Slinging the Hook - Farewell Cape Town

We are ready! 

Turns out we are only one of a small few of the Oyster Rally fleet that are leaving Cape Town today - most are going to wait until tomorrow or later as the typical SE trade winds which have been consistent for weeks have decided to take a holiday for a couple of days!

Anyway it will give our crew a nice chance to have a gentle reintroduction to Ruth II at sea, and in particular your author is happy as he is the newbie on board. 

We might be engining for a bit but hopefully by tomorrow the trade winds will resume and we will have some good sailing to St Helena. 

The last few days have been a mix of preparations and socialising! 

On Saturday we all went to a party in a vineyard (a bit like a piss up in a brewery so no description necessary) which was organised by the rally. The nearby wine country is such a contrast to the busy city, yet only an hour away. 

The following day your author and the rest of the Irish crew made new friends - a Cork friend had introduced us to his Cape Town buddies who brought us to the botanical gardens in Kirstenbosch and then back to in their home for an afternoon braai. An experience and lovely of them to do for total strangers. Also it meant James had a quiet boat for the day - engine got fully serviced without distraction!

Par led the stowage team - fridge, freezer, lockers, bilges, every nook and cranny filled with stores. And more cleaning products aboard than an operating theater might need.

Yesterday we all went to immigration - a walk with our passports to an office near the cruise ship terminal. Our passports say we left on the 9th! We had better go. 

So here we are in the photo: from left Par, Mary, Andrew, Tom and skipper James. Not sure when the next update might happen - if I figure out how to communicate at sea maybe in a few days - all is not lost hopefully if you don't hear for a while though. 

Slán Go Fóill.