Page 128 - KBHA BULLETIN 5

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Among others who bought their own boats were Vincent Cloete, and the late Christy Boltman

who was aided not by government but by the late Leon Klein. Kobus Poggenpoel likes to tell
how he left school at 13. He is among those who have made these bold ventures. These men

and their wives have established a community of people with outstanding skills and a quality
of life which is a beacon of hope.

A feature of recent years has been the active part which the fishing community has played in

the life of Holy Trinity Church, and the richness they have brought to it, not least as they

have conveyed to us their very deeply rooted confidence in the dependability of almighty
God. Many of the younger generation, both men and women, though they may not have

continued to go to sea, have become skilful in many trades and disciplines, and brought to the

Church a wealth of experience.

On 22 May 1922 a Special meeting of the Church Council was called by the Rector, Canon
Brooke. The reason was that on 10 May there had been an accident to one of the Kalk Bay

fishing boats in Table Bay, the Columbia. Nine men had lost their lives, and one of these had
been the skipper, Nicholas Menigo. He had also been verger in the church for 30 years. The

Minutes recorded that he had served the Parish faithfully and that “his consistent Christian

example had been an influence for good among the fishing community of Kalk Bay.”

The only survivor, Gabriel Fernandez, whose father owned the boat, told how as the boat
went down Nicholas was at the helm singing “Eternal Father, strong to save”. Nicholas’

grandson, also Nicholas, was 15 at the time. On the previous Sunday he was standing with his
grandfather as he pumped the organ - in the days before it was driven by electricity. He told

me that he remembered them singing that day:

“Through all the changing scenes of life,

In trouble and in joy

The praises of my God shall still
My heart and tongue employ”

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