This was not our first Christmas on the boat, but it was the first one on the boat while sailing.
The movement of the boat has settled nicely into a light rocking motion. This is also due to the light wind (slow progress) and light swells around us. We are not, therefore, clinging to the boat as much and holding onto every movable object all the time.
Often, we would imagine ourselves to be moored in Cape Town and if we wanted, we could just go for a stroll on the jetty. If we do not actually go up to the cockpit, we cannot see the vastness of our surroundings, and it makes one feel just a little bit safer.
Christmas Eve felt exactly like this. We were all comfortably seated in the saloon, enjoying the treat of chicken and roast potatoes and peas!! (The frozen peas only come out on really special days – very limited). Only the absence of all our loved ones marred the perfect picture. Know that we were thinking of you and praying for you. Wondering where you are and what you are doing. We miss you all!!
Christmas morning was our real celebration. Reflecting on what Christ did for us. We had our first Communion as a family. Very special and rewarding. Christ our Saviour indeed! (Tossie, we realised that one cream cracker is a bit big if we divide it only between the 6 of us.)
Christmas gifts were very interesting. The girls decided that they would each buy 4 chocolate bars – their own favourite. Then they would wrap these as gifts to themselves and the three others. That way, they would each receive 4 chocolate bars for Christmas!!! It worked really well.
Thank you to each and every one of you that gave us a Christmas Card or gift/gifts. Cards are up on the saloon wall and the gifts loved by all.
We warned them repeatedly that they should expect very little in terms of Christmas and Birthdays on the boat. Our emphasis will be on the experience and our money would rather go to surviving. Thus it was that they were totally astounded by their generous gifts from us. Frans bought each of the older 3 girls a cellphone that can Whatsup and Sophia a small tablet. This will be our contribution to their Social Life for the 3 years. Unfortunately internet is now non-existent and they cannot use these to their full potential. This did not keep Karin from recording a different singing ringtone for each person that she has a number for. She also recorded the whole soundtrack of “Finding Nemo” so that she could listen to this as an audiotape.
My special treat on Christmas day was a complete “shower” on the back of the boat. We have installed a handheld spray that sucks up seawater to “swim” in. When you bathe, you wash yourself completely with shampoo and seawater. After putting conditioner on your hair, you rinse your hair and body with half a litre of fresh water. Lovely and refreshing! Part of the juggling is making sure that everyone taking a shower is watched – so that they don’t disappear over the side – but not by someone who cannot see them in the shower : )

Laundry is an ongoing experiment/experience/exasperation. With 6 people on board of whom 5 are female, we do generate a fair amount.
Franci took up the washing chore while we were still in Cape Town. She used the “Sputnik” washing machine. “Dankie Susan en Abe, ons gebruik dit baie!”. She used about 4 liters of warm water and a spoonful of detergent per load. The “Sputnik” is a little round ball with a lid, mounted on a stand. Attached to the ball is a handle with which you spin the ball for about 3 minutes. You then need to do another spin with fresh water to rinse all the soap out. All wringing of wet clothes have to be done by hand. This worked really well when we still had an abundance of fresh water.
While at sea, we decided to try another way instead. Here, you put all the clothes in a black bag with some water and ammonia. This bag then gets put out on deck, where the sun heats up the water and the boat provides the rocking motion. After sufficient time, you take the clothes out, hang them up and allow the ammonia to evaporate. We’ve only done this once so far. Franci added a little too much ammonia and she did it inside. Whew!!! All the portholes were hastily opened and Franci and the bag were promptly ejected. The clothes seemed fine though, and afterwards had no smell of ammonia.
I’m not all that convinced that the clothes were really clean. I want to repeat this experiment tomorrow, but in the Sputnik with a little bit of detergent as well. Will let you know how it turned out.

After the balloons… after the Grand Send-off by Gerard and Tiana and family….after the lovely sail into Table Bay, passing Robben Island…. after my last WhatsUp, boasting about the great conditions….came ………………..the great seasickness! The new pills did not work!!! It was the first time ever for me to throw up. We all had our share of holding on to a bowl through the night as we did our shifts, praying that morning would bring relief. It seems to help if you lie down. Falling asleep is even better, as you can then forget that you should feel seasick – “they” do say that it is all in the head?!!
I remember sitting there with my phone, receiving all the whatsup wishes – too sick to attempt an answer, wondering: “What have we done?” “Who wilfully chooses this upon themselves?” Very stupid people indeed! I had no qualms about putting us firmly into that category.
But by God’s infinite mercy, we did not have to do any strenuous sailing or thinking during that first night. We set the sails and fell into a trance-like state – each of us finding our own way of dealing with the nausea as well as with the shock that we have really left!

The Forepeak where K & S usually sleep. One can see through to the Sail Locker in the background. The busy man is our ever dependable Charles, working on the Windlass**.

The Saloon, where we eat, school, rest, watch movies. We also charge our electronics here. Note the cables in the corner.

The Navigation Station, where Frans spends most of his time. This is where he does his normal work as well as yachting stuff. There is a retractable chair under the desk which folds up when not in use. This station has a fully equipped GPS monitor where we can read the same instrument readings as in the cockpit. The room visible through the doorway is the main cabin where Frans and I sleep.Marike’s cabin with two bunks visible.

Franci’s cabin which is a mirror image of Marike’s.The Galley which is opposite the Saloon and where I spend most of my time. The stove that gimbals on it’s own axis is just to the left of the photo.