We are off to Brazil

We are leaving Cape Town and heading for St. Helena, and on to Salvador, Brazil.  The trip should take about a month. We are lucky to have our friend Chuck as companion and crew.

For those who wonder what we eat, planning for a month at sea takes a lot of organization - here is a photo showing part of the galley (refrigerator and water maker in the background). You can see the typed lists of food on board, listing quantities and notes about where everything is stowed. We check off supplies as we eat them.

Soccer World Cup is coming!

Soccer World Cup 2010.

All of South Africa is proud that this country will host the 2010 World Cup. Rob stands beside an oversized replica of the official game ball, described "with 11 colors honouring each of South Africans 11 languages, jabulani means celebration. A ball that celebrates a nation united, ready to bring the world together...."
There is an electric boat shaped like a soccer ball, and soccer balls for sale in many of the stores.

Kaapse Klopse (Minstrel's Parade)

January 2 is the day when minstrel bands parade through the streets of Cape Town.  The custom originated 200 years ago when the slaves were allowed their only day off for the year on January 2.  1000's of people, dressed in bright outfits, wind their way through the city playing music and dancing in the streets.

Journey to the Top of Table Mountain

We took the cable car (one can hike to the top but we didn't go that way...) The cable cars hold 60 people and the floor rotates!  We have anchored the boat in one of the Bays you can see from the top.

Benefit Concert at Diemersfontein

Another special day.  We attended a benefit concert at a country winery to benefit July Zuma, a young Zulu who has been accepted at the Liceu Barcelona (Spain). He left for Spain four days after the conert.  July was born in a township near Durban, the youngest of 10. His mother and father died when he was a young child; he was raised by his older siblings. In primary school, the choir master noticed that he had a special gift for singing.  His life has not had a smooth path, but eventually he found his way to Cape Town, and was given a loan to attend the University of Cape Town and study classical singing. At the concert, he was joined by several friends who gave up trips to their families over the holidays so that they could stay and sing with him, to raise money for his lodging and transportation to Spain.  As you can see, most of the audience were white South Africans who are supporting talented young people in the community.

Cape Town, South Africa. December 2009

South Africa is preparing for the 2010 World Cup.  At the top of the page is the new soccer stadium in the foreground below Table Mountain.  We ask everyone what they think about the stadium and find a tremendous range of opinion. Some people are proud of their new stadium; others disparage it as a waste of money....We can understand both the enthusiasm and the concern, and we hope the country will find ways to use the stadium after the World Cup is over.  On balance, Natalie likes the feeling of excitement about the stadium and thinks it is a positive contribution to the country; Rob is more skeptical.

"Inspired by YOU"

Nice morning in the supermarket - here is a photo taken before 8:00 am - a rock singer leading the employees in a customer appreciation song.  The lyrics are "inspired by you, and you, and you..." (e.g. inspired by the customer) and various verses about the market.
Starts my grocery shopping with a smile...

Update from Cape Town

Here is the apartment where we are staying while we get the boat in shape to sail....Chuck and Rob are walking down the front steps; we are staying in the top apartment on the left. The other photo shows the view from the front steps. Meanwhile, we are making progress....see this photo of Wilhelm, and compare with the photo taken 10 days ago...sails and lines in place, equipment installed....lots of hard work and good progress.

An Evening Out

We got a second wind, after naps by all....and joined a friend Nyoko Muvangua (Smith 2004) for dinner at Marco's African Place. Good food; good music.  Our spirits are lifted!

Update

Today when we went to the boat, there was a sea lion onboard!  He had scrambled up through the gate on the stern.....Sea lions may be nice in the water, but they are smelly and ornery on land....Chuck and Rob chased him off immediately...The mainsail and staysail are up, and a we have finished a lot of the other work.  People think it took a lot of energy to keep up with Nina, but that does not compare to the physical work of getting a cruising boat ready to go to sea. We are all very tired. Thank goodness Chuck is here to help us, so we have some extra help.  off to take a nap, more photos and news tomorrow.

Bottom Painted!

"Nice Clean Bottom." When I have said that during the last six months, I've been talking to granddaughter Nina when changing her diapers....but today I meant Wilhelm's bottom.  Rob and Chuck and some local people worked very hard so that the bottom is in great shape.  In the bottom photos, we are motoring back to the V&A marina, with the blue draw bridge is raised so we can go through.

Time to Paint the Bottom

We were supposed to haul out this morning but there was another boat on the ways. Very high winds (93 knots) on Monday night sank 3 boats in a local marina.

Salvagers hauled one boat to patch the hole in the hull, and our bottom job had to wait.  We tied at the dock with big swell and quite a bit of wind - and wondered how we have managed to dock this boat alone as we've sailed 2/3 of the way around the world. Chuck was a great help as we rigged lines and worked to keep off the dock.  As our boat was slowly pulled out of the water, we saw a little friend watching us - a penguin swam around behind and then walked right out of the water up on the shore to check out our hull!  Rob and Chuck are already at work cleaning.  The weather forecast looks good, and we should be back in the water by early next week.

Back in Cape Town, South Africa

Dec 15, 2009 - We arrived back in Cape Town (via airplane). Above is a photo of Rob and our friend Chuck, who will help us on the passage from Africa to Brazil. Wilhelm is very dirty but in good shape. This photo shows the boat closed up - we removed all the sails, halyards and other equipment when we left for 6 months. During the next few weeks, we'll put all the gear back in place and prepare to take off. Cape Town is a busy place - lots of excitement for the upcoming soccer World Cup.

Here is the chaos inside, after we begin putting things back together, and the confusion increases. A lot of gear and equipment to put in place!

Yacht Wilhelm in Cape Town, South Africa for 2009

We have decided to keep sv Wilhelm in Africa during 2009. We arrived in Mozambique in October 2008, after crossing the Indian Ocean. We sailed along the Mozambique coast to South Africa, and rounded the Cape of Good Hope in the months that followed. We arrived in Cape Town, South Africa on December 31, 2008, and will keep our boat there until January 2010. Here is a link to our sailing route from Australia to Cape Town. http://www.tripmapper.net/wilhelm
We are taking advantage of all the cultural and other activities in Cape Town, as well as the chance to explore other countries in Africa by land. (Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.) We plan to spend June - Dec. in the USA (flying home and leaving sv Wilhelm in Cape Town.) In Dec. 2009, we'll return to Cape Town and sail toward Brazil in early 2010.

Cape Town, South Africa

Our life in Cape Town. In the morning, we walk along the waterfront to the swimming pool. Because we are over 60, we can swim for free in the 50 meter salt water pool. Behind Natalie, you can see Lion's Head. There is a trail to the top, which we hiked in January. We also watch the progress on the stadium being built for the 2010 World Cup soccer matches.

We have enjoyed lots of plays, movies, museums and concerts in Cape Town.

People's litter hurts animals!

Yacht Wilhelm is moored in the Victoria and Alfred Marina in Cape Town.* Sea lions come to visit us. We don't like them on our dock because they smell and make lots of noise.... however, they are funny creatures and one can spend a lot of time watching them romp around. It is very upsetting when we see one, like the close up photo, wounded because some human has discarded plastic debris in the ocean. At sea, they twist and turn in plastic fishing lines and other human detritus. Over time, the lines dig into their bodies and cause open festering wounds, aggravated by salt water, flies. We see the wounded ones grow weaker as they rest on the docks. It is a very sad situation that makes us very intolerant of human beings who do not clean up after themselves.

*Named after Queen Victoria's son Alfred, not after her husband Albert...in case someone notices that apparent discrepancy.