Day 11, Year 6 Day Trip to Durban
Date: Thursday, November 4, 2010
Weather: Hazy AM, Heavy Rain, Thunder & Lightening PM
Location: Tuzi Gazi Marina, Richards Bay, South Africa

Durban is a city with 3.5 million people and I have to say I was glad when we safely exited the city late this afternoon. The crime rate is extremely high, and sometimes senseless, so you have to be super careful-keep cameras and wallets hidden, don’t carry a backpack or any kind of bag, always have car doors locked and windows up, etc. Despite all that, we had a pleasant visit today. We arrived before 9 am and parked illegally in front of a place called Cruising Connections to drop off our big and bulky Monitor windvane that we are hoping the owner, Tony Herrick, can sell for us. We sure didn’t want to carry this item very far, so one of us watched the car while the other carried the windvane and all its parts inside. Once the ‘goods’ were unloaded, we drove down to the waterfront and parked on Wilson’s Wharf next to the Royal Durban Yacht Club. Unlike the shops one block away that have locked gates on the doors that have to be unlocked and relocked every time someone enters the store, we could move about freely on the waterfront, going into the yacht clubs and exploring. There was a nice woman patrolling the car park area who was very helpful. And if anyone took one look at her fingernails (sharp as nails) they wouldn’t mess with her. With the car secured, we walked back across the main street along the waterfront and shopped in Tony Herrick’s little shop. We bought some courtesy flags we are missing for some Caribbean islands and then moved on to Seaport Supply. Here we bought two brand new marine toilets (hurray, hurray), masking tape needed for the upcoming varnishing projects, and some specialized cleaners. Then we went to the last of the ‘chandlery’ possibilities, Budget Marine. We struck out on finding parts we need for our anchor windlass. Those parts are going to have to be ordered direct from Muir, the manufacturer. We were a little surprised at how little there is to be bought for a boat in a city that has provided refuge for seafarers ever since Vasco da Gama anchored here in 1497. These chandleries that exist are crowded little hole-in-the-wall stores. There’s no West Marine here! We left the toilets in the store and carried the other purchases back to the car to hide them away in the trunk. We then walked to Point Yacht Club and inquired about lunch. They were running a special today on prawn curry, so we told the young woman we would return after a quick walking tour of the main sights in the city. We walked down the esplanade to see the Vaso da Gama clock and then went up a block from the waterfront to see the city center. Dominating it is a 1910 Edwardian neo-baroque City Hall and the 1909 St. Paul’s Church. At this point we had gotten brave and were carrying a backpack, but I was too afraid to take the camera out to take a photo. Finally, I got up my nerve and got out Mark’s small camera and handed it to him to take a couple of photos. One thing is for sure. The fear of having a camera stolen is severely limiting the number of photos we have taken since arriving-maybe ten in all when we would normally have a hundred.

Lunch at the yacht club was delicious and then we headed out of town to visit the southern hemisphere’s largest shopping mall, Gateway in Umhlanga (remember the ‘h’ is pronounced like ‘sh’). The mall is huge but there was not one pair of Teva sandals in any of the 2000 stores. I had to make do with a pair of sandals from Timberland and we’ll just have to see how they hold up. We went to the biggest bookstore, Exclusive Books, and found that a little disappointing as well. It is certainly bigger than anything here in Richards Bay, but still with limited offerings. While we were in the mall, the heavens decided to open and the rains poured down. Poor Mark had to drive the hundred miles from the mall to Richards Bay in pouring rain with bright flashes of lightening most of the way. It was a tense drive, but he got us home safely and I’ll be happy if I don’t have to drive to Durban a second time. I’d much prefer to sail there.

101104 Day 11 South Africa–Durban