Kabeljou Bank

I have often painted here and told my readers of some of the happenings at Kabeljou Bank. This part of the coast is so beautiful but very inhospitable.

On 9 December 1896, The British Peer, commanded by Captain Jesse Jones hit the rocks while on her way from London to deliver tea, coffee, machinery, pianos and building materials to Cape Town. Even to this day, pieces of building materials wash ashore. Many lives were lost. At a salvaging operation in 1979 the bell was found. ( 33 degrees 30.40S, 18 degrees 18.17E )

Of course there are also lovely bits of history associated with Kabeljou Bank. This is the spot where Cape visitors came by horse cart for picnics in the flower season during the nineteen-twenties. They watched how the chinkeninchees were picked to export to London. And here, throughout the autumn and winter months hundreds of snoek are still hung out to dry.

My painting is a mixed media piece of black craft paint, acrylic and watercolour paints, oil pastels and oil thinning medium.

Source for The British Peer: Shipwrecks and Salvage in South Africa by Malcolm Turner.

Folks and fish #4

In the last of this 4-part series, I stopped some anglers who were on their way to a high rocky outcrop. While I asked questions of one guy, his friends cast some lines into the rushing surf, prior to climbing to their favourite rock. How lonely it must be sitting there on the cold rocks! One needs such patience! Somewhere I read that God would not detract from a person's years on earth the time he spent fishing!

The main aim of these men were to catch fish for the pot. I wish I can visit one of these homes to see the wonderful local recipes being created in the West Coast kitchens. The fish found here, close to Kabeljoubank are Cape Salmon (Geelbek), Yellowtail (Geelstert), Kabeljou (Cob) and the evasive and protected National fish of South Africa, called Galjoen. "What if there are no bites?" we asked. The old man laughed: " Then we must buy some Snoek!" he said. Yup, that will surely be better than arriving home with no fish at all to the wife waiting and ready with onions and skillet!

What I enjoyed about this painting was the pattern of vertical lines! Vertical lines are a symbol of masculinity(like soldiers with swords, like trees in a forest) I had to paint these lines freehand and had one chance to do them, they are shaky and so they will remain. Today, I am also showing the complete set which now resides in a city far from here.

"Tweede Nuwejaar" - the Second New Year

It is a tradition as old as the country itself. "Tweede Nuwejaar" ( the second of January) has been a day of festivities since the seventeenth century as the local people turn out for day-long excitement. Like "Boxing Day" which was meant for staff in Britain to have a day off, the 2nd day of January is celebrated especially in the Cape where it originated. (I have a sneaky feeling that hard-working Johannesburg ignores this most agreeable custom.)

The main event in the city is the costumed parade of "Kaapse Klopse" (Cape Minstrels) through the streets, followed by the singing contests in the Greenpoint Stadium.The male choirs are dressed in their finest regalia. A little boy can be chosen for a superb soprano voice, or his dancing, comedy or acrobatic ability, or even as a cute mascot dressed like the adults. You can read more on the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival on Google.

On the beaches of the West Coast the people also turn out early for their traditional annual picnic. In my usually tranquil and open view of Kabeljoubank, large buses and many vehicles disgorge the people and soon we see a long procession snaking along the kilometer of beach walk. The beach is soon covered with tents, umbrellas and all types of shelters.

I watch discreetly while these folks have such a lovely time, my fingers crossed that there would not be a runaway fire. In my painting I tried to show the carefree walk down the pathway. Can you see the boy who has jumped onto a rock to see if his folks are following, while his little sister also glances backwards? Two teenage boys are carrying a heavy bag of foodstuffs. The guy in plaid shirt with an enormous bag of (forbidden) firewood (fire regulations) wears his cap back-to-front, a way of indicating his leadership. In the distance a white beach and a blue ocean calls!

Rocky Outcrops at Kabeljoubank

We have an unpredictable spring season on the West Coast, today was sunny but cold. On such days I do not drive the 30km to Darling, but find something to paint close to home. Kabeljoubank offered this flower-scattered scene which is not far from where I painted the snoek guy and the old gate on previous occasions. I love to take my visitors here as it is a small distance from my home. Every boy and his dog will always climb the outcrop on the left where you can see the footpath going up.

After the rain the sea will hit these rocks with such force that you can see the massive surge of spray over the top. It did not bode well for passing ships in days of old. This is where The British Peer met its end in 1896. We still pick up rounded red pebbles which are really wellworn pieces of the bricks which were used as ballast on the ship.

In the distance in my painting is the little campsite of Ganzekraal, with a 350yr old name. Here on the fence the snoek are often hanging in their hundreds to dry out. There are wild ostriches living here and the trick is to photograph them when they are standing with Table Mountain in the background. Well, maybe I have done that far too often!