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The Minister of Finance Dr Eben Donges purchased R6 and had it stripped and converted

to a houseboat. The boat was given to a young Ken Evans, by the Minister's son-in-law Jan

Pickard, on condition it was removed within three months. It was subsequently sold to
George Bell of Cape Diving and Salvage.

The Seaforth travelled to Mossel Bay in 1955 for use as a fishing boat. She was damaged in

the famous storm of 1966 and was pulled up onto the beach and later broken up.

Another of the boats that ran out of Kalk Bay for a while was the Plettenberg, which had a

remodelled superstructure.

One of the Miamis became Iona and ran from Kalk Bay to Seal Island for a while, and was

owned for a time by Mr. Albert du Toit. The boat sank at her moorings in May 1957 and
was raised. She sank again in 1977, was raised but caught fire and was subsequently broken

up at Kalk Bay by Ken Evans.

In late 1972 R9, or as she was then known P1553, was sold to Ken Evans of Hout Bay. By
mid-2000 she had been withdrawn from service pending a full rebuild. Evans also

purchased R11 which had deteriorated to such an extent that she was stored on a cradle at

Langebaan in July 1957 awaiting disposal. He also bought R18 in May 1969 and the boat
had no engines, propeller shafts, or propellers. The original Kermath motors had been

removed before sale and these were replaced with two V8 Detroit motors. This vessel
became the Circe and went on to become a Hout Bay landmark. The boat was rebuilt (with

original spec. silicon bronze fasteners) during her working life with Circe Launches, but
was withdrawn from use in 2000, awaiting new decks and superstructure.

Reference

Ellis, G. (2001) Serve to Save - The South African Air Force at Sea, Freeworld Publications
CC, Nelspruit.

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