Life in the Trades and some views on South Africa
NORDLYS
David and Annette Ridout
Fri 22 Feb 2008 14:17
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Progress northwards and thoughts as to
where we have come from.
22:35 S 0:01 W
1400hrs, wind SE, force
3/4
Nordlys has just crossed back into the Western
Hemisphere. Last time she graced this half of the globe was in
2005 when we sailed from Savu Savu out to the Lau group in Fiji. The date
line kinks east and puts all of Fiji and Tonga in the Eastern side but the 180
degree meridian runs down the middle of Fiji putting the Lau in the Western
Hemisphere. Unless something very strange happens she will remain in the
western half until sometime after we come back to Lymington.
Progress is comfortable if not fast. Most of the
time there is just enough wind to fill the sails and we splash along at between
5 and 7 knots. As usual we are amazed at how varied the wind is despite
there being few if any clouds and no land within 1000 miles. The wind
cycles from 12 to 18 knots in strength and through 25 degrees in
direction. These cycles lasting about fifteen minutes but are not
regular. With a forecast of winds in the light range of the above we are
making ourselves not think of a possible ETA despite our destination only being
509 miles away. The moon is full and we had a full eclipse the night
before last leaving the moon looking a dark orange suspended amid stars, a
splendid sight. One night we were entertained by a large pod of what we
think were Atlantic spotted dolphins otherwise there is very little sea or bird
life (one dorado kindly gave its life to provide us with lovely fish meals, not
without a fight though).
Both Annette and I find ourselves looking back
on our stay in South Africa with affection. The place is a
complete mish mash of financial status, hopes and despairs, quality of life
and all the other bits that go to make up a society. The difference
between those that have and those that do not is very great. In Europe no
one would honestly say there is not a huge difference between Belgravia and the
housing estates of the East End or between the Champs Elysee and the suburbs of
southern Paris. However the difference between Constantia and Khayelitsha
is very stark. With its welfare state there are no people
at traffic lights in Europe begging for a days work. Here on the one
hand is some of the most pleasant suburban living to be found on this
planet and on the other acres and acres of crammed together tin shacks with
their squalor and gang wars. The two are within 15 miles of each
other. Undoubtedly the biggest problem is the huge influx of refugees that
SA has sustained from its neighbours. Old time politics means that the top
echelon of the ANC can never criticise Mugabe but the notice boards in the
supermarkets tell a sorry story as thousands of Zimbabweans, Mozambiquans,
Congolese and people from Malawi try to get jobs. We met and talked to
many of these people who often attempt to make a living selling carvings and
other African tourist memorabilia. Usually they are lovely people who have
not been dealt a good hand when the positions in life were shared
out.
Now at the same time we have come across lots of
white Africans who are often well educated but are leaving for no
other reason than that they had the wrong coloured skin to get a
good job. Our neighbour in the marina was running a one man business
with a large service contract to look after all the Freezer Containers for
Maersk. After thirteen years he was told his contract was being
stopped. Yes they were quite happy with his work but they could not be
seen to give the work to a white man who employed no coloured people.
Along with a much larger land resettlement program than is generally realised
abroad there is much colour discrimination. Not the usual way.
Having said these gloomy things I think that there is a fair chance that the
nation will survive and not sink into the chaos we have seen in so many
countries to the north. The reasons are two fold: there is no strong
opposition in SA so that the rulers are unlikely to have to resort to the
violence we have seen in Zimbabwe and more recently in Kenya to stay in
power. In developing nations I am not convinced that multi party politics
is always the right answer. Especially when there is such a big middle
class, both white and black, who want the system to work. Secondly there
is at the moment an electricity supply crisis on the country. This has
been brought about by the state owned ESKOM being under funded despite repeated
warnings to the government and also because the company was forced to
be politically correct and in so doing lost many of its skilled work
force. Thus now when capacity is short there is also over 20% of
generating capacity out of commission at any one time due to shortage of
skilled engineers. The day before we left a black member of the ANC stood
up in Parliament and stated quite unequivocally that unless this policy was
changed the situation was doomed. There are
a large number of powerful people who are determined to keep the good times and
not let anarchy prevail. For those who have the times are very good in
present day SA. I do hope that I am right as both Annette and I can see
ourselves making northern winter visits to this lovely country which we have
hardly begun to explore. (No time change and one sector flight!)
Well as I have been writing the dreaded slatting of
the sails due to a far from calm sea state combined with a lessening wind has
come about. I will stop this and go and see what can be
done.
Happy times to you all. With only four days
to go, we hope, I will probably not write more until we are at
anchor.
David
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