My friend Cathy who owns the yacht Calema invited me out for my second ever sail as a crew member with her last week. I jumped at the chance but didn't realise it would be quite as exciting as it was.
The weather on Wednesday morning was a bit rainy and foggy (not ideal) so she delayed our sail to the afternoon as we waited for the fog to lift. Luckily fog means light wind, which makes me happy! I don't yet feel comfortable to be back in strong wind as I'm still regaining my confidence on the ocean.
Before we set off we fixed a few minor things on the boat and replaced a missing shackle that had been "borrowed" by someone recently. They must have been yachties because they neatly tied the, now loose halyard with the proper knots, to a side stay. Cathy then went on to mention that "they" had previously "borrowed" her fire extinguisher and then a couple weeks later "returned" it. Did these folk think no-one would notice?
Anyway, shackle replaced and sheets checked we took the gap in the rain clouds and headed out of Duncan Dock. We had a frustrating time trying to figure out what the Port Authority was saying. This woman on the other end a). was not using the correct port / radio terminology / etiquette and b). was on top of her mic causing major distortion. Is there a feedback box for bad communication skills? I reckon this is one of the worst places for her to be!
As we couldn't make out a thing she said, we proceeded to raise sails in port and take a slow meander out into the bay. As we did so, we sailed through a rather large flock of birds chilling in the harbour entrance. We were not planning on rerouting so they had no choice but to take off.
None of us had seemed to remember that a few of the rerouted ships from the Suez Canal were beginning to enter Table Bay. The previous day a friend had seen 10 tankers anchored in the bay, so we should have expected the traffic.
Our first encounter with another ship was the grey Washashio Maru who seemed to also be having language troubles with Port Authority as they were entering the port channel on the wrong side. We held out course and sailed alongside them as we headed into Table Bay.
The big clouds continued to loom over land and made for some dramatic photos of Table Mountain and Cape Town CBD.
As we headed more towards the centre of the bay a large MSC tanker left the harbour. We had seen the tugs guiding it out of it mooring while we had raised our sails. It's an interesting process from the water as opposed to being on land. And just as they left a big red tanker entered the port and took their space.
Next the pilot boat pulled past us heading towards a heavy laden, very large tanker that had been pulling into Table Bay from the south, smoke billowing from the stacks. As they changed course we maintained course and eventually tacked up wind toward the West.
The huge black tanker cruised into port and was docked in the container dock by the time we got back. Charles mentioned that a large tanker like that one can get from the horizon, to alongside a boat in just 20 minutes!!! Thats fast!
By now the swell was slightly bigger and the wind was consistent, but still manageably light, but the clouds out to sea were looking darker and rainier.
So far our sail had been such a pleasure. Our three man crew were experienced and everything had gone smoothly. Cathy seemed more relaxed on this sail and at ease with giving me the helm. (Woohooo!!!) I would have been nervous to take the helm in the past, but I somehow felt a lot more comfortable on this little yacht. Growing up sailing Hobie 16s makes for some fast sailing in difficult conditions in the Cape.
I headed us towards Sea Point Pavilion Pools for a while. We were chatting about random nonsense when up popped a school of dolphins! They seemed to play alongside the boat and surf our small wake in the swell. They looked like small dusky dolphins but that's a bit of an educated guess. I was still at the helm, so I didn't manage to get a photo - so bummed!!!
The clouds got even darker and Cathy got a little nervous, so we decided to edge off down wind back to port. This leg was a little more exciting as initially we were on a quick reach towards The Waterfront area of Cape Town and then headed even further downwind to make the port entrance having done only one tack on our entire sail!!! How was that even possible? It seemed like we had done far more, but it must have been all the concentrating on the tankers in the bay that made it exciting.
The turn into port back up into the wind enabled us to drop sails and motor the last little bit to our mooring. It seemed that Cathy's fears had been for nothing as the wind now dropped completely as we entered Duncan Dock and the Royal Cape Yacht basin. The water was glassy and the reflections of the yachts were perfect.
We tied up and Cathy said with a big smile that that was one of her favorite sails on her boat! I was happy too. Then she asked if we'd be keen to enter one of the cruiser class competitions one weekend? You know what? If Cathy wants me to crew for her again then I'm up for it! I didn't realised how much I've missed being out on the water.
Now I'm looking forward to our next sail in the bay and can't wait to get her message. Um! Yes!!! Of course I'm keen!