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American Spirit II - Day 317; Leaving Richards Bay for Durban & a Humpback Whale 'Performs; for Us; Tuesday, November 18, 2014



I forgot to mention yesterday that the cost of a movie ticket to see Gone Girl was 50.00 Rand, or $4.50; and popcorn, M&M's and a medium Coke Zero cost 68.70 Rand or $6.18. So $10.68 total versus about $20.00 in the US. Also, even though the theater only had about 12 people in it, and it seated probably 200; all tickets had a seat number on them, so you were supposed to sit wherever the ticket number said. Like the US also there was about 20 minutes of previews before the movie started. The popcorn was lousy, as they don't put butter on it. You can put 'butter salt,' 'sweet & sour salt,' or just 'salt' on your popcorn, but no butter.

Up at 6:45 AM to listen to the Roy weather net. I turned the SSB radio on at 7:00 AM, but unfortunately, unlike yesterday where there was good propagation and I could hear Roy distinctly, today it was poor and I couldn't understand what Roy was saying. He is broadcasting from 30 miles south of Durban, or about a 115 miles away. That was why he had another person, Sam, on the net who relayed what Roy said.

Breakfast at 8:00 AM consisted of eggs, bacon, chilled pineapple pieces and bread.

After breakfast Joel watered the boat (filled the water tank); returned the HUKA (electric compressor with two regulators used to dive under water to clean a boat's bottom) to Folie a Deux; and added some oil to the engine. Regarding doing the bottom using a HUKA, Joel advised me after he had cleaned the bottom that one of the locals said there were crocodiles in the area. Bummer.

At 10:00 AM I hopped in a taxi cab and went to clear out of Richards Bay. First I went to the Immigration building, but based on what Erling from Saphir had told me, instead of entering thru the front door to the building I walked around the corner of the building to the left, then turned right and walked to a door that said 'Port Control.' Erling had gone in the main door yesterday, stood in line for 45 minutes, and then was told he was in the wrong line/place. After that I was driven to Customs. And finally to Border Patrol. Border Patrol was keystone cops, with three armed employees having difficulty in getting people processed in a timely fashion and properly. A couple ahead of me ended up with one of the pages from my clearance papers in their pile of stapled clearance papers. I noticed the error before they departed the counter. That would have been a problem if I got to my next port and couldn't proceed because I was missing a vital piece of paper. At the border police stop the same couple told me that a ship had dropped 27 truck sized shipping containers off of Port Elizabeth. Think Robert Redford's movie 'All is Lost,' where a shipping container sinks his sail boat. The final procedure in clearing out was to go to the Zululand Yacht Club, where the boat is, and they would fax my paper work to somewhere (not sure where), and then call the receiver of my paper work and confirm that they have it. However, before doing so I had to pay my marina bill of 1600 Rand, about $144.00. This included the price for staying in a boat slip for 8 days; laundry; drinks at the bar; and laundry tokens. Not bad.

South Africa is the only country on our circumnavigation, at least the only country so far, where we had to clear out of one port in order to enter another one. Usually you clear in to a country and then clear out when you leave the country. Apparently, we only have to clear in and out of Durban and Cape Town; and not East London, Port Elizabeth and Mosel Bay.

I was back at the boat at 11:30 AM. Jeanine was at the mall so Joel and I went to lunch at the yacht club at 12:30 PM. I had a 'minced neat' (hamburger) and fries; and Joel had a chicken sandwich and fries. I took a shower after lunch while Joel took a nap. After Jeanine got back from the mall she showered, and by 2:30 PM we were getting the boat ready to leave Richards Bay. Saphir and Civetta II left a few minutes before our 3:00 PM departure.

At 3:45 PM, 30 minutes after we had left the calm confines of Richards Bay, we saw a single Humpback whale Breach once; Spy Hop once; Blow a number of times; and 'Tail Slap' and perform a 'Peduncle Throw' 41 times. The whale was about 300 to 500 yards from us when it put on this demonstration.

A Breach is the most spectacular part of a Humpback Whale surface repertoire, where it leaps out of the water and lands on its back, making a tremendous splash. The whale's body is launched backwards out of the water, generally into the wind, twisting in the air before slamming hard back into the water. Breaching may be for several reasons, including to communicate, dislodge parasites, get a higher view, drive off predators or possibly just for fun. Breaching is done by a single whale or a pair of whales.

Tail Slapping is a much different behavior than Breaching, and includes a forceful slapping of the tail flukes against the surface. This behavior is performed when laying flat or inverted in the water and generates considerable noise regarded as assisting with marking position. Alternatively using its muscular peduncle the whale will often slash its tail quickly and powerfully from side to side and is known as the 'Peduncle Throw.' The tail is brushed and dragged along the surface creating turbulence. Both are considered aggressive behaviors and commonly employed by whales in a competitive rowdy group.

Spy Hop is when a whale uses its giant pectoral fins and aided by their ample natural buoyancy a curious Humpback raises vertically out of the water until its eyes break the surface. Often turning 90 to 180 degrees on its longitudinal axis this is believed to be a navigational technique used to orientate itself with the land during migration.

In Blowing a whale on the surface powerfully exhales a cloud of smelly, oily water vapour from its lungs, which are the size of a small car. The vapour travels out of the blow hole up to 450 kilometers per hour, and can shoot the spray 5 meters or 13 feet into the air.

Because the sun was behind the whale we couldn't get any pictures due to the reflection on the water. Too bad.

I napped from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM; and then Joel napped from 6:00 PM to 8:50 PM.

As we head south 85 miles to Durban, the 120 foot sloop 'Argo' sails to our windward with 4 sails set. Its quite a sight.

The sun set at 6:18 PM into black clouds over the land. We're motor sailing with a partial mainsail up for stability and the engine is at 1400 RPM's. The wind is 11/12 knots and we're moving at 6.1 knots thru the water and 6.1 knots over the land. The swells are huge and are 10-12 feet in height.

Around 7:00 PM dark, low lying black clouds spill out to sea from the land. We're about 10 miles off shore and can see many lights on the shore line.

Jeanine is seasick so I send her below to sleep. While under way she sleeps in the main cabin, starboard quarter berth.

Joel relieves me at 9:00 PM and we decide to do two hour watches, 2 on and 2 off, throughout the night. I'm on watch from 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM.

Brian Fox



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