Kaapstad (the Mother City)

Having been held up in a wind hole our arrival in Cape Town (called Kaapstad in Afrikaans) had to wait until Monday (28th) lunchtime. We came in past Robben Island where Nelson Mandela had been held prisoner for many years during the time of Apartheid, Rob Lewis was on the quayside from Mission Performance with the cold drinks along with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and all the other crews and spectators, so I am sure we got the biggest welcome for all our bad luck with the kites, also there was my dad who had just come from the airport, so being in late allowed him to see us arrive which was great! After clearing immigration and a bit of lunch it was straight down to deep cleaning the boat in the afternoon, then going out that evening to a local bar for a meal and swap stories with the other boat crews about the excitements we all had on the last leg, then I went to a hotel for my own deep clean and bed! 

The next day we had to get our two biggest kites Bwian and Bruce on to the quay and give them a thorough check over, although our sewing machine had broken on the race our hand stitching had held up well but I needed to reinforce these areas with more machine stitching so that took most of the day. Also my cousin Margret who lives in Cape Town came to say hello and see the boats.

My Dad took Me, Jim and Martin on a day trip to the Constantia wine area on the other side of Table mountain, we went to Constantia Uitsig winery and did a wine tasting before going on to Simon's town to see the South African naval base and a colony of penguins at Boulders beach, after that a trip into a Township which was really interesting and we then drove along a coastal road called Chapmans Peak which was spectacular, before coming back via Hout Bay to Cape Town. In the evening there was a prize giving party followed by a fantastic cocktail dinner party put on by the Rickerty Bridge wine company.

On Friday we went to Stellenbosch  about 30 miles from Cape Town and met up for lunch with Rob and Mick before driving through the Bains Kloof Pass (seeing some great scenery and wild baboons on the road side) and onto stay in Franschhoek. On the Saturday morning I walked round the local markets and visited a museum about the Huguenots http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huguenots_in_South_Africa , then more wine tasting at the nearby Rickerty Bridge Wine Estate! When we eventually got back to Cape Town  there was just enough time for a quick sightseeing bus tour, a trip up Table Mountain to get some great views of the Cape and then finish off some last minute jobs on the boat, before an early night.

Up early, it's off to the dock to clear customs and slip lines for a parade of sail in Table Bay before heading off towards Australia and getting to know our new crew members, Alan, Dave, Chris, Maud and Joe, I think this leg is going to be tough with lots of fast surfing along the way and with a bit of luck a good result!

New Team Members

New Friends

Race Start