My name is Andre Raath.

I met Philip when he was doing a survey for a client in Hout Bay.

I was living on my boat around 2010 or 2011 in Hout Bay and I went to shower at the clubhouse early one morning, as is my habit.

Philip was standing on the long concrete jetty looking at the early morning sunrise. It must have been around Easter time because the temperature was quite cool. As is his nature, he greeted me with a friendly “Goeie more” and that naughty smile of his.

After I came back from the showers at about 5:30, Philip was still standing at the jetty looking at the boats. I engaged him in conversation and it transpired that he had driven from Durbanville to Hout Bay to meet a client but he left home early in order to avoid the infamous traffic situation on the N1.

I asked him what time is appointment was, to which he replied around 8:30. I then invited him for coffee on to my boat and he gladly accepted.

Over a steaming hot cup of coffee, we started to chat about our lives and we discovered that we both share a birthday on the 22nd of September, albeit he is 12 years older than me. After a long chat Philip went on to his appointment but we exchanged numbers and kept in touch.

I was recruited to work in Nigeria in 2014 and from what I could gather Philip went to Switzerland around the same time. He had mentioned that he has a motor vehicle in Switzerland as well as a few other financial interests.

I returned from Nigeria in 2016, and started working for Schindler lifts in Montague Gardens around the first week of March. During my first day at work, I walked to the local service station at lunchtime to buy a toasted sandwich for lunch, which is where I found Philip talking to the lady behind the till. 

 He and I immediately recognized one another, and upon enquiry he mentioned that he had nowhere to live as he had been staying in a factory not far from the centre offices, which accommodation was provided to him by a friend for which he had done some drywall partitioning. This arrangement, however, had come to an end and he needed to move that day. He was quite desperate, and I offered that he could come and stay on my boat in Hout Bay Harbour. He immediately accepted and we moved him onto my boat the same day.

He stayed on my boat for a number of years working around the harbor as a handyman, and from time to time accompanied me on my business trips to the Southern and Eastern Cape, if he happened to have survey work in the area.

He left my boat to go and work in the Northern Cape around 2019, but about a year later he returned to Hout Bay and once more stayed on my boat for another few months.

He was not a member of the club and the management became quite sticky about people living on board the boats moored at the marina for an extended period of time, so I had to ask him to find other accommodation. 

 He mentioned that he has work and survey instruments in the Vanrhynsdorp area, but he needed bus fare to get there. I bought him a bus ticket to help him to go and take up this work and collect his equipment, and tried to arrange accommodation for him with someone I know in Vrendendal. 

Unfortunately, that is where we lost touch, other than a happy birthday message on the 22nd of September which year. My last communication with him was for exactly that reason in 2022, and while his reply was reciprocal, despite my best efforts I could no longer get him to respond to my messages.

I happened to scroll through my WhatsApp this morning (27 February 2023) and came across his name with the indication as a status that he had passed on.

My commiserations. I enjoyed his stories and his friendship.

Regards

Andre Raath

0722913418