I must explain something . This was my job , I was the First mate and for around 6 years I would deliver those Catamarans all around the world. The Yachts are manufactured here in Cape Town , and then all depending if it was privately bought or if by "the moorings " or “sunsail” we would get that yacht to them brand new. One needs to understand that there boats cannot be put on a ship and shipped to the client. It costs way to much. So a Skipper , a First mate and a Crew member ,would be given the task of taking the boat to the client.
We took all sorts of Catamarans , The First one was a small one , A Leopard 39 ( Thats 39 Feet long ) and our first Trip was From Cape Town to Tahiti via the Panama Canal. We left Cape Town nd 120 days later we arrived in Tahiti. We did stop at a few places , we even got hit by a Hurricane while on the island of St Vincent .
On my first Trip across the Atlantic , on the way to St Helena Island , the weather was horrendous. Massive towering waves , the boat would slide and skid down the front of the wave , then we would hear the sails flutter as we would be so low at the bottom of the next wave that there would be no wind.
And yes , we Sailed most of the way. The Leopard Catamarans are very comfortable yachts. Each of us had our own cabin , a door that shuts and our own Toilet and bathroom… Although there is a shower and one even has speal geysers to heat the water , we would not use them. One has to plan and conserve water and food and energy all the way. . We had bought enough provisions for most of the trip when we were in cape Town. We even had a Deep Freeze on the boat , so we had Meat all portioned off and frozen . But we had to be very cautious. There are engines that charge the boats batteries . But to run the engines one needs diesel. Now When your sailing across oceans , there are no places to stop and get Diesel , or water. So you have to make sure that you conserve as if the wind stops blowing out there , you will sit for days. And if you use all your water showering , then you will die of thirst. We would take a bucket and have a throw it over our heads and have a rinse at the back of the boat , with salt water. And if the weather was bad , and we had a storm that was with us for 2 weeks , we never even did this.
I used to have a much darker Beard , and after the first Month , my beard had turned grey. I was terrified . I had no control over anything , it felt like we were going to die at any moment . We ran with a storm for 2 weeks , and the screeching of the wind and the smashing of the waves , the juddering and stinging wind .
One tries not to show fear , especially when i was supposed to be first Mate. But , we survived …
And the next storm we had , it just seemed a bit easier.
I learnt a valuable life lesson on that first trip. I was not in control , I could do nothing about it , and stressing and fretting didn’t help. I learnt to love those storms after a while , the sheer strength and brutality of them is amazing . And if your boat is over turned , or capsized , there is no one out there to rescue you . You will only be missed if you are 2 weeks over due , and by that time you would be dead.
All the trips that we did , were to different destinations , but always starting In Cape Town. We would reach the destination , unpack the boat , clean the boat , polish , scrub and make it look like it was brand new , and then fly back to Cape Town , and wait a week or so , and get the next yacht and sail off to the next place. For six years I did that , I could not have a pot plant , My bed in cape Town only saw me maybe 3 weeks of the year. I had to cancel my telephone line , most of my accounts ,because i just wasn’t there to use them or pay for them. Having friends was very difficult as well . I just was never there , always out sailing , and when I was back , I was on Holiday for a week or so , and they were all at work.
In those 6 years , I have been to St Helena Island 5 times , I been to Rio Twice , spending 2 months there at one stage . In Brazil i went to Salvador , Recief , Nitro , Fortaleza . I been to georgetown in French Guiana , Grenada a number of times , Tobago keys , Cariun , Mystique , Beque , St Vincent , St Thomas , Tobago , mafia Island , Anapolis , Baltimore , Atlanta , Panama City , Colon, Costa Rica , Aruba , Belize , Panama , Columbia , Galapagos , Tahiti ( Papayette ) , Bora Bora , New Zealand , Brisbane , Singapore , Langkawi , Penang , Port Dickerson , Sumatra , Hainin ( Sanya ) , Phuket island , Phuket City , Bangkok , Diego Garcia , Mauritius , Madagascar , Ascension island , Cape Verdes island , Tenerife , Gibraltar , Ibiza ,Bonifacio , St Josephine’ Island , Stromboli , Regio , Sicily , Polaris ,Athens , Dubai , Kuwait . There were a few places like St Fenedo island ( Off the Amazon River ) , Coragoes Caragas ( Mauritius island way out mid Indian ocean ) , Vietnam , and some other islands that we briefly stopped over .
s
I have not sailed for a long time now , I have a Land job , and yes , I miss it , I miss the sounds of the seagulls as they say good bye as you leave harbour. The smell of certain island as you approach them ( Grenada smells like wet earth and Cinnamon ) , The people who one meets while out there , they are a massive family and if you ever need anything , ask and they will give it to you. I learnt humility , silence , freedom , I had hard lessons , fear and even had a encounter with sharks . I saw things that i could not explain , and my best lesson was that i learnt to sit down , relax and not feel like i had to do something .
