08 Oct 2003
Home at last. I have spent the last 9 days in Cape Town, South Africa. Another trip with no internet access, I was unable to keep this site up to date with news of the things I had seen and was doing. The highlights were…
- The Sunrise over Africa… most spectacular with every colour you can imagine.
- Combat flying in a Huey helicopter… very exciting and also very scary.
- Cage diving with Great white sharks…hmmm.. ’nuff said
There was a lot of great weather, the landscapes were astounding and I even got to see the whale! Shame their wine is not that good!</ol>
30 Sep 2003
Another trip… I arrive home from Bulgaria and 3 days later I am departing again… this time for 8 days in South Africa. Might be interesting. I am taking my camera this time so I will be able to get some shots of Table Mountain and hopefully some whales!!! I fully intend to look an arse by shouting ‘Whale, Whale’ if I see one. Anyone that matters knows what I mean!!!
28 Sep 2003
After the night in Herm the crew of Mystere prepare for the voyage back home to Guernsey. High tide was at 08:52 (9.8m) so by about 10:00 water levels are getting a little low! However, everything is ready for the homeward journey, engine is warmed up, ropes uncoiled, sails ready to be hoisted as soon as Mystere is clear of the harbour, all that needs to be done is pulling the anchor…
The water levels are still decreasing as the simple task of pulling anchor commences. ‘Simple’ tasks never end up that way!
The evening before, the anchor had been buried in the sand to ensure that it didn’t
drag during the night leaving Mystere and her crew to awake in the morning finding themselves adrift off the coast of France! This somewhat ingenious (at the time) decision soon emerged to be a more of an inconvenience as the task of pulling the anchor turned out to be ‘pulling the boat up the beach as the anchor wont budge’!
In the mean time… the tide is still going down! Much verbal disagreement later and Aidy has the short straw and takes the plunge into the Herm waters (which are freezing in the middle of summer, let alone end of September! Turns out it’s not only a short ‘straw’ he now has! – sorry Aid!!) to ‘dig’ out the anchor…. The tide by this point has gone out even further and, although the anchor is up, there is no longer enough water to support the boat keeping it completely afloat! 
Shane now takes the plunge to assist Aidy in the ‘reversing’ of Mystere in an attempt to reach an adequate depth of water. Good plan… however, the pulling of the anchor and consequent moving forward of Mystere up the beach only further embedded her wing keel into the sand! Even with Dave sitting on the outboard and it screaming its little heart out in reverse (white froth everywhere it’s trying that hard) and two in the water pushing Mystere is in no hurry to leave! Oh dear… as a last resort one of the two in the water discover that although Mystere cannot be ‘pushed’ backwards it is possible to turn her round…..maybe a 180 is possible, and it will be easier to push her bow first rather than stern first. The task begins… Mystere rotates through 90 degrees…..and there she will stay… the twin rudders have now dug into the sand!! Think she is firmly planted guys!!
Defeat admitted the two clamber out of the water to the best of their numb limbs ability to dry off and warm up. Bow and stern lines are replaced for when the tide rises again 21:08 (10.0m) and underwear’s hoisted up the biggest washing line known to Herm (the mast!) in an attempt to dry them!
Dave (with a plane to catch tonight and still not packed) takes the Trident back to Guernsey and takes the one and only car home whist the other 2 sit it out in Herm with the intention of doing ‘boat repairs’. (For 9ish hours? – how much is wrong with the boat?!) Seems to me that navigation; tidal movements and anchorage would be more beneficial to revise (or read up upon for the first time!)!
Still, at least it was sand not rocks!! There is some comfort there!! (not to mention comedy for the other boat owners in Herm harbour whilst this ‘commotion’ was going on!!)!
23 Sep 2003
Yet again I am sitting in an airport. I was on my way to the bathroom when I noticed this free internet cafe in the BA Club lounge and felt it would be rude not to have a play! If anyone is interested, I have a new idea for the design of this website. I now realise that Gringod has been preaching more sense than ever… why did I not design this site in an object oriented way? For one, I didn’t know how to at the time but for me to change the design could be time consuming… better get the consultants in!!!!
12 Sep 2003
That’s it then! The “Mystere Yacht Syndicate” has been born and the sailing vessel Mystere has been signed over to its new owners. If it were not for my voyage to the Southampton Boat show this weekend, I would strive to get some pictures online. Instead you will have to wait. Keep an eye on the gallery.
31 Aug 2003
Finally… I have managed to get online again. I have been nearly two weeks without any spark of an internet protocol… even my WAP phone would not connect from lands afar! Finally, I am back… I will be adding some interesting news soon so dont go far!!!
20 Aug 2003
So anyway, back at the hotel using Editplus on my laptop to write this with an English keyboard! I am now seriously considering starting an article about this trip. Just the highlights for you today then… I have bought Taxi 3… yes GrinGod… 3, what a bargain… this means I now need to get some speakers for laptop to appreciate it, quite amazed to see what looked like Sylvester Stalone in it at the start, speaking French of course. As for my plan to buy an iPod in France… not a chance, they obviously dislike Apple computers as I can find nothing here made by them at all… except an iMac in a service station for Internet access that had broken… why didn’t they have a PC?!?! We didn’t get to go Karting as our favourite circuit in Poitiers is closed, apparently the guy has lost his licence and might be in prison. Managed to wash the cars aswell today, it’s good to keep them nice! Coming up this evening… Futuroscope laser show and Megalaser (a game which involves running around and shooting people with laser guns!).
19 Aug 2003
So… at Futuroscope and trying to type on a french keyboard. This is not an easy task to be fair. I am planning to start a proper write up and will start it off as an article! Better go!!!
18 Aug 2003
It looks like we will be heading off to France today… the weather has improved and the wine and cheese will be flowing. If I put something in the Gallery I will post a note here!
02 Aug 2003
<img src=”https://www.phrixus.co.uk/images/blog/slice.jpg” alt=”Slice in my arm” border=”0” / class=”image” align=”left”>So what have I been up to?
Check this out!!
I have been slicing through my arm with a lampshade! I can now say after my first stitches ever that the most painful part was the injections needed before the stitiches were put in!!! I forgot to take a picture of the body fat that was hanging out of the deep cut! I was not able to return to get the camera when I asked… I was on on my way to the hospital before I thought about it… typical!