THE ANCHORING DANCE:
A couple of years back, Tom & Johness(Springtime), gave us a musical
cd composed , written and sung by an obviously cynical and experienced
cruiser! One of the memorable songs is titled "The Anchoring Dance" !
Well, in our brief stay in St H, we have seen every dance, from waltz
to Tango ! Anyone who has anchored here knows that it is common to
swing 270dgs every day, and unless your anchor is well dug in, and on
at least 50-60mts chain, one can be in a spot of bother, or off on an
unscheduled trip to Ascension ! Ferry man Craig says "yawll swing
together", but thats not always true here: just depends what dance is
playing in your area of the anchorage! Yesterday we watched with
amusement( everyone watches other people anchoring!!), as Ze French
skipper of a cat tried to anchor in front of everybody, too close to
the landing jetty. He started out calling politely to his little
french wife, who could not hear with the engines running, and they
clearly had no hand signals either, and ended up yelling fit to wake
the Island! They had to haul up, and re anchor four times ! We were
also nearly rammed by a 53ft cat with inadequate ground tackle, left
in the hands of two youngsters who spent hours motoring around on
their dragging anchor, trying to avoid hitting the other boats! When
his stern was 3ft from my bowsprit, I suggested that they B.. off and
anchor properly, in a suitable place , with enough rode! When Skipper
returned, he listened to their stories, he then moved the boat, much
to everyones relief!
The RMS St Helena came in yesterday morning , loaded and unloaded
containers and passengers, , including the Muira "Didakoi", which is
doing the Governers cup, which starts on the day the ship arrives in
Cape Town ! Didakoi is now a Sts boat, and this will be the first race
in which a Sts boat ,fully crewed by sts, is taking part.
As mentioned earlier, we have been invited to Annes for Xmas
lunch. We have made up a gift bag of assorted Pugs t shirts, and other
mystery items for the family to share. The Visitors book, now runs to
about 12 volumes, and contains the names of so many yachts and sailors
whose names are part of SA's yachting history. Anne opened 30 years
ago, with one table, and 6 chairs! The first visitors book starts in
1979 , and we will be pleased to add our entry before we leave! Roy
McBride and his mates Notty and Simone, passed this way in Ocean Cloud
in 1987, and it was quite something to page through the books of that
era, and find their entry.
The very professional musically accompanied video produce by
Notty, covering both this trip, and his own on Jacana, are part of our
cruising library, both as a source of reference, and fun! Thanks to
Roy & Notty ! More after Xmas!
In the meantime, this blog and the photo of Xmas on Sheer
Tenacity, come with all our best wishes, and grateful thanks for all
the help and encouragement!
Posted by Rod & Mary at 5:27 AM
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