Groot Constantia

VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Sun 3 Jan 2016 15:39
The VS crew belong to the self-explanatory Ocean Cruising Club - a sailing club with a worldwide membership but no clubhouse. It is big in the UK and USA, but has a presence globally. We were signed up in Newport Rhode Island by a passing NZ yachtie. The club does hold events when enough members happen to be present at any given place and time, and given the nature of circumnavigation quite a few OCC cruisers are present in SA during the summer. Our Commodore came out from England to see us, and about 20 of us went to Groot Constantia, the oldest vineyard in SA dating back to the mid-seventeenth century. The surroundings are almost surreal; Table Mountain in the background, fields of vines climbing the steep hillsides exactly like southern France, and sheep grazing lush green grass under oak trees exactly as if in England.



Wine tasting at Constantia Glen, the Commodore in black shirt on the right (it all went right over my head, but it was fun)


Two hour lunch at the Jonkershuis, Groot Constantia; your correspondent visible on the left, smartened up from normal cruising garb in a real stripey shirt with a collar:


And finally, at Alison’s request, the interior of the Ladies’ toilet. She was so impressed with the wallpaper that several photos were taken, and all her many female friends and acquaintances were pressed to visit and admire for themselves. I am not sure that they all understood the excitement.