OCEAN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

On Sat, Feb.29, we filled the diving bottles. At 11:30, a fishing boat brought us John Hoyt and Johnny Wormser (Joe's diving instructor), with a hookah diver and seasick Willie van der Merwe. A few other boats joined later. The wind was stronger, and the first dive was made at 14:00 in a search circle around the first marker buoy. I dove with Dave from a rowing boat, and found that the visibility had greatly deteriorated to about 3 ft. We called off the diving search, but the planes kept on searching. After a short meal, all except the "Xhosa Coast" crew boarded the fishing vessel and sailed to Doring Bay where we arrived at 21:00 and were "slung" ashore. Finally, we made the 6-hour drive to Capetown in a full Kombi.
March 1, Sun : Dave Lineker woke me up at 9:30 Sunday, and right after breakfast we went to the office to report to Dave about the accident. We concurred that Joe's must have been a very rapid physiological death and recalled that on or following some dives he had suffered severe headaches. But he had talked about it with a doctor.
I asked for the use of the Kombi and drove to Chris, who made me a quick lunch and at 14:00 we went on a camping trip past and to:

Stellenbosch

the Strand , and Gordon's Bay and off the map to bottom right, to Cape Hangklip (photocredit : Bruce Damer) which trip had been recommended to me by Des Hugo

It was, indeed, a pleasant place with a fine beach. We bought some milk and boereworst (sausage) which we cooked over a campfire. It was a cold night with full moon, so we woke up early and chilly on:
Monday, March 2 and broke camp. At a place where we had a "boereburger" for breakfast, I called Dave who asked to return the Kombi by noon. We just made this and Chris also was in time to meet her butcher. John Hoyt introduced me to our newly hired S.A. geologist, Pete Lamming. After lunch,I picked up the Alpine geophysical crew, plus Lamming and Chris again, and drove them through magnificent western cape scenery to the congenial little port of Lamberts Bay, where we boarded a sloop at 17:00 to take us to the "Xhosa Coast". Chris and I had some coffee and we all loaded the sloop with diving gear, so the survey could continue (after I subdued an imminent rebellion of Jim Tatum and John Cairnes) while Chris and I ferried the stuff back to port , loaded the Kombi and drove off again on the way to Capetown. After a tiring gravel road, we stopped at a hotel in ClanWilliam by 21:00; Chris took the opportunity to speak French with the receptionist and secured us a late dinner and a double BR with shower.