… that’s the rub.

Alas, the weather window that looked so promising for Friday/Saturday has now vamooshed. A sneaky little low is creeping around the SA coast and is messing up our sailing plans. But here in sun-drenched Durban, you’d never know it.  In fact, to all intents and purposes, you’d be hard-pressed to find a nicer day to set sail. The only thing giving the lie to all this benevolent, innocent-looking sunny clime is the falling barometer. Ah, such treachery the fickle heavens weave!

Nor is there any chance of leaving before the weekend is out. Not to fret, we made good use of our extended wait here by doing a major shop and stocking up on provisions. Then while the tide was out, motored over and gently beached on a sandbank so Dick could adjust the props’ pitch.  They’re much the better for it – though possibly a tad underpitched; it’s extremely negligible, but given we have time now, we may have another final tweak tomorrow. Of course, we’d have had to do all this anyway had we been able to flee Durban, but it would have been far more à la mucky rush.

Soooo …. time a-plenty to scrape away and halt the persistent march of Durban dust and dirt. And if the playful breeze would abate a little more, to carefully blast the mainsail with a little hi-pressure H2O. But it must be said, virtuous though this scrub and scrape activity is – sailing out of Durban would have been infinitely more fun!

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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain. (1835-1910)