Cape Town's Minstrel carnival kicks off

Cape Carnival

We started this year with a trip to Cape Town to see the Minstrel Carnival. As a Brit, I associate minstrels with the controversial "Black and White Minstrel Show" screened on the BBC in the 1970s - an unlikely subject to come across in modern-day South Africa. The minstrel tradition here, however, originated from a troop of black American minstrels who visited the city whilst performing on a cruise ship. Quite how this random event led to the current carnival with troupes of up to 1000 participants parading in jazzy versions of traditional minstrel costumes, I've not figured out yet.

We had been told not to bother arriving in town in time for the advertised 10am start, but as a control freak who is worried about missing out on any start, we turned up at 10am to find that the main parade route was already lined with spectators. A dank and drizzly night had not deterred people from setting up gazebos and awnings the previous evening, camping out to ensure they held the prime spectating spots. Multiple generations were huddled together under blankets, surrounded by coolers and shopping bags filled with provisions for the long day ahead.

Cape Minstrels

Having staked our claim for a good viewing spot, we settled down to wait. And wait. And wait. And nip off for a quick bite of lunch. And wait a bit more. Waiting was the big topic of conversation with our local neighbours, swapping stories about how many hours they had waited in previous years. It seemed that waiting was part of the tradition too.

Once the parade got underway (just 4 hours late - apparently about average) our neighbours provided us with a commentary which added hugely to our appreciation of the event. On the face of it the carnival is a parade of local teams, each outfitted in uniquely coloured minstrel costumes made of every hue of satin and sequins known to man, accompanied by brass bands, a few banjos, tambourines and the odd accordion. With local knowledge, you start to appreciate the financial and political skulduggery behind the event - from the guy with the monopoly on providing the little umbrellas to the significance of who owns which team, who split to form his own team and the importance of white plimsolls.

Angus has made a wee video of the carnival here.

Old Friends, New Friends

Angus, Will & Jasper - the boys in blue

It is always a real treat for us to meet up with old friends from home. It was even more of a treat than usual for us to meet up with Will in Cape Town, since he had arranged for us to spend a night at his hotel. The sheer luxury of a square bed, unlimited hot water, and cable TV... can't believe I spent a sleepless night worrying about the security of the boat.

Will and his mate, Jasper, drove us down to Simon's Town where we spent a pleasant few hours at the sailing club, gazing across the bay, sipping beers. It turned out that a friend of Will's sails here with one of our new local friends. Six degrees of separation? When you add boats into the equation, seems you can bring it down by several degrees.

The Cape of Storms

During December, locals frequently commented that the weather was 'unusual' - by that time the summer south east trade winds should have filled in. We now know that the blow we experienced on Christmas day (which flipped the dinghy) was just the start of the 'normal' seasonal winds.

We have spent most of this month on a new mooring around half a mile from the marina. A very pleasant location, close to the beach, away from the stinky cormorants. On a calm, sunny morning, it is a pleasant potter to the marina in the dinghy, spotting seals along the way. However, when the wind blows...

Proof that Simon's Town isn't always stormy

First chore as the winds arrive is to get the dinghy on deck (learnt that lesson the hard way!), and tied down securely. Next up, is closing all the hatches to stop salt spray from finding its way below. Finally the wind speed meter and drag alarm are turned on - the former to scare me, the latter for reassurance. As the wind speeds increase, our elderly wind generator gives up trying to regulate itself, and lets fly with the howl of a jet engine. Angus' cue to lash it down, and my cue to put the kettle on for a calming cup of tea.

On three separate occasions, we have started the day with bright sunshine and calm seas, and ended the day with bright sunshine and gale force winds. And we're not talking about the occasional gust of 35 knots, we're talking steady 35-40 knot winds with gusts up to 50 knots. The noise is relentless. The low moan in our rigging. The higher pitched scream from our closest neighbour. The howl from nearby untended wind generators. On the plus side, the sun shining on the spray being hurled horizontally across the bay creates the most delicate rainbows.

The strong winds can blow steadily for days, during which time we are confined to the boat as our little 5hp outboard is no match for gale force head winds. What to do with so much time on board??

Problematic Plumbing

The glamour of the cruising wife

We fitted Do It with a holding tank before we set off - a large box into which all our toilet waste flows, until we then pump it out when we are well offshore. For the past seven years we've been able to leave the inspection hatch tightly sealed. Recently the effort required to pump out the contents was increasing, indicating that we were going to have to inspect the interior after all. Angus bravely opened it up, threw in a vat of descaler and quickly resealed the hatch. Would that clear the tubes well enough to last until we got home?

Nope.

A few days later, the pump out mechanism was completely seized. There was no alternative. The half full tank would have to be manually emptied (via the traditional "bucket & chuck it" method), and the seven years of calcified "deposits" removed. During two days of chipping and scraping, we were thankful for the gale force winds which helped to disperse the pong, and our scientific frame of mind which was stimulated by questions such as: what formed the loose white upper deposits? why were the lower dark deposits banded like tree rings? did we really eat so many tomatoes?

Troubled in Paradise

I've decided that spending too long in "civilised" countries is bad for our cruising karma. Every morning we download our daily diet of gloomy news from the BBC. The economy is contracting. Unemployment is increasing. The Euro is still wobbling. The cost of living is increasing. The NHS is under threat. We have all this, and more, to look forward to in 18 months.

Combined with this has been an on-going battle with investment companies, lawyers and banks in order to extricate money from the former and stick it in the latter. The wonderful world of modern technology means there is no escape from call centre induced stress.

The holding tank - aka the smelly stuff we can do something about!

Bobbing around in total ignorance of world affairs isn't the ideal solution, but it does take an effort at times to remind ourselves of the need to only worry about the things we can do something about.

South America Dreaming

Late last year we made the decision to extend our trip by one more year. If we had left South Africa in early January, it would have been technically possible to reach Scotland by July, but such a plan didn't include any contingency for delays due to weather or breakages. That struck us as a sure fire way to end our trip with six months of non-stop stress. Looking at the required schedule, would we really be happy with a two week stop-over in Brazil as our only taste of South America?

Deciding to delay our return until summer 2013 has enabled us to heave quite a sigh of relief, and to relax and enjoy a final month in South Africa. The arrival (courtesy of Amazon.co.uk) of new cruising guides for Brazil and Guyana has provided hours of entertainment as we plot and plan how to spend the next few months. The current proposal is to make landfall at the old Brazilian capital of Salvador, on Bahia de Todos os Santos, explore the Bahia province, then hop round the coast to the three Guianas - French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana - before ending up in Tobago and finally Trinidad in November.

The final days of January delivered a two day respite from the storms, so we seized our opportunity and set off to round the Cape of Good Hope in tranquil conditions. An overnight sail brought us to Saldanha Bay, and the friendly welcome of the Saldanha Bay Yacht Club. We've yet to explore beyond the local town, which feels like a Wild West frontier town after the Victorian gentility of Simon's Town. More from the Western Cape next month.

The trouble with moorings

Our distrust of moorings was reinforced during an afternoon of gale force winds. Over the constant howl of wind came a strange "pop" followed by a gentle "creeeaak". The two inch polypropylene rope which we'd been assured was strong enough for our 17 tons had parted. Thankfully our distrust meant that we already had a secondary line fitted - just in case.

The guilty mooring line

The only trouble was that we now needed to fit another line to the mooring, as the gale was due to blow for another day. Time to don our foul weather gear and lifejackets, fire up the engine and try to motor up to the mooring. Using full revs, Angus was only just able to motor into the wind, whilst I tried to haul in a little mooring line before the waves and wind knocked the bow off the wind, and Do It careered sideways with the full force of the gale.

Over an hour later, a chunky two inch nylon double braid secured us to the mooring chain, and we retired for tea and biscuits. Only the next day did the bruises and strains make themselves felt. Adrenalin is an amazing performance enhancer.

The last of the acrylic

During strong winds our aging sail covers have started to flog, so to quieten them we've been spiralling ropes round the sail and cover. Unfortunately a combination of the strength and duration of the winds here has been just too much for the old covers, and they have chaffed themselves into holes.

Before leaving the UK, I bought the last 40m of aqua acrylic available - just in case. Seven years on and there was only just enough left to recreate two new sail covers. Where has it all gone??

Further plumbing problems

The previous owner of Do It had a cheery disregard for galvanic action, using galvanised pipe fittings connected to bronze pipe fittings. Angus spotted a worrying weep on the engine water inlet connections, sadly he spotted it after we were back in the water after our haul out. Starting to disconnect pipery connected to seacocks whilst in the water is just a trifle nerve wracking. The "what if...." scenarios involve all sorts of nightmares. (For the non-nautical, sea cocks are the valves which allow the sea to enter or leave the boat, and when they break, the sea water just enters - at speed)

Helpfully, Yachting Monthly recently ran a series of "crash tests" investigating the best way to cope with several marine crises, including the failure of sea cocks. In addition to the conventional soft wooden bungs which the text books recommend, the team revealed an alternative low cost option - a large carrot!

Thankfully the original pipery came apart without dramas and my carrot supply could be conserved for baking.

Thomas' superb carrot cake

So many of our "culinary delights" are locally grown produce which we are unlikely ever to encounter again, however thanks to Thomas, owner & chef at Betty's Coffee Shoppe in Fish Hoek, we are taking this month's delight with us. Each of our provisioning trips in to Fish Hoek culminated in a mug of coffee and a slice of Thomas' fabulous carrot cake. On our final visit he kindly agreed to share his recipe with me - but I'm not posting it online, you'll need to come out to visit us - or else stop by Betty's.

Should you wish to extend your initial three month visa, you need to apply at least one month in advance of the expiry of your current visa. As the paperwork is actually dealt with in Pretoria and then eventually returned to the office of application where you have to collect it, you need to think carefully about the choice of town/city where you apply.

For your application, you will need:

• your original passport (this is just for checking at the application office, and it will be returned to you)
• two copies of the ID page
• two copies of the "Temporary Residence Permit", stuck in your passport when you arrived
• two copies of a bank statement or proof of funds
• two copies of a letter explaining your reason for extending
• 425 Rand per person (in 2012)

Collect your application form from your selected Home Affairs office, complete the form, and make a copy of it. The rationale for the duplicate copies is that one set of paperwork is sent to Pretoria, the other set is retained by the office where you apply. If you have successfully completed the forms and made the correct copies and paid the correct money, you will be given a form confirming your application. Hold on to it, this is an important form. In January 2012, the system in Pretoria had partially collapsed and applications for extensions were taking months to process. In the meantime, this "confirmation of application for an extension" form is your "Get Out of Gaol Free" card. The Cape Town Port Immigration understand the problem and will accept it when you come to check out .

I promise there will be a bit more of interest to report next month. We hope to see a little of the Western Cape whilst at Saldana Bay, and then it will be time to head north to Namibia.