Saldanha

Entrance to the military academy
Originally uploaded by brisegalets

What a week !
When we arrived in Saldanha on Sunday around 5 p.m., brother Louis went out with his boat to meet us and guide us towards the Yacht Club. There, brother Cobus was at the Jetty to take our lines and help us familiarize ourselves with the Club, which was done, obviously over a few drinks.
On Monday, Cobus took us for a guided tour of the Military Academy and the National Reserve next to it. Cobus loves nature, and is very knowledgeable about plants, insects and animals, as well as the recent history of Saldanha and the tour was very informative.
On Tuesday, brother Louis took us on a long full day tour in his car, 400 kms long, that took us north almost as far as Lambert's Bay, then east to Clanwilliam then south through mountains and orange tree farms towards Piketberg, and then back towards the coast where he took us to Langenbaan and Mykonos before heading back to the Yacht Club.
Thanks to Cobus and Louis for giving us so much time.
Then on Wednesday night, Cobus had organized a "braai" (south african version of barbecue) for a mini boucan of the table, so that we could meet those brothers who won't be able to make it on Sunday, when we will meet the rest of the brothers. So in addition to Louis and Cobus, I could meet Chris, Gert and Thean and other guests.
On Thursday morning, brother Gert took us to his home for breakfast and also to show us the boat that he is currently building, a 43 foot which is a Dudley Dix design. The design calls for a steel hull, but Gert chose to build it in wood and add the weight differential in lead in the keel. Beautiful piece of work. Gert has been working on this project for the last three years and expect to complete the job a little more over one year. He has already built 4 boats, so he has experience, and the work looks very very professional. After that, Gert picked me up to take me to Customs and Police for paperwork and admin formalities.
Friday I had to return to Customs as the clearance cannot be done more than 36 hours before departure and I plan to leave on Monday morning. With Olivier, we also did some shopping and started sampling the local restaurants.
Saturday, work on the boat, maintenance of the winches, second trip to the supermarket, laundry, etc . . . .
Tomorrow will be the last "braai" to meet the rest of the active brothers of the table of Saldanha, and then we will be off to Luanda.