14/01/09, Clarkes Court Bay Marina, Grenada
This Cruise Liner was just leaving, but some beautiful boats around....
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14/01/09, Clarkes Court Bay Marina, Grenada
One of the days before I left, the three of us, our friend Barbara, Glyn & myself, got a taxi and did a bit of sightseeing before doing a shop for Glyn. We went to the St Georges Yacht Club and had a lunch and beer. The colours in the water just don't look the same on a photo.........
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14/01/09, Clarkes Court Bay Marina, Grenada
This is some of what we have been dreaming about..........
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12/01/09, Grenada
After 22 days we finally see Grenada. Early morning on the 1st Jan we thought with the wind we had, the boat speed on the log and the miles to cover, we would not make it in before dark but by 10:00 I noticed that the log was showing 4-5 knots but the GPS was showing 6-7 knots over the ground, we decided that we may just make it in so increased our sail plan and got moving at 7-8 knots but with 13 miles to go and the land well in sight, we had to abort and stay out at sea for another night, we docked at 10:00am on the 2nd January.
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Glad to read yous are doing well.
We are back in SA for good, well sort of. I (Brian) arrived in JHB in June 2008 and headed to Zimbabwe for a contract. MMMMmm Yvonne arrived back at the end of October. Due to circumstance in Zim I was pulled off site and the contract ended so back to looking for work, at least we are back in SA. We have been up to Imagine and though she is need of TLC, she is doing fine and it is great to be back on her.
Wishing you both the all the best for 2009 and may the elements be good to you and Pizzazz.
Please keep in touch
Best wishes
Brian & Yvonne
12/01/09, Brazil to Grenada
We were surprised at the amount of traffic we came across being 300 to 400 miles off the coast of Brazil, we even saw 2 tugs towing a Oil Rig past, this was 400 miles off the Amazon.
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12/01/09, Brazil to Grenada
So at least we still had Xmas presents to look forward to......
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12/01/09, Brazil to Grenada
Then on Xmas eve we got one of our worst storms ever. This is where I steered the boat for about an hour, thinking it was just another squall, but eventually I got so exhausted, we decided to hove to, and packed everything in the cockpit inside, we both went below and shut & locked the main hatch. We both sat and watched it for a while but we were both so tired, so we had 1 hour on and one hour off duties. This lasted for over 30 hours, before we saw any signs of it lifting......
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12/01/09, Brazil to Grenada
This sunset was very unusual, it looked unbelievable.....but did it mean something........
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12/01/09, Brazil to Grenada
Then we started getting a breeze again, and sailing with he dodger down, hatches open.....felt great.
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12/01/09, Brazil to Grenada
Yes we did also get some rain while motoring through the doldrums
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12/01/09, Brazil to Grenada
No wind......no swell....just peace and quite
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Is this the calm before the storm? Luv Francois & Mads
12/01/09, Brazil to Grenada
Then we got to the doldrums where there was no wind and we had to do a lot of motoring. It is an unbelievable feeling sitting out at sea, far away from anything, no wind, flat water and no engine......so quite and peaceful....very special, but then when sailing on a schedule........after a few days it can become frustrating.
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12/01/09, Brazil to Grenada
Then we crossed the equator and had to do the ceremony, we made up the necessary attire with cardboard and tin foil....
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12/01/09, Brazil to Grenada
We also had some really great sunsets....and the boat sailing along at a nice speed on flat seas...
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12/01/09, Brazil to Grenada
It was just wonderful sailing....
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12/01/09, Brazil to Grenada
So the first week we had some great sailing, as per the brochure.....
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03/01/09, Clarkes Court Bay Marina, Grenada
Well we have landed safely in Grenada, after a very challeging trip. After thinking this would be our dream leg........it just may be one we want to forget......no not that bad. We started out with 8 days of fantastic sailing, the weather was great, we felt great and Pizzazz was sailing like a dream, we made some good time and thought we were going to arrive much sooner than we had thought, until we got to the Amazon and the doldrums........we had 4 days of no or very little wind, which sounds great, but when sailing to a schedule, it can be very frustrating. We were 420 miles offshore when passing the Amazon, and we went through some very uncomfortable seas, sometimes feeling like river rapids out there, it felt very strange. Then we came to where instead of chasing rainbows...we were dodging and running away from Squalls........On Xmas eve we got hit with a system where thinking it was only another squall, so ran with it for about an hour, with 3 reefs in the main and a foresail smaller than a storm jib, eventually it got too much and we hove to (set sails so boat sat in one place like on anchor) for 30 hours.........we did this again on the 25th for about 4 hours, 26th for 1 hour and 27th for about 3 hours......We had 2 days of nice sailing about 300 mile out of Grenada, and then on our arrival in Grenada on the 2nd January 2009, we were hit with more squalls. On the 1st Jan, we were sailing along at 7-8 knots and made some time up and thought we may make it in before dark....but we had 13 miles to go when we decided to abort our entry, so we hove to again until 4:00 in the morning and then slowly made our way in to our mooring. So we are here and our great friend Barbara, arrived on the ferry from Carriacou the same day, great to have her on board. The weather here has not been great but we are enjoying being here and just relaxing in the cockpit catching up with Barbara. So on Tuesday I return to Angola.
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Hope you had a safe trip and thinking of you. Francois and Mads
09/12/08, Jacare, Brazil
So we arrived back on the boat safely, just had a delay in Sao Paulo, only arrived on the boat at 3:00am Saturday. Well we have worked hard in the heat and we are just about ready to leave. We had planned on checking out with Custums & Immigration on Monday, but it was a holiday here, so we are going in today, Tuesday, and hopefully they are there to complete this. We are hoping to pull up our 2 anchors tomorrow morning at low tide, and then leave about 12:00, when the tide will change and assist us out of the river. So hopefully until the Caribbean, cheers.
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02/12/08, Jacare, Brazil
Well the time has come for us to go and chase some more rainbows, today is my last day of work for another 35 days. I fly to Joburg tomorrow and because we will be missing Christmas in South Africa, we will be having our Christmas on Thursday evening. We fly out to Brazil on Friday morning, arriving on the boat after midnight on Friday night.
We have quite a bit to organise before we can take off, the main thing being checking out with Immigration & Customs, which because we arrive Friday night, we can only check out on Monday. So we hope to be gone by Tuesday but hopefully latest Wednesday.
So depending on the weather and all things going well, we hope do make this trip in between 2-3 weeks. Our destination will depend on the time we take, as if we do it in good time, we want to stop off in Tobago, but if we takes the 3 weeks, then we will be going straight up to Carriacou, where our dear friends, Dave & Barbara, from Kasheter, are expecting us. Then we will have to leave them after New Year to take up our mooring in Grenada, before I return on the 6th January.
So as we prepare for our dream leg, we would like to wish everybody a Merry Christmas, as our next blog should hopefully be from the Caribbean..........
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21/11/08, Jacare, Brazil
This is a pic of Pizzazz before leaving Simonstown....
Well 2 weeks to go for us before we should be back on Pizzazz, and we are really looking forward to this leg of our adventure. Arriving in the Caribbean on our own boat is something we have been working towards for a very long time now. We arrive back on Pizzazz at about midnight on the 5th December, which is a Friday, so will not be able to book out of the Brazil until Monday, so it will give us the weekend to get the few things done before we leave, we would like to be gone by latest the 10th December, but the Customs & Immigration process will be the deciding factor of when we leave, and also the weather. We have loaded with Diesel, so have to load fresh water, last bits of fresh veg & fruit, beers & wine, we also have to clean the hull and prop, which hopefully will be done on the Sunday. We have just short of 2000 miles to cover and are hoping for some good weather and sailing, we hope to be in Tobago for Christmas, but will be tight, if not we will be having our Christmas at sea. We should have some following seas and winds until we cross the equator, which should be around the Amazon, after that we will be getting more north easterly winds and swell, which could be some great sailing, but if the wind and swell picks up, it could be a very wet sail, with swell hitting the starboard side of the boat. Our trip will also be influenced by the doldrums, we are hoping to do this trip in about 15/16 days......but who knows........
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Thinking of you.
Francois & Mads
01/11/08, Argentina
It was magnificent.......
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01/11/08, Argentina
Then we were off to the Iguazu Falls which is something to see. We spent 3 days here at the Sheraton Hotel which is located on the Argentinian side, and within the National Park, which was great as it was all just within walking distance to see it all. We went on a boat ride that took us right into the falls, where you get soaked...but was fun, our trip included a ride down the river and then they dropped us off and then got onto a safari truck and then toured through the thick bush of the National Park.
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01/11/08, Argentina
Our evening out to dinner and Tango show was very enjoyable....including our Tango lesson......
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Looks like we are just behind you!! We look forward to following your blog! Brazil sounds fun.
01/11/08, BA, Argentina
The shopping is unbelievable and the mall's are really something to see.
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01/11/08, Argentina
This used to be the old harbour, the buildings on the left were all warehouses, but now expensive restaurants, but some beautiful yachts around....
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01/11/08, Argentina
Another pic of the buildings in Buenos Aires
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31/10/08, Jacare, Brazil
So after a "milk run" flight to Buenos Aires, meaning "Fair winds", stopping in Salvador and Rio, we arrived at our hotel at about 3:00am...after leaving the boat at 10:00am the previous day. Travelling through Buenos Aires at 3:00 in the moning did not give us a good first impression of the place but were pleasantly surprised when we eventually left our hotel later that day. It is a beautiful city and the more we saw the more we wanted to see. The shopping was unbelievable, the quality of goods was just great, the buildings are very european with a lot of history. The best of all were the steaks......their steaks they serve in any restaurant was excellent, actually unbelievable. We did a city tour and then one evening went on an evening out for dinner and a Tango show, which was great. We were collected for the show from the hotel, then when arriving at the location, we were taken into a dancing studio, which we thought was strange, only to find out that before dinner or the show, we were to have a tango dancing lesson!!!! we thought we were in the wrong place....but after the lesson, for about an hour, we were issued with a certificate to prove we had done a Tango dancing lesson.......so we had a great time, the show was also excellent.
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31/10/08, Jacare, Brazil
So thanks for all the comments made, always nice to get some feedback. So we arrived on Pizzazz after mid night and all was well with Pizzazz, except for the big Cat next to us that had rubbed on Pizzazz's gelcoat again.......but glad to be there. We had a very social time there as got to spend a lot more time with other cruises, so had another party on Pizzazz, inviting all our mates and others, we had braai's at the Marina club house, where we had goat for the first time, we enjoy beef much better. We then got down to a few projects on Pizzazz in preparation for her next leg to the Caribbean in December, so she is ready to leave except for last minute fresh water, veg & fruit and a last cleaning of Pizzazz's bottom. The growth on the bottom of the boat is unbelievable. So after breakfast with our neighbours on the day of our departure to Argentina, we caught our taxi to Recife airport.
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27/09/08, Jacare, Brazil
Well an update on our plans until the end of the year. Pizzazz is still moored up the river in Jacare, we have booked our mooring in the Caribbean for next year. The pic above is where we will be leaving Pizzazz, the marina is Clarkes Court Bay Marina. It is situated on the southern coast of Grenada. We have booked a place until the end of June and then we are not sure where we will be taking Pizzazz for the next huricane season, from the end of June till the end of November, we will make up our minds when we get to Grenada.
The trip from where we are in Jacare Brazil to Tobago is roughly 2000 miles. We will be leaving Jacare about the 8/9th December and hope to get to Tobago for Christmas, then stay there for a few days and then get to Clarkes Court Bay Marina for New Year.
On the 2nd October, I am leaving Angola again and the 3rd we are flying back to Pizzazz, where we will be preparing her for the next leg. We are also visiting Argentina for a week, on the way back to Jo'burg, we return to Jo'burg on the 28th October.
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Have a safe trip back and enjoy Argentina (and also the work on Pizzazz)
Missing you lots
10/09/08, Buzios, Brazil
Then all good things have to come to an end, so I am now back in Angola, Glyn in Benoni, South Africa until the 2nd October when our next adventure will take place.
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We are really looking forward to starting the journey as well.
Thinkung of you guys lots
Francois & mads
Benoni rocks!!!
Benoni rocks!!!
10/09/08, Buzios, Brazil
Buzios has many bay's with many great beaches. On this beach, just where the water laps up onto the beach, it was like somebody had dropped gold dust, we could not believe it, we tried taking photo's of it but it was for our eyes only..
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10/09/08, Buzios, Brazil
The village of Buzios is all just like this photo, lots of bars, restaurants and curio shops. Live bands play at night in most places and our last night we were out until 3:00am and our transfer vehicle to the airport, arrived at 7:30am, it was great though so had to catch up with sleep on the way to the airport.
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10/09/08, Buzios, Brazil
We could not believe our luck with the choice of hotel and room. We got a glass of champagne on arrival and were given 15 minutes of free massage...In the room when we arrived and after cleaning each day, they sprinkled flowers on the bed and in the toilet!!! The service was great, we had a fab time here, we were sorry it was just too short...
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10/09/08, Buzios, Brazil
After spending 7 days in Rio, we transfered to another hotel in Buzios for 2 nights, which was about 2 hours drive north of Rio and what a wonderful place this was. The hotel was just outstanding and as for the views from our hotel room......
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10/09/08, Rio, Brazil
There are some very cleverly done Sand Castle creations, but this one had so much detail.....
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10/09/08, Rio, Brazil
Another shot from above....
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10/09/08, Rio, Brazil
Reaching the top of Sugar Loaf is actually done in two stages. The first car ascends over 700 feet up Urca Hill affording marvelous views of Corcovado Mountain, the Niteroi Bridge and Guanabara Bay. Transferring to a second car then elevates you an additional 1300 feet to the top where spectacular views of Copacabana and other beaches can be admired. It is breathtaking........
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10/09/08, Rio, Brazil
One afternoon we went on a City tour and a visit to the Sugar Loaf mountain, which also had some beautiful views
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08/09/08, Rio, Brazil
This is a typical shot of the Copacabana beach front area. The paving pattern is typical only for the Copacabana Beach, where it can be seen on T-shirts.
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08/09/08, Rio, Brazil
So here is the famous statue from close up...
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08/09/08, Rio, Brazil
This is a view of the yacht club and anchorage from the statue of Christ, including Sugar Loaf.
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08/09/08, Rio, Brazil
This is a view of the Copacabana beach area, from the statue of Christ. To get there we travelled by train through the largest city forest, the Corcavado National Park. The view from the statue of Christ above the city of Rio de Janeiro is world famous. The 710 meter mountain of Corcovado is crowned by the statue of Christ the Redeemer, which is 30 meters high and has a 8 meter pedestal with a chapel in honor of the Lady of Aparecida, patron Saint of Brazil.
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08/09/08, Rio, Brazil
The views from here were stunning.......
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08/09/08, Rio, Brazil
Again, Copacabana beach front, with the statue of Christ in the back ground.....if you can see it.
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08/09/08, Rio, Brazil
Here is the famous Copacabana Beach in Brazil with Sugar Loaf in the back ground.
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08/09/08, Jacare, Brazil
Here Pizzazz rests on her mooring on washing day...
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08/09/08, Jacare, Brazil
This is the main street of our fishing village Jacare. At the end of this street, we can catch either the train to Cabedelo or Joao Passoa, or we catch the FREE bus to Intermares to do our shopping or to go to the beach.
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08/09/08, Jacare, Brazil
This is the place we had lunch at...prawns, oysters and batata fritas (french fries)...and beer.
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08/09/08, Jacare, Brazil
On our sail to Porto Velho, we passed this Bus Ferry, where they have installed a bus, without the wheels and chassis, onto a boat. They have a few of these Ferries operating on the river.
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08/09/08, Jacare, Brazil
We were invited by Tom, an American friend, for a 2 hour sail down the river, to a place called Porto Velho, where we anchored off and had a lunch. This is a picture of Pizzazz on her mooring as we sailed past.
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