What’s In The Date?

34°2.507’S , 23°2.664’E

Sept 1. – Back to school for many in the States yet here in SA it is the first day of Spring. And in Knysna that means the infamous Knysna Yacht Club Opening Cruise, kicking off the official start of the 2023/2024 Sailing Season. Such a glorious event which just happened to align with our first official off the dock sail and flying of the glorious spinnaker.

Under the steady hand of James Turner Vision CEO and builder, and a compliment of proper sailors on deck to set up and inaugurate our kite (Captain Brett, Willy, Tony, Thomas, Grant “Willams”), flying our shamrock spinnaker in close quarters traffic past the Club Commodore to return a salute and celebrate the first day of Opening Season, it was a pass that will be forever memorable. For all aboard Sláinte and those cheering us on, we have now enjoyed two Spring’s in 2023, not a bad gig. Spring signifies a beginning of new life. How apropos.

A few pictures of the Opening Cruise

Over the last 10+ days we’ve been fully engrossed in “move aboard 101” and would like to happily report that we are still speaking to each other. This move aboard includes but is not limited to:

• Moving out of our temporary residence since we arrived in South Africa last month (shout out to Olwen and Rob for the gracious support @ Spinnaker Quays # 4 Knysna Waterfront)
• Commissioning of boat systems – Water maker, Diesel engines, Electrical, Plumbing, Boat Network and Comms, Navigation and the essential rigging of the mast and deck and … the pinnacle of all sailboat systems – commissioning the sails.
• Steve losing his phone in the estuary on a mid-day tender run for lunch to the iconic ‘Bell tavern on Belvedere estate’, a must stop for anyone visiting, and the unexpected time commitment on how and where to secure a replacement – thanks to many new friends here it took only a few days
• Filling boat water and diesel tanks for the first time ( each was an adventure beyond expectation)
• Crash course on fresh water and salt water boat systems, pumps etc. (i.e. a 2 am test case of how to really use all this shit)
• Rigging our tender to safely and efficiently be raised and lowered daily to hang off the transom. Lifting a tender nightly is the best practice in the Caribbean to prevent theft so we need to invest time now to get it right and ultimately practice until it’s a routine (like mindlessly activating the garage door at home when you are 20 yards from the house)
• Canvas cockpit surround fitment and adjustments2 for the ever important protection at the helm station in weather (as well as all around quality of life in weather). This is a critical feature that translates daily to safety while on passages while in less than comfortable weather

Various pictures of commissioning

Culminating with Steve’s Birthday ….. it’s been a pretty special week (again).

Cue the broken record.

Sailing Sláinte has been a dream that we envisioned as an opportunity to bring together, absent life’s daily demands, all our friends and family for a special experience. We are happy to report that dream has finally kicked off in solid fashion with new friends here in Knysna as we’ve properly christened Sláinte. Looking forward to you joining us.

Up next .. our sail plan.