A Sea Trial in Table Bay

With so many repairs, changes and maintenance projects having been completed lately on Nine of Cups, we thought it might be prudent to take her for a trial run out in Table Bay. She hadn't been out of her berth in awhile and needed some exercise, plus the crew had to relearn how to sail again. The day was sunny and mild, the wind was 10 – 12 knots and the bay was shining and brilliant. David had compiled a fairly comprehensive list of items and systems to check in order to avoid any more surprises when we finally do depart next week. We had already run into a problem with the mainsail repairs before leaving the dock. We'd sent it over to the sail loft for a good once-over and repair of chafe on the batten pockets. It was repaired and returned with the new sail delivery. As we were putting it back up and replacing the battens, we noted that though selective repairs had been made, there was still considerable chafe and what repairs were made were shoddy workmanship … adhesive was coming apart and the stitching was already pulling out. This did not bode well.

We carefully checked out the forward and reverse gears while still in the berth. It was backing out of this berth seven years ago that the gear shift handle broke off in David's hand. We managed to avoid catastrophe, but it was an adrenaline rush we were hoping to avoid duplicating. As we backed out of Berth B25 into the fairway, we could feel a touch of exuberance rise in ourselves. We were grinning … we were getting closer to departure. Out in the bay, the day was cold, but lovely. We slowly and methodically worked our way through the list, while at the same time enjoying being out on the water again. It was a weekday, but there were still a few other boats out enjoying the day.

One item on the checklist was the heater. When we were in the higher latitudes in the past, David had installed a bus heater that worked off the engine. The hot air was routed through old A/C vents and kept the saloon quite comfy at least when we were motoring. He'd disconnected it in the warmer climates, but thought it might be reasonable to hook it up again. In doing so, he noted some hoses that needed replacing. One thing led to another, and he felt it might be good to check out the system and make sure we were indeed getting heat and there were no leaks. All was good and when the engine got up to temperature, the saloon was toasty.

Checking out the electronics was high on the list. Autopilot, gauges, chartplotter, wind instruments, , depth, GPS … everything seemed to be in working order except speed through water which will need some coaxing. The alternator was charging the batteries properly.

The furler foil seemed to be just fine and the new rigging and tune-up looked good. The sail was stiff from its newness, but deployed well and furled up just fine.

We didn't go far or for very long, just enough to feel comfortable that Cups was in fine fit. We're still waiting on the repaired yankee and a rush-job on a proper repair of the mainsail. There are still several small tasks and chores to get done plus the usual laundry and provisioning (again), but we're hopeful we'll be off with the next weather window within a week.

Cups' New Sail

Baby's got new shoes and Cups has got a new sail! Winston and the Ullman Sail crew came through and delivered our new foresail … earlier than promised. Under-promise … over-deliver … works every time. We were originally quoted 3+ weeks, but Winston fit us into another less-hurried sailor's slot (thank you, Berserk), and babysat our sail through the entire fabrication process. He kept us in the loop all the way … plan approval, cutting, seaming, UV, hardware, QC.

We were hoping we'd see the sail by early next week, but with Winston's constant updates, we were optimistic we'd see it even sooner than the original estimate. This would give us time to check it out and still not have to rush to meet our extended visitor permit expiration date. When he called to schedule the delivery and fitting, we were thrilled. “Shall we pay the balance before the delivery?”, we queried. “Wait, till the sail is up and you're happy. Then we'll tend to the final payment.” Great!

We had also sent our mainsail over to Ullman for a quick once-over. We'd inspected it ourselves, but thought as long as they were fabricating a new sail for us, it wouldn't hurt to have the professionals check it out. They reported that the main was in fine condition, except a wee bit of chafe on the batten pockets … easily remedied.

The morning was clear and calm when Winston arrived with the sails. He and an assistant attached the new yankee and hoisted it up the furler. It was cut a skosh higher than the last sail to clear the bow pulpit rail, something that had irritated us about the last sail. It looked great, but was quite a bit larger than we imagined it would be. It was classified as a #2 yankee, but really it was a replacement for our old jib, rather than a replacement for the yankee, as we expected. Where did the communications go wrong?

Our new staysail, fabricated for us by Ullman in Durban, was exactly what we had ordered and has performed well over the 800 miles from Durban to Cape Town. In all deference to Ullman, I guess we should have known the exact measurements of the old yankee … what we thought we ordered. We had sent the yankee to them and asked for a quote on both the repair, as well as the fabrication of a new sail, a replacement with a couple of minor mods. They came to measure and evidently disregarded the existing sail measurements in favor of what they thought we wanted. Now what?

Well, we'll keep the new sail, of course, and get rid of the old jib. In the meantime, the old yankee is back at the sail loft for a rush repair. The checkout clock is ticking once again. Sigh! There's never a dull  moment on this boat.

Celebrating Portugal Day in South Africa

The Portuguese have played a significant role in the European exploration of South Africa. Vasco da Gama, Bartholomeu Dias, Pedro de Ataide, João da Nova, Antonio de Saldanha were all Portuguese navigators and sailors during the Great Age of Sail and Discovery. They've left their mark throughout South Africa in the form of statues, monuments, place names and even museums … like the Dias Museum in Mosselbaai.

According to Wiki, Dia de Portugal is celebrated annually on June 10th as an official national holiday in Portugal. The date commemorates the death of Portugal's national literary icon, Luis de Camões, who died on 10 June 1580. Camões wrote The Lusiads, an epic poem celebrating the rich history and achievements of the Portuguese, especially during the 15th century. It has become symbolic of Portuguese pride and nationalism. So when local friends, Jannie and Christine asked if we'd like to join them aboard Radiance for a Portugal Day pursuit race in Table Bay, we were thrilled. What better way to celebrate the Portuguese heritage and influence in South Africa than take to the sea?

The morning was cool and foggy and at 10:30am, I wasn't holding out much hope for a clear sailing day. We couldn't even see Radiance berthed on the next pier across the way. Then voilá … as it happens so often in Cape Town,  a brilliant sun broke through the mist and fog, the sky turned blue in a matter of minutes and the day turned perfect … cold, but clear. It seemed odd heading out of the harbor leaving Cups behind.

We had a crew of eight aboard, all with varying degrees of sailing experience and some, like us, with no racing experience at all. No matter … it was a fun race with over 50 boats participating.

We learned that a pursuit race had staggered start times and Radiance was scheduled to cross the start line at 12:22. Michele and Christine kept track of the time as we approached the line.

Throughout the day, the weather alternated between brilliant sun and dense fog. The wind piped up to 15-20 knots and then died to 3 knots. We tacked frequently as the fickle wind shifted.

The 13nm course took us into Table Bay with a loop around South Lion's Paw, a rock said to resemble the paw of the famous Lion's Head Peak. There's a North Paw as well and both are reportedly good dive sites. We were just interested in getting around the South Paw.

As we neared the rock, the wind left us and we were sailing perilously close.  Since we were nowhere close to being competitive in the race, Jannie decided to retire us and kicked on the engine. The engine cranked right up, but we made no headway. A quick inspection indicated the Morse cable was not shifting the gearbox. Jannie was able to put it in gear manually from the engine room, got back to the helm, and we were soon heading back to the Royal Cape. Beyond the problem with the gear box, we were all afraid the red wine would be gone by the time we got back to the clubhouse!

As we approached Radiance's berth, David headed into the engine room to shift manually between forward and reverse gears on Jannie's command. The wind picked up at the wrong moment and there was an adrenaline rush as we neared one boat and fended off, reversed closely to another boat and fended off and Jannie finally managed to maneuver us into the berth. No harm … no foul. With Radiance snug in her berth, we tidied her up and all headed to the clubhouse where a post-race party was well under way.

I'm happy to report there was indeed red wine available for a cold, thirsty, hungry crew. A hot Portuguese soup and Portuguese rolls were being served followed by a seafood and rice dish … and  red wine, of course.

We watched as the Portugal Day trophy was being awarded, a rather large cup indeed. Portuguese music was playing and dancers in traditional dress entertained a merry crowd.

All in all, a fun, enjoyable day with new friends. Who could ask for more?