KNYSNA NEWS - The two ships SAS Umzimkulu under the command of Commander Eddie Nyati, and SAS Umhloti under the command of Commander Brian Short, sailed through the dreaded Knysna Heads on Monday afternoon at 14:20 and 14:30 on their way back home, Naval Base Simons Town.
This brought to an end one of the most successful naval visits to the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival, which began on July 2.
On Tuesday, July 7, SAS Umzimkulu sailed through the Heads at 07:30 with relatively calm waters, to berth at Thesen's Jetty.
Her sister ship remained in Mossel Bay with engine concerns, which were speedily resolved, and she followed in on Wednesday, July 8 at 09:30. She berthed alongside Umzimkulu, double banked, making a splendid sight when dressed overall with signal flags by day, and a chain of lights at night.
It became a tradition under the chief of the SA Navy, Vice-Admiral Refiloe J Mudimu, that members of the ships' crews went ashore to assist the community by working on the maintenance and appearance of a crèche in the Northern areas.
True to tradition the first lieutenant of SAS Umzimkulu led a party of men and woman to work on a crèche in Concordia on Wednesday, July. They did great work, not only on the building but in securing the fencing around the crèche.
Thanks are due to Pennypinchers, Builders Express, Allkote Paint and Tool and the Knysna Sea Cadets for the materials provided to carry out the work.
Meanwhile, the ships were open to visitors on Wednesday, but closed on Thursday to prepare for the dinner for Knysna's executive mayor Georlene Wolmarans that night. The function was also attended by the deputy mayor Esmé Edge and the council's speaker Eleanore Bouw-Spies and a number of invited guests who all had in some way supported the naval visit.
The dinner was hosted by Flag Officer Fleet, Rear Admiral Bubele Mhlana and his wife, on behalf of the chief of the navy. Also on board was Rear Admiral (JG) Solly Petersen, director: Fleet Force Preparation.
A photo taken of Knysna yesterday by Elaine King from the captains’s seat inside SA Navy vessel Umhloti. A special tour of the navy boat was given courtesy of Ensign Arno Cronje.
The admiral welcomed the mayor, saying it was a pleasure for the SA Navy to be visiting a town where they were always made most welcome. In her response, the Wolmarans said that the town loved having the SA Navy in the lagoon and the town and was looking forward to the rest of the visit.
On Friday morning, July 10 at 10:40, a parade of a 99-man guard exercised the Navy’s Right of Entry to the Town by marching down the Main Street behind the world famous South African Navy Band under the director, Commander Ken Leibrandt.
Halting before the executive mayor and Flag Officer Fleet, they were inspected by the mayor, who then addressed the parade. She welcomed Rear Admiral Bubele Mhlana, his sailors, his ships and his sailors on parade.
She stressed the long history of the naval support for the festival and the wonderful bond of friendship between townspeople and the naval personnel, thanking him for the SA Navy’s presence once again.
The admiral replied by discussing the origin of the granting of the Right of Entry, made by a town to an armed force they trusted, and he stressed the degree of trust that existed between the town and navy.
The mayor told the admiral that Knysna had a very active Sea Cadet unit in Training Ship Knysna that worked closely with the SA Navy, and had in fact sent more than 50 young men and women, trained as Sea Cadets, as recruits to the SA Navy over the past 17 years.
In fact, there were seven former cadets serving on the two ships and three who came with the members of the parade. Thus, nine young men and one woman raised in Knysna who had passed through Cadet Training Ship Knysna were in the parade, and they had been making personal calls for a hug and a chat with their former commanding officer, Lieutenant-Commander Steve Eriksen (SCC). Thereafter, the parade marched off down the Main Street to Mellville Centre and returned to march past the mayor and admiral in salute.
On Friday evening the three admirals, Mhlana, Petersen and Rear Admiral Joe Dlamini and their wives, the two ship captains, Nyati and Short with his wife, and Commander Sam Khasuli, the PR pfficer from Pretoria, attended the Oyster Gala Dinner at Cruise Café. Di Pepler of the restaurant had come up with an innovative menu and the SA Navy Dance Band provided music for the diners.
Wolmarans welcomed the Mhlana with kind words and he responded warmly, emphasising how much he had been impressed by the Knysna Sea Cadets he had encountered and that he was particularly impressed by how many Knysna Sea Cadets were now serving in the SA Navy.
Currently, more than 40 are still serving in the SA Navy from Alexander Bay to Saldanha Bay and Simons Town, and three are serving officers in combat, hydrography and human resources. He said that Commander Eriksen (SCC) and his officers had done a marvelous job of training young people, making them preferred recruits into the SA Navy.
On the Saturday morning, July 11, Mhlana, the deputy mayor, Edge, and speaker, Bouw-Spies, were guests of honour at the anniversary parade at the Knysna Sea Cadet Unit, where the inspecting officer was Petersen. He told the cadets that they were a wonderful group of young men and women, whose smartness, training and discipline would serve them well in the future.
He emphasised the need for all young people to study mathematics to give them freedom of choice in selecting careers in the future, whether within the navy or outside it. He too congratulated the officers of the unit on the marvelous job they were doing in preparing the young people for their futures while enjoying “serious fun” in the Sea Cadets.
Eriksen in reply thanked the admiral for his presence and for that of all the distinguished guests. He said he trusted that Mhlana would carry the message to those in recruitment in Pretoria to focus on recruitment from the Sea Cadet Corps in view of their previous training in matters maritime.
A sumptuous finger lunch followed, provided by Pick n Pay, a major sponsor of the Sea Cadets.
Previous articles:
- SA Navy leaving Knysna today
- Navy captains visit Knysna Manor
- Second SA Navy vessel sails into Knysna
- SA Navy arrives in Knysna
From left are Lieutenant Commander Steven Eriksen (SCC) Rear Admiral Solly Petersen and Commander Eddie Nyati, captain of SAS Umzimkulu.
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