Year 7 Day 338 So Long S/V Infini
07 December 2014 | False Bay Yacht Club, Simon's Town, South Africa
Dave/Sunny And Beautiful
As I have written in the past, one of the bad things about cruising is that you have to say goodbye to the various cruiser friends you meet. Usually, there is a good chance that you may bump into them again as you cruise to different places. However, sometimes you realize that seeing them again will become a very remote possibility.
Such was the case today. Our good friends Michael and Susan of S/V Infini left today with their son to go explore the hinterlands of South Africa. They have rented a car and will be driving around for the next few weeks. When they return, we will have left of the US. Then, in January or February of 2015, they will sail on to cross the Atlantic to spend the next year of two in the Caribbean. They have no plans of crossing the Atlantic and sailing in the Med.
Thus, while we plan to sail over to the Caribbean late next year and parking the boat there for the holidays before sailing on to the Med in the spring of 2016, there is little chance of bumping into them again. How sad is that! They are such lovely people we have a history of bumping into them going back to Cartagena, Columbia during our very first year of cruising in 2008. We met them again in Panama, in the Galapagos, in French Polynesia, and now in South Africa. Five different places as we both made our way almost all the way around the world! We wish you well, good friends, and have a great sail next year!
My back is getting better with each passing day. I have high hopes that it will be strong enough in time for our long, long trip to the States this Wednesday.
Today, I had Randy of S/V Mystic come over and I hauled him up our mast to replace the masthead light. I had bought an Orca Green LED masthead light a few years back but it failed within 6 months. They fixed it but I had not gotten around to remounting it again. Instead, I just used our original masthead light. The Orca Green light is both an anchor light and navigation light and as an LED based light, thus it uses fewer amps. Hence, I was motivated to try using it again. I have since learned that it has a reputation amongst cruisers of failing so I have my fingers crossed that this time it will last. We shall see…
While I worked with Randy, MM gave Jenny all the food that we could not eat before leaving the boat. It was chicken, cheese, yogurt, tortillas, filo dough, onions and fresh garlic to name a few. Cruisers hate to waste things and we are the same!
I had Randy come over today because for the first time in a week, the winds died. I was told by Randy that he had heard that last month was the windiest November in Cape Town’s history. Sheeesh. I can believe it since we have had day after day of winds blowing between 25 and 50+ knots. Continuous blows of between 25 and 35 knots have been typical and we no longer think twice about the howling noise it makes. Actually, the quiet we are now experiencing is a bit eerie.
I want to thank everyone who has sent to me well wishes and advice regarding my back. It was kind and thoughtful of you and I appreciate you taking the time to do so. As I said, it is getting better and better each day.