30 May 2012 Vitoria
Vitoria is not a cruisers choice place to stay. There is heavy industry on the other side of the bay about 4 miles away and the noise and dirt are ongoing for 24 hours. So we only stayed here 3 days to rest, stock up on fresh veggies and buy more diesel at the marina fuel dock. This new diesel once again had a lot of black rubbery flakes in it that blocks the filter. All cans we filtered we had carefully cleaned and dried out before filling them, so there was no chance of it being from them. So once again all remaining diesel was filtered through fine fabric from one can to another. The marina charges have gone up 300% since last year March our friend Shirley paid 7.- Real per day and now it costs 20.- Real per day per person and that is at anchor outside the marina and far out as it is very shallow. And only using marina shower and dinghy dock and wifi.
Maintenance :The exhaust water pump had started a small leak so I replaced that with a reconditioned unit and then fitted a new seal in the old one. Also one of the batons on the mainsail had jumped out of its pocket and needed some suturing with needle and thread.
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Been the end of May the SW should be coming thru regularly but all we got was NE-N and as the bay in Buzios is open to the NE it became rather uncomfortable so we decided to sail back to Arial do Cabo and hang out there, and explore the village and the city of Cabo Frio on the other side of the peninsula . Every day we down loaded the weather but no front in sight. Then on Friday we saw the SW for Tuesday following , the next day the same sight showed no more SW but all light variable winds for the next 6 days. We left the next morning at first light and after motoring 50 hours non stop with only the main up arrived in Vitoria. This is a big commercial harbor with one Marina in it and only a small anchor place .Today we did some stocking up and went out for a great Sushi Lunch.
Relaxing now around the swimming pool and catching up with e-mails and enjoying a nice cold beer. Tomorrow with a bit of luck the wind should be favorable to move on a bit.
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15 May 2012 Rio to Arial do Cabo.
We left Rio at 4.00 with the main up and no wind. The sea was confused with big holes in it and the sail helped to dampen the motion a bit. Once again the predicted E wind did not come up. From all the motion the Diesel Filter before the pump was getting more and more blocked so that after daylight we had to shut down and put in a spare clean filter. This procedure had to be repeated a couple of times until we decided to suck straight out of Jerry cans. We arrived at Arial do Cabo at about 20.00 and anchored in Ensenada de Forno. The next day as it got light we saw our friends Anna and Johan anchored much deeper in the bay close to the beach. They left soon after for Buzios where we saw them again 2 days later after a very nice slow sail . Buzios is a very touristy place with loads of posada's and lots of shops like one would find on 5th avenue New York. Really very up market and pricy.
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8 May 2012: Copacabana Beach
After doing some scouting around yesterday and shopping we asked information at the mall, which bus to take to Copacabana Beach where upon she told us they have a free shuttle running every 30 minutes. Now that is what Yachties like to hear. So today after the rain clouds cleared up a bit after last night rain we strolled into town. All prepared sun tan lotion , Sarongs ,picnic was a cloudy day not many people around but still a nice outing. The following day was much hotter and more people around but truly over rated much better bods on the beaches in Miami and also a lot cleaner.
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6 May 2012 : SUGAR LOAF. (PAO DE ACUCAR)
Access to the Urca Hill is by the first leg of the cable car, traveling some 575 meters from Praia Vermelha to a height of 220 meters above sea level. The second stage of the Cable Car covers 750 meters to the top of Sugar Loaf at a height of 396 meters. Anchored just below it's the most amazing sight at night. On the other side of the bay located in the Tijuca National Park is the highest Peak of 710 meters. The mountain is crowned by the statue of Christ the Redeemer 30 meters high. Also fully lit at night, up until 2006 you had 220 steps to reach the statues feet. But now they have elevators and escalators with panoramic views .
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30 April 2012-05-09
After a lovely overnight sail with the winds of 10-15 knots, from the aft quarter we entered Guanatana Bay and sailed past the magnificent Fort de Santa Cruz on Starboard and Forte Imbuhy on Port. There is a total of 4 Forts protecting the entrance. We headed over to Club Naval Charitas. Soon after anchoring the weather really closed in with heavy rain and matching breeze. Wasn't that good timing. Needless to say we crashed for the rest of the day and as the following day saw no improvement in the weather the tender still remained on deck. Wednesday the sun was out and so where we bright and early. First checked in with the marina and then caught a bus and Ferry to let the Port Captain know we are here. (The marina insists to see the paper from the Port Captain.) The next couple of days we explored the Niteroi area and the Forts on the Hill. Charitas is a large beautiful marina , with Swimming pool rolling lawns good restaurants and pubs. Wifi and hot showers with endless supply of hot water.
Sunday the 6th we sailed across to Urca, which is at the foot of the sugar loaf. It is a very nice little bay with a small beach where one can leave the tender. From there we could walk to the cable station of the Sugar Loaf. What a fantastic sight.
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