Sad news...

W2N 'Where to Next?'
Rob 'Bee' Clark
Thu 7 May 2009 13:10
This crazy little adventure of mine has brushed the shores of some extraordinary and exotic places. Some of those places have been defined, not by the facilities offered or the vulgar concessions made to satisfy the ‘box-ticking’ tourist but by the people I meet there (and not always favourably!). That I am still here in Saldanha, just a day’s coastal sailing from Cape Town, is one very clear example of the social influences, the generosity and warmth of the locals that consistently makes life for a lone cruising yachtsman such an addictive pleasure. The Canaries and Cape Verde’s were, perhaps only in my opinion, one of the few places where the natural savage beauty of the islands lures the cruise-ship tourists despite and not because of the indigenous community. Conversely, Saldanha is little more than a steel processing plant, a bulk carrier port and (it’s only redeeming feature) the gateway to the popular lagoon that sits peacefully within the West Coast Nature Reserve. And yet, here I am, tucked away in this little mist-shrouded corner of the harbour at the Saldanha Bay Yacht Club where, for three weeks, I’ve been trying to leave. The problem, you see, is that there’s a refreshingly Corinthian spirit here that betrays not a hint of pretension. That’s a polite way of saying that it’s a bit ‘rough around the edges’, but for my taste (and budget!), that’s no bad thing.

Right, so I like it – that’s obvious. The game goes on though and soon enough, it will be time to move on and get Canasta out of the water for her annual maintenance ready for the Eastern Cape and the Indian Ocean. This is where, with some hesitation, I should mention the simple fact that I have recently received news that has cast a devastating shadow over the project. Yes, the game goes on, or should go on, but right now, as I reflect on recent developments, I’m finding it hard to reconcile this whole absurd folly.

As I say, some places are beautiful despite the locals. Some have little to offer but are augmented by the kindness and hospitality of the locals. Some, like St Helena, proudly boast both. Consistently though, I am humbled by the ‘family’ spirit of the cruising community. Everywhere I go, perhaps because I’m single-handed, I meet fellow yachtsmen and expatriates who, notwithstanding the bohemian nature of our lifestyle, I know will become life-long friends. In previous blogs I’ve avoided naming anyone specifically for fear of embarrassing anyone but on St Helena, I became good friends with Nick Robinson on the yacht Sea Jade and had made tentative plans to meet up again in Cape Town. I regret to say then that earlier this week, I had an email from Paul Hickling and his family, another St Helenian friend, advising me that Sea Jade had been discovered drifting 450Nm SSE of the island.

Nick, travelling alone, has not yet been found.

Subsequent emails, conversations and press coverage make it clear that the last contact with Nick was on 12th April. A vessel called Amalia alerted the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) and photos taken at the scene show evidence of Nick’s harness tethered near the radar scanner half-way up the mast. The life-raft is still stowed on deck. I’m not going to speculate on what happened, it’ll all become clear, but whichever way you look at it, this is a terrible tragedy.

As much as I’d like to offer you a light-hearted blog update, under the circumstances, I can’t. Emotionally, if not geographically, it’s too close to home. For reasons that I won’t go into right now, this was a double tragedy for the Robinson family and I’m desperately sorry for their loss.

Sea Jade has now been towed back to St Helena so I’ll let you know if I get news but for now, let me just say, to anyone who cares, that sailing is statistically a safe sport in which tragedies such as this are rare. I know the dangers and to be honest, I’m not brave enough to climb the mast in difficult conditions. Nick, sadly, was.