Arrived 19 days after leaving St Helena Island. Feeling very battered and worn down but thrilled to be in Brazil at last, the Land of the Fresh Fruit!!!! A little about St Helena before I tell you more about that 2nd passage.

We stayed in St Helena for a full week and it was a welcome break after the long 17 days on the boat…Towards the end of the first passage I was more than looking forward to some fresh fruit and veg as all we really had were tangerines and bananas, the latter browned quickly enough in the heat and ended up in batches of banana bread which we ate for breakfast, along with one tangerine each per day. The veggies that kept onboard were cabbage, carrots, onions and potatoes - JC perfected coleslaw on the first trip! We would never get scurvy, but I was truly excited about all the fruit I would eat on the island. Well I was sorely mistaken. There is no airport in St Helena and the mail boat only arrives every 2 weeks carrying produce for the islanders. We arrived the day after the boat departed which meant that all the choice vegetables and fruit were already sold. Literally all that was being sold in the few shops were onions, potatoes, carrots, green beans, squash, bruised green and red peppers, apples and oranges and some very soft kiwis. Much of the produce had gone off but the islanders were still buying - squishy fruit is better than no fruit… I noticed that a lot of tinned food was being sold, some of it out of date, but that did not seem to matter.

It was surprisingly cheap to eat out and we ate every meal in the local hotel The Concourse where the staff were incredibly friendly and full of information. Peter especially being a fellow sailor, gave us lots of tips. We were so impressed by the chef’s culinary skills that we ended up buying a dozen or so frozen meals from him. That was great forward thinking as, as you will read below, I was very ill again and it meant that meals were one less worry for JC. We found the local people called Saints) really friendly and with such a small population (4,000 and shrinking), we were the obvious new kids in town. Everyone would greet us and smile. The volcanic island itself is beautiful - full of ravines that cut across the 122sqKM (10km by 17km). It took for ever to get from one side of the island to the other because of all the hair pin turns and crazy roads you would have to traverse. The island was full of micro climates with some areas heavy with lush tropical vegetation while others were good farming land. Other parts would be barren rock and recently there has been great efforts made to replant the forests that once covered the island but whose wood was stripped for the various ships that landed here over the centuries. The Saints are a lovely mixture of races - British descendents, slaves from Africa, India and Madagascar. These were all freed and the island played a big role in helping stop the slave ships from Africa to Brazil. The island was discovered in 1502 by the Portuguese but eventually fell under British control and is today a British Overseas Territory. It was the stopping place for (Dutch and British ships on their way to South Africa and onwards to the Far East for many centuries. St Helena is probably best known for its prisoners - perfect given its remote location. It interred Dinuzulu, the famous Zulu king who arrived with an entourage of wives, wearing barely any clothes and ended up converting to Christianity and returned to South Africa wearing clothes and a top hat! It also housed 6,000 Boer prisoners at the beginning of the 20th century. Of all its prisoners, the most famous must be Napoleon Bonaparte - the house in which we was kept prisoner still stands and its upkeep is paid for by the French government - the gardens are lovely. The other gardens worth mentioning is the Governor’s House which is open to the public and it has 5 giant tortoises which Saoirse was fascinated with!

The Trip from St Helena to Brazil
Days 1 to 6
Despite the weather not being so bad, especially the first few days, I was sick and again confined to the flat of my back. JC could not believe it until he read that 70% of menstruating women get sea sick - guess that explained that one. I did manage to make JC a peanut butter “Reeces” type of desert for his birthday which he loved and Saoirse sang him Happy Birthday.

Days 7-9
Still sea sick, although managed to make a big batch of banana bread as the bananas were becoming over ripe and the only other alternative was to throw them out. The highlight of these days was to see 2 very large ships (300ms metres long V our 13 metres!). We spoke with them over the radio and first captain was Israeli while the next chatty one was Filipino. Nice to hear other friendly voices. This was also the start if the very rough seas - gale force weather. Poor JC is very tired as I am not able to do the night watches as I am still so sick. The low light of these days was while throwing up, a wave knocked me backwards out of the toilet and into the shower area across the other side of the boat. Both openings are very narrow so I grazed the hell out of my body - all my arms and back and legs with a painful bruise on my arse where I fell. Lying down was very painful for a few days. We had been warned by our friends Rod and Mary about the bruises we could expect. I see now that the biggest injuries on a boat are the knocks from being thrown around by waves (bruising being the least of your worries - I can see how someone could easily be knocked out) and burns. Not sure if I mentioned that JC (by mistake of course!) burned my right arm and shoulder while giving me my mint tea. Very painful. He too burned himself with his coffee. Our oven is gimballed so swings with the motions, but I can definitely see burns as being a big injury problem for sailors.

Day 10
My life seems to exist in a dream like state. Everything happens on my back. JC is kind enough to get me water and makes all the food for us as well as change Saoirse. She plays around me and pats me on the head telling me “mama sick”. Cute. I wake up every morning and wait for JC to calculate how many miles are left. Today we have 1,110 miles left - a lot still which is depressing but a landmark number as we are half way through this second leg. Still horribly sick and it is too rough to be up on deck so am not even able to get fresh air…

Day 11
Our mileage left goes from 4 to 3 digits. 999 miles! Exciting

Day 14
Has been very rough seas still. Poor JC is wrecked. He is constantly out on the deck changing the sails trying to make the most of the wind but also trying to keep the ride as gentle as possible, quite a tall order given the waves and wind. I have not been able to keep any food down for days now and have become concerned about my weight. My travel wedding ring fell off my finger as I was washing and today JC noticed with shock how skinny I had gotten. My ribs are sticking out and my stomach has shrunk. JC is determined that I should stuff myself with food, but the food just wont stay down. I have already started drinking electrolytes. Nice Croatian man on a passing boat told us the weather was to improve. That made JC happy, poor guy is so stressed

Day 16
Am able to keep food down for past 2 days and reckon the weight thing will sort itself out soon enough - I plan on drinking enough Mango Lassees to put every ounce back on as soon as we hit Brazil! Weather today was very calm, not a puff, but by noon it was awful - massive waves and the worst rocking motion. It reminded me of a Simulation space rocket rollercoaster with Pip in Paris years ago - all the other “passengers” were treated to my hot chocolate and croissants. Yuck. Well this sea was like your worst nightmare roller coaster only it lasted over 8 hours. I felt so bad for JC who has not had a break for pretty much the whole trip.

Day 19
We can see land at last - another 60 miles or so and we are in Rio de Janeiro. We have been passing huge container ships and fishing boats. It will be dark before we hit land so we have deided instead of heading to our original destination (60 miles south of Rio), that we will just go straight into Rio for a few days. It makes sense on a number of levels, the most important is that JC is so wrecked and another night of no sleep while dodging fishing boats with no lights is a night mare scenario, plus the seas have become rough again with strong winds. We arrived into the marina at midnight only to find that there is a massive party/festival going on - blaring music that went on till 6am. I could have cried.

JC slept through the whole thing as did Saoirse!!!

Brazil is awesome. Will write more soon. J