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Early January 2004 -- Notes From Jim... I went back and fished out bits and pieces from Jim's emails in early January. He left Santa Barbara on 1Jan2004 - what a great adventure to start the new year! Business Class tix from LAX-LHR! The flight was uneventful, landed at Heathrow on time and even got a few hours of sleep. Use of the shower in the Admiral's Club woke me up - I have to hang in there for the day and then sleep overnight on the next leg. That should have me waking with the sun in JNB. Not a bad setup... the time lag will be easier to deal with. The flat beds on the British Airways leg (LHR-JNB) made a difference! No problems on arrival in JNB with Customs/Immigration. Last hop to Durban was smooth as well. Saturday/Sunday, 3-4 January 2004 -- From Jim's Email (posted to BB)... Spent the first weekend in a B&B. Turned out that 3 classmates (all Brits) were staying there too. Pete (Jersey, UK), Rollie (Manchester) and Steve (London) all seem to be good guys; smokers, but polite ones. We spent Sunday wandering up the Durban seacoast. A pretty beach but the hotels etc. are decidedly not high end. Monday, 5 January 2004 -- First Day of Class... Arrival at the class on Monday found 5 other students. They split us into 2 groups. Since the 4 of us had already spent time together, we volunteered to be a group. Our boat is named Kindred Spirit. It's an L34 and a bit cramped, but it's home for now! Exploring Durban (finding internet access and payphones) is next on the list... Wednesday, 7 January 2004 -- No Access... Found the internet place. Had hoped to be able to work things out with Janice to send a cigar drive for updating the site. That idea won't work, no access to the USB ports on these machines. We're trying to work out another method of updating. Thursday, 15 January 2004 -- From Jim's Email (posted to BB)... The trip has been wonderful so far. Sailing work has been tough but fun. The instructor is a nice guy but not a good teacher. Later in the course his style may be more appropriate, but not now. In the 1st sailing session I was on the helm. He had us outside the channel markers. We ran aground. I was not happy (UNDERSTATEMENT!!!). We got off the sand and no harm was done. Since then my helm work has improved dramatically. The work Bahar did in prepping me this spring was wonderful. I was more comfortable with the tiller than any of the others. We spent yesterday learning to sail with poled out headsails (either single or double headsails). My experience gybing the pole on Selhun was absolutely applicable and I really blew folks away. The boat seems to be lacking a bit. Badly beat up sails, a recurring diesel leak, non-functioning instruments all plague us. But they do not materially affect the learning or experience. Today I sit for my VHF/SSB license. We were to take it in the AM but the examiners double booked 2 schools... "it's Africa!" is the applicable local saying. On our single half day off so far, we all went to a local mall for some shopping. I did not get much, just a buzz cut - a #3 trimmer all around. Honest Mom, I really did it this time! It looks pretty weird. Maybe I'll get some photos snapped of it. Maybe I'll keep it as my usual style. I certainly have no need for a comb right now! This afternoon we set sail for Richards Bay, 150km north of us. It will be 15-20 hours of sailing. We'll spend a few days there and return when the wind is favourable. After that comes a week long dive course. I decided to take the Rescue Diver class since I'm already certified. Then we spend a week doing safety training (STCW '95). That's firefighting, first aid and watch-keeping standards. After that we're sailing to Mozambique. That's the agenda as I know it - they're not forthcoming with the schedule... Tuesday, 20 January 2004 -- Notes From Jim... Got back to Durban after spending some time Sunday in Richards Bay - first wrapping the anchor line around the keel [that had to be fun!], then wandering around the dry docks learning about hull shapes and materials. A night of team building before sailing south again Monday. We left Richards Bay Monday morning and made it back to Durban Tuesday. Saturday, 24 January 2004 -- First Letter from the Edge... After a long, long search, I found suitable writing paper. Pretty expensive airmail paper when you take into account the R300 in cab fare to get it! I've been sleeping on deck most nights, our quarters are cramped and this gives me a little breathing space. Tomorrow we start the STCW '95 training. Word is it will be 8 days of horrifying boredom. But it is one of the most important things -> no SCTW training = no work in the US! The guys are enjoying a last few beers while I write this. I have yet to be hung over, common sense prevails. A few classmates cannot make the same claim. All I'll say right now is that funny stories come easy here :) Sunday, 25 January 2004 -- Dangerous Showers... Started the day off right - good thing we had first aid! I smashed my elbow in the shower - brought it down on the ceramic tile dividing wall, breaking a tile and slicing my elbow. Not a very deep cut, just looked like a flap of skin but did it bleed. I was late, calling Janice on the cell while running to class - thought I'd stemmed the bleeding but noticed that blood was running down my arm under/over my watchstrap and dripping to the ground from my hand. Nice. The first aid teacher bandaged me up and told me to sit down and drink some water - fair bit of blood loss, guess I looked a little pale! |
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