isn't working as hard nowadays as it did in Durban. I know a mid-40F temp doesn't sound cold to Wisconsonians or New Englanders, but then you have central heat or fireplaces to keep you warm. Nine of Cups has no heat, other than a tiny electric heater which might take off the chill, but is only usable when we're on shore power or running the engine. Trust me, a raw, cold 40 degree morning chills you to the bone.

The days are getting shorter. The austral winter solstice is June 21st and it's quickly creeping up on us. Our 0430 sunrises in January are closer to 0730 now and the sun sets at 1800 … only 10-1/2  hours of daylight and diminishing by the minute.

Condensation collects on the portlights and hatches. Dew drips off the lifelines. Cups' white deck is wet each morning and collects the dust and grime of the harbor, rendering it a constant dirty grey. The fog has sometimes been intense … the pea soup variety … misting us as we try to work on deck. We've seen more rain in the past few days than in all our time in South Africa combined. It may be the “green” season, but it's also the “grey sky” season for the next few months. On the brighter side, the resulting rainbows are definitely a bonus.

When you can't move the furniture...

When I was a little kid, my mom adhered to the Spring/Fall housecleaning ritual and no one in the family was exempt from the work that it entailed. Windows were washed, floors were scrubbed and waxed, closets cleaned out, winter or summer clothes stored away and the opposite season clothes brought out. When everything was spic and span, my mom would re-arrange all the furniture. It was her way of signifying all was clean and ready for the new season. My Dad always bumped into things on his way to the bathroom during the night for the first week or so. I remember hearing him curse under his breath.

What does this have to do with Nine of Cups? Well, moving furniture isn't an option aboard Cups … the furniture is all fixed in place. So how does one signify that all is clean and ready for a new passage or a new cruising season? Easy … I change the decorations on the wall and make new pillow covers. I tend to buy local print fabric wherever we go and, truth be told, sometimes it piles up though I have the best intentions of using it … for something or other … a world quilt, maybe? I've purchased fabric here in South Africa … the shweshwe, remember? However, it wasn't the right color for the saloon now that we have new upholstery. Believe it or not, finding Africa print fabric in Africa, other than the Big 5 motif, zebra stripes or leopard spots, is difficult. I finally found some that I liked in ecru with a varied pattern in dark red of protea (the national flower) and weavers and sunbirds and postmarks and ostrich feathers and passport stamps … all very South African and quite distinctive. It was time for new pillow covers. I even purchased new fiberfill pillow inserts this time.

The last time I covered pillows, I used fabric purchased in Fiji, so this project is long overdue. Covering a pillow is a pretty easy process. I measure the fabric against the pillow insert, allowing for a 1/2” seam. If there's a pattern, make sure you place it where you'd like it on the pillow. If the fabric is wide enough, I use the fabric fold at the top side, so it doesn't need stitching. I sew up two sides, stuff the pillow filler inside and hand stitch the last open side. I used to sew in zippers, but now I don't bother. Lazy me … I'd rather re-cover the pillows than wash the old ones. I'm sure Mom wouldn't approve.

This takes much less energy than moving the furniture, don't you think?   AND David doesn't trip over anything during the night … any more than usual.