… and red tape. Last night, over a spot of supper with Gideon, it transpired we will need a South African Skipper’s Licence to sail the boat in S.A waters. News to us entirely: we had assumed Dick’s ICC Skipper Licence would be sufficient. Apparently not. But, you only need a S.A. Licence if the boat is registered here in South Africa – which ours currently is. Register the boat elsewhere and the ICC Licence should be good enough – BUT – (there’s always a but, isn’t there?) – there are various complications which may or may not make that choice undesirable. Confused? Not surprised: so are we. Soooo – more Googling, more local enquiries, and more sifting through the mire of local boaty bureaucracy. But nothing to lose sleep over.
Now, see them boots? Those fine athletic legs? Them’s the Skipper’s trusty transporters them is. Across hill and vale and rugged terrain. (The First Mate – behind the camera, of course – kept her own transporters under wraps, safe from the savage nips of pesky midges). All of which is a thoroughly thilly way of saying while we wait for Butterfly to come to fruition, we’ve had a fun and healthy time of it exploring more of Kloof’s lush landscape. Even the local roads of (smartly impressive and gracious) suburbia are rich in palms, bromeliads, and acacias; and it’s not unusual to find monkeys skittering among the gardens or sitting on fences watching passers-by with kindly interest. To the folk who live here, of course, such things are totally unremarkable; to us, jogging or striding energetically by during our early morning or late afternoon bid to keep in trim – well, they’re just wonderful.
And we have other reasons to be grateful. These vertiginous hills, snaking forest trails and deep gorges are doing us good. Back at home (life here is too new – so home still means England at the moment), we were both used to taking regular daily exercise. Here in SA, without a handy rowing machine and treadmill, we need some demanding terrain to maintain our levels of fitness … such as they are: I mean, we’re no slouches, but neither of us will frighten the horses with our massive musculature or robust racing style. So to the forests, hills and vales we go, whenever we can. Dick armed with water and maps; me with camera, lenses and an endless supply of Polo mints – an essential part of any survival kit, of course.
Butterfly Update: Lookaway if this doesn’t thrill – it’s really aimed at the other FastCatters-in-waiting: a quick update on what’s happening boat-wise.
- Butterfly being fitted out/repaired on dockside at Durban Port
- The new prop now expected Wednesday 21st May. Expected – but not guaranteed, of course!
- The inverter now connected; so, too, the solar panels (2 x 200watt).
- Much of the instrument panel wired in – in fact, lots of wiring completed (we’re told).
- A new saloon door being made up as today we discovered original has a long deep scratch in it.
- Gas strut fitted and working ready to receive cockpit table.
- Upholsterer coming on Monday to fit and hem Bimini fabric enclosure.
There will be other things that have been installed or fitted, but looking at the boat yesterday and today, with saloon and hulls chocka with crew, it’s hard to spot everything. With so many people working on her, and no water supply to hose her down, it’s a little troubling to see her looking so dirty at the moment. But Gideon assures us she will be spruced up and left sparkling by the time she’s completed. I’m not sure we can wait – Hand us a mop, my good man!
One thing worth emphasising – and we hope it might help future FastCatters. The FastCat really is a wow of a boat, and as you FastCatters know, each one is built specially for each customer – but be kind to yourselves and don’t make any hard and fast plans that depend on a fixed completion date. Each boat takes as long as she takes. Remember that ol’ chestnut: “good things are worth wating for”. Well, in the case of the 455, it certainly seems true. What’s also true is that Gideon will still look after you, after you’ve taken delivery. Not the case with many boat manufacturers judging by some of the tales we’ve heard. Remember – Just keep those plans loose!
The only bummer on our immediate horizon is the likelihood that we won’t be in SA to see her craned and lifted into the water – nor be there for her maiden voyage across to Durban Marina. For next Wednesday, we must leave for England for six days, to honour a long-standing appointment at a family wedding. Alternatively, this might be very good timing: watching the cack-handed antics of some crane-operators today, as they repeatedly bungled the lifting of a huge tyre (not such a difficult load, surely), one could only pray Butterfly will have a more skilled crew to introduce her to the water. After the escapade with the runaway truckdriver, I’m not entirely sure I want to watch her launch at all … !
Anyway, here she is in her current resting place.
One last thing: last night we were talking with Gideon about the Lazy Jack-cum-Flaking Dutchman sail system. The trouble with any Lazy Jack system (or, in our case, part system) is the way the sail battens often catch when raising the sail. Gideon’s latest brainwave is to use basalt battens in the construction of the sailbag itself, so when opened it will spring wide and the guiding lines will be held out and away from the rising sail. Sounds a winner – certainly in theory. We’ll probably be the first to try this out, so will report back in due course. Stay tuned!
RSS - Posts
