Simon's Town was our base for a month do power through pre-Atlantic preparations. There were rounds of maintenance catch-up, some new projects, and a few repairs. And then...there was a lot of fun, making memories with friends. Yes, we're in Namibia now...but I want to hang onto these memories here!
The Cape Town area is a gathering point for westabout cruisers, with people we've spent a lot of time with over the last year (or sometimes over the course of many years). Here, paths diverge. Casting off for sailing adventures sounds solitary at first blush, but the reality of seasonal routes and patterns-especially along regions like the Indian Ocean-means that by happenstance (and design) we spend extended time with familiar boats and faces. But there are a myriad of routes and timings for heading out into the Atlantic from Cape Town. It's bittersweet not knowing when favorite faces will be in our company again.
Making memories to last, we took an adults-only trip to the wine country. This the first time we've left the kids on the boat overnight. Kind of a big deal although they've long been capable of this, especially in a secure marina with friends all around. For Jamie and I, it was a really fun getaway. South Africa's winelands were an irresistible getaway, so we planned a night at a B&B with friends and spent a couple of days touring vineyards: incredible scenery, enjoying lots of wine tasting, delicious food, and great company. We really don't splurge on stuff "for us" like this much, and it was a very fun indulgence.
On a sadder note, there were terrible bush fires while we visited. We passed one in the morning, and our dinner site looked out at the very hillside later. It was devastating, and you could feel it in the wait staff: losing vines isn't like losing a seasonal crop; it takes many years to recover.
Those fires hit closer to our temporary home at FBYC as well. The buzz is that these are probably arson, but the land is also incredibly dry, and it wouldn't take much to set of a blaze. Driving along the coast one afternoon, the blaze was only a few hundred feet from the road.
Those bush fires also mean there's a lot of ash blowing around: smoke obscured the mountainside behind the marina when fires flared nearby. Totem was pretty dirty from coal dust in the ports of Richards Bay and Durban; we were looking forward to the "clean" air around Cape Town. Instead, the ash that blew over Totem daily made her the dirtiest she's ever been.
Goodbyes are even harder for the kids who have shaped much of their world around some close friends. With an unusual number of family boats in the Indian Ocean, they've had an especially social year - especially as north and south traveling boats came together around Cape Town.
It was fun to meet up with a number of people who have been following us online, from cruising families who've returned home to those with plans and dreams to go. We got together with a land-based nomadic family, too. It's pretty neat to meet with these families, compare notes and tips while sharing our appreciation for this way of life. The land-based nomads are a lot more hard core than we are, to be honest. We get to travel WITH our floating caravan - they're full time family backpacking. WITH KIDS!
Another memorable meetup: Colin runs an amateur radio station out of his home, and we connect with his station for weather data many times in the Indian Ocean. Stations like his are the critical connection for our HF radio to access internet-based resources like weather. We are so grateful for people like Colin - they add a safety net and measure of peace of mind to our travels. And, grateful to his family, who lets radio gear take over space in their home!
We found South Africans to be incredibly hospitable and welcoming. It wasn't what we expected. Not that we expected they'd be aloof, we just didn't expect SUCH warmth and friendliness. Like when plans to stop in for a visit with a formerly cruising family evolved first into - hey, everybody in the pool! - and then a braai broke out. As they do, here in the land of the best barbecue ever.
Or the great crew at the NSRI (sea rescue) station next to the yacht club: one of the guys is a reader here and knew we were close by, but the whole crew of NSRI Station #10 made us feel welcome, with educational tour of the facilities and lifeboats for a few hours one morning. Thank you so much, Herby!
There was even time to fit in a little family sightseeing. We HAD to visit the Cape of Good Hope, large as it looms in maritime history. We got a rare family pic of everyone in front of the signpost with distances to points around the world...and realized the straightline distance to Sydney, Australia (we left the Aus east coast almost four years ago) is CLOSER than New York...where we expect to be this summer. GULP.
One thing we did miss out on by staying out in Simon's Town was Cape Town centric sightseeing. Nothing could keep us from day tripping out to Table Mountain, but there's a lot more to explore in CT. Somehow our rental car days were skewed heavily to chandlery rounds for boat parts instead of touring...but that's what we had to do.
As we depart, a couple of goodbyes are especially hard for me. There's Utopia, who we've spent a lot of time with since meeting in Malaysia more than two years ago. They're not leaving South Africa for another five or so months; we're making plans to catch up in the Caribbean, but that's probably a year away. The Delos crew is another, and the boat we've known longer than any other in the cruising 'hood, first meeting in Mexico back in 2009. For fans who follow their tremendously popular YouTube channel, they are just as wonderful as you would hope.
They're not planning on Atlantic miles this year; I wish I knew when we'd meet up again, but I don't. And that is the tough side of cruising partings, in a nutshell. But cruising also teaches us that diverging paths often meet again, after intervening adventures enrich our lives.
