It is an outdoor event, and everybody that knows the South Western Cape are only too familiar with the weather and what it can do to an outdoor event.

So what is the prognosis for the weekend ?

So far it looks ok, but only just.

Early in the week, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we have South Westerlies and some showers of rain, nothing really to serious. Not perfect, but not stormy either. In between kind of weather.

Thursday will be a fine day, but the wind will still be a fresh southerly, swinging around to a south easter on Friday. A few sowers of rain are also predicted for Friday morning, but it will certainly clear up.

The fresh south easter will continue to blow on Saturday, and swing around to a fresh south wester on Sunday.

Kleinbaai gets the South Easter head on, but is somewhat sheltered from the South wester.

That means Sunday will be the best day of the fesival… using the current prediction.

This we will update every day, as one can always expect a change in Gansbaai weather.

Ons wil darem hê dat Gansbaaiers en ander Strandvelders ook weet van hierdie potjiekos kompetisie.

Saterdag 25 Oktober 10 vm in Kleinbaai by die getypoel.

Die amptelike inskrywingsvorm is hier :

Potjiekos inskrywingsvorm

Cockspur Rum is organizing the potjiekos competition and you can download the entry form here :

Potjiekos competition entry form

Robbie has noted that the rules are completely vague, and we have absolutely no idea who the judges will be or what the prizes are going to be ? … maybe the organisers… Cockspur Rum, can shed a bit of light on the matter … Ms Hopley ??

So what is “Potjiekos” ?

In  South Africa Potjiekos (IPA: /pɔɪ/kiː/kɔs/), directly translated “pot food”, is a stew prepared outdoors in a traditional round, cast iron, three-legged pot (the potjie) which is found in the homes and villages of people throughout southern Africa. The pot is efficiently heated using small amounts of wood, charcoal or if fuel is scarce, twisted grass or even dried animal dung

Traditionally, the recipe includes meat, vegetables, starches like rice or potatoes, all slow-cooked with Dutch-Malay spices, the distinctive spicing of South Africa’s early culinary melting pot. Traditionally, liquid should never be added to the pot and the contents should never be stirred, as the lid keeps all liquids and flavors circulating throughout cooking. It is said that for a correctly cooked potjie, spices only enhance the taste. Other common ingredients include fruits and flour-based products like pasta. Even beer might be added by more adventurous cooks.

Potjiekos originated with the Voortrekkers, evolving as a stew made of venison and vegetables (if available), cooked in the potjie. As trekkers (pioneers) shot wild game, it was added to the pot. The large bones were included to thicken the stew. Each day when the wagons stopped, the pot was placed over a fire to simmer. New bones replaced old and fresh meat replaced meat eaten. Game included venison, poultry such as guinea fowl, warthog, bushpig, rabbit and hare.

Broadly speaking, Africans, Afrikaners and English South Africans all cook potjiekos, but lounging around the fire for hours while socializing and enjoying side dishes is most culturally ingrained among the Afrikaners, for whom potjiekos spicing is an esteemed art.

Today there are numerous recipe books and potjiekos chefs, each with their own “secret” ingredients for potjiekos. Several annual potjiekos competitions are held.

( from wikipedia)

The Festival actually opens on Thursday 23 October 2008.

Friday 24 October is aimed at the children, I you will note that lots of entertainment are provided for the kids.

We are hoping that the show will be very interesting and a great success.

Especially on the Kleinbaai side, that includes Dyer island, for shark watchers, its a fairly windy day.

Sea conditions are ok though. The swell off Cape point is 2 metres, and in Gansbaai its less.

Not the perfect day for going to sea, but ok.

On the De Kelders area will experience a fine Saturday with excellent whale watching from the rocks.

Sunday 19 October will see a strong westerley wind.

The morning will be great, and an early whale watching or shark diving trip is the answer.

Later on the wind will become stronger and it will be unpleasant at sea.

De Kelders will also be very exposed to the strong westerly that is predicted, so it will not be such a fantastic day at De Kelders.

The best day for shark viewing or cage diving will be Monday 20 October, little wind, and fine day.

Marine and Coastal Management, as well as some other policemen (also from Gansbaai), led by inspector Danie Rautenbach, went to investigate.

They found 8379 abalone, packed into bags, and loaded onto a pickup truck ready to be moved.

At this time inspector October was at work in the Gansbaai police station.

Inspector Rautenbach went back to the station, and arrested inspector October.

The case is being investigated by the Organised crime unit of the South African Police, and should they investigate properly, they will find that the MCM and certainly some more of the police in Gansbaai and Hermanus, are rotten to the core.

From Saturday 11 October to Saturday 18 October, poachers launched from Kleinbaai every single night.

When one of the residents walked into the Gansbaai Police station to report that the poaching boats were being launched at that very moment, the officer on duty was not interested at all, and told the person to phone the Hermanus office of MCM.

The Hermanus office of MCM certainly phoned someone, 15 minutes after the Gansbaai resident had phoned the hermanus MCM, the poachers were observed receiving a warning phone call, and they promptly but their boat back onto the trailer, and sped off back to Blompark.

About an hour later, the MCM patrol vehicle dove into the now deserted Kleinbaai harbour.

This incident was observed and documented by a concerned Gansbaai resident , his identity will obviously remain protected,  as MCM and the local Gansbaai police have not yet been “disinfected” enough.

There are still to many discreet and not so discreet warning calls going out to the poaching gangs.

Catching one policeman that was stupid enough to store perlemoen at home in his own garage is not enough.

Inspector October claims that he did not know that perlemoen was being stored in his garage, as he was renting it out to somebody ??? To who ???

Currently divers are being paid R 220 per kilogram of perlemoen by local middlemen.

A size perlemoen weighs about 320 grams shucked.

8379 pieces of perlemoen at an average wight of say 180 grams, we are assuming many were undersized would  weigh about 1.5 tons. So the shipment was worth around  R 300 000 or more. All depends on the size of perlemoen taken.

What was the effect of the “diving ban” between Gansbaai harbour and Quin point ?

answer :  nothing.

MCM cannot or are not interested in enforcing their own ban properly.

If the MCM diving ban made a serious difference it could be supported in the short term…. but no, it makes absolutely no diffrence, and also serves to restrict normal law abiding citizens.

Officially :

“NAUI Worldwide – National Association of Underwater Instructors,  is the world’s most respected, largest non-profit diver training organization in the world. Established in 1959 as a membership association and organized solely to support and promote Dive Safety Through Education, NAUI continues as the recognized leader in innovative education.”

Its all about the Tourist Guide issue.

By far the majority of all scuba diving instructors of all affiliations feel that qualified scuba diving instructors should not have to register as tourist guides.

With the exception of 2 or 3 NAUI instructors, for example Any Cobb or Mike van Niekerk, the South African NAUI membership also see no need to register as tourist guides.

For many years Mike van Niekerk has very actively been campaigning behind the scenes for ALL SOUTH AFRICAN DIVING INSTRUCTORS, regardless of affiliation, to be registered as Tourist guides.

“The debate reached the level where proponents of registration were pressuring authorities to arrest and prosecute dive leaders who are not Tour Guides.”

The main proponents of of registration are Andy Cobb and Mike van Niekerk.

Why ?

Because Mike van Niekerk is a tourist guide trainer. Andy too.

It is all about money.

Clearly, the needs of specifically the NAUI menbership, those members that NAUI HQ appointed Mike to represent, and whose interests he had to guard in good faith, played second fiddle to his business interests.

Where Mike Van Niekerk let the South African membership of NAUI down,  fortunately Under Water Africa stepped into the breach and did a lot to sort the mess out.

No thanks to Mike van Niekerk. He has let down the  South African membership of NAUI quite badly, and did not even bother to attend the meeting where the rest of the diving industry tried to sort the issue out.

Thank you very much to Monty Guest from CMAS SA who pullled the issue from the fire :

Despite phone calls to the MCM hotline, giving them exact time of launchings, and when the poachers are expected back… nothing but nothing happened.

The so called National hotline is a joke : 0800 205 005….. “uhm ok, I am in Kwazulu-Natal, look why don’t you phone back tomorrow” …. but the poaching is happening right now !!! … “uhmmm, look, phone back tomorrow at 7 ok ?” …. so nothing gets done.

What is going on ?

Is MCM corrupt to the very core ?

But they are restricting law abiding recreational divers left right and centre :

See the website : www.uwa.org.za

Scuba diving and the permit system

In June 2004 the Government announced that it was introducing a permit system to regulate scuba diving in Marine Protected Areas. The regulations were imposed by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) despite opposition from the sport diving community. The input from concerned recreational divers and industry was largely ignored. The Government has now indicated that it will proceed with implementation of the fee system from 2006, with the fee income accruing to the Marine Living Resources Fund.

The recreational diving community opposes the regulations on the following grounds:

• The regulations are imposed under the Marine Living Resources Act, an Act that was intended to control the fishing industry;
• The Regulations were imposed without proper consultation;
• The Government has imposed the regulations as a means of acquiring additional revenue, rather than due to any real need to regulate diving activities;
• The Regulations were imposed without an understanding of the impact that they will have on the sport and the industry.

Of particular concern to the diving community is that there is no control over the allocation of funding from the Marine Living Resources Fund, and no limit on future fee increases. The Government has effectively passed regulations forcing the sport diving community to hand Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) a blank cheque.

Previous dealings with MCM have shown that they cannot be trusted. Officials have been evasive, gone back on undertakings, and generally acted in an unacceptable manner. The Department has no particular skills relating to sport diving, an activity recognised as a sport by the Department of Sports and Recreation. The sport diving community cannot allow the future of our sport to be controlled by these people. Our sport has developed and managed itself successfully for more than 50 years; we didn’t need MCM until now, and we don’t think we need them in future.

Members of the sport diving community are embarking on initiatives to oppose the Regulations. These initiatives include publicity campaigns, lobbying efforts, and legal action. To do this effectively we need your support.

How can you support the sport diving community?

• Get involved. Learn about the facts of the situation, and help educate your fellow divers about the risks we now face;
• Take part in discussions. If you have Internet access, join the Yahoo group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rsa_scuba_mpa_discuss/);
• Volunteer your time to assist in research and investigation.

You can make a difference. Together the sport diving community can take control of its own destiny.

Severe Weather Warning : Friday
1. Very rough seas with waves in excess of 5m are expected between Cape
   Point and Cape Agulhas on Friday spreading to Plettenberg Bay.
2. Gale force W/NW’ly wind expected between Cape Point and Cape agulhas
   at first tomorrow, spreading to Plettenberg Bay later while moderating
   in the west.

Fortunately  Saturday and Sunday have better weather predictions.