Having doubts leaving SA?

[TheMullers]

Just a little reminder why we chose to leave SA. This is sad but it is happening....

I thought this might help some people doubting whether they should make the move or not and those people contemplating to come back to SA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECs8ZrmH8D8&feature=youtu.be

[TammyP]

Hmmm... not that far north, but my best friend from Boksburg spent a lot of time up there! And she had the same opinion on the Surfer Dudes

Us Vallies weren't all that bad!

[Bigvan07]

Hey Surferman,

St. Lucia and Cape Vidal was like a second home to me. We went up there twice a year. That was up until the aforementioned Vaalies with their 4point plans(Keep in mind I am a fullblood Vaalie myself) decide it seems like a good idea to stuff up the beaches by disobeying laws and had vehicle access banned. We haven't gone there again since. Although I have been a couple of times, used to date a girl who's father has a bed and breakfast in St. Lucia.

Miss that place.

[Parks]

Hey Surferman, St. Lucia and Cape Vidal was like a second home to me. We went up there twice a year. That was up until the aforementioned Vaalies with their 4point plans(Keep in mind I am a fullblood Vaalie myself) decide it seems like a good idea to stuff up the beaches by disobeying laws and had vehicle access banned. We haven't gone there again since. Although I have been a couple of times, used to date a girl who's father has a bed and breakfast in St. Lucia. Miss that place.

Vidal our favourite holiday place, still go up twice a year. Makes us sad to leave it behind, kids have grown up there....so many memories.

Are there similar destinations in Queensland? Taking our boat.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

@Parks, there are places here in QLD that are far better and bringing your boat isn't a bad idea at all. Been looking at boat prises and they are far more expensive here than in comparison to RSA.

P.S. It's is over 4hp it needs rego same as a car and if it's over 6hp then one of you is going to need to do a QLD marine licence, which if you have been boating for a while is a walk in the park.

[Parks]

HEOJJ,

Yes we've looked at boats and definitely can not afford replace his boat over that side. Its paid off and only 6 years old. It has 2x115hp so I guess we wil have to pay rego. I just hope its affordable.

Hubby has a SAMSA day/night rating 40 nautical miles from shore....will he be able to convert it like your drivers licence or would he have to sit an exam?

Also would you know what the skippers licence is called so we could do some research. We have seen commercial operators requiring coxwain certificate, not sure if this is it.

[TammyP]

Hey friend... Hubby better have a liscence to take all of us, HEOJJ, you guys too... boat Party!!!!

[Eyebrow]

Oh no! Now the forum has boat people!

;-)

[HadEnoughofJuju]

@Parks, things work slightly differently here, the marine licence I did a couple of weekends ago allows me to pretty much take any size boat (non commercial of course) as far out to sea as I like, as long as I have the correct safety gear on board.

The guy that did the course said that it is possible to convert but that we would still have to attend the course and our skills would still had to be assessed. Similar to having a skills assessment done I guess. Rego is rather expensive I hear but it's cheaper than buying a new boat.

Oh no! Now the forum has boat people! ;-)

We are all "boat people"

Oh and I forgot to mention that the one day recreational marine licence course allows you to take a boat out at night as well with now extra course or exam or testing. The course started at 9am with theory and a monkey puzzle test until 1pm and the practical was about 1hr per person in total.

Pretty ridiculous what they allow inexperienced new boaties to do.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Another P.S. It will be cheaper and easier for hubby to do the one day course than convert. I have done more advanced boating courses in my time in scouting and this course was kinda a refresher course at best.

[Bronwyn&Co]

Oi Juju I found that monkey puzzle quite challenging, thank you very much!

Ps. Sorry for hijacking the thread...

Edited July 26, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Oh come now miss who's studying. It was a walk in the park, especially with the instructors wife walking around the room helping everyone. Hence the reason I thought it a laugh.

[Parks]

Hey HEOJJ,

Sorry for the delay in replying my teenage daughter had my tablet for the night at a friends place.

Wow I thought that they would be much more strict regarding the conditions of their licences.

Hubby is keen to do the course as soon as we arrive. Can you remember how much it costs?

@ Eyebrow

It was only a matter of time before we found you....heehee

@Tammy

Absolutely......party on...... are you bringing the coffee?

[HadEnoughofJuju]

I paid $150 for the license which included the practical. If he wants to do the jet ski license that will cost extra and then in QLD you pay $96 dollars registration fee to Transport and Main Roads for the privilege of having a couple of extra words printed on the back of your drivers license.

I also thought they would have been a bit more strick with the regulations when it comes to things like night time excursions. There is a list of safety equipment that you have to have which varies depending on the conditions of the water (which are determined by QLD Maritime Safety).

P.S. I forgot to mention that one of the things that is required on a boat that goes out to sea is a radio to be able to contact the Coast Guard. There are 2 types, one that operates on 28.0 MgHz which you don't need a license for but has a limited range of about 5km from shore and then the slightly more powerful one that operates in the 80 to 90 MgHz range which has a much further range out to sea but requires an operator's license which you can do at the local Coast Guard for $170 as a member of the public.

[Parks]

Thanks HEOJJ.

I may have to pm you sometime.

Keep well

[SurferMan]

O BigVan07 dude,

2 of my brothers still stay there, they say the place is dead now, even during the old peak times on July and December, just foreigners and whale watchers now. And the beach so unsafe unless you travel/hunt in packs of >10, forget it. I grew up in those waters man, I miss them. I could surf, swim, dive and fish all day long. Absolute bullet proof body and endurance, that was the life. Rain or shine, my mates and I were on that beach. I remember surfing the cyclones alone, in the peeing rain, going dark, chocolate brown waters, MASSIVE as in > 15 foot waves. We went in at the "Main Beach" (remember the names?) and by the time we got through the monster surf, we were about 3km from First Rocks. Scariest days of my life man, but I will die an old man with a silly grin on my face, God had my back, although I suspect my guardian angels put in for sick leave soon after!!! :jester:

They are gone those days, I remember coming over the dunes, the parking lot packed to the hilt with Vaalies(my favourite prey), the smell of coconut oil, the beach teeming with thousands of bikini clad chicks, lobster red dads, and the big blue on the other end of them. It was like wading through a seal colony to get to paradise. We should hook up dude.

[Johnno]

Vrystater riding a wave in Durban, can't miss them!!

[Bronwyn&Co]

Lolllz. Don't mock him Johno he saved up all year for that k@k bru.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[Bigvan07]

@Surferman,

Haha, I have never heard anyone paint a better picture than that of St. Lucia.

Those were the times hey. I remember all the Vaalies with their expensive 4x4 kitted out looking like they going on the Camel Trophy expedition coming over the dune and getting stuck down to the diff, with my dad in his beaten-up 19-voetsek Isuzy, 2x4 crusing alongside them asking if he can tow them. haha. First rule of beach driving, deflate your damn tyres!!!

First Rocks was my little piece of heaven, have such fond memories of it, that was a treat for us to go there, always caught decent fish at the drop-off. As a young boy, I always had a verkyker with me to scope out the local "talent"( Read bikini clad girls)

My biggest achievement, catching a snotvissie(thing they are really called a moonie or angel fish) in the mouth with a raisin on my hook!!

Last holiday we went there, being able to drive on the beach, we saw a chihuahua being taken by a fish eagle, a guy drowned and someone was taken by a croc. Idiots going into the brown water right after the river opened the mouth with big rains. And they went swimming at night right next to the mouth.

Sounds good hooking up, will be in Oz end of January, come hell or highwater, don't care if I have to swim to get there.

@Johnno Nail on the head boet.

[Tazzn]

HEOJJ you must see what's happening in SA with skippers tickets. becasue everyone must now have one (even for dam boating/jet skiing) the black market is rife guys are just putting down some cash and the skippers is yours and then they head of to do a surf launch.

Hubby is a marine mechanic so he'll have to do the whole hog on the marine license including jet skis. Do you need anything additional on your drivers license to tow a boat/ski?

[HadEnoughofJuju]

The standard license you get when you convert your RSA one here in QLD allows you to tow a caravan, boat or trailer of pretty much any size a 4x4 can handle. The maximum weight of the vehicle you are allowed to drive is also a lot more than in RSA.

Back there I had to do a code 10 license to be able to drive one of those Mercedes Sprinters that weighs 3550 kg's because it's 50 kg's over the maximum allowable weight for a standard code 8 drivers license. Here the maximum weight for a standard license is 4500 kg's which means I can drive a sprinter no worries.

Here's a link with the license restrictions in QLD.

https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/licensing/driver-licensing/types/index.html

There was talk in South Africa a couple of years ago in the Scouting Community about the whole implementation of the skippers ticket accross the board for inland and coastal waters which I think was a good idea but as with everything else in RSA the plan to implement it was not very well thought through. Many people have had boats for a long time and have been able to pretty much go any where with them and now they want to force those people to pay money to get certified. No wonder a black market for skippers tickets has been created. In the African spirit, see a need, fill a need.

[Tazzn]

Thanks HEOJJ

[Parks]

Hey HEOJJ,

You would think they would be more strict in Oz! Thankfully not.

All the red tape that is constantly implemented here with regards to new regulations just makes the government richer.....

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Strangely enough, even though they aren't so strict here they have far less incidents on the water because there is a greater focus on safety and the equipment you are required by law to carry on a boat based on classification of water body and distance out to sea you go. The penalties are heavy for non compliance and they also have a 3 strike rule instead of points. You can loose you marine license simply by not have the correct safety equipment on board, being caught over the limit (0.05) or reckless driving. Your marine license can also be suspended or revoked if you loose or have your drivers license suspended.

The difference between RSA and Aus I think is that here there is still respect for the law as well as common sense and courtesy on the "road". It also boils down to respect for your neighbour. People know what the rules are and they follow them . Sure there are hoon's on the water and idiots that challenge the forces of nature but when it comes to the sea, if you don't respect her, she's not going to respect you.

[SurferMan]

Lol, @ BigVan07,

I used to drive a Golf 1.3 with 155 tyres on the beach! I saw my last leopard in SA @ First Rocks. My brother and I used to spearfish the estuary! Yes, dumb I know. Once for a dare, my brothers and I swam from the Boma hotel side of the estuary to the other side and back, @ 2am! K@k for brains yes!

The fishing used to be off the scale, if you knew the tides and holes. When I was a boy my dad and mates used to fill up the back of a bakkie with fish, salmon and grunter etc. Anything under 5kg was tossed back. I used to watch the grunter feeding on the prawn beds with their tails out the water. The good old days. But soon you will have them here in Aus!

[Johnno]

Strangely enough, even though they aren't so strict here they have far less incidents on the water because there is a greater focus on safety and the equipment you are required by law to carry on a boat based on classification of water body and distance out to sea you go. The penalties are heavy for non compliance and they also have a 3 strike rule instead of points. You can loose you marine license simply by not have the correct safety equipment on board, being caught over the limit (0.05) or reckless driving. Your marine license can also be suspended or revoked if you loose or have your drivers license suspended.

The difference between RSA and Aus I think is that here there is still respect for the law as well as common sense and courtesy on the "road". It also boils down to respect for your neighbour. People know what the rules are and they follow them . Sure there are hoon's on the water and idiots that challenge the forces of nature but when it comes to the sea, if you don't respect her, she's not going to respect you.

As a current boat owner and having owned boats of many different sizes I've been heavily involved in the offshore boating scene in both SA and Oz and I'll have to say that there are far more idiots on the water here in Oz than anywhere in SA. I put it down to the fact that there's a lot more people who own boats, jet ski's etc here in Oz than SA but suffice to say, having a skippers ticket does not ensure any form of seamanship or even common sense! Trust me, I work in the industry, belong to various clubs and spend just about every spare moment on the ocean.....there's idiots out there and you need to watch out for them!