7 July 2012.
Santo Andre. We decided to stay here and celebrate my Birthday.
A bottle of champagne was cracked open with our breakfast of egg tomato and bacon sandwiches, to give us a good days start. Afterwards we walked 3km to the ferry station to catch the ferry across the river to Cabralia. At the local bakery we had coffee and cake as on our first visit to Cabralia. The visit to the market was okay we should have gone earlier. We intended to depart on Monday the 9th. Up bright and early, took one look outside and went back to bed. It was 8-8 overcast with heavy rain and strong winds, gusting 30 knots. After this weather we had a couple days NE, no good to go north, so on the 14 we departed just after low water. The reef exit was uneventful but still had the adrenalin going. We had to motor till lunch time to find the predicted easterly of 12-15 knots, but from then on it stayed with us thru the night.
It was a magic sail with millions of stars out and the last quarter of the moon coming up at 3am. Due to our slow sail from early morning on with lots of rain about and no wind we decided to go into Ilheus as we would not make Itacare in good light. The anchorage was a first very rolly ,but during the night the wind shifted to off shore and pushed the stern into the swell which made it a lot more comfortable.
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Santo Andre.
This is a picturesque village developed along the shore of Joao de Tiba river, near Santa Cruz Cabralia, some 90 miles south of Ilheus. There are some bars and lodges here not much shopping around so going into Cabralia tomorrow. The anchorage is in a channel sheltered from the wind and from the sea. A double line of reefs protects the entrance and a magnificent beach.
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30 June 2012.
We departed at 1500 for an overnight to Santo Andre, what first looked like a wet sail turned out to be quiet a magic sail. None of the threatening black clouds got us. By 3 am we had to slow down to 2 knots as one can only enter at low water to see the Reef. The Joao de Tiba River is only 200 meters wide but the entrance is tricky with only one way point outside then it goes straight for the beach, up the back of the Reef, there one passes about 5 meters from the reef the water is 20 ft deep before one enters the actual river and from there it is 2.5 meters average depth. We are lying in front of some nice houses and a good restaurant. Met two local yachts here, unfortunately they left the same day, but we will meet up again in the next anchorage.
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26 June 2012 Caravelas to Cumuruxatiba
After spending many relaxing days and meals together with Mauricio and friends we are finally ready to leave with so many fond memories of this beautiful river anchorage. On Saturday we had a lovely sail on Sanukstar out to the reefs for fishing and spear fishing Visibility unfortunate not so good, on Sunday we spent most of the day in the comfort of Mauricio house it rained all day and we watched the formula one and I made us all lunch.
26 June 2012 Tender up and motor on bracket, for an early start next day. But in the morning it rained and the wind was very strong so we played games and did lots of reading.
28 June 2012 Departed at 9am with a nice South breeze down River had a good Sail out to the Reef anchorage for the night, to shorten the distance tomorrow. We both jumped in and cleaned the bottom of Snatch, it had a few barnacles to many. Next day up early and on the way to Comuruxatiba arrived at 1500. Tide was still pretty high and difficult to spot the opening in the Reef to head in. We then noticed a fisherman waving frantically with his hat in hand. He passed us on to a friend once we got to him, that had a sailing dinghy and he sailed ahead of us to the anchorage. This was a very touching moment for us. There is no charts for this area and the cruising guide is not very clear with no way points or bearings. The evening was a bit rolly as with most anchorage behind a Reef the swell does come over a bit at high tide.
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15 June 2012 Caravelas
Arrived here on the 9 June in the afternoon and entered the River thru a well buoyed channel. Once inside the River is 30-40 foot deep and approximately 800 meters wide fringed with Mangroves and Palm Trees along the bank. On the way up River the depth comes up pretty quick once going to starboard. Our Max-C chart kit gave us a very good chart of the river,but with all rivers sand banks change and it is always use full to have local knowledge which we got from Mauricio. At present we are about 5 miles up River anchored outside of Sanuk dive centre in 15 ft and 100 meters from the shore. Mauricio and his wife Tiana are very hospitable, he showed us around the place and has invited us to use his wifi and his home . We have been so lucky in having met all these wonderful people in our travels. Yesterday he invited us along with his neighbor who speaks English and Translates for us for a delicious shrimp lunch.
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2 June 2012
We only left at 8am after heavy a shower had passed and had a nice sail hard on the wind until 15.00 when the north east increased to 20+ knots and beating became uncomfortable, so we headed for Barra da Riacho and reached that little harbor just after sunset where we dropped the hook in 18 ft of water. This spot turned out to be a little rolly the next day so we moved behind the harbor wall.
Barra da Riacho is a very small harbor serving the paper factory a little further in land . Small ships and Barges come and go about 2-3 times a day. Going ashore is not possible as it is a port. The Entertainment was had watching the tug boats rotate the ships into the small areas. We decided to just relax, read and play more scrabble or squabble until the nose on Snatch was pointing in a southerly direction .That happened 6 days later when we had a light SSW and we were on our way to Caravelas at last. Light conditions stayed all day with not much more that 8 knots during the night we had some heavy rain showers and they had Bert's name on them as usual.
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