Cape Town, 9/12/2016

A lot has been happening since we arrived here on the V & A  Marina.
first thing was to organise all the inevitable repairs, so off came the Genoa. That is the name for the foresail on the boat. It had been rubbing its lower edge on the safety rail and had damaged the UV protection strip.
It is now back and refitted, with some difficulty as the track it runs on had twisted slightly, so Garry was hoisted up to deal with that.
I am waiting for hull repairs and a new mirror from another contractor. Will happen whilst I am back in Oz, I hope.
The hull developed yellow stains from Port Elizabeth, so they are to be cleaned off in my absence.

Also I met the 2 new crew, Jamie and Michael. They seem awfully young to me, but then I suspect I seem terribly old to them! We all went out for a quick sail. No problem until I found a small plastic ball bearing on the deck. I knew where it came from and dreaded the costs involved. The control rope for the Mainsail goes through a sliding part called a car. A corner of this had broken and released almost all the balls on one side. However the local Harken guy had a look at it and has supplied a new kit of balls and two new end plates. I will do this repair tomorrow.

The generator has finally had its injectors pulled out, but they cannot be serviced here. Apparently they are too new and the Bosch shops do not have the necessary equipment, so 2 new ones are being ordered from Germany at great expense. All will be revealed when everything is running again! Fingers crossed.

We hired a car for a week and went off to the Stellenbosch region. First thing was a visit to the most wonderful car museum. Its in the middle of a vineyard in the middle of nowhere, but so good. That was followed by an overnight visit to a game park, more of a rescue centre really. 2 safaris, one in the afternoon and one in the early morning, both were great, see the photos please.
We have also been to Robben Island of Nelson Mandela fame. Some pics of that too. Hard to believe that a person could live in a tiny cell for 18 years, as well as time in other jails and come out the way he did. Our guide was also incarcerated in this jail for 7 years. He now gets on well with most of the ex guards, but some he has no wish to meet again. By the way the island is a lot bigger than the jail and has 250 permanent residents on it. The ferry ride is about 1/2 an hour each way. No private boats allowed. The whole island is a UNESCO Heritage site and the prison is now a museum.

Tomorrow Dawn and Garry fly home after 3 months and 5000+ miles. I'll be sorry to see them go. We are just back from a delightful dinner, but I will see them on Wednesday at Sandringham YC as I am flying home for Christmas on Monday.