Ille du Salut to Tobago

Attached is the photo of two Big Eye Tuna caught that night at 9 knots! I suppose with the current being what it was, you could say it was really only 7knots!
The last four days from Salut to Tobago were not that pleasant. The wind was generally in the 20-25 knot range, but the sea state was very confused and uncomfortable, making rest and sleep almost impossible. There was about 3/4mtr swell running from the stb quarter, (sometimes 4/5), but on very short intervals, so the boat was being perpetually lifted and twisted, and fighting its way back on course. On top of this, we were running across the widespread ITCZ zone, and were being hit by squalls every hour or so. They were not particularly vicious, only ever getting up to 35kn, but it meant keeping the sails reefed to deal with them, as shaking out, and re reefing each time in that sea was not an option. The nights were very black, and one could often not see them coming until you felt them! And poor little Fredlet, our rubber band Autohelm 3000 back up had a torrid time. We were however incredibly impressed by its performance, and economy, to the extent that when we have finally got Fred sorted( or deep sixed, and replaced!), we will probably use the Autohelm as the primary, and Fred as the backup! I think the Autohelm was only ever expected to cope with a 7500kg boat, and not a 12000kg fully loaded cruiser! We will just take extra belts, and in fact Roy McBride has sent one or two to Crews inn, in Chaguaramus for us. Whereas the run to Ille du Salut (1369nm) took 194.5hrs, (7.02kn avr, 168nm pd), the 600nm to Tobago took 99hrs, ( avr 6.06kn, 145nm pd). The current was still in our favour, but down to 1kn. I think if we had been able to use the B & G hydrolic pilot, we could have carried more sail, and powered through the conditions more effectively. We definitely noticed that when we were in mid squall, doing 8.5kn- 9..00kn SOG, that our tracking improved, and the ride was easier.
Man of War Bay is a charming anchorage, and we look forward to spending a relaxing couple of months here, before going down to Trinidad for Carnival , haul out, antifoul,and refit. We have now done 8880nm in Sheer Tenacity since we left Hout Bay, and whereas the boat has been fantastic, the electronics , many of which were second hand, have been a real trial to us,often causing uncomfortable levels of stress..... No Radar, No SSB, Main Autopilot u/s, Satphone iffy, VHF Radio failed( Fortunately bought an old spare from anaother cruiser to see us through) B & G Wind - direction 100% garbage, wind speed sometimes garbage! ST deserves some better kit!

Ilha da Salut

We made the 1370nm trip from Jacare ( Cabadelo) to Ille du Salut in 8days and 3hrs , which is by far our fastest avr speed for a passage ( 7.02knots !) En route we clocked up 4 days over 170nm, and one incredible 197nm day! But before you all get either impressed, (or disbelieving), it is only fair to point out the amazing current that can assist one on this leg! I would like to roll it up and take it with me wherever we go sailing! It is mostly in the 1.5kn range, but I swear there were times when it got nearer to 2.5-3.0 knots. On our 197 nm day, we had received a boost from a 35 knot squall, which had us reducing sails to 2 reefs and a rag, in good time. But when it was all over, and the wind had settled back to 14-17knots, I did'nt feel the need to shake out the mainsail reefs, as our SOG hardly dropped below 9.0knots. It had to be the most painless way of sailing fast in a 39ft boat imaginable! We kept the two reefs in the main for the full 24 hrs. At 1.00am that night, after another minor squall, both our fishing lines were taken, and we had to furl the headsail away, to slow down enough to bring in the two Big Eye Tuna. Usually, we pull in the lines after dusk, as its not lekker to fight, gut and fillet a fish, just when you have gone off watch, and need to have a couple of hours rest before your next watch! I've also believe, that ones best fishing time is sundown, not midnight! WRONG! Falacy two, Tuna are best caught at 6-7knots .Wrong Again! These were caughtdoing 9-10knots, although it can be argued that the fish were also in a 3 knot current! That said, however, I did catch a Longfin Tuna in the Med, off Zephiro, doing 11 knots! Obviously , one has to slow the boat right down to give yourself a chance!

The anchorage at Ille du Salut is very rolly, and on the day we arrived, windy, dirty, and rainy as well!Lying in our bed that night, I could sworn we were in the middle of another 170nm day!
Yesterday, we spent the day doing all the post trip repairs we could. Genset impeller, High pressure wash down pump, Spinaker pole beak ( A McGyver job), and the fuel transfer pump (again!) Today was spent exploring the ruins of this old french Penal colony. It is only when you wander through the lightless solitary confinement cells , the rows and rows of what were steel frame cots, with their manacle chains in the walls , and the cells of the condemned, does the inhumanity of the Bagne system , (with its "Doublage", to extend by two, the sentence period for misdemenours), really hit home.

It would seem that "Papilon" was rather a collage of various prisoner tails, whereas, the counterfeiter "Flag" Legrange, certainly left his mark in the form of artwork in the chapel and elsewhere, much of it now in the museum in Cayenne. The eventually reprieved Dreyfus, spent a number of years on Devils Island, protesting his innocence from day 1. As we wandered around the complex, we were aware of a great deal of lawn mowing, repainting, etc, when suddenly a cruise liner appeared in the bay. This realy put the gendarmes and workers into overdrive, which left Mary and I free to explore to our hearts content. We collected a good dozen mangoes, as yet unclaimed by the large rodent type animals whose staple diet seems to be mangoes! These animals (Agouti's?), are about the size and colouring of a red duiker antilope, but are some distant relative to cane rats! We watched them fearlessly running around taking a bite out of each and every mango they could find ! We in turn were watched from the tree tops ,by some dark brown lemur like monkeys, as we looked around the old cemetary. These were the last resting places of wives and children of the gendarmes, not the prisoners.... their lot was to be tossed into the sea in an open, weighted coffin, for the sharks to remove ! Legend has it that the coffin was then retrieved , and used time and time again!

We left the Island to the Cruiseliner( "Rotterdam", out of Fort Lauderdale, and en route to the Amazon), and returned for a late lunch of Grilled Dorado, with Mango Salza, and a Caiperinha ,: in time to watch the raucous Macaws do their sundown flypast,while listening to "Fiona's Travelling Tunes", a special collage compiled for us, just before we left last year. We have now been cruising for exactly one year, and its unusual places like this, which make it so rewarding. Tomorrow we leave for Surinam for a few days, and then its on to Tobago.All our fellow cruisers, being French, have gone into Cayenne, but we are likely to all meet up again in the carribean in a few weeks .So long for now!

Battle of the Bulge nearly over, and a re-take on Bolero!

On 10th May 2004, I sat drinking a beer in the cockpit of a Gibsea 44, anchored exactly where we have just anchored Sheer Tenacity, up the Paraiba river , at Jacare, Cabedelo. At the time, I told Malcolm,( my host, who was delivering the Gibsea to Cape Town, on what was to be his 53rd Atlantic crossing), "'One day I am going to come back here and show Mary this place! " Well, here we are, and it is still rather special, although very much more development has taken place during the last 5 years. There are many more riverside restaurants and bars, all competing to play the loudest music in Brazil. There is a new private marina owned by a Frenchman, Captain Phillipe,and he has taken over the bulk of the yachting trade previously done by Brian Stevens, of Cabedelo Nautica.

On my last visit, I had been crewing for Chris Sutton, to sail Enigma, a Compass 47 from Fortaleza to Gibraltar. I had drawn the short straw, and was required to take a 900km bus trip down to Cabedelo, with only the mainsail as luggage, in order to have it repaired prior to our departure. The recommended sailmaker, was Claudio, a windsurfer sail maker in Cabo Branco. He did a fine job, and Brian Stevens was fantastically kind and helpful to me at the time, asking his wife Sylvia to feed me, and his daughter Pamela to take me and the sail back to the Rodovario in Joao Pessoa, in time to catch the bus back to Fortaleza, with seconds to spare!! Yesterday, I was able to visit Brian again, and give him 4 Pugs T-shirts for Sylvia and Pamela , by way of saying thank you for all he did for me in 2004! I also took the liberty of passing on Roy McBrides best wishes, as I know he would have expected this of me. Brian has got to be one of the best preserved 72 year olds around, and still looks as strong as an ox ! He is now building huge tourist River catamarans, and has by his reckoning now built over 100 of them during the last 6 years. There are about 6 of them in service here, and they are partly the reason why the Riverfront restauant businesses have grown so much.

But, getting to Cabedelo from Salvador, at this time of the year , can be tricky, as the prevailing winds are on the nose, as is a 1.5 to 2.0 knot current ! We first tried to leave Itaparica on Wednesday 28th October.We had just received an sms from Kate, saying that my Mom had been admitted to hospital with a gastric infection. At the time it did not seem too serious, and there was a rare easterly wind affording us a chance to leave. There are however bigger plans afoot, and for reasons best known to Fred ( The Autopilot), he went on strike again , with an entirely new set of symptoms. We were forced to turn back. When we got back, it was to learn, that Moms condition had deteriorated rapidly. Sadly she passed away in the early hours of the 2nd November. At least we were able to stay in touch with the family through these difficult days, and be "there" for each other.

That day too, the wind again went Easterly, and we took the gap, and beat our way up the 290nm to Maceio, arriving after of 65hours of tough motor sailing in pretty uncomfortable conditions. Once again, Sheer Tenacity proved her mettle, arriving a couple of hours ahead of our fellow cruisers who took the same gap. En route, the diesel transfer pump died, and I was forced to syphon my deck jerry's into the day tank. We were all very pleased to arrive safely in Maceio. When Estrella arrived on the Monday, they knew it was Moms funeral day, and they knew too how we were battling with all forms of communication to RSA. They arrived at our boat to deliver a special "Wake Cake",in her honour, which was delicious, and greatly appreciated. We then all rested, and waited for the next window ,which came on Saturday the 7th. We refilled the jerry cans with diesel, rigged up a manual transfer pump using a spare manual bilge pump, and left at 4.am.

The first 6 or so hours were quite tough, but as the coast turns Northwards, the wind angle improved to the point where we could sail very efficiently into the current. The 214 nm took 35 hours, with Sheer Tenacity once again took pole position ( Not that we are racing of course!!)

As we entered the river mouth, we saw for the first time, signs that the dreaded current was diminishing. The point of sail from here on , together with the reduced current, should enable us to get around the Bulge ok. Mary and I are not sure whether we feel like going to Fortaleza, where we would have to pay $1 per foot per day ( R360per day!), for mooring. We are inclined to rest up here, and then prepare for the long haul straight to the Caribean, stopping perhaps at Illle de Salut, and Surinam, before making for Tobago. Whatever we decide, this could be the last stop over where Constante , Estrella, and Sheer Tenacity will be together, before heading our different ways. We have decided therefore to have a Battle of the Bulge Party shortly, to celebrate our voyage up from Ilha Grande, where we all met up in the first place!

A new fuel transfer pump is on order, and should be here in a few days. Brian is quoting on a bit of stainless steel work we want done, to beef up our bimini, and Yes Chris, it will make the boat a bit heavier, but we think she can handle it!

We decided to brave the loud music, and visit one of the riverside restaurants for a beer, and to watch the sun go down from land, for a change! We rowed down the frontage, to select the venue with the least offensive volume of music. Each of the restuarants has it own live music, and dance area. While we were commenting on how much like similar the music in our venue was to the "Boom -Chick" Boeremusik back home, a sudden hush came over all the restaurants, as one by one, they stopped the music. We then noticed a gondola, drifting down the river, transporting a Demis Roussos type figure, dressed in a white Kaftan, with an orange sash, and a saxaphone held to his mouth. It was about 10 minutes before sunset, and slowly one became aware of the haunting, rythmic melody of Ravel's Bolero, emanating from all the restaurants sound systems. I was first introduced to Bolero. in Musical Appreciation at school, but I must confess, that my lasting impression of the piece was indelibly etched in my brain, by Bo Derek, in the movie "Perfect 10", as she achieves orgasmic ecstacy , as Bolero ends with the grand crescendo! Now there's nothing wrong with holding on to that image all these years, and I'm sure I'm not alone ! But the simple beauty of hearing it being played live, over the water, as the sun went down, was very, very special.! The last notes coincided with the sun dropping below the horizon, and the hundreds of patrons emerging from their trance like state, to burst into raptuous applause. We saw it as a fitting requiem for Mom.

Camamu to Salvador-Hooligan fish and Dragon Woman !

As we sit here in Itaparica at the Amigo Restuarant and Bar, owned and run by South Africans, Willie and Robyn, we are once again struck by how the world is shrinking! They arrived here 3 years ago, having sailed over in what was Free Spirit, the Lello 48 from Hout Bay, which they bought from Mike and Sophie ! They lived here for a year, sold the boat and bought the property, and turned it into a bar/restuarant. We then met Annalize and Peter ( The Plankies), who also lived in Hout bay, and sailed over in their 29ft black steel boat, Nor, and who have also bought and renovated a Pousada, and become Brazilian residents. They have a house and the Pousada here, plus a 8000sqm tract of land on the island , and intend just to sell the pousada , and retire, as they dont need to work! Well, good luck to them.. they certainly seem very happy here!
　
In my last blog, we had just arrived in Camamu. Three days later we were joined by Constante, from Abrolhos, and we went down the river to Marau together, with an overnight stop beteween two islands. The town was interesting, but I had expected something more like Paraty. Not so. When we returned to our anchorage behind the Goia island, we found the 65ft Gunboat "Gazelle", with our mates Jon , Nicky and young Travis, plus the owner& girlfriend. Just able to say hi, and touch base again! We then motorsailed the 45 miles up to Morro de Sao Paulo, where once again we anchored in 6m, on dry land, ( according to Garmin Blue charts !) opposite the village of Gamboa. We took the local ferry up to Morro, and had to pay the R$6.50 tourist tax, and found a most enchanting and delightful little island town. The beach , which opens onto the Atlantic is very pretty, and surrounded by palms, Pousada's, shops, bars, and restaurants, and the biggest Foofi slide ever, from the lighthouse point, down into the sea in front of the main beach! The umbrellas and chairs are serviced by enthusiastic young men with watering cans, who keep the surrounding sand cool, and wash the sand off the ladies feet! There are no cars on the island, and the building materials are transported by mules and donkeys. Morro, has a definite charm, and is the most upmarket, tourist oriented place we have seen to date.
　
The following day at 5.00am, we upped anchor fom the brisk current at Gamboa, and headed for Salvador. Once again I got smashed up by Hooligan fish.. not once, but twice in three minutes! I get very little sympathy in this respect- My son Steven, told me I was using Mickey Mouse tackle against the "A" team, and the other cruisers dont know why I should complain, as we still are the only ones who always have fish in the freezer! I did get a consolation prize of a 2 kg Kingfish , when I replace the lures! My logic relating to tackle selection stems from the desire NOT to catch anything over about 20kg, as we dont have the freezer space to spare, and we would rather have a supply of smaller, different fish species ! No one can argue with the
logic- except I must confess to beginning to get very P..d off , with getting smashed up time and time again, losing line and lures, while Mary says" I thought you could fish?". On this occasion, I had a Rapala on the tuna rod, and a pink/yellow squid on the handline. First the rod rachet started screaming, and while we were trying to slow down the boat, the handline went off like a rifle shot, as the bungee was streched to its limit, and the 40kg line bust! When the fish had stripped about 350mts from the reel, and I was down to the last bit, I started working the beast-- then it was gone ! I reeled in the line to find a Rapala sans both double hooks! Another first for me! I've had staightened hooks, broken hooks, but never NO bloody hooks! The stainless steel split rings must have just opened up!
　
We arrived in Baia dos Santos, and went around to the Itaparica marina anchorage, where we met up with Estrela again The following day they joined us as we took the ferry over to Salvador to take care of the paperwork, and to search for a new VHF , since my Navico had finally give up the ghost! Now all the Brazillians we meet, are so friendly and helpful, that one cannot imagine how it is possible for the Brazillian Authorities to select staff who can so frequently be difficult, rude, and downright offensive, to visitors to their country!! Yes, there are thankfully a few exceptions, but there are more than enough of the others ,to make sure that any check in day will be a horrible experience! Enter Dragon Woman to the scene, but first a little background!
　
After an interesting taxi ride across Itaparica, and ferry ride to Centro Nautica , we headed first to Receita Federal, where we were pleased to be told that all we needed to do was check in with the Port Captain ! What a doddle! He is just round the corner. But, its 10.15am, and he only opens at 12.00. So after a bit of VHF research, we go back to the port captains office, only to be thrown out because we need to go to the Policia Federal first. Having got our visa extensions in Angra, until 24/11, and having found in Rio, that only the Port Captain needed to be advised, as we were "quite legal", and with the Receita saying the same thing in Salvador, we were flumoxed. I had walked the 2km to the Policia once before with Chris Sutton, so off we set.... and it is by now very very hot, and I am now wearing my obligatory long pants, ( to show respect for the office of the Port Captain). The walk down the length of the docks, is much like walking down a 2 km urinal, as every pillar along the way makes up for the lack of public conveniences for the truck drivers waiting to get into the docks! The smell in that heat was sickening! We made it by 1pm, only to be told that they open at 2pm, but in any event, they have now opened a new division, called the Delegation of Policia Federal, which was next to Receita Federal! So back we trudge through the same smelly route, finally taking shelter in the garage to get out of the sun. At 13.55, a kind gent sees our purple hue, and invites us into the corridor of DoPF, and points to the door marked "Immigration. I knock, and enter, and am confronted by Dragon Woman!
　
We had heard stories about this woman, from Jeremy (Jervon), and many other cruisers, and thought they must be exagerating.. From Ilha Grande to Vitoria, we had heard about her, her looks, her manner etc etc. Well, "DW", is alone in her office watching a Soapie on TV. She glares at me with a look of pure hatred, and points at her watch, indicating that it is 3 minute to 2pm . Then the like the Doggy show host on TV, she screams the Brazilian equivalent of "SIT!", followed by"SHUT THE DOOR"!, and proceeds to carry on watching the soapie. When the program is over,she begins shuffling papers on her desk, achieving nothing at all
　
, until she eventually sticks out a hand , and grabs my folio of papers. Determined not to be phased by her abusive manner, I smile, and say " Muito obligado". Her response is to continue muttering about interupting her lunch hour . It took her all of a minute to fill out the magic form that we could take back to the Port Captain.
　
When we get back, the queue is long, and the only official dealing with Saida Veleiros, is too busy chatting to colleagues to help riff raff like me, all dressed up in my long trousers, (to show him respect!!) By 3pm, we are stamped and legal . 5 hours to do what could be done in 15 minutes!
　
Up the Elevador, into the old Historical Pelhourina area, in search of a beer and salad. There we were lucky to meet larger than life itself, Cintia, who it turns out is a multilingual translator for Yachting events, Police, and a teacher, apart from her afternoon job entertaining foreigners at this restuarant. She immediatly lightens our mood, as she goes on to tell us that all the International yachties complain about that bitch, and goes on to tell us some choice
stories which are best left out for fear of libel! Cintia, whos
stubby little legs stick out from her ample frame at 45 degs, says she has trouble walking since she fell off he motorbike hitting a pothole and wrecking her knees. She got no sympathy from her daughter, who confiscated the bike, saying she was "too old, and too fat to ride a motor bike!" She speaks German French, English, Spanish and Italian, and is starting to learn Mandarin so that she can be sent to China by the Brazilian Government. In her capacity as a translator, one of her most common duties, is to mediate between the German tourists, and their Black prostitutes, as it would seem that they truly believe you have not tasted sweets, until you have tasted chocolate! Once they have finished tasting, it would appear that they have a tendency to refuse to pay, and thats when the police call in Cintia to mediate!
　
By the time we caught the ferry back , our battles with officialdom was but a distant memory! Like all things Marine, VHF radios in Brazil, are 3 times the catalogue price in the Caribean, so I was lucky to find that Doug (Estrela) had a pre DSC Raytheon spare which he was happy to sell for a modest sum. So we are up and running, and hoping for one last southerly to help us on our way!
　
The attached pic is Constante, our travelling companion in a spectacular sunrise leaving Morro de Sao Paulo.

Guarapari to Camamu

Guarapari proved to be a surprisingly attractive bay,with a choice of anchorages giving protection from either Southerly or Northely winds. We had never heard Guarapari mentioned ; its just 30 odd mile South of Vitoria, and thats probably the reason. We spent three nights there, catching up on sleep, chilling and fishing, but felt very isolated, as there were no other boats around, and we always feel a bit uncomfortable anchored alone in unknown places! When the cold front arrived we headed out, and started out with a good wind for Vitoria. We caught 4 Tuna mackeral in a hurry, and the biggest Shad( Elf, Bluefish) I've ever seen( about 9-10kgs). The arrival in Vitoria was interesting, as the entrance is very precise, and the seas were doing their best to make life difficult! There is a 20mt gap in the reefs at the end of the shipping lane, which is the recomended route to the Yacht club. A Tug had decided to anchor right in the gap! We thundered past his stern with about three mts to spare , and made for the Yacht club, where the entrance depth was only 2.2Mts, and the only visitors berth was beam on to the Southerly, and very exposed. Elected to go back outside and anchor in the lee of an empty marina adjoining the yacht club, and go ashore by dinghy . The yacht club told us to anchor within the marina , but not to use any of the cleats on the jetty !

Vitoria is also an interesting and attractive city, with graceful sweeping bridges, palm fringed beaches, and some sophisticated shopping... and the most filthy black dust when the North wind blows! And it sure can blow!Its a windsurfing paradise, and the experts scream around at incredible speeds . Each day , the wind piped up to 30-38knots, and the boat was covered in this film of soot, with the boat staining at the stern mooring bouys.

During one heavy southerly blow, I was forced to acknowledge that RSA does not possess the worldwide monoploy for bureaucratic idiots-- Brasil definitely has its fair share too- and as usual, in positions of power!While anchored in this new Naval marina, equipped with cleats on all four sides,( which you are not allowed to use), and with stern and bow bouys which you may. We had dropped the anchor, and gone astern to pick up the stern bouys . No mean feat in a Shearwater in a beam wind. Long lines and Tinker were the only solution. We were the first of three yachts to arrive, and I was able to offer Tugboat Tinkers services . With the wind then turning North, and covering us with soot, we all wanted out as soon as the wind went south. Mary and I did our shop on the day it was due to turn, while our French Neighbours were enjoying their second day in the Port Captains office dealing with their extension request. We got back to find a SE wind of 30knots, beam on to the anchored yachts. We had twisted 45 degs, but the French Yacht (Joz 111), had dragged, and was threatening to side swipe a 51ft Brazilian Power Cruiser. As the French couple were still with the Port Captain, Frank ( Constante Singapore) and I set about rescueing the situation. Fortunately, Joz had let out about 40 mts of chain, and we were able to crank in about 20 mts , clearing the Brazilian stern, and presenting the bow to the wind, but with only about 5 mts between them. The only logical solution was for me to use my 60 mt second anchor warp, and straighten, and secure Sheer Tenacity to the forbidden Jetty, and then secure Joz to Sheer Tenacity. This all took about 2 hours, with Tinker struggling in the 30 knot winds, and Frank and I were pretty knackered , when eventually, the Marina Boat pitches up : To thank us we assume, for having saved the French Yacht, and the Brazilian Launchero. But NO.... He only arrived to tell us to remove the line from the wall, because the Navy will be very cross! Needless to say , I got a little cross too, and refused ."Noa, meu para Director!!" Well, the director had gone home already, so I decided the best form of defence was attack! I laid an official complaint with the secretary of the club, along the lines of: 1) We were paying for the mooring, and where was the Marina official when help was needed. 2) For employing a marina official too stupid to recognize the dangers to the other boats, and 3) For failing to thank us for our efforts to save their club from a very expensive and embarrasiing experience!

Frank added the final valid observation, that the Brazilian Navy spend Millions of Reais every year rescueing and saving boats in distress, and that if they had been called in, they would have done exacltly what we did! The Secretary agreed, promising, to inform the Director, and to tell the Marina official that the safety lines would remain until the wind dropped!

Next day, we set off for the Abrolhos Archiplego, in a stiff SE. En route we were joined by a Brown Booby( its a feathered bird, guys!), determined to hitch a ride on our spinaker pole. He got tossed off three times by the bumpy ride, and on his fourth attempt, he misjudged his landing, and wiped out against the headsail, falling into the sea in a ungainly heap! Undaunted, he shook himself off, and landed on the pushpit, where he managed to cling on for about a 10 minute roller coaster ride!Got some hilarious video footage of his trip!

We made Abrolhos in good time, before evening on day two, and were able to swim in clean water again, and clean a very dirty hull. I was helped by a superfit Frank, who had arrived on the same day, and volunteered to do the prop, shaft and keel! The carpet of crustaceans that we scraped off was amazing.. and quite alarming , when I saw that the carpet covering my costume and body, when I got out of the water, was in fact, alive! After 4 beautiful sunsets, over the Palm tree'd islands,we tired of being the only yacht there without the prerequisite passport for a shore visit... Kids!

The gribs indicated a gentle easterly for two days, so we decided to take the gap, and not wait for the next low front.We enjoyed a really pleasant sail, and motorsail for the 280 miles to Camamu. Once again we were lucky , and caught well ;two nice wahoo, and one tuna mackeral, so, the freezer is well stocked! It was also a real treat to enjoy pleasnt conditions, instead of the wild and tiresome cold fronts we have had since Ilha Grande!On arrival, we found Joz 111, who had bypassed Abrolhos, who treated us to a Bahian lunch at a beach restuarant, by way of thanks for our efforts to secure their boat in Vitoria. As a result of their input, we will now be setting off down the river to Marau, an interesting, very old and traditional town 20 miles downstream. No doubt we will catch up with them again somewhere up the line! Right now, its raining again- seems like Sundays' predicted low has arrived a day early! At least the sea temp is up to 27.5degs!

Sao Tome Squeeze!

Do not be mislead by Mary's picture of me chatting this brassy young blond !! The squeeze to which I am referring is an altogether more nautical one, as opposed to my wishful thinking!

When we anchored in Guarapari bay at 4.00pm on Tuesday, we had without any shadow of doubt, completed by far the most harrowing and stressful 36 hours and 180 miles of sailing we have ever experienced! But before going into detail, another anatomical analogy is called for, to describe the coastline around the Sao Tome cape. Sao Tome would be the elbow on your half bent left arm, with your knuckles being Cabo Frio, and wrist, Buzios. The port of Victoria would be up near your shoulder. Lying 50 miles offshore from this elbow, is Brasil's largest offshore oilfield, comprising any number of oilrigs and platforms, in a rectangle 70miles long, by 20 wide. These rigs are serviced by the port of Macae,somewhere on you forearm! There is a constant stream of tugs, supply and service vessels, running backwards and forwards between Macae and the oilfield.The area between Sao Tome and the oilfield is also very shallow, with the first 15 miles off the point being never more than 25metres deep, and the remaining 30miles between 40 and 60metres deep. The shallow Sao Tome banks, are a very rich fishing area, and are alive with fishing boats, day and night. All of the very considerable South American coastal shipping , has to pass through this narrow 30 mile gap, between the Oilfields, and the Sao Tome banks.

To compound the problems facing yachts, is the fact that the prevailing wind is a 20-25knot North Easterly, which is right on the nose, and is accompanied by the 1 knot Brazilian current! Clearly one does not want to spend too much time tacking backwards and forwards in this area, making slow progress.Our Strataegy was to wait for a cold front to come through, bringing the Southerly winds, and get the hell through this piece of water ASAP! This stategy makes sense, but brings with it, additional problems.... like 25knot winds against the current, over shallow waters, which makes for a pretty horrid sea state! Cold fronts also bring clouds, rain, pitch black nights and poor visibility at times! With our Radar being U/S, we decided to leave Buzios at dawn, to get far enough offshore to be outside most of the smaller fishing boats in daylight, and through the Macae/Oilfield traffic as well, as most of them do not have AIS transmitters( less than 200 tons). By night , we reasoned, we would be in the shipping routes, where we could expect proper navigation lights, and, AIS positioning.

The first 12 hours were uneventful, and plain sailing. By evening, the wind freshened, and we had put in two reefs, and shortened the headsaildown to about a no.3 or 4. But all too soon, we were barrelling along like a bat out of hell, in a wind against current, wild sea, an ink black night, on a marine highway, feeling like tenpins in a bowling alley! Normally, Mary and I do 3 hour night watches, but knowing it was likely to be challenging, and for one night only, we had planned on 2 hour watches for the passage. Fat Bloody Chance!! The sea conditions, and the sheer volume of shipping and traffic, required that both of us had to be on watch, right through the night! I plotted and logged the tracks of about 20 vessels which at some time had appeared to be on a collision course with us. Thanks to AIS, I was able to call up 4 by name, when they got to within 2 -4 miles of us, doing on average 14knots, and alert them to our position and course. In those conditions, our echo would have been lost in the sea clutter on their radars! In each case, they acknowledged my call, and took appropriate course changing action, for which they received my grateful thanks! At times, the AIS screen looked like a shotgun pattern ! All in all, we must have "seen", 40 to 50 tankers (or freighters), a similar number of fishing vessels, as well as an array of exploration rigs, platforms, and flashing bouys , in just 10, very dark hours! And every so often, the rain would block out all nav lights, and leave us drenched, not to mention the electrical storm that tormented our already frayed nerves!!

Never has a dawn been more welcome!! By 5.00am, we had both been awake for 24 hours, and were physically and emotionally knackered ! Then the fish decided to hit our lures! After landing three nice fish, we pulled in the lines, and set a course for Guarapari Bay, some 25 miles short of Victoria, as we did not feel up to entering a difficult new port entrance,at night, in our exhaused state! We dropped the hook at 4pm, in a surprisingly pretty , and sheltered bay ; had a couple of Scotches, a bite to eat, and hit the sack at 6pm, and slept for 12 straight hours! We had squeezed through the Gap!

Beautiful Buzios!

We hauled anchor at 3.00am on Monday, and worked our way out of Guanabara Bay , and up the coast towards Cabo Frio. We had hoped to benefit from the cold front SW winds, but in reality, they were too gentle, and we had to motor sail almost the entire leg to Cabo Frio. Without Radar, and the enormous number of unlit fishing craft, we wanted to do as much daylight sailing whilst close to the coast. We had therefore planned to stop overnight in a little bolt hole anchorage between Cabo Frio island ( Light House Point) and the mainland. It has a narrow (50mtr) head entrance on the West, which can get quite boisterous, with strong currents, before opening up into a very pleasant safe haven. As seems to be our usual habit, the wind started honking just 4 miles before we reached this target, and we had to run the gauntlet! Once inside, we did a right turn to get behing the cliff shelter, and dropped the hook. Despite the rather rolly anchorage, we slept like babes, as neither of us had got much sleep the night before, getting the boat and ourselves set for the early start.

Although the anchorage opens up into a lagoon facing east, which is theoretically navigable via a shallow channel, the charts show chart datum of 1.2mt at the deepest, and as we were leaving at 7.00am, and it would be Spring Low, we elected not to explores the moving sand banks, and go back out the way we entered , through the heads. This added about 4- 5 miles to our leg up to Buzios, but we enjoyed the trip around this Cape that always seems to be the change over point in the weather systems. The wind dropped down to about 8 knots, dead downwind, so we were forced to motor the whole way again, in a rather lumpy sea against the 0.8 to 1knot current that runs down the coast.

We arrived in Buzios at about 1.00pm, and checked out the anchorage options, before chosing a spot outside the Yacht club, with good SW protection, and some NE protection behind a point and reef. We were surprised to find ourselves anchored near "Basta", the yellow steel French boat owned by Francis and Silvia, last seen in Abrooa nearly 2 months earlier. They were heading off to the Carribean in search of work there. Instead, they found Buzios, and have entered into a long term lease and project, to renovate, and then run a Pousada restuarant & Bar on the waterfront here. Francis is working like a dog to have it up and running in October, to coincide with the arrival of the cruise liners. His long term plan is to build up a successful business in 5 years, and then sell ti for a big profit, with 5 years of his lease option remaining! Quite a project, and we wish them luck!

The wind has now swung NE, and the sun is out again, which always brings out the best of a place, and Buzios looks quite special. It started out as a quaint fishing village, with numerous small protected beaches around the rocky peninsula of Cabo Buzios. It is now a major tourist driven, and holiday home resort, being only a couple of hours by road from Rio. Bridgitte Bardot spent many of her early years here with a Brazilian boyfriend, and she is depicted in bronze, in one of the three very good sculptures, along the waterfront. The most striking one is of the "three fishermen", lifesize figures hauling in nets , from rocks set in the sea. Very realistic ! The other, is of President "DK", whose full name escpaes me ! Brigitte is depicted sitting on her suitcase looking out over the sea from the side walk. Her lap , head and lips, are polished shiny bright by all the tourists wanting to strike a pose with her!

With the sun out, it is time to explore again, and to find a wifi spot to check out the weather pattern again,and to see how long we have got here before continuing North!