420s and Spinnaker Poles

I was just getting my head around words like Hobie, Laser, Dabchick, Oppie and Dragoon, when suddenly I was on the phone trying to find a spinnaker pole. After a few calls (because everything shuts down in Cape Town early December) I finally managed to get hold of one. The woman on the other side of the phone was asking me how I would be collecting it. I opened and shut my mouth a few times not knowing what exactly she was asking me and then risked showing my ignorance by asking, “What exactly do you mean by that?” imagining having to hire a trailer to transport this pole.

All she meant was that she was in Zeekoevlei and that the pole was needed in Hermanus which was a good hour and a half away. That was the least of my worries. Talk about things we do for our kids? I was being “ground crew” to Angelique’s managing role. Our sons, after barely a few months of sailing (a 420), had decided to enter the SA Youth Nationals which was taking place over the first week of the holidays. 

Much to my dismay, I had discovered (via Angelique) that we were expected to accompany them. I had just about caught my breath after matric exams and was facing a very busy silly season week. The last thing I needed was to spend a week away from home. Luckily, Angelique was prepared to stay there with me coming and going when I could. We had realised that this would be a make or break week for them and sailing ...either they were going to be put off or this would be the start of a lifelong love affair.

It was not an easy week. There were two days of howling winds and one day of sailing had to be cancelled, but our sons battled on.  It was on one of those bad-weather days (when most competitors had opted out) that they had capsized the boat and lost the pole. At the end of the week, sporting sunburn and minor injuries, they came in 12^th out of 14 boats in their section. Tired, but proud, they declared: “At least we didn’t come last!” So it looks like we’ll soon be pencilling in the dates for next year’s race...