We are still experiencing strong north westerly winds and rain in Simonstown, too strong for sailing, but all is good as our workshop is buzzing with the Mirror dinghy repairs. We are in the final stages preparing the wood to be varnished using the spray method, a much better look and quality of work.
Tuesday 30.8.22 -
Our students arrived and it was great to have 2 of our female students back at the sailing school, Jamie Hartzenberg and Kiara Taylor. Students had a great day sailing on the bosun dinghies. I was told there are more females interested in the sailing when our transport is back.
Wednesday 31.08.22 -
The wind was too strong for sailing, so the students were back to work on their boats preparing them for spraying the bottom of the hulls. We are trying to get them in a better condition as there are lots of cracks and holes. Likho Nkume, one of the older students, has been a big help in assisting with the boat preparation, even at times making his own way down to the sailing school.
Thursday 01.09.22 -
Eldred and I had a very effective meeting with board member Grant Ekermans on ideas and the way forward, etc. He has been a big help in organising repairs to the bus, even driving it himself to Langebaan where it is getting new paint job. The students arrived and, while we were meeting, arranged themselves into teams to continue preparing the boats for the upcoming regatta at Zeekoeivlei Yacht Club.
Friday 02.09.22 -
The Navy sailing centre needed our assistance with outboard repairs as we regularly assist them with some basic repairs when needed. Mr Shane Ramsden, the chief of the Navy sailing centre, had a brief chat with me on opportunities for our older students to sail on the navy yacht in future, as I had in the past. I did my first ocean passage on a Navy yacht in 2006 and this would be a big stepping stone if our students were able to have the same opportunities.
Saturday 03.09.22 -
It’s a cold rainy day in Simonstown, so we could only do work inside the workshops with guys learning about different types of paints and fillers used on boats, and even about woodworking projects. Students were also taught about using an air compressor and spray gun. Brent October was taught about using filler paste on the boat he is sailing, a very tricky job at first, but he mannaged well in the end.
The boats are now almost ready to compete in the first major regatta of the new season, the Cape Classic at Zeekoeivlei Yacht Club on the 10th and 11th of September. We are still urgently needing new sails and some fittings and ropes to enable us to be more competitive, but are all really excited to be able to compete in the top dinghy regatta series in the Western Cape.