Xmas on Kwela - Sun 25th Dec

The ladies woke up this morning to the 3rd day with no wind. It is absolutely dead calm, with not even a swell to make the boat rock. Almost at 40 degrees south and Lee said that it’s the type of summer day that you wish and pray for in Cape Town, especially in the windy south. Seeing that there is nothing else to do, plan is to put their bikinis on and catch some rays. I’d like to see those tan lines, what with a harness that has to be worn on the upper deck at all times.

Xmas lunch was well on it’s way when we spoke with the vegetables having been prepared and slowly cooking. They had already baked bread and were looking forward to a good meal and sharing a bottle of champagne.

They are currently at 39 17S and 28 46E (11am our time here in SA) and are looking at going even further south to search for some wind.

To answer some questions that everyone seems to be asking, here they are from the horse’s mouth:

1. What are the nights like?
Nights are beautiful with millions of stars being visible. Unfortunately the sunrise and sunsets are not as spectacular as originally expected as there is an incredible amount of cloud every day.

2. Are you sleeping well?
I have been sleeping fairly well when I sleep. I have had the opportunity to sleep more than Sasha as I catch 40 winks on and off through the day, while Sasha remains awake as she wants to keep a hand on everything. Last night was the first night that Sasha left me in total control and allowed me to actually steer the boat through the night while she had a sound 5 and ½ hours sleep.

3. Are you coping in the kitchen?
I have not had any big problems in preparing the meals so far. The biggest problem is that neither Sasha nor I actually feel like eating the food that the yacht is packed full of. The main reason for this is that we were both eating properly when the seasickness struck and now none of the food that we “brought up” is very appetizing. I hit my head fairly hard again today in the yacht. Still got to get used to that.

I was asked to please thank all those people who gave here gifts to open on Christmas day. They were very appreciated and she is very grateful for your thoughts.

Now for some other news:
- from the yacht – one of the big water tanks on board the boat that was being used for fresh water has been compromised. Apparently the fiberglass lining has separated around the edges and made the water undrinkable. The result is that they have lost 10 days of water. This in itself is not too bad, but coupled with the fact that they are travelling much slower than they anticipated and the fact that the rain catcher is not catching much due to the weather, it is something that they have voiced a concern over. The result is that we all have to add rain to the list of things that we need to pray for as well as the original calm seas and some wind.

- From False Bay Yacht Club – many of the people that were at the yacht club to see Kwela depart would have either witnessed the accident that happened on one of the yachts that was out of the water, or seen the ambulances and emergency services that were busy around the yacht. The gentleman in question was climbing a ladder onto his yacht when the ladder broke (the castor wheel collapsed and the ladder toppled) and sent him flying into the boat next door, where we all heard him land rather painfully. Fortunately, he is not too seriously injured for the type of tumble he took and it was reported that he broke his arm and dislocated his collar bone. We sincerely hope that his recovery is successful and that he has no long term complications due to the break.

For those who have expressed concern about the earthquake that hit New Zealand earlier this week and the possibility of any big waves, it would appear that we can lay our fears to rest in this regard.

Thank you to all of those who have sent xmas wishes to Lee and myself. I have forwarded them on to Lee.

I will be speaking to Lee again on the 27th, so I am not sure if there will be any news tomorrow, unless I get a message from Lee.

Enjoy the rest of the Christmas atmosphere and long weekend with your family and loved ones and please be safe if you are travelling on our roads.