Page 54 - KBHA BULLETIN 4

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Other groups of 15 - 16-year olds would arrive later to stroll around on this packed beach and

make their way to the harbour via a heavy wooden stairway (20 – 25 ft) that was fixed into the
wall at the south end of the beach where the large slipway is now. This would eventually become

so packed that they had to come back to the Main Road via the three subways through the old
rail viaduct to reach the harbour where the real ‘action’ would have started by 10.00 a.m. These

were the so-called ‘tickey (and later sixpenny) round the bay’ boat rides. After ‘tweede’ or
‘derde’ Nuwejaar the coon carnivals would be over at Green Point Track (a very big and

favourite entertainment for the Cape Flats people) and so even more people would join the

crowds on Kalk Bay beach.

These boat rides were the highlights of the day and usually lasted 20 - 30 minutes depending on

the weather, the more blustery the more enjoyable with the sea being bumpy and the spray
flying. Areas were roped off with 44-gallon drums to separate the queues of those getting on and

those getting off at separate berths. At peak times boats had to wait in the roadstead before off-
loading passengers.

Each boat would be decorated with bunting and flags with 3 - 4 strong young fishermen to assist

the kiddies and big heavy ‘tannies’ onto the boats. The pleasant part, of course, would be

assisting young ladies who were nervous (or pretended to be), but it was no easy task with people
of all shapes, sizes or ages all eager to go for a boat ride. These trips commenced as soon as there

were enough people on the jetty at 9.30 or 10.00 a.m.

The boats were part of the usual fishing fleet, but the owners / skippers knew that they could earn
a little bit more by doing boat trips, and even after the fishing fleet had off-loaded their catches a

few of them would still join in as the peak hours would be building up at that time. Bigger boats

with more deckspace would have 3 - 4 musicians (coons who had just finished the carnival) in
their outfits and would attract passengers more readily. On a reasonably calm sea one would hear

and see those trippers singing and dancing and really having the time of their lives with the
banjo, guitar, saxophone, and the main one, the ‘gooma’ (home-made banjo) playing all the latest

‘stukkies’ hot off the press from the coon carnival. One could hear them singing and occasionally

screaming a bit as a bumpy sea and spray would come over occasionally. Each year thousands of

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