No luxury in the Velux 5 Oceans

The Velux 5 Oceans single-handed yacht race is under way. Only 5 entrants this year, in one of the toughest tests around - 30000 miles around the world, alone. They started in La Rochelle and first stop is - where else? - Cape Town. Here the 5 skippers will prime themselves for the gruelling haul across the Southern Ocean to Wellington, New Zealand. In its earlier manifestations, two South African sailors, Bertie Reed and John Martin, were both very competitive, Bertie finishing second in 1983. John Martin made a name for himself in another way, slamming into an iceberg in 1991 while leading and being dramatically rescued by none other than Bertie Reed. The fleet has just passed the Cape Verde Islands on their way into the Doldrums where the winds drop eerily as they push for the Equator. The QSL is from Radio Clube de Cabo Verde, heard here in 1969. Instead of putting my name on the card, they wrote "The Chimes", which was the name of our house. It's ok, I'll answer to "The Chimes", especially for a gem like this one!

One hand clapping in the forest

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, does it really fall? What is the sound of one hand clapping? Is the chair you see really a chair, or is it only the dimension you're in? If a big wave breaks on the shore and no one sees, does it really break? If I add another post to my blog and no one reads it is it really a blog? Dinna be stupid, of course it is! Flying in from Johannesburg on Friday evening, the pilot circled out over False Bay to make the approach into Cape Town International from the south. A good north-wester was blowing and the swell was running. I could see sets of waves sequenced out through the bay. Each had a different shape, no two the same. On Saturday afternoon wind and swell were still just right and I had some great rides. The power of a wave rises exponentially. I went out right to the back and waited for the big ones. It's a little frightening when you realise the peak of the wave is starting to curl over and you have just a few seconds to bear off and stay in the swell as it peels along. The energy and sound are exhilirating. With the sea in mind, I can only support the San Francisco Giants in this week's World Series against the Rangers, now that the Yanks are out. The QSL is from KGEI La Voz de la Amistad in San Francisco, heard here in 1968. This is one of quite a few US shortwavers QSLd over the years.

No hope for Suu Kyi

Burma is holding elections next month. 20 years ago was the last time it did so. The winner then was Aung San Suu Kyi. She's been banned or locked up ever since. So we won't be holding our breath for democracy this time either. The military automatically gets 1/4 of the seats. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, the overwhelming winner last time, is not participating, unless the junta makes major concessions, which seems highly unlikely. There are a number of other parties but their chances are slim, as no foreign observers will be around to see how fair the poll is. The military have a few parties in the running too. Their chances are better! Myanmar, as it is now officially called, is audible here in the afternoons and at night on 49m. There are even English programmes. The QSL is from the Burma Broadcasting Service in 1972. Every evening at 1730 local Cape Town time there would be an English language show, with the last 15 minutes before sign off playing instrumental old standards. They were songs my dad knew well and I'd go and hum them to him to get their names. I must have sent in 7 or 8 reports with this kind of detail and finally got the response. Burma attained independence from British rule in 1948 but the 1972 programme still sounded like an Asian BBC home service!

Will the young 'un take over in Pyongyang?

Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang was the scene of a major military parade this weekend. It was the first time such an event was filmed for western TV. Probable successor to Kim Jong-il - who else but his son, Kim Jong-un, (the "Young 'un" - ha, ha) - appeared with his dad. It's a big planet with a lot of strange things on it, but North Korea has to be one of the strangest. It's next door neighbour, South Korea, is an economic powerhouse that sailed through the recent global credit crunch with barely a blip. Up north, the vice-like grip of the Kim dynasty has ensured that the country slipped steadily down to the bottom rungs of output per capita. The QSL is from the Korean Central Broadcasting System, received in 1967. In those days the South African apartheid regime was fiercely anti-communist. Despite this, here was a schoolboy in Cape Town receiving QSLs from every communist state there was. And these countries were only too keen to oblige. Fortunately, no security policeman ever came knocking on my door!

Bulgaria rules Brazil, OK?

It looks like it will be Dilma Rousseff. How could she lose, with Lula telling Brazilians: 'A vote for Dilma is a vote for me'? Her father emigrated from Bulgaria in the 1930s and she was raised in Belo Horizonte. Two Belo Horizonte stations, Radio Itatiaia and Radio Inconfidencia, come in well here every night on the 49mb. Dilma is riding the crest of the Lula wave, while Brazil is riding the crest of the China wave. When Lula was elected in 2002, the country seemed to be on the brink of default. The benchmark Brazilian C bond was trading at 50c on the dollar and prospects looked bleak. How things have changed! Brazilian stocks are the darlings of the emerging markets now. Without Lula, Dilma would be pretty unelectable. In appearances around the country the people turned out to see him, not her. He has cult status. Like Tony Blair, she has never been elected to office before. No worries, mate: Brazil is on a roll now, with or without her. Or so it is thought. It will be interesting to look back in a few years and see how she's done. The QSL is from Radio Globo in 1968, the first Brazilian station I ever QSLd.