Following Rush’s launch on the 6^th, at the end of February we packed a lot of bags and headed to Knysna for the final stages of completion, testing and departure.

That period in Knysna, moored in the harbour by the Yacht Club, will always feel a blur of boat work, excitement, stress, camaraderie and being absorbed into Knysna’s amazing sailing community. Seeing Rush finally afloat was, of course, a big moment – moving aboard too.

 

Perhaps the most powerful memories are rightly related to people. We can’t possibly mention everyone but we have to tell you about at least a few….

CM’s Julian, Renay and Rod (and factory manager Adrian too) we’ve mentioned in earlier posts. They overcame adversity, completed Rush, and she’s awesome. We’ve hugged many times and we probably drove each other mad at others! We’ve shared so many highs, lows, beers and meals that there will always be a bond. What a journey.

 

We spent many days aboard with CM’s fit-out team, including Lindsay, Solomon, Giovanni, Dalmenian, Steve, Boyce (who slept aboard before we did) and many others. You guys were always so courteous, helpful and fun. 

Clarence, Daniel and Nathan from CYS, electronics gurus – what can we say? Above and beyond. Top sailors too – one moment in a locker with a multi meter – the next trimming and tuning. 

We genuinely, genuinely, miss all you great people who created Rush. 

Greg and Leslie… Central Knysna characters and simply wonderful human beings. Leslie organised so many occasions – dragging us off the boat and into a world new to us – meals, music and stunning places. Greg is one of SA’s top, top sailors with Round the World races and World Championships under his belt – a boat builder, his own house builder, movie set builder and talented artist! Greg can spot an issue, create a carbon solution, tell you when it’s safe to press or better to back-off, introduce you to anyone in the SA marine industry and get stuff done just because they love him. Greg was with us through most of our SA sailing. What would we have done without you, Greg??

 

Dudley, ever present at Knysna Yacht Club and ever ready to help, which he did, in so many ways. Among Dudley’s wide fleet is Al Malaika, a 1933 33 footer built by McGruer for King George V to gift to the Sultan of Zanzibar. With Dudley’s blessing, she needs a new home and a full restoration. If with anyone with deepish pockets reads this and recognises the opportunity of a beautiful yacht with impeccable provenance – a boat that could be day-sailed locally, popped onto a truck to Les Voiles de St Tropez or packed into a container for Antigua Classics – I’ll put you in touch. Seriously… what a prospect. We’ll come.

Leon, the TAG 55 catamaran owning, snail farming, cigarette rolling, ex Southern Ocean fisherman with 30m wave stories, the world’s deepest toolbox, the cheekiest humour and a penchant for prescribing Tequila to solve any problem… you added warmth and colour to our ride.

Hugely experienced offshore skipper, Brett, gave us sound advice, sailing trial input and enthused about Rush’s smooth upwind speed. We have limited benchmark experience but Brett assured us that it is quite exceptional compared to most cats.

Den and Michele, owners of the apartment we rented, consoled us after the fire, stored loads of gear for us, cooked and cried when we left. We have such a soft spot for you two.

Ellie, Mike, Dave, Rosanna, Gavin, Bev, Rudy, Michaela, Marina, Rob, JP, Diane…. we could go on… 

Anyway, to cut an already-too-long story short, by the time Rush was ready to go, the approach of hurricane season (forecast to be a highly active one) in the north Atlantic meant that, with heavy hearts, we decided to ship the boat from Cape Town to the Med. It means we have to accept a significant cost and missing out on an adventure but, undoubtedly one of the hardest parts was having to disappoint Greg and Les who were going to sail with us. That would have been such a great adventure and we’d have learnt so much from Greg. 

 

After frantic final days in Knysna, which included a photo / video shoot for CM in the Lagoon; a visit by the entire CM workforce to see the beautiful, completed Rush (most hadn’t seen her since she left the factory un-furnished, un-rigged and half covered by protective sheets); plus a quick Christening ceremony….Amanda, Greg and I departed for Cape Town. 

 

Key memories of that passage are:

 

• • Leaving feeling utterly frazzled and emotionally wrung out. Again!

• • A marginal, but correct, call by Greg and Jacques that the notorious Knysna Heads were passable – albeit with breaking waves to port and rocks close enough to touch to starboard.

• • Motoring in no wind into a large residual swell for the first 24 hours and not feeling great.

• • Rounding the southern-most tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas, in the night and then picking up a building, favourable breeze.

• • Smoking downwind past the Cape of Good Hope (aka Cape Point and The Cape of Storms) in 30+ knots of breeze, at up to 17 knots boat speed, with just the Solent set and Rush sailing on rails with the front crossbeam never even once getting wet. Incredible.  

• • Arriving into iconic Cape Town, with the wind back to calm, Table Mountain dominating the skyline and Greg so happy to be berthing again at his second home, the Royal Cape Yacht Club (where we spotted his name engraved on most of the biggest trophies). 

 

A couple of days later, in fog so dense we had to use the chart plotter and radar INSIDE the harbour, we moved Rush round to the V&A Waterfront where, a few years earlier, we’d watched a couple commissioning their new catamaran and said “one day that will be us”. Finally, against some odds, it was. That was a moment too.

There wasn’t much time to draw breath. We had a few days (before our visas expired) to get many more jobs done, prepare Rush for shipping by removing and securing sails, lines, wand and everything, be cooked for by Clarence and Ellice – then fly home. 

Greg returned to Knysna, collected and prepared a set of cradles from CM for Rush to sit on, on the ship, took them back to Cape Town and, finally, he and Clarence spent a whole cold night motoring around in the port, waiting for Rush’s turn to be craned onto the ship…. which came round at 4am on May 20^th. 

 

Rush is now on her way up the African coast, alongside seventeen other yachts (mainly new Leopard catamarans) aboard the Lilac Roller, with an ETA of June 19^th into Fos sur Mer, near Marseille. We’ll head out a day or two earlier, ready to hop aboard as Rush is lowered into the Mediterranean for the proper start of our cruising life together.