Somewhwere in the small print of Marcel Ceccons book ,he mentions the friendly people of this club. We decided that we needed to do a few things in Angra central, and that we would stop over at the club, and try to catch a bus through to Angra. At the same time it would allow us to leave the VHF on Channel 6, where on which we had arranged to make contact with Chris and Helen Hull, who were arriving in Marina Bracuhy, to sail up to Rio for the Carnival.
Well what a good decision! The people in this club have been absolutely wonderful, and even though there is not much English, they have made us feel very welcome, and have been incredibly helpful. Its not easy to get a SA kg gas bottle filled here, but they spirited my bottle away, and returned it full that same day, for less than a refill would cost in SA! They have a free Wifi service at the club, and we are treated as honorary members, at no charge, paying discounted club member prices for food and drink. I was a bit worried about leaving the boat without an engine , on a swing mooring in Frade, and decided to investigate having the bearings and seals replaced here. No sooner had I shown them the pump, and explained my situation, than I was introduced to mechanico Renaldo, who offered to go in to Angra, buy the three sets I asked for( 2 as spares), strip , replace , respray and return it to me just after lunch !
He was as good as his word, and charged me Real 300 ! Less than half of what Southern Marine had charged me , for what was a bum job, and took 5 days, with no spares! Angra is a 15min bus ride away, and we were able to do our shopping, Receita Federal admin, buy bus tickets to Sao Paoulo, and get back to the boat by mid afternoon. A lot cheaper, and less stressfull, than doing
it all from Piratas Mall. We have just met Bob and Robyn, on a beautifully maintained old classic S&S lookalike, "Mist Dawn", who Kyall had told us to look out for.( Kyall himself, is expected to arrive in New Dawn, in about a week, with his new lady, Tessa) They are an American couple who have been cruising for 12 years, and have just come up from the Horn, having sailed from New Zealand to Chile, in 45 days, before going through Beagle channel. On their way up from Uraguay, on one one leg, they took 7 days to do 300miles,battling both current and head winds! They have got a wealth of experience and good advice on equipment and routings, and have certainly made us rethink our plans for next year. Eg When you leave the Carribean area, do so by June, and head staight up to Maine- beautiful, unspoilt, and mostly free. Stay there until Mid October, and then either work your way down the ICW, or, if you really want to see America, the Tennessee waterway right down to New Orleans! Definite food for thought!
Later today, we will head back to Siteo Forte, where we will meet up with Sea Lion, for an evening, and then head back round to Abrooa, via Lagoa Azul,and Saco de Ceu, so that we can revisit Ens de Palmas, and Lopes Mendes. We will then move down to the Parati area to spend a couple of weeks exploring special places, fjords, anchorages and islands.
And all the while, we wait with baited breath to hear news of Yvonne and Jeremy on Jervonne, who we gather never checked in to St Helena. We can only hope they pop up in Salvador, having changed plans en route.
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