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Boat Trip - October 2008
FIRST- EVER BREAKFAST RUN FROM GRANGER BAY TO HOUT BAY
ON THE HIGHWAYS OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
We all got together on Saturday morning at Antonino's
Ganci Business Park.Two rubberducks in tow,off we went
to the Oceana Boat Club's launching ramp in Granger
Bay for an early launch,find the best parking lot for
your rig and watch others slip their crafts into the
cold Atlantic.A festive atmosphere existed,but the organisation
was a little too laid back,as communication did not
exeed that of the invitation e-mail.
The rubber ducks were prepped in the week,so all waterborn
chariots started first time,well done to all the offroad-
club skippers.Antonino had Tracey(his wife),Fatima(a
close friend) and myself (his riding partner) as his
crew and Andy Faber had the club flag flying high with
Julian,Johann,German Peter and Greg as his crew.Antonino
knew many others at sea ,through his diving interests.
The morning was idyllic,no wind ,warm sunshine and calm
waters.As we were drifting outside the functional breakwater
and telling stories,10h00 arrived and the armada steamed
off.Approximately 18 boats participated,churning up
the calm Atlantic into a turbulant water mass that pointed
most bows skyward.It was reassuring to know that the
NSRI was trailing us with two escorts.Thank you to their
wonderful efforts and concerns of our safety.
The best route for the backmarkers was to move away
from the coastline and enter calmer waters.Cape Town
looked so beautiful from our crafts,but it was impossible
to take fotographs as one had to use both hands to hold
onto this bucking and prancing sea-horse,regularly I
could hear the props pitch change as they cut themselves
free from the water and the inevitable thunk as the
keel re-entered the water and the crew hit the deck.
I am convinced that some seals off Camps Bay received
a free Mohecain haircut from Antonino's twin 40 hp set-up
,as they were frollicking in abundance off- shore,in
our path,flipper sticking out of the water for us to
take note of their morning nap.
We passed the boulders off Clifton and then Antonino
pointed out some blinders ,the nautical term for boulders
just under the waterline.Striking these solitary obstacles
at these speeds would guarantee a swim back to shore.Then
came the shipwreck off Llundudno,helipad and towercrane
made this back broken vessel an ex-working ship and
a lovely sight- seeing spot,just do not let the metal
scrap hyaenas get a whiff of this nautical treasure.Now
we had to navigate the rubberducks between some more
boulders and the sea seemed less polite over here and
slowing down was called for.We did not wish to practise
the man-over-board drill in these icey, shark invested
waters and start a new trend.
Then came seal-island ,the pulpit rock and Chapmans
Peak drive on the far hill in the distance .Entering
the bay was to everyone's relief;the crew could relax
a little as the craft stopped bucking and the coxwain
could open up the throttles to the proverbial anti-dandruff
blow through my hair speed contest.
It all calmed down as we rounded the harbour wall and
found our mooring close the landbased galley(restaurant).Instead
of parking money needed ,out came the for and aft mooring
sheets(ropes) and we could step off our craft as dry
as we boarded earlier on.Sore backs and bums were the
order of the day,but that all cleared like the clouds
before the sun,as we sat down for brunch.
Eggs,toast,mushrooms.tomato and sausage were served(like
our uniform days).Big smiles,lots of happy chatter and
a very friendly atmosphere existed,afterall it was meant
to be a breakfast-run.Soon that came to an end and re-fueling
was needed by some boats;the trip being about 30km and
took approximately 1,5 hours.80hp versus 400hp crafts
needed different fuel budgets and much more apparent
at sea than on land.
Back past seal island ,to the ship- wreck for a quick
foto shoot and down to the nudist beach,Sandy Bay.Whow
they all looked so small and uninteresting ,but my chuckle
went towards the asparagus looking homo sapien ,that
made me comment that the winter had dragged on too long
this year.Next came Clifton and the Amazon longboard
canoeists,these athletes stand on a flat buoyant surfers
longboard and paddle left and right of their bow with
long reach paddles.None of them tipped over although
their craft looked so fragile.
In Granger Bay we waited for the other crafts to return
and impromptuesly were treated to the most graceful
display of whale-play you could only have immagined.All
in calm waters ,the huge tailfin would stand ,what seemed
like minutes on end and all you could do is respect
this mammoth of a sea - animal while it swam under our
rubber-duck towards the big wide ocean.Awe-struck by
this amazingly graceful theatrical play,we had to wrap
up this magical day to be treasured and remembered,by
loading up our crafts and say thank you to all our friends
in the club and hope to experience something similar
in the near future.No doubt Cape Town is a stunningly
beautiful city,also when admired from the sea.
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