It’s still windy when we wake up but there’s not a cloud in the sky. Today promises to be HOT!
I do the last bits of cleaning and tidying then have a quick shower and wash my hair before the Roses arrive at about 10.30 am. It’s great to see them all, especially Alice who I haven’t seen for well over a year. There’s lots of going backwards and forwards to the car as they have brought all their bed linen, pillows and towels with them so that I am not left with a mound of washing, something which would be a bit of a nightmare with no facilities here.
The generator guy arrives and within minutes the generator is purring away and producing electricity. The guys in Richards Bay had just failed to wire it up correctly which is what Mike had suspected. With a level of trepidation, Mike starts the water maker up. This hasn’t been used since October and we expect it to have problems filtering or with air blocks, but it works well – result.
The refrigeration guy fails to turn up – again. What is it with these people? He promises to be here tomorrow. At least the freezer seems to be working now although Mike doesn’t know how long it will last.
We call Charles, the guy everyone has been raving about as ‘Mr Fixit’. He seems organise people for all the jobs which he doesn’t do himself and he arranges to come over late this afternoon.
At lunchtime, everyone is hungry but of course there’s no fresh food in and Mike can’t leave the boat as we are still waiting for people. Ann and I go over to Panama Jacks to get some menus for a takeaway, then I take her over to meet everyone of Crazy Horse and Ocean Jasper. Only Matt and Bill are there and we stand and chat for a while in the blistering heat, now over 30 degrees. Thank goodness for the breeze. Matt brings Rosemary over to meet everyone when they are going for lunch.
The guys turn up to do our free rigging inspection. Unfortunately, they find that one of the strands of the starboard mast stay has frayed and needs replacing. This means that we will have to replace the one on the other side as well. Given how hard to boat has been hammered by the sea over such a short space of time, I’m not entirely surprised, although disappointed that we have to spend more money unexpectedly. We also get a quote for getting the boat cleaned – just under £120 to scrub the whole thing down, give all the surfaces three coats of polish, bring all the teak back to new, polish all the stainless steel and scrub the waterline free of the green gunk that so loves to cling to it. It will take two guys two days. The supply of all the cleaning products will cost twice as much as the labour! Why am I not surprised? We book the work to start on Wednesday. Our bits of plastic are taking a real hammering again. Thank God for the Atlantic crossing where there’ll be nowhere to spend money for a month. We won’t even be able to spend it during our three days in St Helena as there’s nothing there to spend it on either! Just as bloody well!!
After lunch we leave Mike to wait alone for workmen and head out for a tour of Cape Town. Still being main holiday period though, the roads are choked with traffic and Terry turns the car around and we come back to the V & A Waterfront, ending up having a drink at The One and Only Hotel. It has a fantastic setting but unfortunately, the setting is not matched by quality service today and we wait over half an hour for four cocktails.
Photo: At the One and Only hotel with Ann and Terry
When they eventually arrive, mine, a honey froth mohito, looks ominous. The froth, instead of being the honey colour I expect, is a sludgy green, and unfortunately resembles the sludge you sometimes see around lakes which have polluted waters. Not a good look for a drink. It tastes fine but the smell is a little weird too and I try not to breathe in or look at the froth as I drink it. Definitely an experience! However, the toilets are quite an experience.
Photo: Toilet experience at The One And Only hotel
When we get back, Mike is just going over to see Rohan who owns the spot we occupied when we first came into Elliot Basin. He’s a South African guy who wants to hear about our sailing experience on a cat as he has just switched, after a lifetime of sailing monohulls, to a cat of his own. Rohan is an interesting guy, the owner of a luxury train which travels through Africa rather like the Orient Express. We stop for a couple of drinks while he quizzes us about the extra things that we found we needed for Jeannius above and beyond the manufacturer’s spec, and also about how Mike was able to get me to do the circumnavigation since his wife is a tad reluctant.
I spot Jim and Annie from Ocean Jasper on the dock and rush out to say Happy New Year as they just got back yesterday. It’s great to see them again.
Terry books a table for us at Rubens, one of the restaurants in The One And Only Hotel but when it’s time to go, neither Ann nor Mike are hungry enough to bother with somewhere expensive, so just Alice, Terry and I go.
Photo: Mike and Ann trying to look upset at being left behind
We’re a bit early, so Alice and I amuse ourselves in the designer shop, attracted by the sale rack advertising 70% off. However with clothes by Stella McCartney, Yves St Laurent, Chloe and the like, even 70% is well out of my price range. A girl can dream though (as long as she also manages to lose about a stone as well!).
We are given a table tucked away in a far corner, either because we booked the table late or they don’t like the look of us, but we have a great time and I have a fantastic steak dish. Again, the service, although very friendly, is extremely slow and it’s a good job that the food is good enough to detract from this. For a five star hotel, the service should have been slick and quick.
Returning to Jeannius, we find that Ann and Mike developed enough appetite to go off to Panama Jacks although they are back by the time we arrive.
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