Journal
If it doesnt fit in the other categories it goes here. This could be rants, raves, general anything. It is straight from our mind to yours on the sometimes boring, sometimes less boring day to day experiences of our trip.
Hot, hot and getting hotter...
Note: There is a problem with the server that prevents us from being able to upload pictures via the blog. This post will unfortunately not contain pictures. Sorry all! Brazil is probably the hottest place I have stayed in - Kuwait was hotter but a drier heat and I was only there for business. Even Malaysia was cooler than here. It is a steady 35-40 degrees Celsius (95-105 Fahrenheit) and miserably humid (regularly over 90%), so the sweat is nonstop. Even nights can get up to 40 degrees. When we arrived, poor Saoirse got such a bad heat rash all over her body and face that people avoided her in the streets, thinking she has some sort of disease! The boat is regularly above 40 degrees when the hatches are closed (if we are out shopping etc.) JC spent days on end sewing awnings for shade over the front of the boat area and that has helped keep the boat much cooler. Even with the fans running and hatches open, the measly wind rarely eases the discomfort. I suppose we are all more acclimatised now and Saoirse’s rash is gone, but like most pregnant women, I am running hotter than…
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End of 2009 Update...
Well it has been a while since I have updated my blog entries on foolishsailor.com AND it is already 2010, (HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!), so thought I had better give you all an update as to where we are in our (sailing) lives. A lot has happened since I last wrote… My parents arrived from Ireland in August and we had a fabulous time. The weather was perfect, shorts and t-shirts during the day and something a little warmer at night. We collected them off the bus in Angra where the boat is and took them, to their surprise, by dinghy to our boat! It is easier to get around by dinghy than by bus or taxi… We had booked their first few nights in a local pousada beside the marina so that was handy for all. We then sailed to the World Heritage village of Paraty where we had again booked a few nights stay for them. Saoirse, JC and I stayed in a local marina. Paraty is beautiful with its cobblestoned roads, historic stone buildings and perfect view over the water. It was one of the main landing areas for the slavery ships of the 16th to 19th centuries…
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Rio, or Hio (as pronounced in Portuguese) de Janeiro...
After our loud and tiring welcome (see end of last Jackie blog entry) into Marina da Gloria, one of the yacht clubs of Rio city, we spent 3 days clearing customs, immigration, health department and the Port Authority. There were several hairy hours for us as JC’s visa for Brazil had expired by 10 days (Americans need a visa), but the official was incredibly helpful and willing to help us so after a few tense hours a solution was found and he was not deported to a neighbouring country to apply for a new entry visa (we have subsequently heard several stories about people who were made do this, so were very lucky). We both agreed that Saoirse was probably the only reason the official was so lenient with us. I found all of the officials we dealt with very nice, friendly and efficient, with the one exception of the Port Authority who are all naval. They kicked JC out of the building and made him wait outside because he was wearing shorts and told me (not asked nicely) not to sit and play with Saoirse on their step. Not sure if it is that I am Irish or just…
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Passage Notes: St. Helena to Brazil
Hey everyone. I have had many requests to put online my passage notes so here they are. I have put up the relevant notes from my log and expanded on the last bit. Hope they are interesting, it was definitely an interesting passage. Passage Notes: St. Helena to Brazil Date: 30/6 Time: 0800 Heading:260T Speed:6kt Sky:altocumulus Wind:190T Speed:3kt Baro:1018 Engine:Y/1500rpm Comment: Leaving is always sad, even when you desperately want to go. What a strange and interesting island in the middle of nowhere. As the other cruisers joke, “what a beautiful place, what a shitty anchorage”. We have been here for almost a week anchored in 20 meters of water with the wide open Atlantic at our backs with a steep drop off on the bottom. It wouldn’t take too much anchor drag for the boat to find herself cast off and free to drift to Brazil on her own. The bottom drops to 200 meters deep only 100 meters further from the island and drops to 4000 meters deep only 500 meters away. Needles to say I didn’t get a full nights sleep without at least once in the evening popping up convinced we had dragged only to look…
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3,000 miles later...
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…
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