Visit to Boat Shop

I was up at 5 AM because I had an early night, hitting the sack at just after 7 PM. At just after 8.30 AM I left the boat and made it to Seaport Supply just after they opened at 9 AM.

The first item on my list was a replacement for the solar powered fan that ventilates the head when I am not cruising and have it capped off. They had one with the correct OD (outside diameter) but the fan and section that fit through the deck had too much diameter to fit through the hole on the deck and I certainly was not inclined to enlarge the hole. I am to telephone them on Monday morning to find out if they have been able to source one with the correct size for me.

I then purchased 11 meters of 8mm Spectra Dyneema rope for the Monitor control lines, two s/s shackles, and 12 meters of 7mm shock cord.

The shock cord is interesting. Steve of North Sails had told me that one of the big traps when reefing and tying down all of the cringles (grommets) along the reefing line to the boom is that when the reef is shaken out if even only one of the cringles is still held to the boom the mainsail will tear. They have repaired many sails where in the heat of battle or perhaps in darkness dealing with fatigue this has happened. A solution is to tie a length of shock cord to the mast then spiral it along the boom passing it through every reef cringle then under the boom to support the surplus sail and tie it off at the end of the boom. With this set-up the shock cord will give before the mainsail tears if a mistake is made. Steve told me something that I didn't know. The cringles along the reef line are not designed to take the load of the wind on the sail. Their only purpose is to hold up the surplus sail off the deck. Without this information I would have probably overloaded the cringles and damaged the sail.

Then I selected four new boat fenders. Fortunately I had been wise enough to take the length and diameter of my existing fenders which made the selection process much easier. Each fender cost only R231 each, which was equivalent to about $23 USD and a bit less in Aussie dollars, which I considered a bargain.

The total bill came out to R1646.95 but I will be able to claw back the R202.26 VAT tax.

As I was winding up the purchase Steve the manager mentioned my car and I told him that I was walking and would probably take the bus to RCYC. He gave me a disturbed look and I said 'Hey, I'm on a boat and I'm used to walking.' That man got the cashier, Joline (not sure of the spelling) to leave her post and drive me to the marina. I told him that I didn't mind the walking but he insisted. Just then the assistant who had set me up with the boat fenders showed up with some cord with which I could tie pairs of fenders together and drape them over my neck. I told Steve that I was really OK because if a car hit me I would be well protected by the fenders. He had a genuine laugh then asked Joline to drive me to the RCYC.

Joline is a Cape Town girl but her employer International Paints had transferred her to Durban. She didn't like Durban and besides, her family were here and she had her 4 year old child to think of so she came back to Cape Town. I told her that if that is how she felt she had done the right thing. I told her that I liked everything about Cape Town except the wind: the people, the climate, the setting, the food, etc. She agreed. We got to the yacht club and she offered to help me carry the fenders to the boat but I told her that she had done enough for me and I would be OK. I asked her to thank Steve for arranging the transport.

I'm getting to really like this place Cape Town.

Thanks to the ride I was back at the boat at 10.30 AM which gave me a shot a walking to the Food Lovers' Market before they closed for the weekend, whenever that would be. I arrived at the market at 11.30 AM and learned that on Saturdays they close at 3 PM. Nevertheless their salad and meat selection was limited but I love a bargain and purchased two hefty salads on special for only R250 each.

On the way back to the boat I spotted a liquor store. I must have passed it a dozen times and never noticed it. The bottles of wine ranged for R27 to R100 so I chose two middle of the range wines for a total cost of less than R100 ($10.00) for two bottles. At the moment I am sipping a “Leopard's Leap” 2010 Merlot “based in Franschoeck, in the heart of South Africa's wine district.” It's a bloody good drop – better than the vin ordinaire that I've been getting at the club. In reserve is a “Du Toitslkloof Cellar” Shiraz from 2009 which I'll try out in a day or two.

The wind was gentle when I returned from my food foray so I installed the new Spectra control lines on the Monitor the got my wrenches out to adjust the unit so that when airvane was vertical the watervane was lined up with the boat's lubber line and keel and discovered that in the tranquility of the harbor everything lined up perfectly.

I was tired and it was getting late but I pushed on and topped up the internal fuel tanks, which took about 32 liters and represented a consumption of 1.6 liters per hour. As usual, even though the spare fuel had been treated with anti algae additive I added more into the tanks before the pour.

I don't want these algal bugs Dead on Arrival, I want them Dead Before Arrival.