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American Spirit II - Day 329; We Arrive in Mossel Bay; Sunday, November 30, 2014



Joel is on watch from 12:00 AM to 3:00 AM. He turns on the engine at 3:00 AM, which wakes me up. I'm glad to hear it, because it means the strong winds are dying. Good. The wind is 12 knots instead of gusting 27/28 like it did from 9:00 PM to midnight during my watch.

Jeanine does the 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM watch. I relieve her at 5:40 AM and immediately roll in the mainsail as its back winding. Once I do that our speed increases from from 5.3 to 6.0 knots. There is a heavy fog along the coast, and the sun is obstructed by the fog. With the wind only blowing 2-3 knots, at least its not cold out. We're 7.8 miles off shore.

Joel gets on the SSB at 9:00 AM for the net but like last night, no one is there.

Breakfast at 9:02 AM is bacon, eggs, chilled pears and bread.

At 10:00 AM the wind is 3/5 knots and we're moving at 6.1 knots thru the water and 6.2 knots over the land. The fog is starting to burn off.

I sight Mossel Bay at 11:03 AM, and at 12:01 PM we're in our slip. The harbor is very small, with access thru a 100 yard set of breakwaters. The marina manager comes on board and he helps toast our arrival with a straight Captain Morgan. I also give him a bottle of champagne as a token of our appreciation in giving us a slip. The marina itself is very small, with maybe only 40-50 slips. Civetta II pulls in a hour or so later, and we find them a spot and help them dock. They tie up right across from a motor boat with a large shark cage on the back of it. I talk to the boat driver and he says that the cost of a Great White Shark dive in a cage is 1350 Rand, but that he'd give us a group discount. I tell him I'll talk to him tomorrow. Later in the day I talk to him again and he says they went to Seal Island, with one of the biggest Great White Shark concentrations in the world, and 7 Great White Sharks approach the cage. We're thinking of going Tuesday.

For lunch Joel cooks 5 small hamburger patties on the grill while I cut up some potatoes and cook them in a skillet with olive oil, black pepper and curry pepper. Spicy French fries. Jeanine says my French fries are the best.

After lunch I take a short walk around the area adjacent to the marina. Like in Port Elizabeth, there is a guard house and security gate to get into the marina and commercial building area. I return to the marina and get a swipe card from the marina manager, who directs me to the yacht club building where there is a bathroom and showers. Vlado and Jack from Civetta II join me for a walk around and a drink in the 2nd floor bar of the yacht club. I think its called the Mossel Bay Yacht Club. There is a public beach across from the yacht club with a lot of people swimming in the 68 degree water. And with no shark nets to protect the beach.

Dinner is on Civetta II is at 7:00 PM, with Marco, an Italian, cooking us spaghetti. It is fantastic! And spicy. Garlic, parsley and butter? With bread and a bottle of Riesling wine that I bring from our 'wine cellar.' We're back on the boat around 9:00 PM, where Joel updates his computer and I type a couple of logs. Jeanine does her internet phone thing. Jeanine is the first to go to bed at 10:40 PM, followed by Joel and me.

Brian Fox



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