The Cosmos Adventure - News

George Hotz Report -- Knysna to Cape Town

Cosmos

12/14/02:

According to the last few weather reports, Cosmos may have to spend Christmas here in Knysna. This is a very nice place to do Christmas, but, Cape Town would be spectacular. We gave up our dock space to get Cosmos hauled out, and now that she is back in the water, we are tied up to the concrete quay, right in the middle of all the action. We're worried about what the Harbor Master is going to do with us when he finds out that we'll be here through Christmas.

I had to change the title of my last journal from "Durban to Cape Town" to " Durban to Knysna" because it is taking so long to get to Cape Town. I was afraid that all my ardent fans would wane from boredom if they didn't hear from me for so long. So, I changed the title and sent it off to the Webmaster. I feel responsible to my fans and I couldn't stand to disappoint them. They need to be kept up to date on the activities of Cosmos; I am sure their thrilled.

The Cosmos crew was hit with its third or fourth episode of food poisoning a couple of days ago. This time I was the victim. With prices so low, and our eating out so often, we become vulnerable to the quality of the food, and it's preparation, at all of these restaurants. We can get an excellent steak dinner, here, for about three bucks U.S. Unfortunately, the last one I ate was not excellent. I was totally useless for 24 hours.

Captain Grandpa Joe and I went for a train ride, today. It was a narrow gage logging train rail with a real old relic steam engine pulling a half dozen passenger cars from Knysna to the town of George. Our great chugging engine belched smoke and steam and whistled all of the 60 kilometers to George where we had lunch and a look around the antique car museum. The trip back to Knysna was just as much fun and we took lots of snapshots; we'll try to get some of them on the Website.

12/18/02:

We told the Harbor Master that we would be happy to move one boat length forward and he was O.K. with that. This shift of position placed Cosmos even more in the center of the harbor. Now we are used as backdrop for tourists' pictures and, often, called upon to satisfy their curiosity and /or settle disputes regarding various aspects of Cosmos' many attributes. Nevertheless, it is a fun place to be, and very convenient for us. Additional crew is joining Cosmos here, in Knysna, and when we leave, we will have plenty of hands to take Cosmos around the remaining Capes. Joost van Son joined us yesterday and Daniel Walters will join us in a day or so. We take great pleasure in familiarizing them with the eccentricities of Cosmos as well as the safe methods of sailing her. Life aboard will be a great experience for them.

One of today's chores was to erect a Christmas tree on the bow and soon a string of Christmas lights will wind their way through the rigging. Captain Grandpa Joe will head home tomorrow, to spend Christmas with his family, in Maryland, U.S.A. Hopefully, when he returns, we will get a favorable weather window to head for Cape Town.

12/19/02:

Captain Grandpa Joe left yesterday morning to go home for Christmas. We continue to eat drink and be merry. The management and staffs of the local restaurants know us, now, and seem to appreciate our presence in the harbor. Their clientele enjoy looking out at Cosmos parked in front of their establishments, and we get free ice for our "happy hours". This afternoon a local Knysna boat left the harbor to compete in the 7th annual Cape to Rio Race. Upon their departure, there was a great celebration, with a drum and bugle corp, many other vessels in escort, and a cannon round fired within 20 feet of Cosmos' bow; very exciting.

Early this evening, a brother and sister, about 6 to 8 years old, began asking questions about Cosmos from the quay. I invited them aboard with the permission of their parents. They were waiting for their dinner order to arrive at their table and were very excited to come aboard. The more questions I answered, the more they asked and I think that I enjoyed it more than they did. It made me realize how much I miss my Grandchildren.

12/21/02:

We tidied up Cosmos this morning, took in our lines, and motored out of the harbor. We anchored in Featherbed Bay, near the entrance through the Heads, to the Knysna Lagoon. The Harbor Master asked us to vacate the area of the quay to which we were tied. An annual candlelight ceremony of some sort is scheduled for this evening and Cosmos would have been in the way. We will stay anchored out for the night and return to the harbor in the morning, in time for breakfast.

Also, this morning, we were joined by another crewman, Daniel Walter, from Poland. Let's see, now, I need to sort this all out. Captain Grandpa Joe is home for Christmas, Joost and Daniel have arrived, Mario and I are still here. When the Captain returns, we will sail to Cape Town. There, Mario will leave Cosmos and the remaining four of us will sail leg three; to the Caribbean.

12/24/02:

Christmas Eve in Knysna, South Africa. I cleaned up my Email, got a haircut, and even shaved, today; all in preparation for Christmas. It is Happy Hour, now, and the crew of Cosmos has assembled in the cockpit. We never seem to be late for this event; especially lately, as it has truly been the highlight of our days. The restaurants and shops start to light up, the vacationers and tourists begin parading by Cosmos in their evening garb. They never seem to hesitate to stare at us and the boat. Many even stop to ask questions and comment on the boat. We take certain people on personally guided, thorough, tours.

Yesterday, we adorned the forestay and backstays with Christmas lights so Cosmos is looking quite festive, along with the music that is usually blasting from the cockpit speakers. I don't mean to give you the impression that we don't do anything with our days. In the last week we have installed an 8 inch inspection port in the starboard foredeck locker to monitor the amount of seawater that accumulates between this locker and the haul. We will also do this on the port side. We also recut the companionway door to obtain a better fit. Cosmos has been washed several times, the carpet has been vacuumed twice, the fenders have been cleaned. We feel responsible to the public, and the management of this waterfront mall, to have Cosmos looking her best, as she is representing her port of registry and her homeland.

12/25/02:

Christmas morning: I awoke at 0100 with the aid of my little battery operated clock radio so that I could call home to wish my wife, children, and grandchildren a Merry Christmas. What fun to talk to my Grandkids as they sound different every time. I hope they don't grow up before I get home. Then , back to my bunk till 0730. After coffee, Mario and I walk about the marina to wish all of our fellow boaters a Merry Christmas. For this we are rewarded with more coffee, Christmas cake, cookies, and camaraderie. Then, back aboard Cosmos, the crew presented me with an unexpected Christmas present that I will cherish forever.

At 1130, we line up at our favorite restaurant for lunch. We took over a whole corner of the outside deck of tables and several of our sailing friends joined us for a long, leisurely, lunch. A few hours later, we all moved back to Cosmos' cockpit where the party endured on into the evening. All of the restaurants had closed early, except for a few that were booked solid, so we decided to feed our guests aboard. Mario and I whipped up a soup and ravioli dinner that was better than nothing. After doing the dishes, and a general cleaning up of the boat, the party was resumed, with Cosmos being the only sign of life in the harbor. We had a fun Christmas.

12/26/02:

It is the day after Christmas; they call it Boxing Day here. People drop by Cosmos all day long thanking us for the great time they had yesterday; a lot of these folks we don't recognize. One guy hailed us from the quay, holding a tray of five Jack Daniels doubles on the rocks, and requesting permission to board our vessel. I wasted no time in granting his request. I knew that this had to be a man of action. He turned out to be a South African businessman that had visited the U.S. for his sister's wedding and when he saw our flag he followed his heart. He really liked the U.S. and wanted to know all about our adventure. So, this afternoon the Christmas vacationers are out in droves, parading to and fro along the quay. They still gawk at Cosmos and often stop to ask questions. We get many chances to meet people from all over the world this way. I don't know what they will do for entertainment when we leave.

12/28/02:

Yost and Daniel are taking the Outeniqua Choo Choo ride today. That is the same scenic train ride that Captain Joe and I took a week or two ago. We took our laundry in to the Laundromat this morning so that we will have everything clean if we leave soon. It is very rare that Cosmos stays anywhere long enough for the crew to accumulate a load of laundry. With Captain Joe returning today, or tomorrow, we could leave at any time the weather allows.

We are becoming a homing roost for the other American cruisers here in Knysna.. They tend to show up when there is nothing else going on and congregate in our cockpit. Our lifeline gate is always open when we are here and we always welcome them; it's like being a home away from home. We all reciprocate at one time or another.

Excuse me, a pair of sisters just showed up; one about 8 years old, and the other about 14. They wanted to see the boat and had a tremendous amount of questions for me to respond to; they got a tour. Then, their parents had the same questions. I really enjoy these visits because the young people are so genuine in their inquisitiveness, and excitement. I wonder if I could do this for a living; oops, I'm supposed to be retired.

12/30/02:

Looks like we will spend New Years Eve here. We might get away some time next week. We'll need a 3 or 4 day weather window to get to Cape Town.

Captain Grandpa Joe got back from home yesterday and he brought needed boat parts for Cosmos with him. So, this morning I replaced the propane solenoid valve, and this afternoon I replaced the hose fittings on both engine cooling water seacocks. The skipper also brought a pile of magazines of mine from home; I decided to get my chores done before I got into these.

12/31/02:

It is the last day of a great year. We have been late in making reservations at the local restaurants and have had to cook aboard a little, or get carry-out meals if we are too lazy to cook. The waterfront is really jumping as we get close to the New Year's Eve celebration. We are considering moving Cosmos to the Featherbed Bay anchorage in order to escape the quayside pandemonium and flying bottles.

We had another case of food poisoning, yesterday, from the same restaurant that I picked it up from. This time it was Captain Grandpa Joe. I spoke to the manager and he remembered me from the last time, when I got ill. He knows that he has a problem.

At 1830, we were trying to stay anchored in Featherbed Bay. Just like last time, the tidal current and apposing wind had Cosmos swinging all around the bay. We've dragged the anchor once, already. While eating dinner, the wind dropped off to nothing and, it has become a beautiful evening. From Featherbed Bay we see the whole of Knysna, on the other side of the lagoon, lit up for the night. It is much prettier to see from here than from where we were in the harbor. Here the air is fresh off the sea, not the harbor mixture of restaurant grease, deodorant, outboard motor exhaust, beer. Fireworks are announcing the approach of 2003 throughout the lagoon.

1/1/03:

We awoke to a favorable weather report this morning, so, Cosmos finally left Knysna. There was not quite enough wind to sail, so we motored all the way to Mossel Bay; about 44 miles. I discovered that the port engine was running cooler than ever before. Then I remembered that when I replaced the hose fittings for the engine cooling water seacocks, a couple of weeks ago, the old fitting for the port engine broke off in the valve body when I tried to unscrew it. This fitting had been cracked a long time and, therefore, sucking air when the engine was running, reducing the amount of cooling water that reach the port engine. I could see that the initially cracked surface was soiled, and the newly broken portion was clean. This confirmed that the fitting had been cracked for some time. We ran this engine all day just to make sure.

1/2/03:

Cosmos is berthed in the Mossel Bay Yacht Club awaiting the next favorable weather window. How maddening; will we ever get to Cape Town? I had to clean my precious sandals again because of the long walk to the yacht club facilities along a dusty path. While scrubbing them, I discovered that they are about to self destruct. After all, they have walked 2/3rds of the way around the world.

Today, we are applying fluorescent orange paint every 30 feet to the anchor chain. This will tell us how many feet of anchor chain we have between the boat and the anchor when we anchor out. We have tried several other methods of marking the chain and none have endured very long.

1/4/03:

We left Mossel Bay at about 1000 yesterday morning; right after topping off the water tanks. The sailing for the day was quite a romp with the wind and seas on the beam. Cosmos covered a lot of ground. I BBQ'd some chops for dinner as the conditions eased a bit.

This morning, at 0515, we rounded Cape Agulhas and drank a bottle of champagne to celebrate. Cosmos is now back in the Atlantic Ocean. It looks like we may get to Cape Town afterall. As the day wore on the wind strength increased and the seas fell in behind us. Cosmos ran faster and faster; especially as we passed Cape Point and The Cape of Good Hope. In this area the boat was surfing down the face of the larger waves and with reefed mainsail and jib, Cosmos was reaching speeds of 13.5, 14.4, and 16.5. The wind was mostly Southerly, cold, and blowing at 35-40 knots with occasional gusts to 50 knots. It was a cool, clear, sunny afternoon with a rollercoaster ride up the West coast of South Africa; exhilarating. These conditions got Cosmos into Cape Town at 2215, at a cost of a tear in the aft end of the sailcover that is permanently mounted on the boom and, one mainsail batcar pulled out of the mast track.

1/5/03:

There is so much going on in this Cape Town harbor that I don't know where to look first. No matter what it is, if it floats, it is here. There is every style of sailboat, power boat, tug boat, freighter, tanker, container ship, ferry, and barge here. There are even a few offshore oil drilling platforms in the harbor for some maintenance work; these things are huge. The marina is packed with sailboats that are getting ready to compete in the annual Cape to Rio race. We are going to have fun here.

George