2000 505 Worlds, Durban, SA

Race 2 - Postponed

I didn't sleep very well last night. The onshore wind was whistling around our hotel window at about 35-40 knots. I was fairly certain at midnight that we wouldn't be sailing today. With sustained winds at 33 knots on the course, the RC gave us our lay day a few days early. A few people thought we could've sailed, but getting the boats off the beach in some fairly gnarly

surf could present problems.

A few of us took the opportunity to visit the Tala game park just northwest of the city. It was a great experience, capped off by an incident that I will not soon forget. The Tala park (2500 hectares) is one where you simply pay an entrance fee at the front gate, and drive your own vehicle along the winding dirt roads. We made our rounds through the hippos, wildebeests,

zebras, a giraffe, impalas, and a few other unidentified species. On our way out, we stumbled upon a group of 4 rhinos bathing in a mud puddle by the roadside. This was a photo opportunity too good to pass up. I started snapping pictures with the animals about 25 feet from us, when one of the larger rhinos started to get a bit spooked by our presence. Suddenly, he advanced towards us, with his 2 foot long horn pointing right at my car door! Barney popped the clutch on our car when the rhino got within 10 feet of us, and the lurching of the car thankfully stopped his advance. I was glad to have brought a spare pair of underwear.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a sailing report.

Jesse