Sailing in Brazil – Sailing with Saphir

Recife to Grenada

All is well on board Saphir, and we are ready to cast off and sail our last leg with a stop at Fernando. There is full activity on the bridge among the boats, making sure our vessels are ready for the long sail. One of the tasks is to get a clean propeller and bottom with the help of divers. We also receive assistance from them to check our propeller, which turned out to be full of barnacles and other things. It feels good to get that fixed before we head out. The list of things to do never ends; we just have to prioritize: safety first, comfort second, and lastly speed. When the diver is almost done, I hear the start of the Vhfn, and for the first time, we are not at the starting line but pass it 20 minutes later. It’s a bummer to miss the start, but I’m glad we got a clean propeller.

As we round the breakwater, Mistral is waiting for us. I am so grateful to have them close by in good times and bad. Our mainsail is not functioning as it should, and Mistral’s radar is not working either. What I unfortunately realize as we leave is that I made a huge mistake: the seasickness patch was not on, and it’s quite rough out here. The waves are coming in from the side, making it definitely an uncomfortable sailing. None of us wanted to go down below. You can guess how it went; not well, there was no cooked meal on board during the crossing, just some dry crackers. Luckily, it was only 200 nautical miles and about 48 hours to Fernando. After several attempts, Edgar gives up getting the last meters of the mainsail in, so it will have to be tied to the mast. It’s nice to have some shelter behind the island when we have to deal with rain. Luckily, at least I have put on my rain jacket. Edgar gets quite wet but soon sits under cover again while I prepare to drop the anchor. After a tour around the anchorage hoping to find a good spot without being too close to other boats, I free drop the anchor. We end up a good way out from the harbor and land. It’s certainly not the best spot considering the rolling, but the anchor holds well, and the boats around us are at a safe distance. A little food and a couple of hours of sleep, and we are ready to head in.

We check in and make a joint decision with Karen and Chris to only stay for two nights, as it’s going to rain a lot in the coming days and it’s very rolly on board, so we might as well be on our way.

This how it rolls on anchor. I am not moving my foot deliberately

The next day, we have rented a beach buggy to get around the island. It’s a bit bumpy in the back, but we enjoy the sun that peeks out as we drive around the island. We have lunch at a cozy hotel with a fantastic view, then spend a few hours on the beach before it’s time to head back to the marina and return the car. The evening ends with dinner at the restaurant up the hill, overlooking our boats.

The next morning, Chris comes to pick up Edgar, and they head in to check us out. It takes a little while, so we leave around 3 PM together with Mistral. It turns out that most others have also decided to depart a day earlier. We keep ourselves no more than 1-2 nautical miles from Mistral so that we can inform them during the night if a storm is approaching and if we should change course to avoid the worst of it. Not only is their radar not working, but now they’ve also had trouble getting their mainsail in. It’s clear that our boats are tired and need to rest. We sail on with the genoa and small foresail out, and a little bit of the mainsail as support to reduce the rolling. The days and nights pass, and we get into a sleep rhythm. Cooking goes somewhat okay. It’s difficult to cook when it’s tilting and rolling. I gave up after all the food ended up on the floor after a serious roll, and the stove locked up. The rest of the trip, we served meals that only needed an oven. Luckily, I had filled the freezer with ready-made lasagna, pies, and pizzas. The weather varies from fantastic sunrises and sunsets to cloudy and pouring rain. Our blue canopy keeps us dry and goes up and down.

On day eleven at 03:45, I hear a strong bang. The starboard shroud is very loose with just a tiny wire remaining. The engine is started, and down with all sails, and incredibly we also got the whole mainsail in. We discuss what to do when we hear another bang. Now the shroud is lying over the boom and down to the deck. Thank goodness the boom was where it was; otherwise, we might have had the shroud through the window. Now we have no choice. Edgar is hoisted up to the first spreader so he can secure a line around the mast, tightening it down and around the shroud’s attachment on deck to the winch so we can tighten it properly. We inform Mistral of our mishap and that we have the engine on. Now we just want to arrive with an intact mast. They try to keep up, but they end up behind since they can’t use their engine due to noise. Luckily, we have passed all the bad weather, so there’s no danger from that and only 190 nautical miles left, which is just over a day’s sailing/motoring. Not far to go now.

During my last night watch, my thoughts swirl while my knitting grows. It’s hard to digest that we are almost in Grenada, thus having sailed around the world. This last stretch has been a bit too dramatic, with boats appearing without showing on the plotter and boats dragging a long pipe/line behind them for 3 nautical miles that we had to keep a distance from and avoid. In the midst of these thoughts, I hear a bang. No, not the next shroud too… yes, it is. It didn’t break but several wires came loose. I wake Edgar up and go lay down. It was almost the end of my watch anyway.

On Monday morning just after seven, we cross the finish line! Yippee, we have sailed around the world! We were especially happy when we saw a dinghy coming out to meet us. It was Mark and Clare from Amanzi and Julia from Renegade. Once inside the marina, we are welcomed by many of our sailing friends and receive some rum punch. Tears come as I step off, and the hugging party begins. We have arrived, and the mast is still intact. Now it’s time to celebrate for a few days with our Arc friends.

Brazil part 2

Now that everyone is healthy and well, it’s time for us to fly back to Recife and the boats to see that everything is okay. We were a bit concerned about our batteries, but they had lasted up until this point, so our freezer and fridge were still on. This is good since more than half of our freezer is filled with Mistrals food. They are waiting for a part that will arrive a few days before we leave. So now we are keeping our fingers crossed that everything goes well and that their freezer will work again. It seems that our solar panels had done their job. When we are not on the boat to avoid galvanic electrical currents, we do not use shore power. In other words, we want to protect corrosion as Saphir has an aluminium hull.

Here in Recife, we are noticing more of the Carnival than in Rio. There are concerts almost every evening that we hear from the boat, and the official events haven’t even started yet, so one wonders how it will be then. Karen and I are going with Arden and Jim from Kalli into Olinda for a guided tour. Our guide told us that every weekend from September, there is a carnival celebration that continues until the carnival ends in March. Absolutely incredible.

Olinda is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and I can understand why as we wander around the town with all the beautiful architecture of the houses. Some are well-preserved, while others need a bit more love. It’s a very hilly city, and from the top, we have a fantastic view over the town and out to Recife.

Our holiday travels are not entirely over, as on the 25th we will be picked up and driven along the coast to Nannai Beach and Resort. Here we will celebrate our wedding anniversary with Karen and Chris, as well as theirs a couple of days later. It is a truly fantastic place to celebrate. We enjoy just being, hanging by the pool, at the beach, enjoying fantastic food and each other’s company. We are the only foreigners at this amazing resort hotel, Nannai, and on the 27th we celebrate Chris and Karen’s wedding anniversary. A perfect conclusion to our holiday here in Brazil.

It’s time to prepare for the final stretch of our circumnavigation. 2300 nautical miles, and we will have sailed around the world. It’s a bit hard to understand, but first, the boat needs to be stowed, provisions purchased, etc. Once we are on the boat, we realize that Carnival is in full swing. There are lots of people moving around and live music even in front of the hotel in the marina.

Karen and I are going to Olinda with several others from Arc to take part in the carnival. It’s absolutely amazing to see all the people who have worked hard on their costumes and music. We had a great time with lots of Capirinhas.

The last grocery shopping is done, our fork for the stays (D1) is in place. Unfortunately, Edgar notices that a small part of the wire against the mast has come loose, not good, we hope it will hold until Martinique, where we will get a new D1. Pool

We are concluding our stay here with a sunset cruise around the canals arranged by WARC. It was a great evening with nice scenery.

Now we are ready to set sail and head to Grenada with a stop in Fernando.

Hugs Eva

Exploring Brazil part 1

We spent the first day fixing small things on the boat as getting our blue water runner hand rolled back around the furler and also ordering a new thing to the shroud.. Since it was very hot, no wind and our air con working we moved in to Novotel next to the harbour. Once again we can see our boat from our hotel room. Lovely to have access to the pool and a room with a lovely view.

After a few days of work, it’s time for a break from fixing the boat and to explore parts of Brazil. Along with Karen and Chris, we start our adventure by flying to Rio, where we will stay for three nights. Our room offers a fantastic view of Copacabana Beach, and from the rooftop, we can also see Christ the Redeemer.

The next day, we visit the Christ statue and Sugarloaf Mountain. These are typical tourist attractions, but they are also places we were eager to see. The statue is impressive, and the views from both locations are breathtaking, though there were long queues to get to each site. Fortunately, with our guide, everything went smoothly as we had access to a separate line. We took the train up to the statue and walked the final steps to see this enormous Christ figure. There were many people around the statue taking photos, and we did the same.

We started the evening with a drink in the hotel bar and ended with dinner at Churrascaria Palace, where we could eat as much as we wanted. Not always a good idea. I personally enjoyed seafood, sushi, and salads. Usually, it’s the meat that people go there for, and certainly, Edgar and Chris were very happy and became quite full. It’s hard to say no when so nice piece of meat after another comes and is served at the table.

The next day at breakfast, Karen informed us that Chris wasn’t feeling well and therefore wouldn’t join our guided tour in the city. Edgar also decided to stay back at the hotel. So it was once again just Karen and me on an adventure. The best company. Once inside, I was surprised by how few people were there on a Monday morning; it felt like a Sunday morning. The city is preparing for the carnival, so many buildings are being equipped with fences to protect them from damage. Some have metal fences, which make it hard to see much, while others have grilles, which I prefer as a tourist since I can see the buildings better. Rio still has the monument for the Olympic flame, or rather they made two, so that’s why they have one still. They are allowed to keep it burning while the Olympic Games are taking place around the world. We walk around and look at the fantastic architecture of many buildings, although some have seen better days than others. The state library belongs to the better category. We conclude our visit to the city with coffee and cake at the famous café Confeitaria Colombo. There was a long line here as well to get in. Once again, our guide manages to get us in without waiting too long. The decor is amazing with all the beautiful mirrors, lamps, cabinets, etc. The coffee and our cake were also exquisite.

Satiated and content, our next surprise awaits. We travel to Selarón’s Steps, which we had both completely missed knowing existed and is a major tourist attraction. Once there, we understood why. In the 1990s, local artist Jorge Selarón transformed this completely ordinary staircase into a colorful experience filled with captivating mosaics. People from around the world have contributed tiles to the staircase. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anyone I recognized from Sweden, but there were tiles from Frankfurt and San Francisco. Our next visit was to the neighborhoods in Theresa, which have many shops with handicrafts. Unfortunately, it turned out that most of them were closed, so we returned to the hotel.

Now it was Edgar’s turn to feel unwell, and there was no improvement for Chris. Karen and I decided to bike over to Ipanema Beach. Just around the corner from the hotel, there were bikes available for rent through the Uber app. We thought it was convenient and easy. Ha ha, Karen got her bike, but I didn’t. I had to prove that I was over eighteen. In the end, I had to go up to the hotel room to grab my passport, take a photo of it, and finally, it worked. I had a picture of my passport on my phone, but unfortunately, the app didn’t recognize it.

It felt so nice to move around again. Once we arrived at Ipanema Beach, we left the bikes at the bike station. We enjoyed a lovely long swim before cycling back to the hotel. It turned into a girls’ night out, having dinner at one of the many food stalls along the beach. We did a bit of shopping for paintings and each got a sarong.

The next day we are on our way again. This time we are flying to Iguazu Falls where we are booked for 3 nights. Here we have booked two trips to the falls, one on the Brazilian side and one on the Argentine side. Chris is still not feeling well, so he stays at the hotel while we go to Iguazu Falls on the Brazilian side. First, we take a speedboat tour on the river. Everyone puts on these fancy yellow life vests that are so uncomfortable and hot. It’s so amazing to see the falls from the river, and I think the captain finds it extra fun to soak his passengers because he drives very close to the falls several times. Luckily, they told us to bring extra clothes. We needed them after that trip. Now it was time to see the waterfalls from the land. Along the walkway, we also saw some animals like the common coati, monkeys, and lizards. Iguazu Falls is the largest in the world, with a total of 275 falls and 2700 meters long. I am completely taken by these waterfalls. I have always been fascinated by waterfalls, big and small, but this was more than I could have imagined, both in terms of the amount of water and the sound, which is so powerful. I have always wanted to see Niagara Falls, but I realized that I have now seen the best, so we’ll see how that goes. I guess I will have to see smaller ones in the future where you can bathe, like in the Marquesas. Even though we are at a distance from the falls, we get wet, which is why the pictures turn out a bit blurry.

We also take a trip over to the Argentine side with our guide, and this time it’s just me and Karen again. Edgar feels he has seen enough, and since it involves a lot of walking, Chris opted out. He is feeling better but doesn’t have much energy. We were definitely not disappointed with this experience. Now we walk along the edge of the waterfalls and across the river. Since the distance is very long, we take a train for part of it. It would have been a bit too challenging even for us to walk the entire distance in this heat. Satisfied, we head back to the hotel, and I enjoy the rest of the day by the pool while Karen and Chris go to see the falls so Chris can experience them.

Time to fly back to our boats and make sure everything is okay.

Hugs Eva

On our way to St Helena

Thursday 6/3 we are leaving Brazil but first we have to go back to Monday morning the 20 Jan when we are checking out from Namibia. (So sorry very late in updating) Same procedure as when we arrive. All crew to immigration to check out and then the captain to customs and we are good to go. Back at the boat we have a few things to do before we leave. This time we don’t have a common start, so some left already yesterday and some will leave later in the day. We left just after lunch and hoist our sails.

On Tuesday late afternoon Edgar shouts out Dolphins !!! So nice to see them. While I was filming I see that a flying fish jumping high up I front of me, never seen that before. Didn’t catch it good on the film though.

On the forth day we have hoist up the blue water runner and enjoining the day. I was in bed sleeping (since I had have the 20-23 and 5-8 watch)when Edgar told Chris that he saw a squirt from a whale. Luckily Chris was reacting and took a photo when the whale dived just next to the boat. A bit to close to us but at the same time Chris got a photo of the back and the fin and he got to see his first whale on his journey .

We had some lovely sunset and sunrises between all the rolling. Happy that we had some preparerad meals so it was easy to do the dinners, and I am very happy for having our own private live dishwasher onboard. Thank you Chris for keeping the kitchen clean.

What a nice sight when I wake up on my last watch at 5 on this leg (day 8) to see our friend Mistral on the plotter and having only 20 Nm left until we can drop the anchor.