And suddenly the sun comes up
Part one – The dark side:
I look out the window of our hotel in Mainz (GER) and see the Rhine. That actually sounds romantic and nice to be in this scenic environment, but the sentence contains two bad news. We are neither in Cape Town nor on our ship.
South Africa still does not allow us to enter the country, so there is no vessel for us. We have been travelling through Germany for a month now, hanging out in hotels and looking for solutions to enter South Africa. So there is now a ready to go boat in Cape Town, just as we ordered two years ago and we are not allowed to enter it. It is so incredibly frustrating. Not more relaxed is the fact that we don’t have the slightest clue when we will be allowed to enter.
All we can do is “wipe our mouths” and carry on. Theoretically, there are three ways to get a ship: you take it over yourself – that’s not possible because of the entry ban. The other two possibilities take longer and cost more: you have it delivered on a ship carrier or you have it delivered sailing on its own hull. Freight forwarders who transport ships on ships run from Cape Town to Florida, France and the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Florida is not possible because we are not allowed to enter the USA because of Corona. France is also not possible, because with the importation of ships, high taxes are due. We are also not allowed to enter the BVI, but there are signals that this will change soon. The third option is to sail the Rivercafe to a port where we can enter. This can only be done by a professional crew, which are already in South Africa, because nobody can enter. It remains exciting.
Part 2 – Rain following sunshine
We’re on our way to the airport. But the flight is not going to Africa, we are going to Tenerife on the Canary Islands, because: we have found a solution. The solution is Gary Mc Kinnon and a delivery from “Rivercafe” to the next port where we are allowed to board. And this next port is 5.200 nm (10.000 km) away from Cape Town on the Canary Islands. We set everything in motion and activated all contacts. Then suddenly everything went fast. We found several crews at once. But Robert Ravensberg, the Port Captain of the OCC (Ocean Cruising Club), had the perfect recommendation: Gary Mc Kinnon.
We cannot thank Robert enough for his recommendation, because we get along with Gary very well – he is our man. He will take over “Rivercafe” from the shipyard, prepare it for the transfer and sail with his crew the 30 days distance to Tenerife. Hallelujah. The OCC is a cool club anyway, but this help was priceless.
Of course there are still a few hooks that have to be straightened first. First our insurance had to agree and cover the journey. Our formidable insurer Boris sorted it out in no time. Numerous technical warranted had to be clarified. And Gary still needs an exit permit from South Africa for himself and his crew, which we expect to get soon. And last but not least, we are still waiting for 24 boxes, which are waiting at the customs in Cape Town for the release and delivery to the ship. If everything works out and the weather allows, Gary and his crew should cast off the lines and set course Tenerife around August 1st.
Ka and I will fly to Tenerife on Friday. Our friends Ruth and Gilbert are so kind to let us their domicile. There we will spend 1-2 months and expect the “Rivercafe”. What a happy day ahead.
When we finally enter our vessel in September, a day which has been expected for two years, a huge load will fall off us. Our plan is then to sail from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean. But this will not be possible until the beginning of November, because only then the trade winds on the Atlantic will be set. But no matter. The main thing is that we are on board and can exchange the tormenting odyssey for our world trip on board our own vessel. Keep your fingers crossed that even the last hooks are still being pulled smooth. /Holger Binz
Bonjour mes amis,
Mon Dieu quelle histoire !!
… aber wunderschön dass es eine Lösung gibt obwohl Sie eine Herausforderung ist (un Défi en français)
Der Catamaran ist SUPER schön und ich liebe den Logo … Viel Freude, Sonne und positives in diesem Logo
Love
Valérie
Cherie, das ist ein schönes Kompliment. Danke. Du wirst es ja sicher bald aus der Nähe sehen.
Wir freuen uns darauf.
What a beauty Rivercafe is! I felt like crying when I saw her as I can only imagine how you must feel after all this time! Am very happy for you that you have made a plan and will be “reunited “with the Canaries, which is also a happy memory place I hope, seeing that is where a lot of us met lifelong friends! Wishing you a bon voyage and I will keep my fingers crossed for Gary getting your baby to you!! lots of lo,ve Jenny
Thank you Jenny, thats exactly what we feel. Wouldn’t that be a nice opportunity to reunite?
Take care and hope to see you sooner than later.
Hola Ihr Beiden
da habt ihr euch ja nicht das beste Jahr für den Start ausgesucht. Aber ihr blickt nach vorne und ich hoffe, es klappt so wie angedacht….
Herzliche Grüße aus Spanien
Andreas
Tja, das ist eine Sache mit dem richtigen Zeitpunkt. Herzlichen Dank Andreas
Hallo ihr zwei
Ich drücke euch sowas von fest die Daumen, dass dieser Plan jetzt klappt und alle noch bestehenden Ecken gebogen werden…Hoffentlich bekommt eure Überführungscrew jetzt auch schnell die noch benötigte Ausreisegenehmigung! Verrückt das Ganze!
Hoffentlich klappt alles und ihr könnt im September eueren schönen Kat in Empfang nehmen. Wir machen uns am Sonntag wieder auf den Weg zu Adesso, aber ohne jeglichen Plan. Planen haben wir unter den jetzigen Umständen aufgegeben und entscheiden spontan nach den Wettervorhersagen und Grenzenöffnungen und-schliessungen…
Alles Gute!!! Meldet euch 🙂
Raymonde
Danke fürs Daumendrücken. Scheint zu wirken 🙂
Habt auch viel Freude in Zeeland
This greeting is coming to RiverCafe from the docks of Port Louis, Grenada! Rick and I and High Spirits FINALLY made it through a 2 week quarantine and were allowed to come into the marina… WONDERFUL! Not having Internet for 3 weeks – including our passage south from St Barts to Grenada – we were SO EAGER to get your update!
So glad that your patience and tenacity is finally yielding a SOLUTION!! The photo of your Leopard is priceless. Beautiful job on the logo, Karin!
We are trying to get back to the states despite Grenada’s travel challenges. When we return we HOPE that our paths cross – once again – in the Caribbean!! What a CELEBRATION we will have – hopefully – this Fall!! In the meantime travel safely, dear friends!! ❤️😎😎⛵️
We too can’t wait to catch up with you. Sadly we will not carry the promised South African wine onboard but we will celebrate reunion, that’s for sure. Take care you both
Hallo, ihr Lieben,
wir haben uns schon die ganze Zeit gefragt, wie es denn jetzt für euch wohl weiter geht. Toll, dass sich nun eine Lösung abzeichnet. Und toll, dass ihr uns alle auf dem Laufenden haltet. Wir drücken die Daumen und hoffen, dass alles klappt.
Was wir noch nicht so ganz verstanden haben: wieso kommt keine 25. Kiste – und zwar mit südafrikanischem Wein – an Bord… 😉
Liebe Grüße aus Berlin, genießt die spanische Sonne und bleibt gesund
Bettina und Ernst
Schön dass ihr uns nachverfolgt. Und ihr habt gleich das Wesentliche erkannt. Aber wir wollen unser Glück nicht überstrapazieren und wären mit den 24 Kisten schon happy. Wir trösten uns gerade mit Kanarischem Wein, gar nicht so schlecht :-). Habt eine schöne Zeit