A little step closer...

"Are you ever gonna go?" These words of a someone made me realise how many times I said good bye to my people, how many times I packed up my house and how many times I hugged my dog...and I am still here! I 've decided to do it very quietly next time and maybe I will phone my friends from somewhere far away...this time really gone!

Catlyn is lying in Elliot Basin richly covered in the black soot, and every day we are fighting a new battle to clean her up. If we are lucky our bar cupboard will be fixed on Tuesday and the solar panels will be installed this week...and as soon as this howling wind settles down for longer than a day we can sail out of here.

We spend a lovely Thursday watching the beachers at Camps Bay. Catlyn parked her lazy body in the cool waters and we had our first sunloving braai on her deck...pretending we are at some tropical island. We were amazed at the beauty of the Apostles behind Camps Bay, their feet touching the sea, and Table Mountain towering over.

Excited and slightly nervous we left for Dassen Island, planning to spend our first night in the dark on the open sea. We watched the sun go down and experienced the total silence around us as it soon got darker. Why didn't I look at the moon to choose a full moon for our first night sail? Soon it was pitch dark with just the sound of the water swishing around us. Janlie organised our watchlist and soon every one crawled into bed except me and Junior. Wow! This was a reality check! My reliable Skipper had to go to sleep and I had to watch out for big dark ships, and keep an eye on the auto pilot. It wasn't that bad, but quite soon I didn't feel so good any more. I couldn't see a thing and that wasn't a good experience for this girl who gets car sick when I don't see the road.

Five hours later our Skipper woke up for his shift with Janlie. Within a half an hour everything changed. Thick fog came out of nowhere, the wind started howling and two big ships appeared on our radar screen! Thank goodness I was spared this challenge. Johan really had to fight to keep Catlyn out the way of these fishing trawlers, and even staring into the night nothing was visible besides the blackness of the night and the sifting wetness of the fog.

I went to bed at four, exhausted but knowing that our Skipper was in control and Janlie and Junior and Marco were lying in the salloon, ready to assist. Dassen Island welcomed us with its beautiful house bay, and the pelicans flying over us. We anchored safely after quite an eventful night, and soon every one was showered and fast asleep!

My Mother shared my dream

What a privilege! My mother decided on very short notice to put all her fears aside and join us on a trip from Langebaan to Cape Town. The kids were so excited to have their Ouma on board and Janlie gave her cabin away. She enjoyed it so much and was relieved to see that the boat stayed afloat even though the sea was quite choppy!

We anchored at Dassen Island for our usual clean up, and tried our luck for a couple of cray fish....it wasn't long before Johan and Marco pulled up the net filled with some....what a lovely dinner!

On our way to Cape Town we were entertained by so many dolphins dancing around us for almost an hour. It was the first time that we experienced so many at one continuous time. And just after that dinner was served for the night when a beautiful yellow tail was landed. Again a stunning dinner with this soft white meat!

We had a busy schedule ahead. Lots of organising and planning for the big day...some day? My mother stayed on Catlyn during the day, and enjoyed herself so much, pretending she is the woman of the boat, making coffee and tea and going for a nap in her cradle. And then we had to go back to George.

My biggest blessing at home is to be loved by my dog, Rambo, and for the first couple of days we spend all the time together. I organised my house again, packing and minimizing everything in my cupboards (again) if my house is rented out.

We used the opportunity to enjoy our friends on land and treasure every time because we know one day we gonna go and we finally going to say our good byes on the deck leaving for the big blue unknown.