Passage-making again!

We spent a wonderful month with two sets of dear friends, each for two weeks.  Milly proved an easy home in which to host - lots of room to sit, cook, laugh, talk, read or nap as mood would have it.  The freezer kept ice well frozen and the fridge ably held plenty of food.  So we were all happy while exploring Paraty and Ilha Grande with Anne and Rob, making an overnight passage to Rio where we picked up Lee, explored, said good-bye to A & R, overnight sail to Arraial do Cabo and then to Buzios where we hiked steep hills and said good-bye to Lee.  Both good-byes were sad - it was so great to share our adventure and excitement with Milly with friends who were truly happy that our dreams of the past few years were coming true. 

Cacti can be spectacular, too.

Buzios topography was a startling change from Rio.  Like the whole Brazilian coast to the south, Rio was still mountainous right to the beach with lush, jungle growth up the slopes.  From Araial do Cabo to Guarapari, our next port, the land was dry, the mountains were in the distance quite far inland.  The soil was sandy with low scrub or cacti or with great slabs of granite.

After almost six weeks “holiday” it was time again to head north in earnest.  Our destination was Baia Do Camamu, about 60 NM south of Salvador.  We plan to spend another month or so exploring the Salvador cruising area before the next much lengthier passages.  We weighed anchor in Buzios in the late afternoon.

Buzios

It proved a glorious passage of sailing in two legs.  Finally, the wind was as forecast - on the beam and the aft quarter.  It made all the difference to comfort and headway.  Although, the deck was still swaying, bouncing, rocking and rolling, the motion was going with the sea, not against it - the movement still required balance and a firm grip on the boat but was gentler, somehow, particularly on the stomach. 

Sunset is shortly after 5 p.m., a touch early, no matter how beautiful.  

  A highlight of the first leg, indeed, of our whole adventure to date, was enjoying the company of a large group of dolphins playing/fishing at our bow.  It was so exciting, I was giddy with delight and actually shed a few tears.  When dreaming of our future over the last few years, I have always looked forward to the stereotypical sailing with dolphins at the bow and so the fulfillment of this part of the dream, at least, was moving to say the least.  They are such elegant and graceful creatures, seemingly always with a smile on their friendly looking faces.  They cavorted, jumped, breached and dove.  The water was crystal clear, allowing us to watch them swimming in the waves and under the bow.  It was truly awesome!

Another wonder is bioluminescence, a constant entertainment and companion during nightwatches.  Sometimes it lights up the wake from both transoms so we seem to be blasting through the water.  More often flecks whiz through the wake and swirl over the bottom step of the sugar scoop like tens of shooting stars.  Through the escape hatch you can see the occasional fleck scooting by through the turbulence created by the hulls.  It is a light show I will always marvel at.

River leading into Guarapari and the tiny, tight space at the gas dock, just before the bridge with a heavy current threatening to send us under it.

The first leg was to Guarapari, a resort town.  After great team work to get the boat docked - we’ve come a long way since La Paloma - we filled up with fuel after a 48 hour sail.  We changed the the oil and oil filters on both Volvo engines - it may seem mundane but it was another first on our checklist of tasks to complete.  

Peter's oil changing outfit.  Gloves, headlamp and undies.

We anchored in a tiny bay with some fishing dories and some elegant homes with community security guard.  Very posh. 

Great slabs of granite were fun to explore - flip flops are not the best for such hikes.  Our barefeet proved more secure but were tender after a km or two.

After two peaceful nights we were off again, this time for 471 NM in 69 hours.  Compared to our first long passage of 560 NM the way the crow flies (but we were not crows, more like drunken sailors without a drop to drink, beating to and fro, approx. 780 NM) over six days, this sail was a real pleasure.  The voyage was the best yet.  Again, the wind was on the beam, with consistent speed.  We are now in the trades and expect the same until Trinidad.  Hallelujah, I say!  The waves were about 2 meters but we skittered along on top of them.  Milly surfed them beautifully, some with incredible speed.  Her record was 21.2 knots or 39 km/hr! 

Oil platforms are not on the chart or on AIS (Automated Identification Systems) but their ugly heads rear out of the water and are easily spied during the day.  It's in foul weather and at night where watch is imperative.  

A few ships got in our way and fishing boats with minimal lights were a hazard but there were no feverish moments.  Oh, except when a huge cargo ship that we had maneuvered around in the dark of early evening to find that they must have been oblivious to our whereabouts and changed course to head directly at us less than 1 NM away.  Peter peeled us off on a speedy beam reach and we got out of the way with room to spare.  Other than that, all was well.  I was pleased to manage sail trim and squall avoidance on my own.  My confidence is returning.

Looking out to stern at dawn.  This is what I had got us through on watch.  Proud, was I.

After marking nautical mile 3,000 (5,556 km), we arrived in the Baie do Camamu, a large estuary surrounded by mangroves.  We were exhausted after three hour night watches but happy and excited with the sail.  We had not turned on the engines for 69 hours!  A record!

Baie do Camamu