I noticed a very funny cartoon in the bar here at the Royal Cape Yacht Club yesterday. Basically, it depicts a scene probably back in the early 1800’s when sails were square and pirates had wooden legs.

Ah, tell you what, I’ll go and photograph it. Hold on…

The caption isn’t very clear but it says…

“Typical! Some bastard’s nicked the disabled mooring”

Not only is it funny, it’s quite fitting too as this afternoon, when Canasta was dropped back into the water, I was invited to moor up on the finger pontoon directly in front of the clubhouse. If this was a carpark, it would be the disabled spot – or the Director’s space!

Now, either my disgruntled mutterings about being treated like a criminal were overheard or someone has been reading the blog and realised that my opinion of the club may well one day be published. Either way, despite being told that everything must be settled in advance and that if Canasta is lifted out, she will be held as collateral against non-payment (this, as I’m waving the credit card in an effort to demonstrate a willingness to pay), I am back on the water and have been told three times that it can all be sorted out later – no problem! The front desk staff even manage a smile now and the guys working in the yard (you know, the ones that aren’t wearing club ties, blazers and smoking pipes) have been absolutely brilliant.

It’s bearable now!

So, Canasta is ready for another year of cruising with some new shiny things and some fresh paint. I was worried that the delay in replacing the anodes (the shiny things), had caused damage to the prop but, good news, the prop is fine. It’s a feathering Maxprop that is full of cogs and clever stuff that would have been expensive to replace but with some new grease, it’s better than ever. There was some corrosion to the surface of the saildrive leg but that’s really the best I could hope for. It’s not disastrous.

That’s it then – all the work is done. I’ve even been offered a Sailomat self-steering system that’s barely been used but, as much as I’d love it, as much as I need it, I really don’t think I can justify the expense. If anyone’s got any knowledge of the system, let me know what you think as I’ve not come across that particular model before. It looks simple enough and would be fairly easy to fit on the counter transom but I’d have to sell a kidney to pay for it!

Hey, did my eyes deceive me or was it really 27°C in London the other day!? You know what, it’s raining, windy and cold here!

I’m going to stick around for some more racing at the weekend. I’ve been invited to sail again on Lobelia, an IMX40 in a pursuit race before heading off early next week if the weather’s okay. I’ve not found anyone to roll the dice yet though. It was suggested that I should ask John Martin, the Commodore to do the honours as he’s undoubtedly a very accomplished and well-known SA sailor but I think that might be a bit hypocritical, don’t you!? I found the Shosholoza team headquarters based in the rather cool Waterfront development but sadly, while Alinghi and Oracle squabble amongst themselves, the shed is deserted. Any ideas?

Enjoy the sunshine,

Bee

Rob Clark

W2N Global Ltd.

+44 (0)7967 661157

www.w2n.co.uk