Abrooa., Ilha Grande
Our run back to Abrooa from Angra was interesting! We decided to give Fredlet,our newly aquired back up auto pilot a test run. Anyone behind us on the water must have thought we were smoking our socks! I'd set the course, engage the pilot , press "SET", and then "1", and we would immediatly do a 180deg spin! Because of the position of the pedestal brace, and the length of the belt, the drive unit had to be mounted back to front. To compensate, I had mounted the gyro compass a matching 180 deg in reverse! But it was TOO Clever, and would not be fooled as simply as that ! It could work out where it really was, and decided to prove it! So I then took the gyro out of the bracket, and held it facing forward, as was intended, and tried again. This time we started out ok, until a small course correction was required, at which point the correction to port, generated a starboard command to the drive unit, which immediately demanded a further port correction, which resulted in an even bigger starboard command to the drive unit, until we were going 180 deg backwards again! I then tried to adjust the settings manually, which threw the whole system into a succession of ever increasing wild zig zagging adjustments. Two islands . a power boat, and a fisherman watched our unique methods of pilotage and resulting koeksister course !
Jeremy joined us on the beach for a Moqueca and beer lunch , on Mary's birthday, before we headed back to the boat ahead of the threatening cold front. We had invited Jeremy and Yvonne, and Fransisco & Petro , (who had heard it was Mary's birthday, and arrived at the boat with 2 fresh bonitos) for supper and a party! We had a "lekker jol", and sat up late, playing music, burning lights, and generally flattening our batteries! With all the overhead cloud, and little wind, we are getting no help from nature in recharging batteries, and are reliant on the genset and main engine to do so.
The next day was spent trying to persuade the genset to be reasonable, and give us some help! It had obviously been conniving with Fredlet, and the "heads", and decided not to play ball! Roy Mcbride says that Autopilots and Marine toilets are related cousins. He's right, but what he does not know, is that they were all educated by gensets ! It seems the governer adjustment has wandered to a point where the voltage and cycles are out of range of manipulation by loading all appliances, and it has once again joined Cosatu, and gone on strike! Today is the beginning of the Festival of St Pedro & St Paulus, which is yet another of the Brasilian excuses to party! The whole village of Abrooa has been decorated with flags, and stalls selling all manner of things are lining the streets. We know the music will go on to the small hours, and we a pleased, that once again we have chosen to anchor some way off! Meanwhile, we will definitely venture forth to watch and enjoy their celebrations, before having another crack at the genset tomorrow!
cheers for now .
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Freddie lives on, and we have aquired a Fredlet too!
One of the saddest bits of news from home was that our beloved German Shepherd, Freddie, who was adopted and loved by Alan when we sold our home to him, had passed on to the big kennel in the sky. As most blog readers will remember, we named our Autopilot Fred after him, as it sings and moans just like he did! After a few mid Atlantic scares, we finally seem to have sorted out the autohelm problem by giving it a hydrolic fluid transfusion. We have been using Freddie whenever we have sailed or motorsailed just to make sure he is up to speed. So Far so Good. We have just done a 25 nm leg from Paraty up to Ubitubinha on the Island, and Fred was once again, well behaved! Since the pre St Helena failure however, we have been very aware of how utterly dependant one becomes on the autopilot, when sailing short handed.
We made up our minds to make sure we had a back up in the event that Fred retired hurt again. Ideally, we would like to use the wind vane /trim tab option, as it is not power dependant. However, as we have elected to have davits over the transome, for lifting the dinghy out of the water each night, the wind vane system would have to be offset to one side, and be reliant on a transverse lever. It can work, but introduces yet more points of friction in a system which requires absolutely minimal friction to work well. So we also asked other cruisers about their systems, and their current demands.Two names which came up were APT, used by Niekie on "La Rose", and Alpha, used by Bob & Robyn on "Misty Dawn". Interestingly, La Rose also have a B & G Network hydrolic pilot, but they prefer to use the belt driven APT when conditions allow (95%), because it uses 1 amp vs the 4 to 5 of the B & G. The Alpha is also pretty basic, but apparantly bullet proof, and uses very little current. Both can be found and read about on the internet. With the APT being about $1500 compared to the Alpha +/-$3000 , both of these options were outside our cruising budget , for a second ,back up system. We decided to look out for a second hand option as we move up the coast. We did'nt have to look far! Jeremy and Yvonne had just fitted a very expensive Aquavane system to "Jervon", and had changed the gearing on their hydrolic steering, which made their Autohelm 3000 obsolete. A deal was done , and "Sheer Tenacity" now boasts a Fredlet as her back up system! An added bonus is that it only seems to draw 1 -1.5amps! We need to check this out in more challenging sea states.
One of the least appealing jobs of the skipper, is to sort out a blocked and jammed heads system! This was my lot yesterday on fathers day! I started at the Jabsco pump end, and ended by virtually dismantling all the bathroom/heads cupboards in order to remove all the pipes, anti syphon loops, diverter valves etc. That was the easy bit!! Chipping out all the calcium /uric acid build up that sets like concrete, beating the hoses, overboard, with a stainless steel pipe until you crack it up, and the clearing it all out of the pipes and fittings, can only be described as a Really Shitty Job!! From now on, its a bottle of vinegar into the system every week to stop the build up. ( Its creates a very graphic picture of what a chelesterol build up would look like in ones arteries! Enough to make one go on a fat & cholestrol free diet for life!)
On a happier not, I got an email from my man Hector in Frade, whose assistance I had requested, in chasing up the shop to whom I had returned the Merc 3.3 for fixing. "OK Rod. The owner he said to me the out board motor on tuesday it will be in your hands." Much better to get a Marina Manager to bomb on the shop owner in his own language , on your behalf! Well done Hector ! You really are a star! We plan to go back to Angra on Wednesday, pick up the outboard, do a provision shop, and then head round to ICAR and Itanhanga, and Frade. I would like to introduce Jeremy & Yvonne to ICAR, and Jeremy is keen to meet Hector! A very good man to know!!
We made up our minds to make sure we had a back up in the event that Fred retired hurt again. Ideally, we would like to use the wind vane /trim tab option, as it is not power dependant. However, as we have elected to have davits over the transome, for lifting the dinghy out of the water each night, the wind vane system would have to be offset to one side, and be reliant on a transverse lever. It can work, but introduces yet more points of friction in a system which requires absolutely minimal friction to work well. So we also asked other cruisers about their systems, and their current demands.Two names which came up were APT, used by Niekie on "La Rose", and Alpha, used by Bob & Robyn on "Misty Dawn". Interestingly, La Rose also have a B & G Network hydrolic pilot, but they prefer to use the belt driven APT when conditions allow (95%), because it uses 1 amp vs the 4 to 5 of the B & G. The Alpha is also pretty basic, but apparantly bullet proof, and uses very little current. Both can be found and read about on the internet. With the APT being about $1500 compared to the Alpha +/-$3000 , both of these options were outside our cruising budget , for a second ,back up system. We decided to look out for a second hand option as we move up the coast. We did'nt have to look far! Jeremy and Yvonne had just fitted a very expensive Aquavane system to "Jervon", and had changed the gearing on their hydrolic steering, which made their Autohelm 3000 obsolete. A deal was done , and "Sheer Tenacity" now boasts a Fredlet as her back up system! An added bonus is that it only seems to draw 1 -1.5amps! We need to check this out in more challenging sea states.
One of the least appealing jobs of the skipper, is to sort out a blocked and jammed heads system! This was my lot yesterday on fathers day! I started at the Jabsco pump end, and ended by virtually dismantling all the bathroom/heads cupboards in order to remove all the pipes, anti syphon loops, diverter valves etc. That was the easy bit!! Chipping out all the calcium /uric acid build up that sets like concrete, beating the hoses, overboard, with a stainless steel pipe until you crack it up, and the clearing it all out of the pipes and fittings, can only be described as a Really Shitty Job!! From now on, its a bottle of vinegar into the system every week to stop the build up. ( Its creates a very graphic picture of what a chelesterol build up would look like in ones arteries! Enough to make one go on a fat & cholestrol free diet for life!)
On a happier not, I got an email from my man Hector in Frade, whose assistance I had requested, in chasing up the shop to whom I had returned the Merc 3.3 for fixing. "OK Rod. The owner he said to me the out board motor on tuesday it will be in your hands." Much better to get a Marina Manager to bomb on the shop owner in his own language , on your behalf! Well done Hector ! You really are a star! We plan to go back to Angra on Wednesday, pick up the outboard, do a provision shop, and then head round to ICAR and Itanhanga, and Frade. I would like to introduce Jeremy & Yvonne to ICAR, and Jeremy is keen to meet Hector! A very good man to know!!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Paraty revisited- rowing , chilling ,shopping for cheap whiskey!
Motored down to Ilha da Cotia on Sunday and arrived in time to see the weekend visitors hauling up and leaving us to enjoy the peace and quiet. Spent a day waiting for the showers to pass, and another quiet day before motoring round to Paraty. First mission was to visit Sea Lion at Imperial Marina, to drop off a tillerpilot that Chris Hull had agreed to take back to RSA for me. Imperial is a top end Marina, where security and services looked top notch!. Sea Lion was having the cockpit hatch and surround revarnished by someone dressed like a surgeon! Seemed to be doing a good job, at I'm sure,what was a GREAT price!!
It is also an easy and deeper than usual (3m) fuel and water dock, with diesel a bit cheaper than Pirata's Mall Angra. (+/- R10.20 per lt) After that we rowed into the schooner dock, about 3/4 mile from our anchorage, to explore and do some shopping. Our lunch of Aipim Frita ( deep fried manioc ) and beer, was threatened by a familiar looking black cloud ! Last time we were at the same beach pub we got caught in a thunderstorm and drenched on the way back to the boat. This time we rushed back, knowing we had to row. We stopped long enough to buy a bottle of Scotch and a fish for supper, and rushed to the Schooner Jetty. By the time we got there the wind was pomping, and the 3/4 mile row into the teeth of the wind represented a major challenge.. especially as Mary and I had both neglected to utilise the Ela and Ele, before we left the beach! After rowing fit to bust for 20min, and getting about half way back, we were spotted by a Brazilian Boat taxi good Samaritan. He roared up in his long boat, indicated that I should pass him the bow line, and hit the gas ! Mary nearly went arse over tranny, ( cross between transome and fanny!), and tinker broke the world water speed record yacht tenders, as she was up on the plane in a nano second, and we were delivered to Vermelho veliero in style! A cheery wave and our hero was gone, with no suggestion of payment required! Yet another example of Brazilian kindness!
The next day we had thought about heading back to Siteo Forte on the Island , but felt it wiser to allow Mary and Yvonne, who had both been bitten by something crawly and toxic, an extra day in the vacinity of a hospital. They are both taking Antihistamine tablets, and Mary antibiotics as well, as the bite sit looks quite infected with pink lines right up to her armpit. As I write, she is clearly on the mend, but itching fit to scream!
It is also an easy and deeper than usual (3m) fuel and water dock, with diesel a bit cheaper than Pirata's Mall Angra. (+/- R10.20 per lt) After that we rowed into the schooner dock, about 3/4 mile from our anchorage, to explore and do some shopping. Our lunch of Aipim Frita ( deep fried manioc ) and beer, was threatened by a familiar looking black cloud ! Last time we were at the same beach pub we got caught in a thunderstorm and drenched on the way back to the boat. This time we rushed back, knowing we had to row. We stopped long enough to buy a bottle of Scotch and a fish for supper, and rushed to the Schooner Jetty. By the time we got there the wind was pomping, and the 3/4 mile row into the teeth of the wind represented a major challenge.. especially as Mary and I had both neglected to utilise the Ela and Ele, before we left the beach! After rowing fit to bust for 20min, and getting about half way back, we were spotted by a Brazilian Boat taxi good Samaritan. He roared up in his long boat, indicated that I should pass him the bow line, and hit the gas ! Mary nearly went arse over tranny, ( cross between transome and fanny!), and tinker broke the world water speed record yacht tenders, as she was up on the plane in a nano second, and we were delivered to Vermelho veliero in style! A cheery wave and our hero was gone, with no suggestion of payment required! Yet another example of Brazilian kindness!
The next day we had thought about heading back to Siteo Forte on the Island , but felt it wiser to allow Mary and Yvonne, who had both been bitten by something crawly and toxic, an extra day in the vacinity of a hospital. They are both taking Antihistamine tablets, and Mary antibiotics as well, as the bite sit looks quite infected with pink lines right up to her armpit. As I write, she is clearly on the mend, but itching fit to scream!
Instead, we took another walk around town , had a crab cake, and stuffed manioc and shrimp roll for lunch, and searched out some cheaper local whiskey options. Results for those interested:
Taylors R$ 36 / ltr R144/ltr verdict : quite acceptable
Old Eight R$ 28/ltr R112/ltr equally acceptable, better value
Drury;s R$ 22/ltr R88/ltr manageable, esp if 2nd dop after one of above!
Also discovered that it is possible to get a Brazilian sim card which one can use for RSA sms calls, and on which one can receive incoming calls, and make internet connections. The "Tim" operator card costs R$15, and is a pay as you go. Internatinal SMS cost R3.20, and local ones 80c.
We are now optimistic that with a little self medication of the above prescriptions, Mary will be well enough to cruise on tomorrow!
Cheers from Paraty
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Of old friends,reality checks, special Ilha Grande anchorages, and prawn pig-outs!
Sitting here at Ilha do Cedro, waiting for the rain to clear, I thought it about time to write another blog , which hopefully i can send from Parati. We're both well again, apart from Mom having suffered a repeat bite/sting on her ankle, which has swelled up like a tennis ball, and has driven her nuts! I will try to cover quite a long period, so I will try to cover it all in the blog!
After the tedium of checking in again at Angra, and doing a MultiEconomia shop for provisions, we headed back to Frade to hand over Receita's letter of "Liberation of boat" to Hector, ( Marina Manager) entitling him to give us our boat back ! I had also fitted the new Mastervolt 100amp Battery charger, which we brought back from RSA, but it refused to work off the genset, indicating that the Hz cycles were too high (77hz). We needed to check it out on shore power, and were relieved to see it performing fantastically. Hector called in some local genset experts to see what could be done to correct the cycle problem. Basically, the output voltage and cycles are controlled by the rpm, and when the revs were dropped to the range where the cycle was acceptable, the voltage dropped below the low limitrange, and when the revs were increased to get the voltage above 220v, then the cycles went to 77hz! They tried increasing capacitor sizes, and spent about 7 hours over two days trying to fix it, without success. In the process, they had to replace the impellor, but when we they eventually decided that the problem lay with the rewiring of the rotor ,which was done in Cape Town, I called Enough! They refused any offer of payment, even for the call out, or impeller replacement, saying they had been unable to fix the problem! Would that happen in Cape Town??? Later in the day I opened an Email from Chris Sutton, who had answered my queries on the subject, and he had suggested "load" as a factor.
So next day I started the genset, and applied loads sequentially--- calorifier, freezer, and eventually, when I included the old battery charger, via the plug circuit , in addition to the new charger, we met with success, and the charger started pumping in between 60 and 90 amps! Thanks Chris!!
We headed back to Itanhanga, where we met up with Yvonne & Jeremy from "Jervon", and caught up with each others news. One of the things we chatted about was the sad story about Nic Robinson and Wendy Meyer, from "Sea Jade", with whom we had shared Christmas on St Helena at Annes Place. They were the couple whom I had referred to as Adrenalin Junkies in a blog from the Island. It seems that Wendy was bi polar, and that much of their frenetic lifestyle was an attempt to overcome her depression. Sadly it was in vain, and she OD'd in early Jan while Nic was out kyacking. He took her in to the hospital, where she died. Nic stayed on at the Island until autopsy etc was done , and set sail back to Walvis , single handed, in early April, where according to press reports, he apparantly fell from the mast while effecting halyard repairs, and was lost. Sea Jade was found driftting 300 miles south of St Helena. It was all the more poignant give our own worries about "Jervon"s apparant failure to arrive in St Helena. In fact, Jeremy & Yvonne had checked in with customs and Immigration, and spent two very happy weeks on St Helena, and had many meals at Annes, as well as filling in the Visitors book not far from "Sheer Tenacity"'s entry. Sea Jade was still at the Island at the time, and they had heard about Wendy's demise while there! It just goes to show that government bureacracies cannot always be relied upon, how mortal we are, and how the sea can never be taken lightly!
From Itanhanga we went back to Angra , where we both stocked up on essentials, and dropped off the Merc 3.3 with the shop from whom I had bought it,( as I had finally run out of patience), before working our way down towards Parati. The shopping is very easy and civilised there, as one can trolley directly from the supermarket to the boat. We spent a night anchored behind Gipoia, before motorsailing down to Ilha do Cedro for a few days. The trip down was glorious, and we enjoyed a great lunch on the beach at "Nelson:s bar. As the weather looked set to change, we moved around to the more protected anchorage, which we called "Sand Dollar " bay in our movie, and found a number of local fisherman anchored. It was the start of the Prawn catching season, and so we each bought a kilo of prawns for 12 Reais, and pigged out!
We intend waiting for the weather to clear, and will probably head down to Parati Sunday /Monday. Till Then!
After the tedium of checking in again at Angra, and doing a MultiEconomia shop for provisions, we headed back to Frade to hand over Receita's letter of "Liberation of boat" to Hector, ( Marina Manager) entitling him to give us our boat back ! I had also fitted the new Mastervolt 100amp Battery charger, which we brought back from RSA, but it refused to work off the genset, indicating that the Hz cycles were too high (77hz). We needed to check it out on shore power, and were relieved to see it performing fantastically. Hector called in some local genset experts to see what could be done to correct the cycle problem. Basically, the output voltage and cycles are controlled by the rpm, and when the revs were dropped to the range where the cycle was acceptable, the voltage dropped below the low limitrange, and when the revs were increased to get the voltage above 220v, then the cycles went to 77hz! They tried increasing capacitor sizes, and spent about 7 hours over two days trying to fix it, without success. In the process, they had to replace the impellor, but when we they eventually decided that the problem lay with the rewiring of the rotor ,which was done in Cape Town, I called Enough! They refused any offer of payment, even for the call out, or impeller replacement, saying they had been unable to fix the problem! Would that happen in Cape Town??? Later in the day I opened an Email from Chris Sutton, who had answered my queries on the subject, and he had suggested "load" as a factor.
So next day I started the genset, and applied loads sequentially--- calorifier, freezer, and eventually, when I included the old battery charger, via the plug circuit , in addition to the new charger, we met with success, and the charger started pumping in between 60 and 90 amps! Thanks Chris!!
We headed back to Itanhanga, where we met up with Yvonne & Jeremy from "Jervon", and caught up with each others news. One of the things we chatted about was the sad story about Nic Robinson and Wendy Meyer, from "Sea Jade", with whom we had shared Christmas on St Helena at Annes Place. They were the couple whom I had referred to as Adrenalin Junkies in a blog from the Island. It seems that Wendy was bi polar, and that much of their frenetic lifestyle was an attempt to overcome her depression. Sadly it was in vain, and she OD'd in early Jan while Nic was out kyacking. He took her in to the hospital, where she died. Nic stayed on at the Island until autopsy etc was done , and set sail back to Walvis , single handed, in early April, where according to press reports, he apparantly fell from the mast while effecting halyard repairs, and was lost. Sea Jade was found driftting 300 miles south of St Helena. It was all the more poignant give our own worries about "Jervon"s apparant failure to arrive in St Helena. In fact, Jeremy & Yvonne had checked in with customs and Immigration, and spent two very happy weeks on St Helena, and had many meals at Annes, as well as filling in the Visitors book not far from "Sheer Tenacity"'s entry. Sea Jade was still at the Island at the time, and they had heard about Wendy's demise while there! It just goes to show that government bureacracies cannot always be relied upon, how mortal we are, and how the sea can never be taken lightly!
From Itanhanga we went back to Angra , where we both stocked up on essentials, and dropped off the Merc 3.3 with the shop from whom I had bought it,( as I had finally run out of patience), before working our way down towards Parati. The shopping is very easy and civilised there, as one can trolley directly from the supermarket to the boat. We spent a night anchored behind Gipoia, before motorsailing down to Ilha do Cedro for a few days. The trip down was glorious, and we enjoyed a great lunch on the beach at "Nelson:s bar. As the weather looked set to change, we moved around to the more protected anchorage, which we called "Sand Dollar " bay in our movie, and found a number of local fisherman anchored. It was the start of the Prawn catching season, and so we each bought a kilo of prawns for 12 Reais, and pigged out!
We intend waiting for the weather to clear, and will probably head down to Parati Sunday /Monday. Till Then!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Dois maravilhosoa mes no Ihla Grande !
I've been taking a bit of flack for not being more diligent with my blog updates. Guilty as charged! In mitigation,the only excuse I can offer is my sensitivity to your states of mental well being !
We hear about the economic turmoil,financial meltdowns, crime in Hout Bay, crime in Salvador, Cape Town on fire ,etc etc. Now against this background , how can I keep on talking about the natural beauty, the friendliness, peacefulness, culture ,the cruising lifestyle in this magical place,... before you just want to throw up!! ??
We can hardly believe we have been here two months already ! Time really has flown while we have tried to keep a balance between boat maintenance and relaxation Having finally lost the power struggle, I was forced to buy 6 new 115AH batteries . Any hardware relating to boats, costs twice as much as in RSA. Eg Deep cycle batteries, outboard motors, battery chargers, smart chargers etc. Restuarant prices too, seem a bit higher than SA. Even our version , which is a shared portion of Lula ( Calamari), fried manioc, and a couple of beers, on plastic tables and chairs, at a beach pub/restuarant, costs the equivalent of R200-R240. Food prices in shops/supermarkets is probably , "twolly for twolly", to borrow an old RSA Checkers advert, about the same. If one can find a supermercado away from the main centres, closer to where the locals shop, prices are very much better, up to 30% lower. But thats enough of the housekeeping! Suffice to say that at least one can buy beers, limes and Cachaca wherever one can buy food!
Having stripped the little Mercury 3.3 for a third time, (after its swim as a 4 day old new aquisition), it has finally settled down and become a super little outboard. We prefer to anchor in good safe attractive places, where we can swim around the boat, without fear of being wiped out by a wetbike or taxi boat, even if it involves more tender running.We love our 30kg Bruce, with lots of all chain rode, and sleep easy, provided we have the space to swing a full 360degs. We have now visited about half of the Ilha Grande spots, and have already developed our favorite places..Praia de Palmas, Vila do Abraao, Siteo Forte, Ubitubinha, Ilha de Itanhanga, Ilha de Cedro, Ilha de Cotia to name but a few. These are really special places, and during the mid week one can often have the places all to yourselves! We have taken hundreds of photos, and miles of video footage, which we will have to edit down to something short and hopefully interesting----- when we find out how to do so!! Any volunteers?
We have also been able to enjoy the Carnival spirit, much of the music, (but not the headbanging techno stuff !),and the Brazilians zest for life, their sense of fun, the litter free living, relaxed lifestyle,and seeing the opulance of the super rich and their toys ,their holiday homes ,which, for the most part, carefully blend into the beauty of the environment. We have never felt threatened, or uncomfortable, and nor have we ever seen any bad behaviour or drunkedness.... despite the non stop partying ! We have never been hassled by "boat boys", trying to look after your boat,your dinghy, trying to sell you this and that, invading your space,etc, and all those other typical Carribean, and South African , traits.
Anchoring is free, and in many places there are mooring buoys which can be picked up, although being heavier than most local boats, we always prefer to lie to our own anchor. I guess we've been spoilt! Ilha Grande is just so unspoilt! Mike and Les from Exta-Sea, had a friend with them who has visited Thailand annually for the last few years. She preferred Ilha Grande to Thailand!
The fishing is not bad either, which is just as well, because that is one area where the local restuarants know how to charge! A spanish mackerel (Cavala) big enough for two, costs Real 50 ( R225) at Ilha Paquetta fishermans restuarant/hut. One can buy 50 beers in a supermarket for that! I caught a couple during the last few days,en route to Parati, which we are really enjoying! Being wildlife nuts, we are also loving the very different variety of birds found in this area, which I suppose is a mixture of Atlantic Rainforest, and marine estuarine habitats. The water is alive with shrimps and shoals of small fish, which in turn attracts the bird fishing specialists- from the huge Ascension Frigate Birds,flocks of black Vultures ( which look similar to Egyptian Vultures, and also scavange on dead fish), and allow one to walk up quite close before taking off, a red billed Tern, which behaves like an African Skimmer, (as it feeds off the shrimps that break the surface when chased from below). There is a Giant Kingfisher lookalike, that takes up residence on the spreaders, and never seems to miss when it fishes, as well as a magnificent even bigger version of Kingfisher, where the black markings are replaced by a pretty pale grey/blue colour.We also see Terns, Kelp Gulls, Cormorants, Sea Gulls etc, but not in the numbers we see back home. There is a Franklin which likes to be heard , and not seen, as well as some raucus parrots, and a frustratingly shy Cuckoo which makes a "Huity boo" call which one hears everywhere! We also see and hear woodpeckers regularly, and have enjoyed seeing a variety of Humming Birds, which are new to us.
Mary & I have just snorkled around the enclosed bay in Ilha Cedro in which we are anchored, and came across a whole colony of live Pansy shells( Sand Dollars), the size of saucers! Now we know where the few shells we found on the beach came from! We were accompanied on our swim by a shy turtle, about the size of a brief case, which ducked every time he saw us!
On the less desirable side, one can almost see the barnicles growing in front of your eyes! In 5 days, they get to screw head size, and diving to clean them off the boat is a non stop chore. They even grow on the tender which is lifted out of the water every night!
Despite these two months in paradise, we are really looking forward to our home visit, and to touch base with family and friends. This time next week we will be there!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Iate Club Angra dos Reis ( ICAR)
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)