This is "Onbekommerd"!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Across the IJsselmeer again

We seem to be lucky most times we crodd the IJsselmeer. Yesterday, after some morning clouds, it was sunny and we left Medemblik in about 15 knots of breeze. Even that soon dropped and after 2 1/2 hours we reached Workum with no wind at all! Sitting on the foredeck in the sun was very pleasant! We found a place in the Marina (the first place they asigned to us was too narrow) and soon it got quite warm
During the night the weather turned and by morning it was still raining steadily. Hans and Jet (our friends from my student days, now also boating friends) came and we discussed our upcoming trip to the German 'Wadden' together. Early afternoon the weather cleared and I went to suss out the scene at the regatta site. Lots of preparation going on, but no-one there who could shed some light on what work there is for the volunteers. Will check again tomorrow and if there is nothing to do that's also fine, we'll spectate for a day or two and then to a bit of roaming around in Friesland before the appointment with the solar panel supplier next week Tuesday.
The naturalisation paperwork has been resolved and the marriage certificate (with the requited stamps, seals and signatures) will be on its way in the diplomatic mail from Cape Town to London via Holland tomorrow. Thanks Greg and Ineke!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

DeltaLloyd regatta finished

The DeltaLloyd regatta has come to an end. We really enjoyed being part of a professionally run event. The results you can see on www.deltalloydregatta.org, one of the highlights for us was todays Womens Match Racing final in very strong winds (the highest gust measured was 39 Knots!). On one of the downwind legs, the Dutch finalist nosedived and 2 of the crew were washed overboard!. Anyway, it was very exiting and the Dutch eventually won, which was reason to celebrate! We are seriously considering doing it again next year. So different from regattas in South Africa: getting the results out to 'the public at large' is a big thing, so we (I was part of the communications team) made sure that within 5 minutes of a class finishing, the (provisional) results were on the website. Also continuous updates via Twitter and Facebook (we had two dedicated 'Twitterboys'). In addition, the medal races (between the top 10, counting double and not discardable) were streamed live on the Internet. We got reactions from as far as Australia from people who were watching our medal races and womens match race finals from their bed live as they happened. This is how to make sailing more accessible and interesting to the public.
Anyway, now that all this is over, we move to Workum tomorrow (the weather forecast is good, although at this very moment there is at least 30 Knots of wind). We have offered to our services as volunteers to the Dutch Youth Regatta, with over 700 boats, 450 of which are Optimists. That starts on Wednesday with registrations and Thursday (Ascension day) with sailing.
Will keep you informed!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Quick update on the DeltaLloyd regatta

The first day of the 2011 DeltaLloyd regatta saw winds from 20 to 32 knots, so it was challenging to say the least! All classes sailed in the end, although the Stars only returned to shore at 21.30 after a long postponement due to too much wind and sea conditions on the course. For more info see http://www.deltalloydregatta.org/ or follow us on Twitter!
Today it's the other extreme, all 6 courses have been postponed due to lack of wind! I sit here in my 'command past', with the microphone in front of me, looking out over a very flat IJsselmeer. It is so clear that I can see Friesland in the distance. But only a few knots of wind....

Monday, May 23, 2011

Delta Lloyd regatta - ISAF World Cup #5

It was a good idea to do the Monnickendam - Medemblik trip on Saturday, because Sunday started out a bit rainy and ended up with 30 Knots of wind in the gusts, not too comfortable for a 28 nMile IJsselmeer voyage. But by then we were safely tucked away in our berth in the marina of the Medemblik Regatta Centre, where over 500 boats in the Olympic classes (including the 2.4 mR class, which is open to Olympic as well as Paralympic sailors) will be doing battle this week.

There are a total of around 800 individual competitors from 61 countries (including South Africa: Asenati Jim a.k.a. 'Squirrel' and Roger Hudson in a 470). Many of them are hopefuls for the 2012 Olympics, so you walk into 'heroes' like Torben Greal and Robert Scheidt, both Brazileans now sailing the Star. Also the 1996 (Langebaan) Optimist World Champion, Lisa Westerfhof is here, she by now has 2 * 470 World Titles under her belt, her crew Lobke Berkhout has Olympic silver and 5 Worlds Golds. So not a measly bit of sailing here this week. Lyn is the host in the Press Centre and I am the "Speaker" for the regatta, commenting for competitors and the public about 'what's going on'. That's not because I have a reputation of being a good speaker but they needed someone who knows a bit about sailing and is fluent in both Duch and English. So here I am, doing a job I've never done before!
Registration is almost finished now (Monday evening) and sailing starts tomorrow and will last until Sunday when the Medal Races are sailed. See http://www.deltalloydregatta.org/ or follow the regatta on Twitter and / or on Facebook (see, I have done my bit of advertsing). The idea is that results, down to markrounding positions, will be uploaded to Twitter as they come in. There are 2 people full time busy with this! How different to the results of the Western Cape Dinghy Champiships which were not on the championship internet site 4 weeks after the regatta (maybe still not, I have given up trying).

Saturday, May 21, 2011

A few more London days and back to 'Onbekommerd'

I am sorry, I have been a bit slow in updating the blog!
The last week in London was comparatively uneventful. We did quite a bit of walking as usual, nice but nothing spectacular. On Friday, we had a very nice lunch with Cynthia and John (Jr) Eloff at an Italian - seafood restaurant near Victoria station and after thatb we went to the 'Queen's Galleries' to see the 'Dutch Landscapes' exhibition (not planned, but quite appropriate).
When we got back to Kew, we communicated with Sean who told us he had been offered a job in Cape Town but was not keen to take it as it would not be what he wanted to do in life, a 'job but not the start of hisn career'. Its an audacious thing to do, but we are very proud that he has a clear vsion of where he wants to go. It does mean that he will now most likely come to the UK as well and that is a big change for him (and for us as well!). This will all play itself out in the next few months and we'll repor on it through the 'blog'.
This (Saturday) morning, we got up early and Gwilym was very kind to get up early as well and drive us to Heathrow for our 7.30 flight. Gwilym and Janine, our vey special friends in London have played (and still are playing) a crucial role in our 1 1/2 year sabattical / naturalisation effort here. To be honest, we dont quite know how we could have done it without their support, giving us accomodation, an address for all the formalities etc etc, as well as exceptionally nice companionship!
When we got to Monnickendam, all was well with 'Onbekommerd' and within 2 hours of the wheels of the aircraft touching the runway we would have been ready to set 'sail' if we would not have had to do some shopping. But at 13.20 we were off in beautiful weather and continued all the way to Medemblik where we got at 18.00. As we were pretty tired and did not feel like cooking, we treated ourselves to 'Dinner ashore' in the restaurant at the Regatta Centre. We'll be here for over a week, as 'helpers' at the Delta Lloyd Regatta, part of the ISAF World Cup for Olympic Classes. It appears there are over 600 entries from 61 countries.
Will keep you updated!

Monday, May 16, 2011

To the South Coast - Battle

On Saturday morning, David - Lyn's cousin - picked us up at Waterloo station to take us to Bexhill on Sea where his parents (Lyn's uncle and aunt) live. They are well into their 80's and moved here from South Africa in November last year (just when the heavy snow started, which was the first snow he - at 88 - ever saw, he is ex Rhodesia).
The first thing that struck us is how long it takes to get out of London by car. The traffic, even on a Saturday morning, is quite heavy and this city is really enormous. It took us about 2 hours to get to Bexhill, which is close to Hastings. We had dinner with uncle Grenville and aunty Nan and slept on the sleepr couch in their lounge. They live in a small house in a 'mews', a sort of retirement complex. On Sunday we went to a place called "Battle", where the battle of Hastings was fought in 1066. They have a very well organised setup there, with an audio tour around the battleground, giving a detailed account of the battle (between the Normans under William the Conquerer and the Anglo Saxons under King Harold II). Obviously William won (otherwise he would have been called 'William the Loser). They also give the whole background to the battle and there are also the ruins of the Abbey that William built there in honour of Harold (whom he respected even though he beat him) and as an atonement for the bloodbath (7000 people were killed in a single day battle and the battleground is not large either!). Afterwards, we went with the family, now including Allison, David's sister and Roxy, her daughter to a pub for lunch.
After a 2 1/2 hour drive (traffic!), we got back to Richmond.
We dont have any fixed plans for the rest of the week, probably some more walking and then on Friday we have lunch with Cynthia Eloff from Cape Town and her son John who lives here. Early on Saturday morning we go back to the boat in Monickendam. As the flight is at 7.30 (the 8.30 was 100 Pounds per person more expensive!), we need to leave here at 5. At that time there are no trains on the underground District line yet, so we'll take a bus to take us to a Piccadilly line station where we can catch the first train to Heathrow.
When there is anything to report, the blog will be updated!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Royals, schools, shops and music

We have had a busy 2 days! Yesterday (Thursday) we did the "Windsor and Eton" walk from 'the book'. By train to 'Windsor and Eton Riverside' and then a walk past Windsor castle (yes, the queen was there, her flag was flying) and then over the river (Thames) to Eton, the most exclusive and famous boarding school in the UK. The boys wear black tail coats as school uniform and the masters (teachers are called 'masters', even female ones) wear tail coats AND white bow ties (maybe not the female masters). It is a big place, with 1300 boys and it has the feel of a university campus. As it was founded in 1440, it is full of interesting history. (in case you are interested, the fees are around 30000 Pound a year, which includes tuition, board, lodging, laundry, most books and extramurals - but not music lessons which most boys seem to take. scholarships available but hard to get!)
Today we did another walk: through Kensington Park and Knightsbridge, which means you pass Harrods, a very big (and exclusive) department store. Of course we had a look inside. It is said that at Harrods you can buy anything from a bag of potatoes to an elephant. We did find the department where they sell the potatoes (in the 'food halls', which must be seen to be believed), but not the 'elephants department'. We did resist the urge to buy a writing desk, not only because it was too big for 'Onbekommerd' but also because the price (23000 pounds, yes that is a quarter of a million South African Rand) was a bit beyond our budget (it was NOT the biggest and most expensive desk). Also the grand piano at 91000 Pounds (a cool Million Rand) is still in the shop. Even the fish and chips we had to pass, at 25 pounds a head that is about 5 times as much as at the "Garden Fish shop" here around the corner. We did ask them about a book Lyn wanted, but it was not in stock (so one wonders about the elephants!). But it sure was fun to walk around. We saw someone buy a framed picture of Harry Potter, signed by Harry Potter (or maybe the guy who plays him in the movies) for 2500 pounds - and Harry Potter does not even exist!
We ended off today by going to a concert in the church on Kew Green, about 20 minutes walk from here. It was in aid of a new piano for the church and the programme included the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and the Mozart C major Piano Concerto, so that was really nice.
We are off for the weekend, more on Sunday night or Monday morning!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Update on naturalisation process

After two visits to the Dutch Embassy in London, most of the paperwork required for Lyn's naturalistion has now been submitted. Due to a mistake / omission by the SA Department of Home Affairs (they did not stamp and sign our marriage certificate), we now need to have this reprocessed, so the efforts of Greg and Sean as well as those of my sister Ineke have been enlisted. Hopefully, it will now all be 'in the system' in the next few weeks. After that it might take only 6 months before we have an answer from the authorities in The Hague and then a maximum of 3 more months before the Naturalisation ceremony. We had expected a year, so that is good news!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Lots of walking

With the continuing fantastic weather we have taken the opportunity to do a lot of walking, mainly along the Thames. The river runs less than 30 minutes walking from where we stay and there are very nice walks on the towpath on either side and upstream as well as downstream. We have been as far 'up' as Teddington lock and as far 'down' as Hammersmith (see Googlle maps). Now we will need to start taking trains to points further afield but with the great transport system here that's no problem. There is a 'Thames path', which is well signposted (and documented on the internet).
Will keep the blog updated!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Slide show

As you can see, w have added a slideshow of some of our pictures on the right. Sunsets are a 'topic' a the moment! I am trying to update the album where the pictures come from. This is a bit of a learning curve, so please be patient, more pics will follow!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Back in London

We left 'Onbekommerd' on Sunday afternoon and after an uneventful trip we are back in the "London borough of Richmond upon Thames", or 'Richmond' as it is more commonly called. We actually stay a few minutes walking from the famous Kew botanical gardens, which is almost at the end of the 'District' Underground line, say a bit under an hour by 'tube' from Central London.
What was interesting was that we used the 'EU/ UK Passports' immigration queue at the airport (as suggested by the immigration official when we arrived at the beginning of April) and indeed, with the EU family member visa in Lyn's passport that was no problem, they did not even stamp the passport! Being able to use that queue is useful as we can now choose the shortest of the queues and that can make up to an hour difference as we found out on 3 April!
We will be here until 21 May when we will return to Onbekommerd in Monnickendam. From 23 to 29 May we have volunteered to assist with the Delta Lloyd regatta in Medemblik, which is a big regatta for Olympic classes and part of the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) World Cup. We then cross the IJsselmeer to Workum to help in the DYR (Dutch Youth Regatta) from 2 to 5 June.
But until then, its the UK, with a visit to the Dutch Embassy on Monday 9 May to officially start the naturalisation process. Interesting times for sure!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Koniginnedag

"Koninginnedag" litterally means 'queensday', it is the day the Dutch people celebrate the birthday of the queen. That was yesterday, 30 April. Here in Monnickendam it was celebrated in the morning with a 'kids market', where small children (generally under 12 or so), sell their wares, very often consisting of unwanted toys. Quite clever we thought, now the new owners can play with the stuff for a year and next koninginnedag it gets sold on again. The prices are low, often below a Euro up to maybe 2 or 3 Euros. There also was a band of four kids playing trumpet, trombone an 2 saxophones, it did not sound to bad either!
In the afternoon there were some interesting kids games and for the adults races in rowing boats which were paddeled by up to 7 people, using spades as oars. As it was blowing quite hard, there were some hairy moments. We think there was a band or disco in the evening, as a stage had ben set up, but we did not venture out to see that (and it was not so loud that we heard it either).
In between all of that, we did some maintenance, we had already cleaned the boat thoroughly on Friday.
Now, Sunday morning it is still blowing quite hard, probably 6 Bft (25 knots). There are families with sailing yachts on either side of us who want to leave as it is the May school holiday for a week, but as both of them have small kids (between 3 and 6), there seems to be some reluctance (although at least on the one side they have decided to go).
We leave for London on a 19h10 flight, so we'll leave the boat around 4 and travel by bus and train to Schiphol, which is less than an hour away.
Next update from London, I will then also try to post some pictures of the last 3 weeks. We then return to Onbekommerd on 21 May.