Never Say Never
Sir

I’ve been involved in sea rescue on the Wild Coast since the early 1970s, and during that period have run rescue operations involving planes, freighters, ski-boats, kayaks, ferries, drownings and yachts. These incidents involved crew and vessels from all over the world.The call-outs that I hate the most are from yachties who sometimes seem to lack the seamanship skills that would prevent them getting into trouble, or if in dire straits, allow them to sail their way out of it. What is interesting is that throughout all that time the only people I have never been called out for are members of Wild Coast ski-boating fraternity.I guess launching out of river mouths into breaking surf and going to sea along an isolated coastline where no effective communication system exists to allow for easily calling for help when something goes wrong, instills a healthy respect of the sea in these skippers.Now the story that I’m about to tell you is one with a different twist, and involving people with a totally different mind set from the norm.

It’s the story of Mark Davy and Chris Beyers from Mount Frere, and local gilly Tim Zinto, who launched a 5-metre ski boat from Umgazana River mouth to spend a day fishing off the Wild Coast.At about four that afternoon Karen, Mark’s wife, started to worry that they had not returned. So, grabbing cell phone and camera she set off to the high ground at the river mouth to see if she could spot or communicate with them.Conditions were hazy making visibility out to sea difficult, but at least good enough for her to spot a bright yellow orange blob drifting slowly out at sea. But despite using the zoom lens on her camera, she couldn’t quite make out what it was. A local told her it was a yellow weather balloon. This puzzled her so she watched it idly, wondering why a weather balloon should be off shore and drifting so slowly down the coastline. It was only when it got close enough to make out details that she realized that this was her husband and crew clinging to the bottom of their overturned ski-boat, and even then it became a bit difficult to fully comprehend what it was that she was seeing.

Mark takes up the tale and recounts how they had been fishing some 3.4 nautical miles offshore when, at midday, he hooked a shark. While fighting the shark, the line fouled the propeller, and in the excitement of freeing it and landing the shark they all moved to the one side of the craft, somewhat towards the rear, where the combination of their combined weight and wave action overturned the boat, landing them all in the water.Now this is the stuff of nightmares - three men, miles off-shore along the Wild Coast, their boat overturned with only the slippery bottom to cling to and no means of communicating their predicament to anybody, as the radios fitted to the craft were underwater and flooded, as were cell phones. There is nothing in the safety manuals that prepare you for this situation, and the best that one can expect to do is to cling to the craft until help arrives, normally only the next day as family and friends only start to get really worried by nightfall. But this is where the normal scenario changed.
Mark and Chris dived under the overturned craft and retrieved their lifejackets which they had taken off whilst fishing, and with them the capsize safety kit stored in a large deck-mounted canister and mandatory equipment for every small craft venturing off shore. According to Mark they perched huddled on the upturned hull using the yellow plastic sheet from the capsize safety kit to protect them from the elements, hoping to drift ashore.

At 14h10 they set off a distress smoke marker which failed to ignite, and at 14h30 set off a hand-held red distress flare, but then decided to save the remaining flares for the evening, fearing they wouldn’t be seen if activated in daylight. After 10 kilometres of drifting, and by now off-shore near Port St Johns, an easterly wind came up and Mark used the orange plastic sheet and the fishing rod (the same fishing rod he had used to hook the shark), to rig a rudimentary mast and sail. Using this they managed to sail back in the direction of Umgazana. They reached Umgazana where Tim was to swim ashore to seek help, but by then Karen had spotted them and raised the alarm and a local boat had already launched to come to their assistance. They were picked up and barring sunburn, dehydration, and sore muscles they were no worse for wear, while the overturned boat ran aground on the rocks near the river mouth.
John Costello
Port St Johns

What Are We Paying For?
Sir

In the Summer 2009 NSRI Sea Rescue magazine (NSRI’s a wonderful organisation!), I read with great interest and curiosity, that ‘The Department of Water Affairs are involved in projects that will ensure further safety in inland waters’.
Could SAS / SAMSA / SAP / Water Affairs PLEASE tell the Vaal Dam sailors what has been done, and what is planned for the future. We have meekly got our ‘tickets’, overhauled our boats, paid the annual ‘Inspection Fees’, and have seen absolutely nothing, heard nothing yet! Is this actually about my safety – OR is it simply yet another money making rip-off. If we don’t see and hear something soon, we will not bother to pay for re-inspection in March.
Robbie Lehman

Will the Real Pirates Please Stand up
Sir

Quite rightly, there is much concern over the possibility of being ‘hijacked’ by pirates when sailing in the north Indian Ocean. A look at the number of boats visiting South African ports this season confirms that few international cruisers seem prepared to risk a trip anywhere near the Horn of Africa at present. We have recently returned from a 10,000 mile Indian Ocean cruise and, based on our own experiences as well as those of other cruising boats that we have met along the way, there is another area which is becoming increasingly dangerous and could likewise cost the unsuspecting yachtsman a great deal of his or her hard-earned cash. I am referring to our northern neighbours Mozambique where, judging by the increasing number of incidents, one might encounter two very different types of pirate. The first is the common thief who will (and does) board your boat whilst you sleep, stealing dinghies, outboards, fishing and snorkeling gear and even entering the boat to remove wallets, cash, cameras, etc. Do not be fooled into thinking that your boat plunging up and down at anchor in a rough sea over a mile offshore will deter them – it won’t! Nor will a security door (who else but a South African boat would even HAVE a security door?) One boat we met in Tanzania had had theirs smashed open while they were sleeping on the boat.

The second type of ‘pirate’ is an even more disgusting specimen. You will find him (or her) disguised as one of the government ‘officials’ that one is forced to encounter when visiting any harbour port or even nature reserve within Mocambique.
Once they are aboard your boat IT WILL COST YOU MONEY TO GET THEM OFF! We had only just arrived in Angoche (northern Mozambique) after a non-stop sail from Inhaca Island when we were boarded by six officials, two of whom were armed. We were the only boat in the small harbour. An ‘immigration official’ requested our passports and, on seeing that we had left SA 10 days earlier, demanded USD2500 to cover visas etc. When I explained that SA passport holders do not require visas he merely pocketed the passports and said he would keep them until we paid. Eventually we paid this thief and his official accomplices a total of USD100, basically to get them off our boat. I met another two South African boats recently who, anxious to do the ‘right thing’, had called at Maputo to check-in to Mozambique. Both boats were boarded by ‘Health Officials’ demanding to inspect the ship’s First Aid Box. They then methodically checked every item in the box until they found items such as ‘Dettol’, Fissan paste and sticking plasters which were in ‘expired’ wrapping. Each ‘expired item’ warranted a USD100 fine, payable immediately and in cash. Do not expect receipts.

One of these boats then left the Maputo harbour area and sailed the mile or so around to Club Navale where he was met by another ‘official’ who noted that he had omitted to drop his ‘Q’ flag and thereupon fined him another USD100!! This same boat then sailed north and, a couple of days later, anchored in the Barra Lodge area where thieves, during the first night, boarded the boat and stole their brand new dinghy and outboard as well as personal items from within the saloon, taken from just above the sleeping wife’s head! Is it any wonder that by the time we met with this couple in Dar Es Salaam they were already looking forward to sailing home to SA where they intended selling their new boat, saddened and thoroughly disillusioned by their experiences. It is easy to sit here in South Africa and visualize a macho response to these thieves, but when one is faced with the prospect of armed men on your boat, particularly if you have women and children aboard, the reality is very different and quite scary. On our return to South Africa we met some foreign boats in Richards Bay, whose owners confirmed that it is common knowledge amongst the foreign cruisers that one simply does not check into Mozambique unless absolutely necessary. Their fame as thieves and extortioners is already spreading far and wide. Is it not time therefore that our own Government lodged an objection with somebody in Mozambique over the increasing harassment of our sailing citizens?
Alistair Easton
Durban

Ed. Any complaint should be lodged by our national sailing body - South African Sailing (SAS) - but are they listening and will they do anything? Come on SAS - now’s the time to show your members that you really do care.

Interim Steering Committee
Sir

We are serious about the formation of a national body and, reading your Log Entries over the last year, it is very obvious that there is an urgent need for a national association that can drive real government interaction and ensure that our voice, as boaters and industry stakeholders, is heard. CTBi is inviting all interested parties to attend a meeting in Cape Town on 3 March. The exact programme and agenda is still to be determined but the main thrust for the event will be the establishment of an Interim Steering Committee to guide the structure, aims, funding and objectives of the soon-to-be-established association. The main aim is to unify all regional boating and boat building bodies, companies and organisations under one national association, which can drive the lobbying efforts on behalf of the sector, be a truly representative body and be the custodian of a ‘Discover Boating’ type campaign, an as yet unnamed marketing campaign loosely fashioned on the NMMA (National Marine Manufacturers Association in the USA) Discover Boating campaign, and aimed at promoting boating to the wider public, in a bid to increase interest in and uptake of the lifestyle. The clear aims, objectives and structure of the association, as well as its full name, will be decided upon by the Interim Steering Committee and the representative bodies, so please be sure to give your inputs and make this body the most representative that it can be!

This national association has the support of SABBEX (South African Boatbuilders Export Council), CTBi (Cape Town Boatbuilding Initiative) and BIASA (Boating Industry Association of South Africa), so we know that it can be a powerful force. We really need the input from the people out there and to this end we invite anyone who has an interest in boating to please attend. Once an Interim Steering Committee has been elected we will put the framework together and by the beginning of April we will have all the information available for comment by the public.
Veda Raubenheimer
CEO - Cape Town Boat building & Technology Initiative

Ed. At least someone is listening and wanting to address the problems our sailors have.