Category: this is south africa

Let’s Be Clear On Crayfish

Posted on

The SA DAFF has announced the new WCRL TAC and there’s something in there for all of us. Here’s the full press release if you want it, but for a summary, you just have to read on. Simples.

Area Catch Period Nearshore and Interim Relief Measure Offshore Super-area 1+2 16 November 2016 – 30 April 2017 Super-area 3+4 16 November 2016 – 30 June 2017 16 November 2016 – 30 June 2017 Super-area 5+6 16 November 2016 – 30 June 2017 Super-area 7 16 November 2016 – 30 June 2017 (Interim Relief Measure only) 16 November 2016 – 30 June 2017 Areas 8 and 11 16 November 2016 – 30 June 2017 16 November 2016 – 30 June 2017 Area 8 (Deep water) 1 July 2017 – 30 September 2017 Areas 12, 13 and 14 16 November 2016 – 30 June 2017

The 2016/17 west coast rock lobster recreational fishing season will open on Saturday, 26 November 2016 and will close on Monday, 17 April 2017. The 2016/17 WCRL recreational fishing effort will be restricted to 21 days and will be split as follows: • Fishing allowed from 26 November 2016 to 27 November 2016 (2 days) • No fishing allowed from 28 November 2016 until 9 December 2016 • Fishing allowed from 10 December 2016 to 11 December 2016 (2 days) • No fishing allowed from 12 December 2016 until 15 December 2016 • Fishing allowed from 16 December 2016 to 18 December 2016 (3 days) • No fishing allowed from 19 December 2016 until 23 December 2016 • Fishing allowed from 24 December 2016 to 27 December 2016 (4 days) • No fishing allowed from 28 December 2016 until 30 December 2016 • Fishing allowed from 31 December 2016 to 2 January 2017 (3 days) • No fishing allowed from 3 January 2017 until 6 January 2017 • Fishing allowed from 7 April 2017 to 8 January 2017 (2 days) • No fishing allowed from 9 January 2017 until 13 January 2017 • Fishing allowed from 14 January 2017 to 15 January 2017 (2 days) • No fishing allowed from 16 January 2017 until 14 April 2017 • Fishing allowed from 15 April 2017 to 17 April 2017 (3 days)

Updated catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) and Fisheries Independent Monitoring Surveys (FIMS) indicated that Super-area 7, which has been managed under Exceptional Circumstances for the previous two seasons, has returned to a threshold that is above Exceptional Circumstances. For the 2016/17 west coast rock lobster fishing season, Super-area 7 (Dassen Island), the area between a line in the north (270° true bearing) drawn from the co-ordinate 33°15’00”S and 18°07’00”E in respect of Zone C and as a southern boundary the northern beacon MB 1 of the rock lobster sanctuary at Melkbos Point, will be opened for fishing for the Commercial (Offshore), Small-scale (Interim Relief Measure) and Recreational fishing sectors.

Well, there we go. Great news on Super-area 7.
And I think it’s all completely clear now.

Happy crayfishing!

Longer weekend

Posted on

Weekends, hey? They’re great.

In fact, the only issue with weekends is their blatant lack of length. Two days. Two. That’s all you get for slogging your arse off for the rest of the week. It seems distinctly unfair. It is distinctly unfair. It’s rubbish.

I took a step back and tried to look at this two day weekend concept with fresh eyes. It still looked unfair and rubbish, but I wasn’t about to give up on my dream of changing the status quo, even if just for a short while.
What if… what if you were to add a day to the weekend, extending it from two days to three days? That’s a 50% increase. I’ve found that Friday seems to be a good day for this, so what I’ve done is added Friday to my weekend this week.

Nice.

But wait, there’s more. It was as I sat back, basking in my success, that I realised that three days was actually also a bit crap. Still below that threshold of “half the week”, which sits at three and a half days. But what to do? Simples. Add another day. If you add Monday to the weekend mix as well, it has several pleasing effects:

1. It now means that your weekend numbers four days. That’s a full 100% increase on the previous, “normal” duration of the weekend.
2. Four days is more than three and a half days. I’d cracked the “more than half the week” thing.
3. The week which I took the Friday from was now just four days long. That’s the same length as my weekend. AND…
4. The week which I took the Monday from was also now just four days long.

That’s two four day weeks, separated by a four day weekend.
This is how life should be.

I know that not everyone will have the luxury of constructing a four day week/four day weekend/four day week megacombo. So here’s my offer to you. You may – should you so choose – live vicariously through me. Because I’m doing it and I’m starting today tomorrow.

And I’m going to take photos.

Tug

Posted on

People who know me in real life (as opposed to those who merely choose to follow the infamous internet personality and all-round shining wit that writes this stuff) may have seen this image over the weekend.

0

Whereby we attended a sandy Strandlopery place on Struisbaai beach after a walk along the shore (strandloping), and enjoyed some of their Moar Koffie.

But, because I’m sad like that, I found myself wondering if the decorative lifebelt was just that (decorative, I mean; I know it was a lifebelt) or whether there was actually a boat called the F.T. Bates.

Those beagle-eyed readers who have glanced slightly further down the page may already have guessed the answer to this one.

It’s a yes.

ftbatesAnd look there on the front of the forecastle. Lifebelts.
The J.T Bates was a deep-water salvage tug built on the Clyde in 1950 and operating in and around Cape Town from 1950 until 1980. From there, she moved to Durban for a few years, but was scrapped there in 1983. The lifeboat from the tug (seen next to the funnel above) is now on display in the Port Natal Maritime Museum in Durban.

A pencil sketch to illustrate what the F.T. Bates might have looked like if it was hypothetically being repaired in Port Elizabeth in the late 1970s

The tug was named for the F.T. Bates who was “the senior member of the Union Government of South Africa. (Railways & Harbour Administration)  Railway Board” in the mid to late 1940s.

One of the major moments in the history of the J.T. Bates was in the S.S. Seafarer wreck:

As the engine-room began to flood the engines were shut down for fear of an explosion and Capt Branch realised that the ship was in grave danger. Every wave that broke over the SA.Seafarer pushed her further and further onto the reef. Hurriedly, but calmly, the passengers and crew gathered in the lounge while they awaited instructions from the master. By this time it was obvious that there was no chance of saving the vessel. The first message from the ship was one of urgency: “Please take off passengers and crew as soon as possible”. Rescue operations from the shore were immediately set into motion. The tugs F.T. Bates and C.G. White left Duncan Dock and manoeuvred into position outside the breakers off Green Point in order to render whatever assistance possible.

Obviously, there was very little (actually nothing) that the tugs could do on that night. In fact, it’s 33 years since the F.T. Bates has done anything.

But its name lives on through a lifebelt on a beach bar in Struisbaai.

Weekend photos

Posted on

We had some fun in Agulhas this weekend, not least setting up the camera with the remote shutter thingy on it next to the bird table.

This isn’t one of those photos…

…but you can view them here.
Via that link, you’ll also find some photographs of White-breasted Cormorants (Phalacrocorax lucidus) taken by 10-year-old Alex. They’ve required a bit of editing, because I gave him the camera set on Manual mode with the white balance set to Tungsten.

I haven’t learnt anything, have I?

Zuma on Trump

Posted on

All-round nice guy and democratically elected President of the Republic of South Africa says “well done” to all-round nice guy and democratically elected President of the United States of America.

I think that’s what’s happening, anyway…

A transcript of the video, including JZ’s words, may assist you in comprehending the depth of his feelings for Mr Trump.

[Microsoft Movie Maker titles and intro]

For now, it… it is a report that have come.
If he has won, the Americans have felt that this is a man.
I don’t think anyone could have anything.
We are saying congratulation to him.

[CGI SA flag]
[Fade to 15 seconds of silent darkness]

Eish.