FROM BLUE WATER CUTTER TO 4 X 4

Lin and Larry Pardey

Lin and Larry are possibly the only professional writers I know who are also great correspondents. Their latest letter came from a town in South Africa that I had never heard of...)

January -- Durban

We averaged over 150 miles a day right from Tasmania, across the Southern Australian Bight, north to Cocos Keeling and across the Indian Ocean to South Africa. Favourite stopping places? Definitely Fremantle in Western Australia, Rodriguez Island in the Indian Ocean and Durban. Only one other foreign yacht in Fremantle, so the local sailors had a really warm welcome for us. It's a beautifully restored Victorian town, set out for cyclists and we rode ours constantly. The two videos we made while in Fremantle have been very well received* and we set off with our own Hi-8 camcorder and a book of instructions on how to use it.

Least favourite passage was from Cocos Keeling to Rodriguez, when we had thirteen days of gale force winds either on the beam or behind us. Once we got running so fast in 25 knots that we surfed off a big wave at what could have been close to 20 knots, as both the mainsail and jib backed completely for several seconds. Wow, was all we could say -- turned in 176 miles that day. Another day we actually made 190 miles noon to noon, with our sights saying we had a three mile difference between log and sights. Rodriguez Island was fascinating, very cut off from the rest of the world, with 27,000 people of African, Malaysian, Indian and Chinese descent plus a few French and British thrown in. Over 600 pirogues fish the lagoon waters under sail. What a sight -- dozens of lateen sails skimming across the turquoise water as the sun sets. We had the pleasure of sailing in some of these pirogues and of getting to know the builders who work in old-fashioned ways with only a table saw and electric drill to speed them along.

Our stops at Mauritius and Reunion were interesting and pleasant, but our real goal was Africa. The fabled current and storms did not show themselves and we found good windows in the weather to assure interesting but not worrisome sailing. People of all races have made us feel very welcome and amazingly safe. We did spend a night in Johannesberg where the Zulu floor manager warned us not to carry a purse if we had to go outside the hotel after dark, and not to enter certain districts of the city. But outside the big cities it is hard to believe there is any real strife. Talk to any African, Afrikaaner, Briton, Zulu, Xhosa or Indian and all you hear about is change.....

March -- Knysna

Our plans have finally solidified. We have gone by road to visit Cape Town instead of sailing there. Reason? We had the good fortune to sail into a magic lagoon on the southern tip of Africa called Knysna. The entrance lies between two high headlands with only a 120 metre gap and a bar that can break horrendously in southerly weather. But we arrived on a day when the southerly swell was only a metre, flattened by a north-westerly gale. We waited until slack water and sailed into a paradise.

We had wanted to visit this town of 30,000 people because of its historical interest in sailing ships and also because a boat designed by Lyle Hess is being built here in timber by a young builder with a fine reputation. Once in the lagoon we found a really charming yacht club, home to twenty-five keel boats and at least 200 dinghies of all sorts. The welcome was wonderful and everyone told us we should leave Taleisin here and several offered to look after her. We were also offered the use of the boatyard to outfit our 4 by 4 truck for safari work, and as one of the yacht club members needed a car driven to Durban even collecting our truck fell into place.

We drove to Cape Town and had a fine shopping spree and a rare chance to sail in the traditional boat regatta on a 100 year old triple-skinned 34 footer, built in New Zealand and now lovingly cared for and cruised by her owner Jill Knight. After seeing how dirty the harbour at Cape Town is, how truly rushed and big city it all feels, we decided we'd love the opportunity to be part of rural Knysna ... the only open anchorage that provides real safety since we left Mauritius. We will go onto a mooring in the next few weeks, after inspecting it ourselves link by link.

Larry is busy outfitting the camper. We have maps of Namibia and Botswana with large tracts marked `Passable by four-wheel vehicles. Care should be taken due to large and possibly dangerous wildlife'. We hope to set off around the beginning of May and follow the cooler weather north. Meanwhile we will enjoy getting to know this area and watching the moves toward a fairer society that are advancing throughout the country. So much to learn here and such an interesting time to be learning it all -- we are glad we decided to come to South Africa.