Back on board The Maggie B

After a couple of months of silence, here is a new entry into my blog. I will try to write more regularly now since this electronic way of communication seems to get to you faster than my letters or postcards.

I am glad to rejoin the Maggie B again and to be in South Africa but these five days spent here have not been quite enough yet to embrace all the changes that come with such a geographical and cultural jump from the heart of Central Eastern Europe to the southern tip of Africa. I also left my country in a heated state of revolution that certainly revived my national feelings so it also makes it a little harder to adjust to being a sailor and a tourist in South Africa, knowing what is going on at home. Some sea salt and wind will surely help me adjust… I’ll keep you updated on the process.

On the way here, I flew over the Sahara and saw one of the most striking sunsets of my life: a sky bright red and orange. I felt small. Then I saw fires lit in the desert and imagined people around it, warming hands: a colorful start to a new adventure… life must be about something like this… I looked far out into the horizon, down onto the desert, endless like the ocean.

Here in Cape Town, Frank, Hannah and Willis welcomed me as well as a sea lion that kept on waving from the ocean. We’ve been getting the boat ready to sail out in a couple of days following the coast of South Africa and then heading towards Madagascar. We are planning to stop in Simonstown and then in Durban. At night, we’ve been discovering the city and making new friends. I went for a run to the beach at sunset one day to a place the locals call “where the two oceans meet,” the Atlantic and the Indian ocean. I felt intimidated by the power of the waves crashing against the wharf and flying up to 20 meters high. We will be out in it soon. We will sail by the Cape of Good Hope on Tuesday.

There is a beautiful view onto Table Mountain from Cape Grace Marina where we are. Now, the mountain is mysteriously covered by fog but this morning, it was the playground for fluffy white clouds in the blue sky. The leaves on the trees are very thick, full of life juice, it seems. We oiled the deck and other wooden surfaces on the boat and it felt like watering flowers or breastfeeding babies: very satisfying and beautiful. I think the Maggie B is happy. We try to take care of her with as much attention as she was built.

I encourage all of you to keep in touch through this website and if you wish to write to me or to all of us, you can do so easily through this site. Sometimes, especially so while at sea, it can feel very good to know about life on land. Frank will also post soon our mailing address in Durban where we will be in about ten days, so it is time to mail real letters if you wish to.

I’ll be in touch. :o) Thinking of all of you,

Bori