AUG 2019 - A SLIGHT COURSE CORRECTION!

welcome back adventure lovers! the hope of this blog is to show you a world you haven't been to, see sights you've never seen, and to share my new life adventure which all started Oct 1, 2011! 9 years in africa anniversary coming up! thanks for reading!  

in our last episode, i was selling everything and keen to buy a catamaran and sail around the world! i had rented my country cottage for a year, Yoda the cat was sorted, and I was off to Sardinia on a boat charter for a week (Bali 4.1) and then onto South Carolina for a sailing school and another week on a cat (38' Lagoon). 

but in Sardinia i learned first hand how things can go pear-shaped in a new york minute, starting as we left the Marina del Olbia and fish-tailed our way out bouncing off the fenders of $20 million dollar yachts as our tie-rods weren't tied and the rudders were not connected! then i'm on the VHF radio calling a PAN PAN for assistance in the channel! crazy hectic from minute one! and showed me i'm no mechanic. i would have failed being left to myself. and do i really want to crawl around down there in a tiny engine compartment with a hot diesel purring trying to figure it out? i don't think i'm that guy. most of you know i'm not that guy. i'm an artiste! 

next, the notion of meandering around the Med from cosy anchorage to anchorage was shattered. spoiler alert: the Med is packed with like-minded helmsmen also keen to drop a hook in your cosy cove. it's jammed. imagine parking in your super market next to 100 Ferraris but you're all floating and bobbing and drifting and potentially running into one another if an anchor slips or the wind picks up! kinda nerve wracking.

luckily, i was with a great skipper (and his family) and i learned a lot and saw some cool places. Bonifacio in Corsica was this stunning old city on a cliff. but even in Bonifacio the wind picked up the last day and the monohull next to us blew into our fenders with his crew sitting on the rail trying to push off with their feet as they left the mooring. hectic. and also packed. with quite a few hack skippers on their first charter. it could have been me. scary.

the last day, gale force winds picked up and we cut our week short and skedaddled back to the marina. but trying to moor at the fuel dock was another challenge with the howling wind (25-30 knots) blowing our two hulls around like a cork, again, brushing onto a mega yacht. no picnic.

so, i have a new respect for the sea, a new appreciation for owning a boat, and a healthy regard for skippering singlehanded. not so much. Plus i had no idea how much money there is in the world. bobbing around with the super-rich for a week was quite an eye-opener! it's staggering wealth. 

after a chill weekend with my composer friend Paulo in his villa in Sardinia for 3 nights (always a special treat) i recharged my batteries and was off to Charleston, SC, for 4 courses from the American Sailing Association...101, 103, 104, and 114...Basic Keelboat, Coastal Cruising, Bareboat Cruising, and Catamaran Cruising. (and i'm happy to say i passed all the exams and now have my IPC (Int'l Proficiency Certificate) so i can now charter a boat in the Med. (Turkey anyone?? Greece?) 

my IPC. (it's not bragging if it's true!)

i stayed 7 nights on the Lagoon with another student, a fellow american expat who stays in Frankfurt, Germany. Jennifer was the perfect shipmate and together we shared the best instructor possible, Sterling Bryson, a 47-year old surfer with a chemisty degree and a world traveller. a chilled and humorous chap who somehow managed to keep us entertained for a week! he's a gem. super knowledgeable with an aw-shucks humility.

Charleston in July murder. hot and humid beyond belief. welcome to The South. so hot and humid every boat in every marina pumps shore-power 24/7 to run the air conditioning in the boats...and no one is even on them! coming from africa, such a blatant use of electricity (4 months a year? to cool a boat with no one on it?) was eye-opening. power must be cheap in south carolina. 

jennifer offered a quote from Mackenzie consultants used to coach CEOs on how to remain a millionaire..."NO SECOND WIVES, NO THIRD HOMES, AND NO FIRST BOATS." words of wisdom for sure. dropping the majority of my nest egg into a catamaran so i can float around crowded moorings in the Med or be the lonely guy cruising the globe single-handed may not be for me. indeed, i had a huge life course correction last month. you wanna sail? crew for someone else!

i have to confess i have fallen in love with the lives on La Vagabonde, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZdQjaSoLjIzFnWsDQOv4ww  and i only realized when i got home that my life in cape town is pretty nice in itself. i have a wonderful life here. i'm still acting, doing VO work, teaching, i have great friends, a great little flat in the heart of the city, and overall i am blessed beyond belief. so for now, i'm out of the boat buying business. (and if you don't believe in the power of YouTube, both jennifer and i flew across the world to come to the Charleston Sailing School simply because it was mentioned on a La Vagabonde episode! and will and lynn are super cool!)  info@charlestonsailingschool.com   

But adventure still calls, so, end of October i fly to Brazil  and will crew with a Danish skipper on New Dawn, a 53' Hallberg-Rassy center cockpit blue-water monohull currently docked in Joao Pessoa. then we'll sail up into the Caribbean until Christmas. if all goes well (and i'm not entirely useless), i'll go back to cross the pond with him (sail across the Atlantic) in May and carry on through to Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey. This is like chum in the water for any COTW (Citizen of the World)! Adventure calls! you just share the expenses. 

so the end of 2019 is looking like i'm back on the high seas (but on someone else's boat) and 2020 could be a crazy year for even greater travel, exploring, plus plus plus! and learn from a true circumnavigated mentor! (that sounds awkward)

lastly, after LOVING the new Lion King, i feel inspired (at the minute) to brush off my animated screenplay called The Baby King. the new Lion King is headed to $1.5 billion worldwide gross and the first one did $980 million. I have a script, some original songs, perhaps the greatest story of all time, all told through the eyes of our intrepid teenager, Mary. surely there has to be a market for The Baby King. 

i'm new to animation, haven't a clue, but am keen to develop it and see what happens. i've met an animator here in cape town and have musician friends, actors, and the Cape Town Youth Choir at my disposal. just need some seed money! Mel? are you reading this? bored yet after your Passion sequel? let's do this! 

so that's my recap since the last post. thanks for reading, drop me a line with news of what you're up to at ddmafrica@gmail.com. i never know who reads my posts (maybe 5 of you?) so let me know you're following! 

now for some pics! 

yacht Layla...a Bali 4.1 (41') cat in Olbia, Sardinia.

Corsica is above, Sardinia is below. and Paulo also lives near Olbia. it worked out great to see him. 

swissair, morning light over the alps. always magic. Zermatt too far to see.

love Zurich airport, and the €25 club sandwich hit the spot. (ouch)

sunset at Paulo's villa.

dinner at Spinnaker outside Olbia. lots of beautiful people. 

Alex Hanel is one of my acting students and i was with his family on the charter.

here lies Layla. Little did we know we would be rudderless. danger lurked even whilst tied up.

the Bali "open space" has a 'garage door' that slides up and away connecting the cockpit and salon.

our home for a week! 

with an upper helm station.

and a forward settee booth with a kitchen window passageway. great idea! no trampoline.

and dual loungers at the helm.

we all had very smart crew shirts and hats, thanks Reinhardt! Craig and Nic ready to fly into action!

the Bali was big and open but felt heavy on the water whilst under sail. it's like 10 tons! great sliding galley window.

beer time/boat life/sundowner and a swim!

our first anchorage after a hectic beginning.

dawn, day one.

so nice to be on the water.

yes, vodka in a bag. not good. 

Chanda and I.

lovely skies and seas.

the anchorages fill up at dusk.

La Malladena islands.

we finally find a parking at La Malladena. had a yummy lunch and strolled around this quaint old village. 

that old Med feeling.

time to feed the crew. and that pizza...yum! and her prosciutto and melon! fantastico!

gelato is a big deal. italiano!

fun wait staff at La Bombo!

chill barman. we're all good.

??? Asin-what?

dining al fresco, as one does.

The Little Tug??

proudly flying our Explorer's Club flag i had made before the trip. think Thor Heyerdahl, Shackleton, Morin?

some beautiful boats out there.

it's a copy-cat charter fleet. the Bali's are popular~

Hanel & Son. Reinhardt got us to and fro without incident! well done!

Bonifacio. wow. in the cliffs of Corsica.

yes please.

Where's Bond? James Bond.

a jam-packed marina but glitzy and poshy-posh!

food tastes better under an umbrella. it's a fact. it's been proven.

stunning coastline.

the big little city.

lots of magic little eateries way up the hill.

and a market. nice.

main street.

ate here myself. nice 'za!

we are parked through the back two masts in the distance. 

morning coffee. ahhhh.

caught this server on her break reading.

too cute.

lots of moolah. wow. and these were the small ones.

cute places abound.

love this monohull.

from Londinium. she's a beaut.

the next cash register over. permission to come aboard?

when Galactica motored in everyone stopped and watched. mission accomplished i suppose. not my cup of tea.

our little cove got quite crowded.

the next day the wind picked up and we had some lovely squalls blow through.

Capt reinhardt at the wheel. really loved these squalls!

finally we got some wind! but Layla is a heavy gal, a bit sluggish. comfort over performance with this cat.

and back to calm.

Nic and Cat, in the galley doing KP! 

another sublime evening. kindly pass the olives.

i never did get her name, but there was something about her. her perfume? her dress? those shades? bella donna! (or is that Ros Nale?) 

and they say buying the boat is the cheap part. really? #thesuperrich

where the jet set jet set.

thanks, craig, you can keep it.

Meet Dilbar, named after his mother, owned by a russian billionaire. 150 meters long (450 feet). same size as the ark. only $650,000,000.

it's fourth largest private yacht in the world. he had a dinner party. sadly i was previously engaged. 

you couldn't stop staring at this beast. chopper comes with it.

meanwhile on Layla, a Cat nap. and the open Med.

i don't hate it!

heading back in on our last day. 

meanwhile, back at the villa...

best pool ever! 

watched the UK Formula One and Wimbledon! a great sunday!

grazie mille paulo!

grabbed a cheeky morning Aperol Spritz here after an ocean snorkel. nice!

culture shock back in the USA!

my Marriott in Charleston.

old town Charleston. why so empty? too hot?

meet Polyphony, my home away from Layla. a 38' Lagoon. 

i got used to this one, could see skippering it even singlehanded.

time for a sundowner.

our marina.

And the air con is pumping. unreal.

different helm station to Layla. better in some ways. closer to the cockpit and salon and can see the dock easier.

dawn patrol.

dusk patrol.

nothing like bbq-ing on a boat. some fresh fish would have been better!

we had two overnighters. bliss.

cosy cockpit and cabin. and some no-seeums. i had bites afterward for weeks.

Lagoon much smaller than the Bali but it has a nice feel. and it felt much lighter while under sail.

jennifer...one great matey! we really got along well.

you gotta have a dinghy! one night the incoming tide was so strong it almost swept me up river!
embarrassing when they have to send the dinghy to fetch you cuz you can't out-swim the current!

tight cockpit. but i got used to it. it was fine. i liked this boat. and actually shopped for one once.

i got to park this bad girl in a tight dock spot. no pressure!

locals at the shrimp bar. lots o fans.

the Charleston Trio after a solid week together. we graduated! got our IPC!

dockside. packed on a sunday.

dock hands all good as i didn't crash into it! Sterling says "you gotta hit it to get there, but not harder than hitting your head!" he was full of good mottos. 

in search of Bubba Gump! 

sadly the shrimp is shrimped out of these waters. they go twice a week now.

Fortune?

our normal position underway. jenn at the helm, me the deckhand, and Sterling making sure we don't hit anything.

the heads near the office were MUCH nicer than on board. and proper showers!

Charleston really grew on me. so did that Lagoon! but you need to be part MacGyver to own a boat!

lovely but still hot and sticky. it did cool off some in the evening. 

loved this bridge. so iconic. 

after jenn left, sterling and i did another overnight. we were like a man-cave on the water. 

woke up to thunder and rain! glorious!

it was a great week! "Martini, take the helm!" (One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest)

if the bridge freezes they're not allowed to use salt to melt the ice as it's steel, so they shut her down.

this was the biggest container ship ever! you do NOT want to run over a stray container out there, a la All Is Lost.

this is how you carry Dreamliner plane parts from Boeing Seattle to Charleston.

an old pet project looking for the light of day! Mel? Steven? Mr. Favreau? anybody?

charleston is on the ICW (inter-coastal waterway) and 8 miles up river to the town.

okay, i confess, posting all these pics made me realise how incredibly fortunate, lucky, and blessed i am with this life as a friendly marauder, and that i really do love the Med! it's awesome! and definitely put Bonifacio, Corsica, on your list of places to see! drop me a line with news of your own! ddmafrica@gmail.com or better yet on WhatsApp...+27 72 666 1895

cheers! xxxooo ddm