Waiting for a Weather Window

We've had several delays in leaving ports before, some much akin to our delays in leaving Durban. We had repairs to make, but South Africa closes down around the holidays for a couple of weeks, so things weren't as streamlined as we'd hoped. We planned to leave in mid-January, but our sails weren't finished, nor was our bimini or dodger … nor the saloon upholstery. David was still working on several “A-list” projects subsequent to my returning from the States with boat parts. We took off for a land trip and returned.

Then February rolled around. The new staysail was complete and the Yankee and jib were repaired, but the bimini and dodger were still not finished, although they were close to completion. Brennan and Hannah visited for a couple of days, then the bimini and dodger were done at last and we were ready to take off. Alas … no weather windows. Looking at pilots and Jimmy Cornell's World Cruising Routes, January through March are the best times of the year to make the transit from Durban to Cape Town. Patience is a virtue when it comes to waiting for weather windows. We've said it many times before and at the moment, we were practicing it … waiting for a good window to leave Durban. In fact, it seems like we've been waiting forever, but the windows that have appeared have been elusive and much too short. At last, however, our patience was rewarded with a short, but adequate window to sail from Durban as far as Port Elizabeth, about 390 nm away. We checked the forecasts religiously and waited hopefully . At last … a real window appeared and then it was high-stress rush, rush, rush.

We hurriedly provisioned. A resident cruising friend took us to Liberty Liquors and Mozzie's Butchery and the biggest Pic'n'Pay hyper-supermarket we've ever seen. We loaded up on everything we'd need and we were ready to go. We don't have much time left on our visas, so we provisioned as if we were heading across the Atlantic.

We paid up at the marina and checked out of Durban port. In South Africa, it is necessary to check out of and into every port … not so different from a few South American countries, actually. This is a saga to be told another day.

We stopped in quickly at Tony Herrick's new shop and picked up a copy of his South African Cruising Notes, something we'd planned on doing much earlier, but forgot till the last minute. Tony is a local cruising guru with lots of sailing experience and several cruising guides under his belt. He's also the SSCA Cruising Station Host, and he took the time to share his knowledge of the passage from Durban to Cape own with us.

Five boats are scheduled to leave with this window, all hoping that the window doesn't disappear with the morning's weather forecast or worse yet,  mid-route. We'll see how it goes. Tune in tomorrow for “Checking Out is Hard to Do”, a popular cruiser's lament in Durban.

What's in a Name?

7 things to think about when naming a boat

Wandering along the piers in the marina, we were wondering about the names of some of the boats. Some are obviously personal like Miss Victoria or the Lady J. Some reflect the intended use of the boat like fishing boats named Reel It In or Hooked. Then there are the foreign names that sound exotic like Bonita or Ciao Bella, which would lose a bit in translation. A boat named Pretty or Hi, Beautiful, doesn't sound quite as exotic. Then there are those folks that like to name their boats after fictional characters like Hobbit, Ivanhoe, Spartacus or Zazu. Our discussion gave rise to some considerations when choosing a boat name.

1. Does the name suit you and the boat?

Some names are just not good for boats. Names like Perfidious (untrustworthy?) or Titanic, for instance, just don't seem appropriate. We think of Nine of Cups as a part of our own persona and the meaning of her name, “dreams realized”, reflects our feelings about sailing around the world. We could only speculate about the boats named Skitzo, Fatso and Bandit.

2. Is the name too common?

Some names are very common for boats. Do a search to see how many other boats have the same name as the one you're thinking about. It's preferable to be unique without being too weird or cutesy. In some countries, two boats are not allowed to have the same name and therefore, 1, 2, 3, etc. is used after the name or the home port is added to distinguish it from others. Waverunner II of Portsmouth, for instance. It seems that any boat name with sea, wave, dream or wind in it is pretty much overused.

3. Is the name too cutesy?

Some folks go out of their way to be cute when naming their boat, but remember you're going to have to live with the name for a long time. Clever is good; cutesy, not so much. Some examples we saw recently that were on the cutesy side: Reely Nauti and Fanta-Sea

4. If you're planning to go abroad, how does the name translate into another language?

We had friends who named their boat “Tata”. For them, this meant goodbye, as in tata for now (TTFN). To others it means “thanks”. It's also a slang for breasts in Spanish. They got a few snickers when they pulled into Central American ports. You might remember the story about Ford Motors naming a car “Nova” which translated to “no-go” in Spanish or the perfume named “Night Wind” which means fart in some places. Make sure the boat name translates well into other languages and cultures if you intend to travel to foreign ports.

5. Is the name easy to say and is it easily understood on the radio?

May Day, Help Me, and Goin' Down are not good choices for obvious reasons. We do have problems with Nine of Cups on occasion. We've been called Cup of Nines and Nine of Clubs among other things.

6. Is it easy to spell?

Long names are an issue when you're spelling the name over the radio for the Coast Guard, for instance. If you travel abroad, you will be spelling it frequently using the phonetic alphabet. Nine of Cups gets to be a bit tedious when spelling it out. November, India, November, Echo (new word) Oscar, Foxtrot (new word) Charlie,Uniform, Papa, Sierra Most people want to quit after “NINE”.  The marina winner in this category is Flying Spaghetti Monster.

7. Are you superstitious?

If you're the least bit superstitious, as many sailors are, you'll want to do a little research about naming your boat and the ceremony involved. If you're changing the name of your boat, then you're in for a de-naming and a re-naming ceremony in order to ensure that you and your boat remain in Neptune's good graces.

Boston and Durban - Working Together

On this side of the world … While David's working hard on the boat in South Africa, it hasn't been all fun and games here in Boston, although what I'm doing definitely beats polishing stainless. Apart from socializing with my sister and friends, my jobs have been to write and publish the Christmas newsletter, get Christmas cards and gifts sent out to family and, the hardest part of all, gather together boat parts and bits to transport back to Africa. This is not always as easy as you might think.

In many cases, David has specified and ordered parts online and had them delivered. I just have to accept them, make sure they're what was ordered and figure out a way to get them all packed into two duffel bags and still have room for my underwear. Despite the fact I have internet and a car at my disposal, it's been hard locating some of the parts and quite time-consuming.

A “for instance”? An o-ring for the windlass. We purchased a windlass back in August in Australia, if you'll remember. Evidently an o-ring was not seated properly when we received it and got squished and subsequently broke after a couple of uses. We had purchased a repair kit ($150) which included one o-ring among other bits, but now we've used it and wanted a spare. Well, they're not to be found. I've gone to plumbing supply stores, hardware stores, Home Depot, Lowe's. I'm still on the prowl, but it's been a challenge. In the meantime, the clock is ticking and the duffels are quickly filling up.

On the other side of the world ...

Here in Durban, I have been under the gun doing a lot of time critical stuff. There are many very skilled people here – machinists, sailmakers, canvas fabricators and other tradesmen. In addition, the rand is soft against the dollar right now, and we are finding the cost of getting things done is quite reasonable, especially compared to what things cost in Australia. So, the to-do list is longer than just the needed repairs. We are getting a new staysail, new bimini and dodger, and perhaps new upholstery below.  I also plan to attach a generator to the prop shaft so we can generate power as we sail. This has been on my list for a long time, and I now have the opportunity to get the necessary brackets and fixtures made.

A complication is that most of the local businesses and their suppliers close shop over the Christmas holidays, more or less from Dec 15th to as late as Jan 10th. Many of the smaller businesses and the individual tradesmen don't all take such long vacations, but they may not be able to get the materials they need during this period. So I have been working at getting drawings made and parts on order before the summer holiday begins.

I also need to get the parts on order for Marcie to bring back. Everything needs to be received by Dec 24th, and I don't want to wait until the last minute and have to pay for expedited shipping.

In between these things, I've been knocking off a few items on the repairs list... the anchor shaft has been straightened, most of the whisker pole repairs are done (I'm waiting on fabrication of a part), the alarm/indicator panel is done, the jib halyard has been replaced, as well as a host of smaller tasks.

I also drank my last bottle of home-brewed beer last night. Fortunately, I had enough ingredients for one more batch, and it is brewing as I write. It will be ready for bottling in a few more days and drinkable in another week or so, but in the meantime, the yacht club bar is only a short walk away where the ambiance is pleasant, the yachties friendly and the beer is cheap.