We had originally planned to spend our time in Rio at either Gloria , or the Royal Rio Iate Club, which is where we stayed when we took African Rennaisance back to SA....But , that was before we learned about Suzie! Every cruiser we met in Ilha Grande, who had sailed down from Rio, told us about this little blond dynamo at Club Naval Charitas, who was so wonderful to the cruising fraternity. And they were so right!
Suzie and her husband, Ronato, circumnavigated about twenty years back, in their bright yellow, Bruce Roberts designed steel ketch, "Samba",taking 6 years instead of their planned three. They came through the Red sea, instead of the Cape route, and changed the boat from a ketch to a sloop thanks to a sudden unplanned meeting with a tanker! Suzie and Ronato still live aboard Samba, moored right next to the visitors embarkation jetty. Quite apart from being the Official Ombudsman for the Club Naval Charitas, and speaking English and French fluently, she has made it her mission to be the best friend and service provider a cruiser could ever wish for!
She had been away the week Mary and I arrived, so we missed out on the normal welcome, but she made up for it in double quick time! Need your gas bottles filled? Sure, SA French, US..no problem ! Meet me at the Aquarium at 8.00am with the empty, and I'll get it back to you the following day! Want to go up to the top of our mountain and overlook the best views of Rio, Corcavada, Sugar Loaf, watch all the hang gliders taking off, and have some really good Brazilian coffee?
We leave at 10.00 tomorrow. You need an electronics man to check out your Radar problem, someone to fix you hyperlon dinghy, your outboard, your anyhting! Chances are Suzie will know someone and phone them to come and help you !
Want to go to "Horti Fruiti" this Thursday? Its an amazing really upmarket Fruit and Veg City in the middle of Nitaroi , and she takes any cruiser who want to stock up ,with her when she goes to do her own shopping each Thursday. Who wants to go to a free music concert in the old museum in Rio tomorrow , the film festival here, or the dinner dance there? Suzie will organise!
We went to a regular monthly Brazilian "Braai" a while back, and met a mixture of cruisers and club members. The food kept flowing all afternoon, food and drink included, for R$22 per head ( R80) ! This last Friday she organised a Potluck get together for all the cruisers, and everyone attended.
She organises talks ,slide shows and DVD presentations by cruisers, for cruisers and club members interested. I was seconded to give a talk, and show our DVD, in English, with Suzie doing the Poirtuguese translation.After our aborted Buzios departure last Saturday, we came back and attended Doug & Kyles presentation covering their six years circumnavigation in their Westsail 32, "Estrella", with their two daughters. We were shown the DVD of the talk, and rescue of the crew ,by the Brazillian Navy,of the traumatised SA couple, 2000 miles off the Brazilian coast, in Colin Minty's old boat, "Dikiri".We have since heard that it has been seen sailing around the Buzios area recently, so it seems that the boat survived abandonment.
It is no wonder that cruisers tend to grow roots here! Suzie and Renato... you are gems, Bless you both!
No comments:
Post a Comment