Central Mediterranean
Republic of
Monastir
Marina Cape Monastir +21673462305
SY "Kamu II" with her stern to the jetty and with two permanent bow moorings.
TD 220.- or € 150.- per month.
Click below for a bird's-eye view of our marina berth:
Preparing our ship SY “Kamu II” for the upcoming 2003 CE sailing season: (i) painting the interior of the 1,000-litre freshwater tank with two layers of Jotun Penguard HB two-pack epoxy paint and later adding a 1-litre bottle of duty-free Scotch (William Sanderson’s VAT 69, thus relying on Sir Ernest Shackleton who took supplies of VAT 69 on his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914 CE, stating that it would be used for medicinal purposes) to the first filling of water in order to improve the flavour of our drinking water - down the hatch, (ii) having the local inox wizard Abdul, who is based at the SW end of the Port de Pêche de Monastir (the local fishing port), built excellent new 316L-grade stainless-steel stanchions and parts for the bimini and (iii) re-engineering the engine mounts for our Perkins 4.236M diesel engine in order to improve its smooth running.
Exploring the town of Monastir, traditionally a fishing port and now a major tourist resort, the place where we spent this Mediterranean winter and the birthplace of Habib Bourguiba (the pro-Western reformer and first president of the Republic of Tunisia), admiring her immaculately preserved ribat (a cross between a fort and a monastery which was used to scan the sea for hostile ships), enjoying the mild North African climate and the friendly Islamic people of Tunisia, patronizing almost daily the excellent and cheap veggie-and-fish market (buying fresh king-size prawns of South-African “LM quality” for € 3.- per kg) in town and scoffing countless cheese baguettes and brik a l’oeufs (triangular sheets of very thin pastry with a seasoned egg inside, deep fried at such a high temperature that the outside becomes crisp while the egg remains runny, which when it is ready looks like a thick letter), always washing them down with Tunisia’s popular thé al la menthe (sweet mint tea).
Konni: Participating in a yoga class (conducted for livaboard yotties by fellow cruiser Sara from SY “Mindemoya”) thus (i) adapting the traditional yoga postures or asana to our ship SY “Kamu II”, (ii) learning to listen not only to the skipper but also to her body and (iii) creating exciting new postures that work even on the high seas.
Matt: Taking Arabic language lessons to allow for all possibilities during the ongoing 2nd Gulf War, inshallah, organised by the marina staff - always ready to help - and conducted by an enthusiastic young teacher from Monastir; shukran jasilan (شكرا), Ahmed.
Konni: Flying with LTU airline in an Airbus A 320-200 from Monastir's Habib Bourguiba International Airport to Stuttgart/Germany and back for all inclusive € 349.- (return ticket) and visiting our daughter Ulrike in Freiburg i.Br.
"From the air above Johannesburg and the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging triangle, the sight of hundreds of sapphire-blue swimming pools glittering in suburban backyards has always been a sure sign of homecoming for the patriotic South African who has been travelling the world in search of somewhere else to live."
Matt: Redeeming my accrued bonus air miles from the Qualiflyer Travel club, thus flying with Swiss International Air Lines from Tunis via Zurich to Johannesburg and thereafter with South African Airways from Johannesburg to Cape Town, and crewing for our close friend Maurice between Cape Town (South Africa), St. Helena (a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean and the place of the detention of Napoleon I. of France), Ascension Island (an isolated island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean, around 900 nm from the coast of Africa, and 1,200 nm from the coast of South America), Madeira, and Tabarka (N Tunisia), thus sailing about 7,000 nm in 70 days up the Atlantic Ocean and into the Mediterranean with SY "Cobble", a sloop-rigged South African Fisher 34, a traditionally styled motor-sailor on the general lines of a North Sea fishing boat, of very heavy displacement, and with an excellent reputation for seaworthiness.
“Maybe
I'm still hurting
I can't turn the other cheek
But you know that I still
love you
It's just that I can't speak
I looked for you in everyone
And
they called me on that too
I lived alone but I was only
Coming back to you
Ah they're shutting down the factory now
Just when all the bills are due
And
the fields they're under lock and key
Tho' the rain and the sun come through
And springtime starts but then it stops
In the name of something new
And
all the senses rise against this
Coming back to you…”
