V and A Waterfront Marina

After seeing nobody here in Cape Town for months we have been suddenly inundated with visitors, My friend Len and Kathy's son David came by on Sunday and my Brother and girlfriend Sharon came to stay in Capetown on Saturday and crew Ron arrived this morning. It going to be non stop work with getting the boat ready to leave next week.

David and the Admiral and I

Haulout

on the slipway

Autoprop overhauled with all new bearings, propspeed and new anode

coming out on the slipway

busy making pre-made meals

Royal Cape Yacht Club, Cape Town, SA

Lots has happened since my last post. Some good and some not so much. The good includes the return of the Admiral last week for a brief sojourn until we leave South Africa. We have now both completed our dental programs and all went well.
The not so good occurred last week when there was a 380 Volt spike from the shore power through the boat. We have had damage to both battery chargers, the lap top charger and one of the printed circuit boards on the main air conditioner. This sort of thing always happens when we are getting ready to leave causing a mad scramble to get everything sorted before we go.
There are no 24V battery chargers in stock in SA so fortunately, Ron will bring them out next week when he leaves from the US.
Callisto has been on the hard since Monday. The crane in the yard was deemed too small to lift Callisto so we were hauled out on a slipway. All went well but since the boat is sitting on her keel it will be difficult to get at the bottom of the keel to prep and paint it. We will try to do some of it and then place blocks on the prepped part and do the rest then.
The autoprop has been serviced and the poles and black trim have been repainted and the topsides buffed out. Hopefully all will be completed for a splashdown on Friday afternoon and then back to the V and A.
Ron arrives next week, as does my brother and girlfriend so it should be non stop until our departure at the end of the month.
Photos to follow.

V and A Waterfront Marina, Capetown, SA

I have been very lazy since my last post but will try to make up for some lost time here. We were unable to renew our South African visas when we came back from Namibia so we decided to go back to England on February 12^th to celebrate my brother's 60^th birthday and also to see the new baby. We could have gone back to Namibia but that would not have guaranteed us a full 90 days.

I had also intended to go back to the US for two days to get my annual stamp on my passport.

Well, the visit was very good. Even the weather wasn't too bad. We went to north London and I left all my travel documents at some US dollars at my brother's flat in a suitcase in a closet where I thought they would be safe and off we went to the New Forest for his birthday.

We had an excellent time with family and on Sunday we went to see the new baby. All well until a phone call on Sunday night informed us that my brother's flat had been burgled and all my travel documents were stolen. The Admiral had put hers in a jacket pocket and fortunately, these had been overlooked by the thieves.

So much for my plans to go to the US. I had to cancel that and spent my time getting a new passport in London and once obtained I went back to Capetown on the February 19^th. The Admiral will stay until March 12 and help me to get ready for the Atlantic run back to the UK.

I have been a dental tourist and had some crowns made here in Capetown and have been doing boat chores, the weather has been mostly excellent.

I also spent some time with the Kilkea's who were busy getting their boat ready to leave for the West Indies with their crew, Ray and Brenda.

My old medical school friend, Martin and his wife Guida came to visit from London for a few days and we did the usual touristy things, Cape Point, Stellenbosch, Franschoek etc. again.

We had a very good time and I've been spending my days wandering about and binge watching Breaking Bad and not really doing much at all.

That is until on Sunday night, I had a major power surge on the dock and I'm having trouble with some of the AC systems on the boat. One of the air conditioners won't work and the watermaker is also not right. So no more lazy days until I get them fixed.

All the dental work is now completed and I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Admiral on Thursday. Callisto is getting hauled out next week to have her bum painted and some other maintenance work done.

here is a photo of Sydney and new baby Genevieve

V and A Waterfront Marina, Capetown

Stellar Stellenbosch

Massive sea lions on my neighbor's boat

Marion and the Admiral in Stellenbosch

picnic SA style

Ernie Ells Winery, Stellenbosch

The new Chardonnay harvest

Proteas, SA national flower

V and A Waterfront Marina, Capetown, SA

Much has happened since our return from Namibia. We left the Royal cape yacht Club and we are now at the V and A waterfront marina and it's a much better place. The howling Southeasters are blocked by the high rise buildings and there is no swell or other problems here except for the local seal colony who hang out on the pontoons and make a lot of noise and sometimes leave special presents. Only goes to show nothing is ever perfect but the V and A is a great improvement.
We were unable to extend our visas upon our return to SA so once our current 90 days are up the admiral and I will go back to the UK to see new baby Genevieve. She will stay until March and I will return to SA later in February to get the boat ready for the Atlantic voyage on April 1.
Our friends David and Marian from Kilkea II are here and we just spent a pleasant weekend in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek with them. Our new cockpit cushions have arrived and very comfortable they are too.
Days are spent wandering around Capetown and doing boat chores. It's a tough job but someone has to do it.

Wedding anniversary dinner at the Cape Grace Hotel

View of table mountain from the company gardens

The oldest synagogue is Capetown

The road to nowhere. Downtown Capetown

Daan Valjoen, Namibia

Some photos

Genevieve Elizabeth Donoghue born Jan 3 2015, 7lb. 7 oz.  21 1nches tall

tiny town in the Namibian desert

Barbeque area at the lodge. Great food

me on the dune

old car in the desert

Dinner the Sossusvlie Lodge Animals came out to drink at the flood lit waterhole. This oryx did not suspect his brother was on the menu

fairy circles. an odd phenomenon in the Namib where no vegetation grows in the circles

queen of the world atop the big dune

these dunes are really big. Note tiny people on bottom right

wild ostrich

shadow in the morning

pass on the way to the dunes. Crazy road

chalet at the lodge. Half tent and half house, very strange

dunes at ground level

sossusvlie and deadvlie from the air. this is the one we climbed

balloon rising over the desert

Daan Viljoen Game Park, Namibia

This the last night of our Namibia walkabout. It's difficult to understand where seventeen days went, we have seen so much.
We have just returned from from two days at the Sossusvlei Lodge. It was worth the 400 km drive on un paved roads to get there. Our trusty rental Toyota did very well and did the same job that the massive 4x4's did. The resort was wonderful and it is just as well this trip is done because I think I am going to eat myself to death. The Sossusvlei dunes were brilliant and we spent one day walking in the park and this morning took a 60 minute helicopter ride around the park. A great experience but now have 700 still images and an hour of video to edit. Oh well.
We leave for Capetown tomorrow and will post some photos .
Oh, and I almost forgot. We do have some other most important news.
Our second grand child, Genevieve Elizabeth Donoghue was born on January 3 rd. 7 lbs. 7 oz. 21 inches tall and a week early. Jessica and baby are both doing well.
Baby photos to follow, too