NSRI recsue!

16 November 2013

Yesterday was one of the most hectic day in my life. We dragged anchor and crashed into another boat.

The day started like any other. Everyone got up and did there morning routines. My mom worked on the internet, my dad drank his coffee thing of what he should do, and Kyle and I keeping ourselves busy.

My dad decided he'll fix our outboard motor for our dingy. He quickly got to work. He would be outside all day so none of us really needed to check if we drag anchor. My mom, who is always worried about everything, still did the occasional check up.

At about midday my mom did another check on the anchor. We were fine. My mom didn't even sit back in her seat when my dad yelled. We all ran to see what's happening. And there it was, as if I was in a movie. The thoughts in my mind went, "this is not real", "you'll wake up soon". When I didn't wake up I had to run to save the boat. We had dragged anchor and were headed straight into the bow of another boat.

My mom and I ran to try and push the boat way, Kyle got the keys to my dad so he could try and start the motors. But it was too late. We had already crashed into the boat and we were hooked around his anchor chain and bridle.

Kyle then ran to get fenders and my mom called the NSRI. They immediately responded and sent a crew. There were two fishing boats out at the time. We called them to help and only one stopped to help.

What felt like hours of waiting the NSRI, the arrived. The owners of the other boat also arrived and we started to have a whole crew to help. The NSRI took control straight away and started planning to try unhook the boats.

They called for back up and went and fetched more people. Once they came back we jumped into action.

"We are going to drop the bridle and anchor chain and pull your boat off with the NSRI boat" said the guy who seemed to be in charge. So we did just that.

We started moving but we were still hooked. The bridle was still stuck between our rudder. So we had to cut it off completely. And because of the bridle we had no rudder control. So we couldn't move on our own. The fishing boat gladly said he'll tow us to a mooring buoy.

Once hooked up to the buoy the NSRI left. And the fishing boat went to do whatever they were originally doing.

The NSRI only put one rope onto the mooring buoy. We knew this would not hold our boat. We have to double up on lines.

We were now alone to do this, so we brain stormed. Our first plan was for me to swim to the front of the boat and tie the lines, but the current would drag me away. So we tied a rope around me. I felt the water and it was ice cold. I would freeze.

We need a new plan. We decided to drop the dinghy and pull it to the front of the boat. My dad and I were on the dingy and he held us in place as I tried to tie the knots.

After we drowned in all the water that splashed into our faces we finally started pulling the dinghy back. Once aboard we started to relax and look at our damage.

The biggest problem was our non working rudder. We have to buy a wet suit before we can fix that.

We spent the night doing anchor watches and my mom and dad got very little sleep.

Today we when to the club to find everyone and thank them and apologise. We didn't find the boat owner but we found the fishermen. He told us that we have to pay him for his help and it will cost R1000. We would be happy to pay, but it was way too much.

We met a lovely couple and they bought us some drinks and spent the evening having fun.

Knysna Surprise

14 November 2013

This morning I woke up in Knysna. It may not seem that shocking to you, but to me, I still can't believe it. On Tuesday we decided to leave PE, now the shock comes in when we thought we were headed to Mossel Bay.

We left on high hopes and good weather, so we thought. The waves were short and close together, but we said it wasn't too bad.

We said that we are going to rotate sleeping. Each of us is going to sleep for an hour and be awake for two. We started this pattern at about midday.

It was hard to work these shifts because every time something happened, everyone would jump up and no one got to sleep enough.

 

 All through the day and night we were making good speed. Mossel Bay didn't seem to far, but in the early morning our speed dropped. We didn't act much on it thinking will still get to Mossel Bay on time. But then, the wind turned South on us, actually, South West.

It was little wind and we thought we could beat into the wind, so we raised the main sail and the head sail and started tacking, we had good speed but either we were head out to see or towards the land, gaining very little distance.

The wind started to pick up, and the waves got worse. We were debating out options, we could turn around and go and anchor at Plettenburg Bay, or we could go through the heads at Knysna, or beat through all the way to Mossel Bay.

Turning around wasn't a good option because we hate turning around, going to Mossel Bay wasn't an option because everyone hated the waves hitting the boat side on. So it had to be Knysna, that to was a trick problem. To get into Knysna we have to go through what everyone calls the heads, the heads are two big mountains next to the sea with rocks in the sea and between the mountains.

 

Because of the small gap in-between the mountains, there is a big surge that goes though there. The only time to get though was at slack tide where there will be little push or pull from the current.

Luckily we had a friend that sailed to Knysna the day before. We called him up and asked if he could help us get through the heads. He was more than happy to say yes.

He check out the heads with a dingy and then came aboard. He told us it is calm and we don't have to wait for the tides. He took control of our boat and started to head for the heads.

 

We all put on life jackets and looked out for rocks. He told my dad to look for curling waves. As we motored through the heads the waves started to lift us, we surfed them. After about five minutes we got though, he guided us to the anchorage.

We anchored in the bay, and enjoyed the scenery and spoke about all the fun activities we can do here in Knysna. My parents have successfully convicted me to stay here for ever.

Skating in Port Elizabeth

11 November 2013

One awesome weekend in PE. I recently found a friend, Morne, here to hang around with. This last weekend we made the most of it before I left.

On Friday we when to the beach and Morne took me to the skate park right next door to the beach. I tested out my old skate park tricks, and I've still got it.

We swam and had a great time, then we had to walk back along an abandoned train track. We told jokes as we walked home. When we got home we both went to our boats and ate.

As night approached we met up again. We discussed what there is to do, after days of planning we decided to go to the movies.

We got ready and walked to the bus stop and waited for the next bus. We got on and drove to the mall.

We got to the mall and went to check out the movies. There were two movies we wanted to watch, Thor and The Family, we couldn't pick. So we flipped a coin. As it went up we watched and waited, it landed, we slowly looked and were not really sure which side we wanted to see. But the coin had spoken, we watched Thor.

We were lucky and booked the tickets just in time and we had to run into the theatre.

After the movie we when for an ice-cream and walked to the bus stop. We caught a bus home and when to bed.

Saturday my parents decided to do some boat repairs. I sent most of my time in the room watching movies and ever now and then grabbing something for my parents.

 

 

 

In the afternoon I when to visit Morne again, we hung around his boat listening to music. As night came he had to go visit his grandparents and watch the rugby. He invited me as well, I told him I'm not a fan of rugby, his reply was "There will be food." I didn't even hesitate, I was all ready on my boat getting ready.

When we got to his grandparents house we sat and watched the rugby until half time. His grandfather kept making jokes about not letting us eat.

At half time he finally told us we can have some food. I'm not sure who was first to the kitchen, Morne or me, but we both got to the table at the same time.

After supper Morne and I when for a walk around the complex, I'm not sure if Morne just wanted to hang out or speed up the rugby game. When we got back we watched the rest of the game and said our goodbyes.

Sunday morning came, now Sunday was the special day because it was my mom's birthday. I like my mom's birthday, she takes me out for the day. She wanted to go to the beach, right next to the beach was a skate park.
We caught a bus to the beach and had some lunch at some stalls. I then when to the skate park. I already knew I could do my old tricks, so today I mostly tried new tricks.

After a couple of hours my mom said we are going home. We got onto a bus and headed home. The lady on the bus said there is a lovely place called Greenacres that we should visit. The bus to Greenacres would only arrive in 2 hours. We decided to go home instead. We got onto a new bus and when home.

As we got home I met up with Morne again, we spent the afternoon hanging in the bar, when we decided to go home. I invited Morne onto my boat to celebrate my mom's birthday.

Morne said he might go out tonight if I want to come with. He told me not to get my hopes up because its not a definite plan. I let my mom know so she doesn't have to worry.

I waited for the message to say we are going out. As I waited I fell asleep. I kept waking up to the sound of my mom's party. Till midnight, when my phone rang, I thought nothing of it and answered the phone, a lesson in life, if your phone rings and midnight be afraid, I heard a voice on the other side, it asked me where am I. I was sceptical about this call, who would want to know where I am at midnight? I asked who it was. Then I heard the scariest thing any kid could hear, the voice answered "It's your mother." To my shock I replied "In my room." Then my mom ran into my room laughing saying she thought I went out and wasn't home.

Port Elizabeth Town

Yesterday morning we decided to go on a little town trip. We got our havo sacs and got dressed and ready to go out.

We left the boat and walked down the long walk on that is probably half the trip to town on its own.

We walked down the road and we saw a marine store and it was one of the stores we wanted to get stuff from. We went inside and they had everything, From fishing gear to boat equipment to pots and pans.

After leaving the marine store we headed out of the harbour. The lady was very kind and just looked at our ID's and let us out. We walked across 5 or 6 train tracks in 5 minutes. I don't know how good all of the train tracks are because we saw a couple of abandoned trains.

We stopped at the first traffic light and were confused to where we should be going to get to the shops. We asked the guy who was at the traffic light and he gave us directions to the Spar.

It was a short walk and just next door to the Spar was a museum. It was a free entry and it gave us a small feeling of the old South Africa. It wasn't the best museum but it was free.

We then when shopping. We only took two bags with, and my mom bought 5 bags worth of groceries. We stood outside the store stripping the packages and trying to fit the groceries. People gave us weird looks and must of been thinking that we are freaks.

Just before we decided to walk back. A guy came up to us and asked us if we needed a lift. To our amazement we said yes. He gave us his car keys and said he's just going to the post office, we can go put everything in the car. He is trusting people he has never met with his car. He's a brave guy.

Once we got home we ate lunch and I when to visit my new found friend. We chilled at the bar and listened to music and watched some stupid clips on our phones. Late that afternoon we came back to my boat and we all played Risk until they had to go home. It was a day well spent.

 

East London to Port Elizabeth

Good morning Port Elizabeth. Yes, we have left East London and are now technically past the wild cost. We have done what lots of sailors have not.

After our last failed attempt, I wasn't sure if this was going to happen. Two weeks ago we tried to sail to PE and the waves were to short and the sea was unpleasant. We decided to go back and give up.

After a week of tension between the family, we decided that we still want to do this. My mom looked for a weather window. She saw a nice one for Sunday, it was a week away and its hard to predict weather so far into the week. So we just kept out eyes on it and waited.

Friday came and the weather still looked good. We launched a flight plan and started getting ready. The week took forever as we waited. All we wanted to do was leave.

Sunday came. We all got a good nights rest the day before, and were all up and ready to go. At about 9 we dropped the lines and headed out. We called port control and they said the bar had a massive swell. That's not the thing you like to hear when you just started sailing.

My mom already started to panic saying if port control says it bad, then its really bad. But we said let's look and we'll decide. We motored to the exit of the harbour and we saw a wall of water. I couldn't see past the wave. There was a blue water everywhere. But we easily floated over the wave. But then there was another that seemed bigger. My dad tried to stay in the middle of the waves because they were crashing on both sides of us.

Five heart attacks later, we were past the bar of East London. The waves instantly became smaller and very pleasant. I knew we weren't going to turn around, trying to get back in would be even more dangerous then carrying on.

The wind was calm and the waves were peaceful, so we let out the genoa and I headed back in and watch some series on the laptop. Every hour on the hour we plotted our course on the chart. I decided to learn how to do this in case my mom one day get too sick to do this and I can jump in.

 

At about two in the morning my mom sent me to bed. I went to bed and listened to the boat sail. I woke up at about five in the morning when I had a heated argument with myself to get out of bed:
Me: it's daylight, we have to get up and help.
Me: no, my mom will wake me up if they need me.
Me: my mom said get up at daylight.
Me: she'll wake me if she needs me.

This went on for about two hours and I wasn't tired anymore and got out of bed. I sat outside with my mom for most of the day whilst my dad tried to get some sleep in before we docked.

Whilst I was a sleep we slowed down our speed by half. My parents know I know the most, I need to be awake to keep the boat up to speed. It took about five more hours to get to PE harbour. We got in about lunch time.

We docked and we all were cranky because no-one has had a good nights sleep. So we communicated through fighting. But we got the boat tied up and went for lunch.

When we got back from lunch we saw kids on a neighbouring boat. We introduced ourselves and we got along well. I spent the rest of the day talking to them. It's good to find someone my own age, or close to, at a yacht club.

The wedding in Mozambique

9 October 2013

This last week was a hectic week. We were invited to a wedding in Mozambique and we need to take a field trip up there.

Our journey started last Tuesday when we had to catch a bus from East London to Durban. We packed our bags and caught a taxi to the bus stop where we had breakfast.

The bus was delayed for two hours. Already we were off to a bad start. I mean how do you delay a bus? In a plane you can blame the weather but in a bus at midday what do you blame? Maybe they ran out of petrol because they didn't fill up at the last gas station. But whatever it was we had to wait.

The bus finally arrived and we got on. I knew this was going to be a fun drive because my mom panics about everything and my dad likes to be in control of the vehicle. So I'm going to be with a panicking mother and back-seat driver.

When we were at our first stop, we all got out and my parents had a cigarette. After that we went and bought pies, when we walked out the shop the bus was already leaving. We ran after asking for them to stop. I felt like one of those losers in those movies where they are always running after the bus whilst everyone else laughs.

The bus stopped and we all got back on. We settled back in our seats and relaxed.

The bus trip took really long. At about 8pm was the next stop. I had taken a little nap and when I woke up my parents were outside having another cigarette. Then the bus started to drive again. I'm alone in the bus and my parents are outside. I ran to the driver and tried to stop the bus. They calmly explained that they are going to the shop and back. They are not leaving anyone behind. I calmly found a phone to let my parents know that the bus was coming back.

We got to the bus station at midnight. We called a taxi. We got in and they had a meter run to say how much it cost. And I'm pretty sure it increased incrementally as we drove. It started with 60c for 5 meters and seemed to climb to R100 every second. We are never getting a taxi again.

We spent the night at my aunt. The next day we when shopping for a camera and drove to Richards bay. In Richards bay we had a braai at a friends house and slept the night.

They said it will take 2 to 3 hours to the border. They lied. It took 4 to 5 hours. We got there late afternoon.

Our car would not survive the ride to our accommodation, so we took the border transfer. We got in the bus and went on the death defying trip. I think that car spent more time in the air then on the ground.

There was another car in front of us that randomly stopped and reversed. They reversed straight into us. No one even got out to check the damage or anything, they just drove off. I wonder if you can do that with any crime in Mozambique, just drive off?

We spent the weekend in a tent, in fact it think it was a fancy tent, it had running water, how many tents do you know that have running water?

I think 90% of this weekend was partying, 5% wedding planning and 5% waiting for things to happen. The wedding service was on the beach where it was so windy that we couldn't hear the minister speak. It wasn't anything special, it ended like all weddings, in a drunk party.

 

The weekend flew by and we got to catch up with old friends and have a great holiday.

Sunday we left for Richards bay, where I slept over at my best friend. We spent most of our time playing computer games.

It's funny how you see all your friends at different times, but when you say goodbye it's as if you are never seeing them again, but 3 weeks later there they are. So the whole friends whilst sailing isn't that bad.

Our long sail to nowhere

19 September 2013

Here we are sitting peacefully at anchor. Not sure how we ended up here. It all happened so fast. It started yesterday morning:

We all got up and felt dirty because we hadn't showered in 2 days. So we packed a shower bag and we headed to the yacht club. We all showered and got back to the boat.

We were running low on groceries, so we decided to go to town. We called a taxi. For the first time using Eagle Taxis we felt safe. We finally found a driver who can drive at the speed limit.

In the shops, I found out that my dad and I behave ourselves and everyone else is reckless. We were walking up and down the aisle and there was this lady who kept trying to crash into us. I hope she knows she can't claim road accident fund.

Then we had this old lady attack us. My mom went to get some deodorant, this lady must of thought we were trying to kill her or something, because she started throwing the deodorants everywhere. We were ducking and diving behind the lady who crashed into us.

After our life threatening shopping excursion, we headed to our safe boat. We packed away the groceries and decided to relax. About an hour later a guy arrived and told us to move. It is unsafe. So much for a safe boat. I guess we like living on the edge.

We phoned port control and asked what this was all about. They told us the dock is unsafe and we have to move. So my mom checked the weather and saw that there was a weather window for PE. We thought we should move all the way to PE.

We spent the next hour trying to get the boat ready. At about 4 we left. We were heading to PE. Kyle and I sat watching tv shows on the computer.

I headed to bed early so that I could be up for a part of the night and the rest of the day. My mom woke me up to tell me that we are turning around. But not on purpose. The wind was getting to violent and in the wrong direction.

The next morning we got back to East London harbour and anchored our boat. So from the wall to the anchorage, which is about 800 meters took us a whole night to get to. Shows you how slow boats are, or it could be that GPS' don't work properly and lead you astray.

20 September 2013

We have tied up to the wall again. John, he is the guy who runs the harbour charters, told us we can park here, it belongs to him. We could have moved yesterday but we liked being anchored.

During the night, just after I got to bed, I'm sure they did it on purpose, another boat here dragged anchor. I had to get out of bed and get dressed again and we rowed there to let them know.

This morning they came and thanked us. They also decided to park again the wall behind us. With the planks here and the tide change, we went from anchor watch to fendor watch.

Superstitions

 

13 September 2013

Friday the 13th. A day everyone fears. So may dad decided to take us for a walk to the beach. On this walk I decided to push my luck, I looked for black cats, ladders and any other bad luck superstitions we may come across.

Is started off all good, but it seemed that the bad luck caught up to us, as we tried to stop at a restaurant for food and drinks. They told us they are not open yet.

Luckily we planned ahead and brought along glasses and just bought a 2l coke and shared. The bad luck hadn't won yet.

We looked around at all the different restaurants that were around. We decided to look at a monument first of a German family. My dad and I made a joke that I should grab the German women's ass. It was kind of stiff, so she must work out a lot.

We looked at the time as saw that the seal show would be starting soon at the aquarium. We bought a ticket and went in. The only people there was us, so it was our own private show. The one seal was still training so didn't know all the tricks and we sat laughing as he attempted try.

 

The other seals knew exactly what to do and put on a good show of jumping swimming and even taking out the trash. Yes, they taught the seal to throw away rubbish, so if you want a pet that cleans up after you, get a seal.

After the show we saw them feed penguins, pelicans and sharks. We also saw other types of fish like parana, turtles and even star fish.

 

By the time we were done we were all starving and decided to go to the restaurant next door, La Vida. We all sat down and my parents when out for a smoke, it wasn't even 10 seconds when they got back and said we are leaving. I knew exactly why. During those 10 seconds I looked at the menu, the price tags were more then the price of our whole net worth. The prices were outrageous.

Then we sat debating what restaurant to go to next. We ended up at a family restaurant that only had one waiter. We ordered 2 Cokes and one glass of tap water. We got the 2 Cokes about half an hour before the water. But I can understand, it is easier to get coke than water, its not like water comes out of a tap or anything. It is a long process that takes time to make, water is very rare, I was even surprised that they served water.

We all ordered a different meal and decided to have a little of each, my dad's pizza was the best. They didn't put much sauce on my rib burger. So wasn't the best meal in the world, but they did have a fun play ground for little kids. They have playstation, X-box, jungle gym and movies. So if you want to entertain your kid, that's where you should go.

We had a pleasant walk back where we stopped at a place that could print my dad's book. The lady there, Tammy, was very nice. My dad and I sat teasing her and keeping her giggling for the entire time we were there. I'm sure we made her Friday and her entire weekend.

Free Lunch?

 

1 September 2013

We had guests over for this weekend. It typical that we chose this weekend for guests to come over, because this was the same weekend that the sail past happened.

The weekend started off with cleaning the boat so that it looks half presentable for our guests. We never clean our boat, as far as we go to cleaning our boat is washing the dishes once a day. Yes, we sound like messy people. The one disadvantage of being a messy person is that you have a lot of cleaning to do when you have guests.

The first day was fun, we sat talking rubbish in the cockpit whilst my parents had a couple of drinks. The second day, Kenny, one of our guests, tried so hard to catch a fish. He finally got a bite just before lunch. As he struggled for half an hour trying to catch what seemed like a whale, his line snapped. Well I guess we aren't having fish for lunch, luckily my mom made a back up roast.

Now as I said, the sail past happened this weekend, and they included us in this game. Throwing water balloons at unarmed people. I ran up and down the decks trying to catch the water balloons to throw back. The other people found it amusing that I decided to be a hero and save our boat from the deadly balloons.

9 September 2013

Yesterday we when to visit Doreen and Nick. They invited us for lunch, its a free lunch so we went. We had fun talking rubbish and having a couple of drinks. And they do make a really good potjie.

We also said our farewells to Marimba. They had sailed here from Cape Town and were headed for Dar Es Salam. They were very nice people and we got a long really well with them. A good thing about the sailing community is that they never forget you, and when you meet up with them again, they are always more then happy to see you.

The dark depths of Lust!

 

26 August 2013

We have been waiting for weeks for my dad's first copy of his first book. Today we got a phone call. As my mom answered it I saw a massive smile on her face. Which meant one of two things, either we won the lotto, or my dad's book was here. We didn't play the lotto this week, so it had to be my dad's book.

We sprang into action and got ready to go showering. Now showering at East London....not sure if it is better than the bluff or not. It is a lot cleaner, there is more privacy, but there is less hot water. So we rotate on who gets to shower first, that way we each get hot water every 3rd time we shower.

After our cold showers, we got back to the boat and headed for town. Last time we went to the post office we decided to walk back, it wasn't too bad so we decided to walk there. My parents made one mistake in their calculation. They didn't take into account that we were walking up a cliff drop.

On our mountain hike to the post office there was a little tuck shop which had a special on a giant burger. We stopped here for lunch and had one of the best burgers ever! And there was this really friendly guy who just wanted to talk to us for no reason.

 

The little shop had a good sense of humour. They had a sign saying "Don't fall asleep. You might get robbed" my only question is, what happens if you get robbed whilst awake?

After our short hike, well according to everyone else in East London it is long, we reached our destination. Within minutes my dad was holding his book in his hands. All of us were so excited to have the book, but too exhausted to move so we went for an ice-cream at KFC.

We decided to do some grocery shopping whilst we were there. Now when we do grocery shopping it's more of "my dad and I cause chaos and pretend to do nothing" when my mom looks and packs the trolleys. We crash the trolleys, we push each other into other people, we make jokes of people who walk past.

I have said this before, my mom is a shopaholic. So we ended up with 5 trolleys of groceries. The lady at the till was shocked at the amount of groceries we had, and we ended up getting a free chocolate.

We waited outside the liquor store and were about to call a taxi when a random guy in a pick 'n pay uniform asked us how we getting home. We told him we will be walking home, then laughed and told him we will be calling a taxi. He protested and told us he'll sort us out. He came back with the store manager and told us he will be taking us home.

When we got home we offered to show him the boat, as we gets on the boat we saw the look. Everyone gets the look when seeing the boat, the look of, I want this lifestyle. The mainstay dream, it kills everyone. Lesson in life, don't look inside the honeycomb. Once you are hooked you now are in the dark depths of lust.

Nahoon Reef Hiking Trail

15 August 2013

Today was the most fun day of my life. We when to Nahoon Point. It was a hiking destination. It said it was a beach hike, so we when in shorts, T-shirts and slops.

It started on a wooden path way which we followed. It came to an end on a beach. So we took off our shoes and put them in our bag. Kyle and my mom kept looking for sea shells and I just jumped on every stone.

There was a big stone that I climbed up and asked if I could jump from the one to the other. There was a gap no bigger then I could step. My mom got her mother voice out and told me no. I obeyed and come back down.

We didn't walk along the beach for every long when it ended. There were rocks bigger than the one I just climbed. I went climbing amongst these rocks trying to fine the best path for everyone else. There was no best path and we all had to climb over.

That was the easy part. We followed the man-made stairs to find more and bigger rocks to climb. Everyone else decided to put their shoes on but I on the other hand, am a real man, so I when bare foot.

We ended up climbing up stairs and onto a cliff edge. I think this is the part where Death joined in the hike. We started walking around the cliff faces where you saw nothing but the violent rush of water 1000 feet below you, and you heard the little chuckle of Death's voice behind you.

My dad and I always went ahead to find the right route to our destination. There where multiple routes and we weren't sure which ones were safe or not.

Death always makes his games fun. He made us choose between going on a path but have no view of anything, or go along a cliff edge with a path smaller then the width of my foot. We chose the cliff edge.

We finally got to the blow holes and bat cave. We sat and had a small rest and watched how water shot out the blow holes.

We had a chose between going back and climbing all those rocks, and getting into the deadly taxi and coming home, or continue climbing cliff faces and walking home. We chose the cliff faces. This was my dream. To walk along a beach and just walk and walk and walk. Come cliffs, you just climb, come rivers, just swim. We didn't walk the whole of Africa, but we did walk most of East London.

After three hours of walking we hit the city. There were people. We finally saw human life. We stopped at Wimpy for a waffle and a break.

We don't know the city very well be we thought as long as we stick close to the harbour we will get home. We walked and walked. It felt like we were getting further away. We stopped and asked for directions into the harbour. The lady gave us directions to the container entrance and not Latimers landing.

At this entrance the guard told us we can not enter and we have to walk back to town and go a different way. We started getting worried because it was getting dark and now we have to walk through city centre. Not feeling safe I watched every one around me. Made sure they stayed away from me and my family.

After an hour we finally got home. Just in time, as we got home the sun set.

We all just washed our feet and went to bed. It was a long day.
Does anyone else know where we can go hiking in a dodgy area?

Out and about in East London!

 9 August 2013

Today my dad came up with a great idea to go for a walk though the icy winds of East London to a the Fish Market.

Ever since we got here he has wanted to go. Everytime he looked at the foredeck he saw the sign and said "We should go try their fish." Today he thought would be the best day.

So we all got dressed into snow suits and went out in the deathly winds to go for lunch. Firstly we weren't even sure if this was a restaurant. Let alone if there was food. But that's all apart of the fun.

The next step to our adventure to the unknown we how to get there. There is a big gate closing us off from the police station and the fish we craved was on the other side. We were trapped with an evil hunger.

We asked a stranger how to get there. He told us that we have to get on the road and go around the station. So we set out to conquer our curiosity. The path crossed over a train track that lead into a tunnel. I've always wanted to run though a train tunnel. I mean who doesn't? So I begged to go and my stubborn parents said no.

There was a new obstacle in our way. The NSRI building was now stopping us. It would take extreme skill to climb the gate because it had electrical wires from the ground up. I was thinking of trying to short circuit the power box and get some bolt cutters to cut our way the what looked like a fortified military base. But sad to say I didn't get to play my spy games and the NSRI just opened the gate as we got close.

We got to our destination just to find out it is a fish shop not a fish restaurant.
But we bought some fish anyway. We watched how they descaled and gutted the fish. It takes us 3 days to do this and it took them a matter of 30 seconds. I thought they were around highly trained assassins with the speed and skill they used the knife to cut the dead fish.

On our way home I nagged again if I can go though the train tunnel. This time they agreed. So I ran into the train tunnel and danced like a crazy guy. I have now ticked something else off my bucket list.

13 August 2013

We were told that there was a East London museum. Today we though it would be a good day the go to the museum. So we got all dressed up to go out and called our race car taxi services. They might have the highest road kill in East London, but at least they get you to where you want to go on time. When you get out of the car you might be traumatised but at least it is affordable.

This has to be one of the biggest museums I've seen. It took about three hours to walk though the museum. At least it was nicely layed out. Each thing had its own section. It had a square shape with three floors. First there was a little information about asteroids. They told me everything I already knew.

As we moved on there were sea shells and fish. Then it went onto land mammals and small insects like butterflies. There was a small passage that had all types of stones and crystals. Some of them had their chemical formula. I have never seen chemistry at that level before. I was scared, I hope I don't have to learn formulas like (Al3 Cu4)2 (FeO2 SnPb5)3 (6NaCl).

 

Up stairs had the evolution of East London, and the people and the fashion of certain centres. I found it amusing that 1920s has a similar fashion to the our fashion now a days.

At the bottom level we saw different types of guns and cannons used in the military.

We called the death trap to get us home again. Not going to lie she must save a lot of time. Late for work? Call eagle taxis.

We were all hungry after the long day. Kyle decided to make Jungle Oats. I on the other hand decided to have two minute noodles. Oops, my bad I mean five hour noodles. Kyle put the kettle on to boil at the same time as he made jungle oats. He finished cooking the oats and I was still waiting for the kettle to boil. A boat, the only place where you can cook Jungle Oats faster than two minute noodles.

14 August 2013

We had a family friend invite us to come have lunch with them. Bryan came to pick us up and take us to his house, but first he took us to the mall to get some shopping done. He needed to get some work done anyway, so we shopped whilst he worked.

Afterwards he took us to his house. His wife made quiche. It was the most amazing quiche I've ever had. My mom better learn to cook that quiche or I'm moving houses.

Shopoholic Mom

 

7 August 2013

The last three days have been town days. On Sunday we when to visit an old friend of my mom's. They haven't seen each other for seventeen years. So they had a lot if catching up to do. I just sat back and listened to old stories of when my mom was a kid.

I brought along my skateboard to entertain myself whilst at their house. I landed most of my tricks, which was shocking because I haven't skated in while.

On Monday we called a taxi. We needed to go to town to do some shopping and get some diesel. This small blue car with tiger stickers on claimed to be from the eagle taxi services. Kyle and I found this amusing because eagle taxis should have eagle stickers on, not tiger stickers. I'm not sure if it is bad advertising, or brilliant advertising.

This little car could barely fit the three diesel containers and the four of us. I wasn't sure if we would fit the groceries in the car as well. My mom said we are not buying much so it will be fine. We have different ideas on "not buying much". My mom thinks a whole trolley from Pick 'n Pay, and more items from other little shops isn't much. I think she is a shopoholic.

With the diesel containers full and in the boot we had to put the 150 packets of "not much groceries" on our laps in the back-seat. On our way home the taxi driver, Sharon, told is about her pet birds and pet monkeys.

Yesterday we need to get diesel and some cigarettes for my parents drug abuse. That's when Sharon thought it was a good time to show us her monkeys. So our first stop was her house.

Her and her husband, Raymond, lived in Westbank. That place made Brakpan look good. They owned about five or six houses that they rented out. They gave us a tour of their house. They were very friendly people with a nice house, I just felt unsafe in that neighbourhood.

I try and spend an hour or two everyday skating, because with this life you can't always skate. Here at the derelict waterfront there is a great area to skate. There are bricks that I can jump over, stairs that I can jump off, and a mini ramp to go down. I have my own skate park!

Woke Up in East London

 

2 August 2013

Woke up in East London. Yes I said East London. This is the last place I thought I would be today. This plan started on Monday. I was flying back to Durban from Jo'burg. That in itself was an adventure.

On Monday my gran took me to the airport. I checked in and was going to hand in my luggage when the check in counter lady asked for my visa card. Firstly I have no idea what a visa card is, let alone if I have one. So I asked "What is a visa card?" She politely replied "The credit card that you paided with." Now my mom paid for this flight and her credit card was in Durban. So I already started to panic. I phoned my mom and told her the problem and told her to send a picture of her ID and her credit card.

10 minutes later I get a phone call from my mom swearing at the phone because it won't send the pictures. After a little while I got the pictures. They weren't clear at all but the lady accepted it. Just shows you that a credit card isn't needed, they are just trying to annoy you. I told them I just want to hand in my bag and I'll carry my skateboard on.

After this time consuming exercise my gran, her brother and I when for a quick burger. Straight after the burger I had to board the plane. At the gate the guy told me I can't carry my skateboard on. This is where I got mad. I have flown from Durban to Jo'burg and back a few times already and I carried my skateboard on every time. Once I carried two skateboards onto a plane. What was different this time? So I had a big fight with this guy. After the argument I when back to the check in station. The lady that irritated me the last time calmly told me that I can't carry my skateboard on. It could of helped to tell me that when I was first there. Not when my flight is leaving in 5 minutes.

Then they still tell me that my skateboard might not make it because I handed it in too late. It would of made it if they told me the first time that they put in a new rule where I can't carry my skateboard on.

When I landed in Durban I waited for my luggage. First my bag came out. Then I waited for my skateboard. I saw bags come out and people taking their bags. But no skateboard. I waited and waited. Then a worker told me that there is no more luggage. I got so mad I wanted to go burn down the airport. They had lost my skateboard.

As I walked out my mom tried to calm me down by saying we bought insurance on my luggage. So we'll be able to buy a new one. We made our way to the lost property and there it was, my skateboard. I was extremely happy! So I didn't set the airport alight...... this time.

After I calmed down my mom told asked if I wanted to go to East London? I had a puzzled look on my face and asked what did she mean. She told me that the motors are repaired and that we don't really have anything that is keeping us in Durban.

The next day we sprung into action and got the boat ready. We handed in our flight plan and were planing on leaving at 8 am on Wednesday.

At 8 am we dropped our lines and head out the harbour. About four hours later my dad says we are heading back. My mom and Kyle agreed. I on the other hand was enjoying myself so I protested and we continued sailing.

I went to bed early so I could be awake at night to help. I had on-off sleep though the first half of the night. I woke up at 3 in the morning asking why they didn't wake me up?

I was up helping my mom for most of the day whilst my dad tried to sleep. It was a calm day of sailing at a fast speed. The max speed we got up to was 9.9 knots. And our average speed 7 knots. Which meant we landed in East London earlier then expected.

At 1 in the morning we decide to go in and dock the boat. We rafted up to an old steel boat. We then all headed to bed and said we'll sort everything out in the morning.

Today was the most shocking day of out lives. First we saw the navy set off bombs in the harbour, followed by a rude guy saying that we are causing damage to the boat we rafted onto.

We adventured out to find showers. But all we found was abandoned restaurants and non-working ablutions.

We sourced information out from a guy who seemed to be fixing a motor in his car. He told us where all the different clubs are. We then rowed to the yacht club. It seemed like a quiet place with only 3 or 4 people.

Luckily for us there were showers and we were able to get clean and look like normal people again. But we still have a lot to explore.