Departure and Shakespeare

It is Monday morning in a cold, wintry Cape Town waterfront. The mist lies thick on Table Mountain. There is hardly any wind. But it is departure time.

Rise and shine at six, a quick shower, coffee and a rusk and we are ready. Waiting for enough daylight, we prepare the lines for our final cast-off from African soil. At last our voyage starts. The long wait is over.

And we are back with Macbeth, who said present fears are less than horrible imaginings. True words indeed. The faces are all smiles, the hearts light. We start the engines to warm them, do final checks on the navigation lights and cabin security and off we go. Cast off, stow away the fenders, rig makeshift guard lines across the stern and settle down to the business of sailing the vessel.

Well, for now there is no sailing, just motoring. Thankfully the sea is flat and we are making good way. All the worries have disappeared. I remembered to take along some extra sinkers to make simple lures for fishing, but forgot to take the innards of a box wine to use as the frills. No problem, we can also use empty potato crisp packets. Of which there is a plentiful supply from the snack stock of the skipper, Renier. I also stowed my artificial tears to use with the contact lenses in some place which shall remain a mystery, I suppose.

But the voyage has started and peace has descended on the boat. Luckily, there is good visibility just a mile or two out of Cape Town. The sea is mercifully flat calm. This is somewhat unexpected, but very welcome, given the cold air. The weather forecast for the next two to three days also looks favourable, so we are expecting to make good progress during the first part of the voyage. This will take us far enough from the Cape of Storms to be almost out of winter.

Sorry for those who have to stay behind!

Authored by Johan Zietsman
Last updated on 2012-12-12