A MASSIVE MIDMAR MEANIE
We all know that there is one thing we can expect in Kwa Zulu Natal and that is WEATHER! It does not matter what colour or creed you are, if you live in Kwa Zulu Natal you are sure to be affected at one time or another by some form of weather.
It could be rain, hail, wind, snow or unbearable heat, you name it, we experience it! Floods that ravage the lands and ruin lives, tornados that destroy buildings and crops, snow that blocks roads and cuts off communities for days on end, high tides and massive waves that eat away at our coastline. Not to mention droughts that cripple farmers, ruin lives, human as well as animal, and fires, the horror from which the Midlands is still reeling.
The year was 1985. Kwa Zulu Natal had just recovered from a mean drought and South Africa from a major economic recession. In Pietermaritzburg we had experienced water shortages never experienced before nor since. Drastic measures were taken which saw all residents of the City using grey water (bath and kitchen water) to wash clothes, fill toilets, water gardens and wash cars. Hosepipe use was banned.
The relieving rains came early in the year and the dams started to fill up. The economy picked up and people began being optimistic about the future. Water restrictions were lifted and life started to return to normal.
Our family decided to purchase a yacht as our favourite pastime was meeting family and friends out at Midmar or Albert Falls Dams over the weekends and sailing or ski boating, depending on who had what.
We were really greenhorns at sailing and bought a very old Winsome Monohull wooden yacht that had seen many, many seasons on the water. We looked forward to spending happy hours out sailing on Midmar.
That particular Sunday in February saw us awake with the sparrows, ready and eager to try out our new boat. Dawn held the promise of blistering heat midday. A perfect family Sunday! We packed the boat full of the necessities for the day, and more. Chairs, tables, umbrellas, blankets, pillows, bicycles, picnic baskets, cooler bags, food and more food, hats, costumes, balls and lots and lots of sun tan cream.
Our newly acquired life jackets held the most important position in the boat together with an old miner’s hard hat which had to be worn by the person steering the rudder in case the boom swung around too quickly and hit them on the head (I told you we were greenhorns!)
We set off early so as to secure a spot close enough to the edge of the dam yet with some shady trees. We were light of heart and so eager to get onto the dam. Little did we know what awaited us!
Setting up camp took time but everybody pitched in good naturedly. The quicker we did it the quicker the fun would start. Family and friends started to join us and the party grew bigger. Some brought their own boats and soon there was lots of activity taking place. It was very festive. Young mothers with toddlers sat chatting on the blankets. They swopped child rearing anecdotes while fathers and older children braved the mirror-like waters. There was hardly a breath of wind and at times the paddles came out to get the boats back to shore.
The braai fires were lit and soon the sweet smell of meat cooking filled the air. What more could one ask of life? Lazy, hazy, holiday days!
The only shadow that blotted the day had been the arrival of a group of loud students who had parked next to our camp. They opened their car doors and played their music at full throttle, they drunk copious quantities of beer and were quite a rough lot but we ignored them and wished they would go away. We would not let them spoil our perfect day.
At around 2.30 I noticed a few of the more experienced sailor types starting to pack up.
‘Where are you going?’ I asked.
‘See those clouds over there. They look ominous,’ was the reply.
‘Just a few little clouds,’ I scoffed.
We said our goodbyes to the ‘party poopers’ and carried on sailing. The wind that had suddenly sprung up made our sailing so much more fun. We were dipping and rolling all over the place. Balancing the yacht by hanging out over the edge became quite an adrenalin pumping exercise.
Eventually it was my turn to sit out and I gave the gathering clouds a cursory look. A little worm of anxiety started to snake its way around my gut. Maybe it would be a good idea to pack a few things into the car just in case the heavens did open. The clouds were, by this time, banking up quite ominously and the wind had whipped the dam into a sea of high waves.
I managed to attract my husband’s attention out on the dam and beckoned to him to return with the children. The feeling of anxiety was now growing as I watched more and more people hurriedly pack their cars and leave. I did notice though, that the students were not moving! In fact they looked as if they had all died. They were draped in various positions under the car, in the car and half hanging out of the car. Only the music reverberated from the speakers.
We debated the situation and decided that, as we were having such a good time, we would batten down the hatches and wait out the storm. It probably wouldn’t amount to anything!
Quickly we pulled the boat up to higher, dry ground, let down the sails and, after stuffing all our things into every nook and cranny we could find in the car, we climbed aboard and parked the car under a tree for protection in case it hailed. The heavens opened!
And open they did! Sheets of rain, blown by gale force winds, hit us unrelentingly. Lightening streaked the sky and frightening thunder claps hit the air. Mayhem ensued. Trees around us were being uprooted as we watched helplessly. The car rocked from side to side with the force of the wind. We were at the elements’ mercy and there was nothing we could do. Suddenly I heard my husband cry ‘the boat, the boat’, and with that he opened the door and literally flew out of the car as the wind whipped the door from his grasp. ‘Come back,’ I cried, ’don’t be mad, you can’t do anything.’ But he was gone.
The yacht had literally taken off like an aeroplane. It lifted up into the air and flew straight into the dam. My husband ran after it. I saw the students all clamour out of their car and follow my husband into the water. While the rain pelted them and the wind howled around them they formed a human chain and with incredible strength managed to pull the yacht out of the water back onto dry land. Somehow they managed to secure it and while patting themselves on their backs and shaking hands they started making their way back to the cars, doubled over against the force of the wind.
Then the strangest thing happened. For some reason the students, and my husband, ran back into the dam. They were shouting and diving in and out of the water like mad things.
It seemed like forever that they just kept on diving into the muddy, churning waters over and over again. Then one of the students ran out of the dam and went to their car, looked into the window and then yelled at the others. That stopped the antics in the water. They all ran back to their car laughing hysterically, including my husband.
Later, when he was towel dried and safely back in the rocking car with his very worried family, my husband explained that the students had thought that one of their friends had drowned because they did not see him get out of the water. That was when one of the more sober students went to check the car and found that the friend had, in fact, not been involved in the rescue at all but had passed out on the back seat of the car and had missed out on all the fun!
The storm raged on regardless!
Cars were being crushed by falling trees. Boats had capsized out on the water. Caravans were crabbing towards the edge of the dam as they were pushed by the force of the wind and the rushing storm water.
Just as it had come so the storm suddenly stopped. The sun came out and before us lay the most amazing devastation. Cautiously we got out of the car and surveyed the scene.
The sky was an incredible cobalt blue. The wind was fresh and strong but no longer held any danger. The dam had risen by at least three meters. Boat hulls were scattered all over the dam, broken masts and crushed cars could be seen, even an ablution block had been hit by a fallen tree. An eerie stillness hung over everything as shocked and traumatized people slowly emerged from their hidey holes.
A mutual camaraderie was formed among us as shocked stranger talked to stranger and neighbour helped traumatized neighbour.
Eventually we packed up our drenched boat and with the help of the now very sober students and our new ‘best friends’, we cleared away as much of the debris we could to carve a path back to the road. At that stage we did not comprehend the death and destruction that had taken place all around us. We were tired, exhilarated and pleased with the success of our first foray into the sailing world. We had survived, hadn’t we?
It was only the next day when we read the headlines in the Natal Witness about the real horror and mayhem created by the storm that we fully realized what danger we had been in and how lucky we had been to come away with no injuries or damages to the car or the boat.
From that day on we developed a healthy respect for the storms that prevail over Midmar Dam and learnt to pack up with the rest of the ‘party poopers’ at the first sign of an ominous cloud, no matter how small!
There would be no more waiting out those Massive Midmar Meanies for us!
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