Garuga Entebbe Kampala Sese Kampala
The Most Beautiful Failed Sales Show Trip Ever

The show trip part 1, Sunday 2010/09/12  To Entebbe
We sell the dhow. It will be hard to find a fool who, like myself, wants to live cheaply on the lake. But tour operators should be commercially interested. The dhow should continuously sail with the prevailing wind at the Uganda coast, and a shuttle boat should take and bring tourists and supplies. $100 a day? Count your blessings!
In the morning we (me, Philemon and Mashabala) departed, after 300 days, from Garuga 0.074795� 32.535267� 09:00 to Entebbe Sailing Club 0.073407� 32.488472�, arrival 11:00 hrs. During the 2 hours of this trip, the wind blew and changed direction as if it wanted us to be there. In other conditions, this trip might well take two days.

Left: sail up, last view of JP Cuttings warehouses and (red bricks) pump house, right: dropping the rudder 0.074795� 32.535267�

Heading to Entebbe

We arrived 11:00 at Entebbe sailing club 0.073407� 32.488472�. Members of that club describe themselves as "drinkers with a sailing problem". The venue features members only on Sundays (and that was our day of arrival), was rather empty, and we found no interest for the dhow. In the evening I failed to find any decent drinkers so I went to some other places in Entebbe to post an announcement of sale. No reactions.

Monday 2010/09/13 We moved SW to the shore of the Entebbe Botanical Garden to reduce swell (Google Earth  0.055935� 32.481004�). We reached point 1 on Google Earth Map below

Our Botanical Garden Moorings. After mooring at point 1, we got a 1 hour security inspection by police from what is known as the Pirates Nest 500 m South. Then again another visit to write a full report of dhow and crew, birth date, place, passport number etc. etc. ending with ... passing an order to leave! It was not the usual little harassment to extort a small fuck-off bribe. This was the execution of an serious higher order. Since closer by, at 300 m, is a harbour jetty, we tried to tease and told them we would go there (point 2). But that was OK!

We told the harbour master we were offering the dhow for sale, and asked him to moor far off his jetty just on the border of his territory. He had to call his boss. The boss wanted $200/=. We said we were Ugandans and dollars is a currency from the other side of the world, unknown to us. I offered Ush 20 000 (9 dollar). Ended up Ush 100 000 for 2 nights. No buyers

The Show trip Part 2 Lagoon Resort, Munyonyo, Kaazi

With friends Hidde (born on the German Island of Borkum) and Neffi we headed for Murchison Bay leading to Kampala, to show the dhow at some resorts and the Victoria Nyanza Sailing Club at Kaazi. At the Munyonyo resort we would have the opportunity to assist at its annual goat races.

Neffi, left pulling the sheet from hammock with cigar, middle: cracking a joke, right, in the dhow kitchen. Earlier picture of Neffi/Hidde

Heading North to Kampala, tip of Garuga peninsula at sunset

On sail to the Munoyonyo goat races.

"Family"-chicks ^{[more in a  coming greeting]} at the races. From left Petra, Tamara, Barbara (this pic reached the newspapers)
Thus equipped, the lioness-pack said to be "hunting for a boyfriend for Tamara".

A goat race is two rounds of a 200 m oval. The oval racing track is 6 m wide. The unwilling goats are pushed round by a 6 m wide mattress wall mounted on wheel barrows. Any goat with a more than 3 m lead immediately starts eating grass. The ladies tend to be dressed Ascottish. The Ugandans, ladies as well as gentlemen are unaware of the banter of the event, but stay alert: my camera got stolen. I talked to the Munyonyo manager about my dhow sale. Never heard of it again. Two or three buyers were repeatedly informed were they could see us, but nobody reacted.
The next day, Sunday, Victoria Nyanza Sailing Club, Kaazi, near Munyonyo, featured a Laser dinghy competition. Lasers are for rent and of course Philemon should try this. We rented two Lasers. Philemon got the point quickly and in all 3 heats managed to stay in the field. I won the first two, was not told there would be a third, and saw the field starting again while my laser was already on land. No buyers.

Kaazi VNSC preparation for Sunday Laser competition. Right: Philemon gets the point

Part 3 From Kaazi to Kalangala

Tamara had her birthday party in the Sese Island bungalow of Drifa ^{[more about them in a  coming greeting]}. So next stop Kalangala-Sese. An opportunity to talk "dhow" to some local resort owners. But I skipped those talks for it turned out the big Kalangala ferry is out of service: there seems to be a quarrel between two officers of the same government department concerning who of the two is entitled to be bribed by the sellers of routine maintenance replacement parts to get parts sold. Tourism is down, and resort owners not likely to be in the mood for investment.

Afternoon at the beach

Girls girls girls

This maroon party suit, trousers flex at the waiste, has been baptized my ball costume, .

I do not remember much of the Kalangala party. When the next morning I woke up in a tent a bad hangover. I remembered I fell asleep on a comfy bed but, I do not know when, got picked off by Drifa ("Bert! You're in the wrong bed!" How the hell did she know? I was kindly explained this was Tamara's sleeping place and this was her birthday party, OKOK), was led out gently, kicked in a tent. Digging my way through the littered deserted living for kitchen and coffee, I found in the mess a camera containing a picture of Petra dancing with fervor, dressed only in a towel. Rumours went she had left to sleep, came out of bed to complain about noise, came to life again, and then continued a few more hours - in that towel. I later asked people to send me some pictures but that was refused from all sides.

Part 4 Back from Kalangala to Gaba-Kampala

A very pleasant trip but still no buyers. Time for plan B: moor the boat in Tim de Wet's Uganda Lake Rescue Harbour near Kampala, try some advertising, then give up and leave for South Africa in my little truck.

By night: East at moonrise from Sese Archipelago to the mainland

Sailing night and day as soon as wind was good, in capricious weather, after a lovely but totally fruitless dhow show trip, we reached Tim's harbour.
But that is a password protected greeting.