Trapped by an oil rig in a 35 knot gale

There we were trying to exhibit first class seamanship when things started going awry very quickly - right inside the harbour.....

"Must be the season of the witch" sang the 70's rock group 'Bloomfield Kooper Blues Band' which very few of you will remember. It's that time of year when the Cape Doctor pumps for days on end and sets the populations' nerves on edge; of exam times and of end of year stress. I found this bit of information on our famous summer breeze via Google:

The prevailing Spring and early Summer wind , the South-Easter (otherwise known as the "Cape Doctor") arises as a spin-off from anticyclones deep in the Southern ocean. It arrives at the peninsula by way of False Bay, its velocity often being given a boost by the "corner effect" round Cape Hangklip. One arm of the South-Easter sweeps around the eastern flanks of Table Mountain, where its moisture, picked up from the ocean and the warm waters of False Bay, helps to keep the vegetation green through the heat of summer. It is also a vital factor in the pollination of many plants, including the Silvertrees. The South-Easter continues on around Devil's Peak, before descending on the city. There, it behaves somewhat in the manner of a trapped tiger, careering around in the bowl between mountain and sea. A couple of days of this is enough to purge the city's air - nowadays it is the smog instead of the plague of old which is banished. The South-Easter tends to overdo the cure, outstaying its welcome. A possible record was its performance in November 1936, when it howled without a break for 15 days, ravaging suburban gardens and penning the staff in the upper cable station for 5 days.
So there we were at the yacht club having arrived from the Northern Suburbs where there was only a hint of breeze to arrive at the embattled and windy foreshore where the car park ar RCYC was a cauldron of airborne sand being whipped up by a 30 knot south easterly. The last two races have been cancelled due to excessive wind. Was this going to be the third one in a row?


Full story here: http://www.pacer27.co.za/news.html

Four yachts testosterone damaged

It's supposed to be light hearted twilight racing at the end of a working day, but it would seem some skippers take things a bit too far. Go here http://www.pacer27.co.za/archive/03_Nov_10.html to read how these things happen.

Then a few days later it was the revenge of the sports boats, where we posted a very good result winning a bay race by an amazing 22 minutes over the second placed boat. That story accessible here: http://www.pacer27.co.za/news.html