New Props on!

So after beaching Moonwalker 3 times we finally got the propellers on! Yeah! It works a treat around the harbor need to try out in the ocean now. Russ reckons it's a bit noisier thanks to the big blades that pass about an 1.5 inch from the hull itself, but it works well and it shouldn't give us any grief while sailing.

We had a little share of dramas and delays since we arrived here on the 13th of October but now we are so very much ready to go! However the last decent weather window happened 2 weeks ago and our friends Ovation and Nero took it and made it to Knysna.

So the waiting game starts, there's been a few false alarms of nice windows forming and closing, but we are feeling good about one coming this coming monday. We hope to make at least to East London. Fingers crossed.

THE NEW CREW ON MOONWALKER!

Introducing the new crew on Moonwalker, which at the monent is hitching a ride inside mum's tummy (much more confortable I would guess) and stealing dad's space in bed... not quite the crew you would imagine if it wasn't for the image hum??? The photo shows our little one at 9 weeks, 3 cm and kicking and punching although I can't feel a thing the scan showed it clearly. Just amazing.

We will leave the sex as a surprise after much pleading of Jan and Russell. I am a curious creature by nature and a Brazilian by birth (where surprises are unheard off) so this sort of decision didn't come easily. But I promissed and now I am glad I did. How exciting it will be!  

We are now at the 13th week so just out of the dreaded first trimester, all happy and healthy. Very lucky indeed for not having morning sickness or any other negative side effects. I only got the good ones: big boobs, enhanced se... oh you don't want to know about all that... but lets just say its good, very good. ; )

So the plan is to carry on to Cape Town as soon as we can and depart for Brazil in January. I will be flying over on the 19th of January for my gourgeus niece's baptism and will stay there as I really don't think it's a great idea to do such a long crossing (3 weeks) pregnant. Realistically if something goes wrong I am totally screwed. I would never forgive myself to letting that happen. Russ agrees so we are looking for some crew to do the crossing with him. As long as the crew is prepared to pay for their flights back we are happy to shout food. Apparently there are plenty of sailors here whom need the mileage to get licenses and are even prepared to pay for it but Russ wants to be able to choose who he sails with so as long as they pay their ticket back we are happy. Russ will be leaving (weather permitting) just as I fly out (19th of January) and sailing to Rio de Janeiro. He should be there in time for Carnaval! If anyone know of anyone interested please get in touch.

VERY HAPPY, BRAZIL HERE WE COME !!!

New Zealand goes to Sth Africa!!!

Just a quick note to say how incredibly proud I am of the All Whites for qualifying to the World Cup 2010 in South Africa!!! It's a huge achievement. Sad we won't be here to see them. GO WHITES!

Richards Bay

Only now I realized how long its been since I updated the blog and how long we've been here in Richards Bay! Well, can't say it has been the most productive times of our lives as we depend on parts to fix things on board, car to get anywhere around and generally the weather is pretty shocking but we are slowly ticking off things of our 2 page long list.

The highlight of our stay so far has been our 2 visits to the Hluhluwe(pronouced Shooshoolooe)-Imfolozi Park. Our first visit was a 3 day/two nights stay at the park where we saw pretty much all the animals there was to see (Rhinos, Giraffes, Zebras, Antelopes, Elephants, buffalos, etc). I was the only one to see a lion as I did a night safari with the local camp as you are not allowed to drive your car at night (normally you drive yourself around the park and animals). On our second visit we saw a Cheetah and that was just incredible. She/he was kind of stalking this group of antilopes that seemed oblivious to its presece. It was majestic.

I love the Giraffes, they are so elegant and clumsy at the same time, we got a great shot of one drinking water - what an undignified moment for such an elegant creature. But Russ is in love with the Dung beetles... yeah, typical Russ. He reckons that the Dung beetle is not part of the Big 5 but is a certain number 6. Really, I have to give to the little insect, what an incredible life: make a neat shit ball with the help of its female partner; roll it and the female (yes, she hops on the ball for the ride) with its hind legs wherever it needs to be rolled (invariably up hill); then bury it so the female can lay her eggs in it. They do it all day long. The roads are littered with them. I don't know exactly what you all believe in, but hey, I am working hard on my karma here as I really don't want to come back as one of these creatures. No, rolling shit is not my idea of a life surprisinly!

We then went to see the hyppos in St. Lucia, where they are scattered in an estuary, very close to the beach. From time to time the take to the street of the town at night, grassing. Just incredible. Crocs are around too. They are not as big as the Australian ones, but Gee do they have plenty of sharp teeth... However I learned that Hyppos are the biggest killers on humans in Africa. More than sharks or crocs. Knowing that, I was pretty shocked to see local people fishing right next to the hyppo spot and a hand full of paces from crocs! Seems a bit careless to say the least!

Back to the boat reality we are now just waiting for our inner cutter stay and wind gear to come from Durban to get going west. Not much of a hurry but it would be nice to have a change. At least here we don't pay marinas as we are attached to a public dock, but I don't think one can stay here forever. Everyone says that once out of here it can only get better - so we hope as this is a pretty bleak place. I am not quite sure what we had in mind when we got there, but certainly it wasn't this. The weather is improving, summer is coming, but it still blows 25 - 40 knots either from the SW or NE and we don't want to get out of here in these conditions that's for sure. Another sad fact is that there are hardly any anchorages on this coast until you get to Simonstown (just south of Cape Town) meaning you have to stay in marinas. They are so expensive it's crazy really. After we heard as well that after a recent blow 5 boats sank at a nearby marina we decided that this is not a place we want to keep our boat during the winter.

So that means we will not be staying in South Africa for the coming winter and Soccer World Cup as planned initially. We will be heading to Brazil next year, late January/early February. Needless to say I am so happy about that! We will be heading straight to Rio and working our way further south from there. So excited, can't wait!

SOUTH AFRICA

We are here! 4 and a half days of plenty of wind and a good smacking as we approached the coast that saw us beating into 45 knots of wind... Moonwalker didn't like it at all and she sustained a bit of damage but crew is safe and sound and loving all the civilized facilities! Soon a good update with photos and plenty stories will come. Meanwhile we are just stoked to be here: WE ARE IN AFRICA!

Weather Gods

And another joke from the weather Gods on us: unable to shake off the sea breeze/land breeze effect from the Madagascar coast we have missed the weather window we wanted. However we have now noticed it was to our advantage as winds where variable on the middle of the channell. So we have been heading south and are now approaching the town of Bello Sur Mer. Apparently this is where all the big sailing coastal trades vessels are build so we are really looking forward to check it out. No sign of a weather window for another 3 days so we might as well make the most of it. We have visited the Barren Islands which are very barren indeed and have been able to do some real good sailing in the afternoons with 80 miles days covered without too much hassle.

Leaving Madagascar

We are by Bally Bay north of the Cape St. Andre and got notice of a good weather window to go across the channel so have decided to take the chance. Leaving this evening. A bit unfortunate as we wanted to check further south but the anchorages with this weather are not so good and Paul is real keen to get to Sth Africa to enjoy a bit of it before he returns. Its just so hard to leave places we really enjoy! We will keep following the coast south for a few days just in case the weather window (or our minds) changes and then hop across. Its around 900 miles cross to Richards Bay but if a front comes through as we approach the coast of Africa we will hide behind an island off Maputo Bay in Mozambique called Inhaca till we can carry on south. This crossing although short in comparison to our latest ones is very tricky as it involves lots of currents and weather systems that blow through the channel very quickly leaving very few, if any, options of protection so caution and a good weather window are vital. Will keep you posted but should take up to a week to get there we believe. Glad the tsunami didnt get to New Zealand!