More Cape photos

the 12 apostles, Capetown

looking south from the top of table mountain

the iconic view of table mountain on the way to Robben Island

Nelson Mandela's cell on Robben Island

The prison grounds on Robben island

Panorama at Cape Point

Beach huts on the say to Simonstown

Penguin colony False Bay

African penguin 

2 African penguins. Cute little dudes, though they might be girls or even one of each

on the drive down to Cape Point

overlooking False Bay

only another 6000 miles to complete circumnavigation

At the cape of Good Hope

The Cape with some more penguins and seals

chocolate dessert at the Grand Provence vineyard. An excellent lunch at an exquisite location. 5 stars!

Kirstenbosch

on top of Table Mountain

Cape photos

The Groot Constantia Vineyard . The first vineyard in SA from 1768

Hout Bay

Groot Constancia vineyard

Jenn and Ed

Franschhoek

An  Eagle Owl at the botanical gardens in Kirstenbosch

grapes

One of the many sculptures at Grand Provence, Franschhoek

a view across the Franschhoek valley from the Dieudionne Vineyard

the very kitschy wine tram in Franschoek 

RCYC, Capetown, SA

We are back on the boat at the RCYC after a visit from Jennifer and  her friend Ed. They arrived last Sunday and we had a very busy week sightseeing. The yacht club had a live jazz band playing on Sunday and we had a very boozy lunch listening to the music. On Monday, we took the red tourist bus which took us all over Capetown and we took the cable car to the top of the Table Mountain and then lunch overlooking the beach at Blues in Camp Bay.
Next day,we went on the boat to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned until 1992. A well worthwhile tour and strongly recommended.
We wandered around the V and A waterfront area for the afternoon, lots of stores there. On Wednesday we rented a car and we took Jennifer to renew her ENG-1 in downtown Capetown and on to lunch in Kalk Bay at Live Bait and then to Simonstown to see the African penguins. We drove all the way down False bay to Cape Point and took the cable car to the most south westerly point in Africa. Most spectacular views! We drove back through Hout Bay, so it was a long and tiring day but we saw a great deal of the cape.
On Thursday we took the car to Franschhoek and took the rather kitschy " wine tram" to all the various vineyards in the area. I'm not too sure about the tram but there was no other easy way of doing this without a designated driver as we were all a bit tipsy by late afternoon, having visited four vineyards. Franschhoek valley is an experience.
 Dozens of vineyards, mostly small, but some larger commercial ones. Our favorite was Grand Provence. In many ways more beautiful than Napa and Sonoma with incredible scenery and views from the surrounding mountains.
We had a superb lunch the next day at the Grand Provence with some delicious wine and then went on to look at Stellenbosch the other famous wine growing valley. The town was much bigger than Franschhoek with a younger vibe and also surrounded by vineyards, though these seemed much bigger and more commercial than Franschhoek.
Both valleys are only about 90 minutes drive from Capetown and we will definitely go  and spend more time in Franschhoek when we get back from Namibia.
We had some dinner at a fairly divey looking restaurant close to RCYC called Panama Jacks. Very good seafood and sushi and full of locals.
Yesterday, we took a ride to Groot Constantia which is the oldest vineyard in South Africa and we did the the wine tour and tasting and had a very good lunch. We visited the botanical gardens at Kirstenbosch which was excellent but we unfortunately had three hours to spend there before closing time. We will return to spend a day there in January.
The yacht club was busy on our return following a big race sponsored by Mount Gay Rum. And you all know what happens when free rum and sailors are combined. It was a loud and lively evening.
Jenn and Ed left this morning for their tour of Knysna and the Garden Route and we will see them again on Thursday.
We are back to boat chores today and my new dinghy and motor will arrive tomorrow and the Volvo boys will be back with my heat exchanger and aftercooler and will fit them and do the cam belt and some other maintenence.
I still haven't found a new speed log impeller but I hope I will be able to source one this week.
Photos to follow.

Garden Route photos

Ibis colony, Montague

Driving through the Karoo

Garden Route Photos

Plettenberg Beach

sand pipers- plettenberg

A view of Mossel Bay

Cloud creeping over the coastal mountains-Karoo

Driving through The Karoo-looks like the great basin highway in Nevada

Senor Dias' caravel. Maritime Museum, Mossel bay

Hiking in the Knysna forest

Ostriches on a farm. Very dopey creatures

Surprisingly good lunch in Prince Albert, Karoo

Traditional Dutch architecture, Montague

Dutch reformed Church, Montague

A view of Franschoek, from the Franschoek pass. We are at the level of the cloud

RCYC, Capetown, SA

We just got back from our week long walkabout along the Garden Route in South Africa. We rented a car ( nasty Hyundai i20) and drove from Capetown and stopped for lunch at The Old Goal House restaurant in the charming town of Swellendam. Then on to Mossel Bay for the night at a very nice Protea hotel on the hill overlooking the bay. Dinner at the very informal Kaai 4 on the beach. The Admiral had a mussel pot and I had a traditional lamb bar b que. We visited the excellent Dias museum on the following day. Lots of interesting stuff in the maritime museum, including the replica of a caravel that sailed  from Portugal to Mossel bay in the fifteenth century by the intrepid Senor Dias.
Next stop was Knysna and lunch at the East Head Cafe overlooking the lagoon. It was a fairly calm day and entry into the lagoon would have been easy that day. We stayed at another Protea Hotel, very well located for the Waterfront and the Knysna Yacht Club. We had dinner with our friends, John and Tracey at the The Olive Tree, which I would recommend strongly.
We went on to Plettenberg Bay next day and had a nice lunch at Enrico's at Keurboomstrand. Good restaurant offering local oysters and prawn overlooking Plettenberg Bay and the beach.
We drove east for for a further 25 miles and visited Nature's Valley and had a lovely walk on an almost deserted beach that was reminiscent of the 90 mile beach on the north island of New Zealand.
Next day we had a long drive into the Karoo. We saw lots of ostrich farms in Oudshoorn on our way north into spectacular high desert country to the small village of Prince Albert and then a long drive back to Knysna.
We went over to the yacht club that evening for their end of Movember Party. Lots of red wine and oysters for dinner.
In order to counter these excesses we did a long hike in the Knysna forest the next day. It was a perfectly clear day in lovely, rolling countryside.
On our way out to dinner that night we had an unfortunate encounter with South Africa's seamier side. My ATM debit card was cloned by some crafty locals. It was my fault really as I did not take the usual precautions that I should have done. I made a successful withdrawal at an ATM and while we were walking away two people called us back and said that the transaction was incomplete and that I should re-insert the card. I should have just walked away but I did re-insert the card and put in my PIN. The machine promptly ate the card and before I could get back to the hotel and the internet, these two jokers had maxed out the card. How they got the card out of the machine is not obvious to me but this scam it apparently quite common in Africa I am now sadder but wiser.
Fortunately, the bank made up the loss but from now on, I will only do ATM withdrawals in broad daylight inside a reputable bank. Never use free standing ATM machines and if anyone approaches you, however friendly, while you are doing your transaction, tell them to go away in no uncertain terms even if it means being rude. If an ATM eats you card cancel it immediately as your account is likely compromised.
Leaving Knysna, the next day we went north on route 62, stopping in Callisdorp for a very pedestrian lunch but the port and dessert wine vineyards were worth a visit. That we stayed at the Mimosa guest house in Montague which is also quite beautiful with traditional Dutch architecture surrounded by vineyards.
We had a wonderful 4 course dinner that evening at the Mimosa and slept very soundly indeed.
We drove back through the Franschoek Pass (amazing views) and on to Franschoek itself and then the wine country of Stellenbosch. We visited the Beyerskloof Winery for lunch and some tasting of their wares and then back to Capetown.
While we had wheels we took a small detour to the Gemini-Evo factory where they make RIBs. I found one in hypolon which will fit nicely on our afterdeck and will be a much better choice than our old Westmarine dinghy. They put us in touch with a local retailer who gave us a very good price on the new dinghy and a Yamaha 15 hp. 2 stroke and even better agreed to take the old one in trade-in.
I should have the new one on Monday. Yay!
Back the yacht club where it was blowing a gale literally. 35 kts with gusts to over 50!
Such is springtime in Capetown, oh well.
Photos to follow.

RCYC, Capetown, SA

The Admiral and I are back on the boat in sunny but incredibly breezy Capetown. The southeasterly is in full force with winds at the dock in the 20-30 range with gusts to the mid 40's. Fortunately, there is no swell or surge but quite noisy and not really conducive to sitting out on deck and enjoying the sunshine and the amazing view of the table mountain.
We have been spending our time cleaning up. It would appear that Callisto was man clean but not Admiral clean, so everything has been pulled from almost every locker, cleaned and replaced.
I'm making progress with my boat chores. I have my sails back from North Sails but it's been too blowy to put them on the furlers. Perhaps this weekend I'll be able to see if the modifications made to the mainsail has made any difference in how the main sets and how well it furls.
My Furuno Chart plotters are back and they are working well  after a software update and a general checkover.One of the GPS units is still having a problem and may need to be replaced.
The B and G Hydra 3000 computer is still not putting out and boat speed info but the wind speed and direction are now good. The tech is confident that he can get the speed log going too.
The cam belt will be replaced and the cooling system will get service in December once the parts arrive from Sweden.
We have been to the V and A waterfront area in Capetown to wander about and to see the 7 open 65 boats in the Volvo Round the World Race. The arrived last week on the first leg from Alicante, Spain and they left again for Abu Dhabi, yesterday.
Rather them than me, those boats look brutal. I'm still trying to get into the marina at the V and A waterfront but they say they are all booked up until January 10 when the world ARC boats have departed. We have encountered the world ARC boats in various places over the past 5 years and they book up space years in advance wherever they go so that we solo cruisers don't get a look in.
In the mean time we have planned some road trips. Next we are going to spend a week on the Garden route back to the East Cape and we will visit Mossel Bay, Knysna again and various wineries and parks go back through the mountains of Route 62.
Our daughter Jennifer arrives a few days after we get back and a trip is planned to Robbens Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and the wine country of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.
We are going to do our Namibian safari experience over the holidays and we look forward to seeing the local fauna.
It's good to see the sun again after grey and dreary England. The weather was quite mild for November but often wet, which is to be expected. The Admiral's mother is recovering well from her hip surgery and should be back to her normal activities in a few more weeks. I did get to see my family in London and Rochester and spend some time with baby Sydney. I did a full day while Jessica was at work and I had forgotten how exhausting looking after a busy two year old can be.
Unfortunately, I did not get to see my old London pals but there will be plenty of time for that next year when we plan to spend a year in the UK.
Some photos of the Volvo Open 65's and the poppies at the Tower of London.

The SCA all female team leaving Capetown for leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Very tough looking ladies aboard

the start of leg 2. Capetown to Abu Dhabi

Baby Sydney with tiara and beads building a lego castle

dinner time

panograph of the Volvo boats at the waterfront

Our very smart, new blue Ensign defaced with the Little Ship Club logo

Some of the ceramic poppies planted in the moat at the Tower of London in October. By Remembrance Day on November 6th. 880,000 poppies had been placed, one for all the Commonwealth servicemen who died in the Great War. A very impressive sight.