Week5: 10-17 February 2012
Friday the 17th and as this was our last Friday at sea and conditions where like on a calm day in St Helena Bay we had a little celebration to a very good trip. Thank you Robin for the Birnen Schnapps, we had a few and chassed them with Black Label. The Gulash Dinner was a bit later than usual that evening.
We passed Cabo Frio in the morning of the 19th in calm conditions with a 15 k NE. Just as the light faded we where off Rio,what a beautiful sight from a few miles out. At 4.00 the wind left us and we had to motor the last few hours into Ensenada das Palmas on Ilha Grande. The hook was down at 11.30 and then Jan did his liquid sandwiches again, cheers!
Brazil was still in the carnival holiday mode and the tourist schooners brought hundreds of tourists to the island. It's a magic palm fringed beach here with tropical vegetation completely covering the steep hills around the bay in a kaleidoscope of many different greens and flowering mauve orange and yellow trees. We mainly just sat on the boat and took all the sights in like a sponge that had not seen water in weeks. The Party that night on Snatch was great and thanks to Robin again, we killed that bugger and many more Black Labels too. Next day was a holiday for us, just chilling and Graeme was in his element he had reception on his I phone. Work would start the next day cleaning the boat top and under water side, where millions of goose barnackles had hitched a ride from mid Atlantic.
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Comments [3]
Week4: 3-10 February 2012
We made some good mileage for a few days with the SE 15-20 knots all day and night. On the 5th and for the next three days the wind got very light the sea calm, and we could catch up with peaceful sleep. Almost like sleeping in the marina. We put the Genneker up on the 7th and doing 2.5-3 knots in 10 knots wind. Graham said it would last for 4 days at least. For the night we went back to the LLG and Genoa both poled out. Our watch keeping with 2 1/2 hrs on and 5 off worked well as it made the time change by 1 hour every day and made for a change in our routine. As I was the chef on board I can only tell from the comments of my crew that the food was very tasty and good. Graeme did all the Tuna Searing also made some stews and helped with the chopping of onions and veggies. Jan had to do some extra watch keeping while I was cooking or baking or talking on the radio twice a day and as he was sleeping in the radio shack he was often disturbed when I was trying to do e-mails which only worked at night. Graeme in the meantime was suffering from a bad tooth ache he went to the dentist in St Helena who made it better for a week but then the swelling and pain came back after a week. When his antibiotic was finished and still no improvement we found some anti inflammatory pills in my first aid box that worked like magic.
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By the end of the 25.1 we had to slow down a bit as I did not want to arrive in St. Helena in darkness. We dropped the hook at 7.45 am on the 26.1 close to Ocean Maiden. To celebrate Jan poured us a Rum and Coke sandwich for breakfast. St Helena has gone rather expensive since the last time. For a large cabbage they wanted Rand 56.-
We did the famous steps in the early morning of the next day and had lunch after wards at the hotel. We celebrated Jan's Birthday at Ann's with a great Steak dinner and afterwards found a Club on the waterfront, more drinks and couple of games of pool with some local guy's. We stayed 5 days on the island and left in the late afternoon of 30 Jan. Every day we had very good communication with Graham from SA Maritime Ham Net and he always gave us good weather forecasts for the next five days. As far a fishing went, we were getting desperate as the tuna was getting low. We had lots of frozen meals still in the freezer but we all just love fish. So we left the lines out at night as well and caught a Scabbard fish. Looks like a long skinny snoek, black in colour, 1 1/2 meter long and has a big head with huge teeth. They live in the deep and come to the surface at night to feed. They have as many bones as a snoek, the flesh is white and tastes lovely. We caught 5 of them on our way to Brazil.
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Week2: 17-24 January 2012
Week 2 started with some strong winds during the night but quickly turned to very light for the next few days. We used 2 headsails poled out and managed 3.5- 4 knots in 10 knots of wind. On the 20th the sun came out for the first time after 3 days of overcast and drizzle and the next day the wind was back to 25 and a black cloud gave us a fright in a moonless night. All hands on deck at 4am to get the loose luff Genoa down in 30 knots of wind. Later in the morning we used the staysail poled out on the main boom and that could stay out 24/7 as we could control stronger winds by rolling away the poled out Genoa. We are averaging 5.5 -6 knots and St Helena is getting close now.
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Week1: 10-17 January 2012
After a very nice fare well party at Jan and Inge's place on the evening of the 9th we left on the tide at 06.30 in the am. On the way down river our wives and friends waved from the Jetty's along the river as we rushed by. The first 24 hrs where rather rough, 25 - 30 knots from the SW and not having been in the deep blue for years, took it's toll. Jan and yours truly where a little green around the gills. Graeme the cheat had taken some pills and was 100%. The frozen meals from Michelle and Toni came in handy in these rough first few days. Then we had NW for more than a day and that affected our daily distance. On the 4th day at last the wind turned to S and then SE. 15-20 and we did some good mileage. On the 15thT we hooked an 18kg Long Fin Tuna and that was the high light of the trip. Fresh Sushi for weeks to come. Our Radio contact with Graham from the SA Maritime Net worked excellent and we had daily weather update. Thank you Graham and Sam.
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Hi All just to let you know Michelle has arrived on board Snatch and will be updating our blog soon . Have to read thru Bert log book Port Owen to Brazil and will put some nice things in and photos.love from us both
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