We survived the 'bosch

We couldn't let the passing of our time at Appelsbosch go without having a memorial t-shirt made...thank you Sam, Tim and Murray for organising these apple coloured t-shirts, brilliantly modelled by the survivors of the 'bosch below:

Yes, our 5 months at Appelsbosch was every bit as bad as I expected it to be. I can't think of one good thing about it. It started bad and just got worse, and I am very grateful that we are no longer there and are back doing what God has called us to, where he wants us to be. Olly

Farewell South Africa

We left Cape Town at dusk last night. Goodbye South Africa. Goodbye dear friends. We hope we'll see you all again one day soon.

Our sail out of Cape Town was interesting: we did all kinds of manoeuvres as part of ongoing engine tests, which unfortunately meant the ship was rocking and rolling more than usual. So the tests were accompanied with the sounds of banging and crashing of falling things, crying children and people saying "I'm gonna throw up!" Then the fog rolled in, so the noises were joined by the ship's fog horn sounding until the wee small hours...all in all, we had a very disturbed nights sleep. We're scheduled to be at sea for another 12 days. I can't wait to get to Freetown. Olly

Us and Lisa

We met another old friend today in Cape Town: Lisa. She was with us in 2004 in Benin, and 2005 in South Africa, and 2006 in Liberia. It was great to see her again, but we only had two and a half hours together before shore leave expired, which isn't enough time at all to catch up! Sorry Lisa.

Olly

Cape Town

There is no city quite as magic as Cape Town, where the Africa Mercy has docked for 24 hours en route to Freetown. Just the arrival alone is breathtaking, as you can see from the photo below with Table Mountain in the background...

Waiting for us on the dock were dozens of Cape Town-based ex-crew: Carl & ilne & their kids, Henry & Mampu & their bubba, the Myers, Miss Katherine, Lauren Bluck, Beth from HR...remember them?

Once again we are berthed in the fabulous Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, where we are a stone's throw away from hundreds of fancy shops and restaurants: the sights, sounds and smells are fantastic! As we walk through the Waterfront there are concerts, jazz bands and Xhosa buskers at every corner - its all very festive! Photo below of the Africa Mercy at the V&A:

We had a great time talking to Carl & ilne about their close shave in Liberia and their work in South Africa...

And then Miss Katherine, Anna's old Grade 1 teacher, took us up Table Mountain:

A great time is being had by all. It is also a sad time: it may be our last time in South Africa (ever?); and it also symbolises our departure this afternoon from the riches and sophistication of the developed world and our pending arrival in poverty stricken Freetown. Olly

More cool photos

...taken by someone in the pilot's helicopter as we left Durban yesterday. Thanks Murray for making them available.

Olly

Thank you KwaZulu Natal, and good night!

Before we get too far away, I thought I'd list all those who've been a great help to me whilst we were in KZN. I can completely recommend any of these people or companies:

Andries (mechanic) in Pietermaritzburg: 0823 414089

Calypso Dive Centre - uShaka, Durban: 031 332 0905

Caspers Auto Electrics - Wartburg: 033 503 1445

Doug - Holiday Times (safaris etc): 0723 452239

Eagle taxis - Durban - 031 337 8333

Errol's taxis - Ballito - 0822 207538

Giorgio - breakdown service, Ramsgate: 0393 173534

Hennie - Harburg Garage - 0825 571290

Ian Kruger - North Coast Motor Group - 0828 914604

Nissan Rossborough, Durban - 031 451 5333

Johann - mechanic in Ramsgate - 0824 936873

Kishor - Landy Auto, Ballito - 0733 660202

Land Rover Umhlanga - 031 571 2610

Nala - minibuses in Appelsbosch/Wartburg/Pietermaritsburg/Dalton/Greytown - 0827 257278

Nissan Pinetown, Durban - 031 710 9000

Ricky - SCUBA equipment repairs, Durban - 0824 624889

Teddy - towing services in Dalton - 0823 574396

And all our dear friends at Destiny Life Church, Ballito - www.destinylifechurch.co.za.

Olly

Farewell Durban

11am, Thursday 10th February: we sailed from Durban after 5 months, 5 days, 22 hours and 15 minutes. Not that I was counting. Time for Charles to shave his beard off:

Durban is a beautiful city, and we have all found ourselves very much at home there. We love the South Africans and their hospitality, especially that of our dear friends in Ballito, just outside Durban. We love KZN. We love ECR. And we love the Zulus. Photo below of the skyline of downtown Durban on the sail through the harbour...

...which is apparently the biggest commercial harbour in the Southern hemisphere with an average of over 20 ship movements a day...

(Richard, can you see which is the one you're to survey? I couldn't tell, there are so many)...

Anyway, what has been achieved in the 5 months, 5 days, 22 hours and 15 minutes, I hear you ask. Here goes:

Replacement of 6 old, noisy, unreliable and dirty generators with 4 super efficient, more economical and environmentally friendly brand new MAN generators;

Replacement of 2 old and unreliable air conditioning SABRO units with 2 shiny new and reliable Carrier units;

New engine room piping for cooling salt water, fire mains, heavy fuel, diesel fuel, fresh water, etc;

Replacement of engine controls in engine room and bridge;

7km of new cables between engines and bridge;

Modification of electrical switchboard;

New shelving in Deck 6 and Deck 2 food stores;

All lifeboats, life-rafts, and lifeboat davits serviced and all cables renewed;

All fire-fighting and SCUBA equipment repaired/serviced;

New Mercy Ships logo on funnel and along side;

Pool modified with installation of wave catchers;

More sprinklers installed in cargo hold;

Damaged windows replaced with new ones;

Main engines overhauled;

Tons and tons of provisions loaded;

All Land Rovers and Nissans repaired and serviced;

Elevator converted from manual to electronic, with fancy new controls, as modelled by Jesse:

and loads of other smaller jobs that I can't remember.

Thank you for praying for us during this memorable but trying time during which God has been good to us all: it has been a time of refreshment and growth for some, and a time of hard work for others, especially our technical crew.

What's next: we sail for 3 days to Cape Town, where we hope to enjoy 24 hours of shore leave, then we've got a long sail to Sierra Leone, where we should arrive late February. And that's where God wants us!

Olly

Collecting lifeboats

Today I went with a team of Deckies to collect Lifeboats 3 and 4 from the neighbouring yard where they have spent the last 3 weeks having their 5-year service. Their return to the Africa Mercy was one of the last major pre-sail hurdles...we are now officially ready to sail later this week. I think.

Actually, what do I know? Olly

Queen Mary II

Today the Queen Mary II came into the port of Durban. Thousands of people from all over KwaZulu Natal flocked to the beach to see her come in...but sadly, this is all we could see of her:

Zooming in:
Zooming in:
It's been a long time ambition of mine to see her close up...and it looks like it will remain a long term ambition. Olly

We love hospital supply

I love what I found on a white-board in the hospital today. Click on image to enlarge. Olly

And another...

I quite like this one. Olly

Another great photo

...of the Africa Mercy at the Southern African Shipyard (Pty) Ltd's repair berth, courtesy of someone with an airplane I guess...

Olly

Bye bye beard

Last night I chopped off my beard, after 2 weeks of growth. Man, I hated that thing, and so did Sally and the kids. Charles is still persevering, and should have a significant growth when we sail next week. In the meantime, here is a photo of us taken after about a week of growth...my, what a couple of good looking guys, eh?

Olly

February

Here are some memories of late January/early February:

The Africa Mercy, taken from lifeboat 4 during a drill:

The port of Durban at dawn:

The welcome home sign (click to enlarge):

Memories of our long trip home: Nissan 927 broke down again, and had to be carried back to Durban on an AA truck:

Noah's last fire at Appelsbosch, in which he burnt his precious collection of sticks:

A new year: new cooks. Sylvanus from South Africa carving melt-in-your mouth roast beef...

...and Bobbi from NZ (right) with her beautifully displayed fruit:

Weight tests on the lifeboat davits: each yellow bag is filled with tons of water, whilst the lifeboats went around the corner to another yard for their 5 year services:

The best fry-up in South Africa, available at the Harbourside Cafe, 10 Rotterdam Road, Bayhead:

A tornado hits Tongaat as we travel home:

New ice machine on Deck 6 outside Crew Galley:

New air conditioning plant in the engine room:

Our technical crew have worked themselves to exhaustion over the last few months, and words are insufficient to express our thanks to them. The new generators are now working; we have electricity to just about everywhere and shore power is being disconnected as I write. Deck 3 & 4 a/c was switched on over the weekend, and (praise God) the new a/c system for Decks 5, 6 & 7 was switched on last night. The temperature in our cabin went down from 31 degrees to 26 degrees in an hour, and we woke up at 22 degrees this morning. What a welcome relief, as Durban's summer is well and truly established. Olly

Bye bye Appelsbosch

Last night was our last sleepless night at Appelsbosch (whining dog ALL NIGHT LONG outside our window). Today we finished packing before breakfast, left the Bosch about 10ish, and arrived at the ship early afternoon. And how great it is to be back onboard! It's hot (no a/c yet on Decks 5,6 & 7), and still only partly lit, but we're back in our own cabin with carpet, our own toilet, wi-fi, and only a short walk from the facilities. Slowly life will return to normal over the next couple of days as more generators are turned on and I get my office space back. Then I'll be able to get back to blogging, with photos. Meanwhile, the kids are very happy to be reunited with their toys and shoes, and spent an hour making a mess with them whilst Sally and I tried to unpack and bring order to things. Then we went for a very refreshing swim in the pool - yes, it is open at last! Olly

Beard update

2nd Officer Charles and I have stopped shaving, and aren't going to shave again until we sail. Every day we are delayed in Durban is being reflected by the length of our facial hair. Olly

Update update

Things are pretty crazy here. The ship is moving into a new phase of "almost being completed". This coming week the engineers will test one of the new generators - please pray for that. The test will show what further work needs to be done, and will give a better indication of when we can all move back onboard. Meanwhile, 30 or 40 of us are travelling daily to get the ship into shape before we sail - cleaning, loading, unloading, stacking, preparing for sea, etc etc. My team and I are converting 3 of our oldest Land Rovers (333, 482 & 784) in to patient transport ambulances, so we can shuttle patients between the ship and our Hospitality Centre in Sierra Leone. And over the last week the number of crew staying at Appelsbosch has grown daily - I reckon we must have gained another 30 or 40. So, please pray for a speedy and safe conclusion to the dockyard phase, and successful tests and trials, and a prompt departure from Durban. Thanks, Olly

Family photos

Here are some of the photos we took whilst my parents visited over the last 3 weeks...

At the waterfalls at Harburg:

At a crocodile farm outside Ramsgate:

On the beach:

At our holiday home:

At the garage:

On the river:

At Oribi Gorge:

On the beach:

Sadly, today we returned to Appelsbosch after a fantastic 2 weeks living in a real house like a real family...and surprise surprise, the place was shrouded in mist and rain, yet again. It was good to see friends again, but we CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO SIERRA LEONE! Olly