Welcome to the thirteenth   newsletter

 

12^th February 2010

 

Knysna, South Africa

 

Current Lat/Long Position 34°02.8’S 023°02.6’E

 

Having read of my arrival in Knysna back in July last year, just before the first test of the ‘British and Irish Lions Tour’, you could be forgiven for thinking that by now, surely I must have made at least some progress into the Indian Ocean. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that the W2N project had forged east towards India and Asia accumulating exotic and inspiring tales of adventure with which to regale you…

 

Well, that’s not entirely the case, I’m afraid….

 

Truth is, since July last year, I’ve moved from one mooring on the lagoon to another… and apart from a few trips through ‘The Heads’ into the Indian Ocean and back, no further than that.

 

So that’s nearly seven months here in Knysna during which time, those of you who had been following my voyage, might be wondering if I am waiting for the next ‘Lions Tour’ before moving on (that’ll be in another eleven years by the way!) There are in fact a hundred very persuasive reasons why that’s not such a daft suggestion but I must assure you that the W2N project is not over yet. I set out to circumnavigate the world by the throw of the dice and, one way or another, eventually, I will achieve that dream. I will sail back into Portsmouth Harbour having achieved what I set out to do. Canasta and I will one day continue east but this was never a race and for now at least, I’m enjoying an idyllic, if simple, life in what is widely believed to be South Africa’s most beautiful coastal town. The ‘Where to Next?’ project has already been dubbed GNS… ‘Going Nowhere Slowly!’ by the locals, but then, from what I can tell, not one cruising yacht has ever arrived in Knysna without staying very much longer than planned. For many, it’s a lifetime! So it’s been far too long since my last newsletter, far too long since I last updated the blog and far too many emails left unanswered. It’s a lame excuse, you might think, but how does one even begin to admit that the adventure they so resolutely went in search of, defiantly ignoring the critics and the doubters, has, in fact, failed.

 

…Perhaps not entirely though. I find myself occasionally reflecting on my eventful sail down the Atlantic, the wrong way, and it seems like a crazy dream; it just doesn’t seem real. It is though, I assure you, but the momentum is long gone. My ignorance and wide-eyed awe were the driving force of the W2N project and looking back, it hardly seems possible that I actually did that – voluntarily! I’m wiser now – equipped for what the oceans can deliver but ironically, perhaps, that might just be the problem!

 

Writing these newsletters and blogs, however infrequent, helps me to make sense of the situations I find myself in. So far on my crazy voyage, those stories have been of adventure and intrigue both on the water and off – of exciting landfalls and incredible sailing in equal measure. This one, I hope, will try to rationalize and validate a decision that to many of you, without explanation, will consider to be my failure to deliver on the promise I made back in September of 2008. You don’t want to hear excuses. You certainly don’t want to hear me whining about crippling financial difficulty and adverse weather conditions while you know I’m bobbing around on my mooring under a scorching African summer sun while the UK freezes. For my own peace-of-mind though, if for no other reason, I feel I should offer an explanation to those of you who believed in me. If I may, I’ll start with one or two negative points so as to leave you with the positive ones; of which there are many.

 

Money. It’s a bugger isn’t it!? It’s not expensive to live here in SA; not by UK standards anyway, and I’m making a living (of sorts) with occasional Audio-Visual work, lagoon cruises on Canasta and junior sail-training. In fact, I now have a year-long volunteer’s visa on the strength of the work I’m doing with KYC juniors. But unless or until things improve with the UK economy and the business I sold begins to yield some worthwhile dividends, my cruising budget is reduced to nil. There simply isn’t any money to fund the onward voyage. Canasta is in good shape and is certainly ready for the next 10,000Nm but the South Atlantic, the notoriously fickle South African coastline and the British tax office have claimed a big lump of the reserve funds leaving me with no option but to wait and see what transpires. Despite my very best efforts, I left without any sponsorship, which, in a way, has turned out to be a double-edged sword. I’m not under any commercial pressure to keep moving or to meet deadlines and as such, there are no rules to determine how long I choose to spend at each landfall. With no sponsorship though, I was dependent on a small reserve and an income from my old company Roadshow. That income, because of the struggling UK economy and the fact that the new owner was incapacitated by a broken back, has been reduced to a negligible amount that simply isn’t enough to consider continuing. It’s a shame, yes, and it’s frustrating that things didn’t work out better but I set out in search of adventure – and found it – and more. The alternative? Well, I could still be in the UK where responsibility for keeping the business afloat in the face of adversity would still fall squarely on my (shivering) shoulders. So it ain’t so bad eh!?

 

So, if that’s not enough of an excuse, let me just add that until the westerlies start blowing in the winter (the southern hemisphere winter), it’s going to be pretty tough battling into the summer easterlies against the southerly currents of the Mozambique Channel. This coast is notoriously unpredictable at the best of times and to head east at this time of year would be a risk matched only by the threat of pirates off of Somalia. For now then, and I’m not even going to suggest for how long, I’m staying put here in Knysna where barely a day passes when I’m not sailing a dinghy, racing, paddling a canoe or cruising on Canasta.

 

And that last line is just a hint of the endless positive reasons why, with or without a cruising budget, I make no apology for still being here in the Rainbow Nation.

“Oh, just a few days…” I said when asked how long I’d be staying “…just here a few days to watch the rugby” I replied.

That was in July last year. The rugby came and went (we were robbed!), then it was the Knysna Oyster Festival and the Tri-Nations Rugby soon after that. And so it went on with each day revealing new friends, new water sports and new excuses. Then Jo happened – my best excuse yet! To those of you who suggested I might find romance on my voyage and to whom I insisted that not even love would stand in my way, I must apologise. You were right. I didn’t plan it this way, honestly, but after six months, Jo is now very much a part of my future plans… and that of course includes the future of W2N (or GNS!) – one way or another.

Well, my life here on the lagoon revolves almost exclusively around dinghy sailing; teaching the kids in O9ers, Oppies, Mirrors, an Enterprise, sailing for fun in a Finn and racing (very successfully) with Dudley on the Spearhead. I’ve just finished repairing a 505 that I’m hoping to have the use of and I think it’s fair to say that I’m making the most of this beautiful lagoon and the summer climate.

 

As I have said, I have been very remiss about keeping in touch; unforgivably remiss actually. For that I am truly sorry. I know a lot of people sought adventure vicariously through my blogs and wished me well with my dream. Complete strangers emailed me with poignant stories and thoughtful words of support. I even made the headlines in one or two regional newspapers and at the time, I was confident that Canasta and I would make it to China for Colin’s wedding and complete my circumnavigation without interruption. It would have been a glorious triumph and a massive personal achievement to dine out on for decades. I must now accept that this might in fact be more than just a short interruption; Roadshow has just lost her biggest remaining client to the recession and looks unlikely to recover from it. However, it’s odd; I barely subsist on the cash I earn from lagoon cruises and coaching, I struggle to pay my mooring fees and a tax-man-shaped shadow looms menacingly over me constantly but, you know what… I’ve never been happier. I still tingle with pride as I sit in the yacht club watching Canasta bob around on the mooring. Jo is everything a man could possibly want and now that she’s started sailing, there are really no more boxes to tick! So it’s not your sympathy I need – just your understanding.

 

Before I go then, can I just wish Colin, Pan and all my friends in Shanghai a happy (Chinese) New Year? I should also wish Dudley a happy 50^th and of course, with Valentine’s Day this Sunday, I couldn’t possibly sign off without saying… actually, I’ll tell her myself!

 

That’s all from me for now then. There are some exceptional characters here at KYC so, whilst I have no news of my own, I may still contribute to the blog with their extraordinary stories. As for W2N though, well, we’ll see eh!

 

I miss you all

 

Bee

 

 

 

 

 

You are receiving this newsletter because you have either registered an interest or because you haven’t – and I think you should! If you are receiving it in error, please let me know by simply replying to the email with STOP SENDING ME THIS PURILE, SELF-INDULGENT NONSENSE in the subject line.

 

 

W2N Global Ltd.

4 Hampshire House

Tunbridge Lane

Liphook

Hampshire GU30 7SP

UK

 

+44 (0)7967 661157

rob {CHANGE TO AT} w2n {DOT} co {DOT} uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rob Clark

W2N Global Ltd.

 

+44 (0)7967 661157

 

 

 

www.w2n.co.uk