We are pleased to inform you that we were very privileged to attend part of the 2015 Humpback Whale AGM held on the Abrolhos Archipelago recently . The meeting was very well attended with approximately 15000 members travelling up from the Antarctic all behaving in typical humpback fashion of breaching , pectoral fin and tail slapping , spy-hopping and lob-tailing . Judging by the aggressive behaviour of various competitive groups we have no doubt that as a result of this years AGM there will be a substantial increase in the humpback whale population next year .
Jokes aside , l have just made one large tick off my " Must Do " list after experiencing what at times felt like a National Geographic mission .Being part of the annual migration of thousands of humpback whales to breed and give birth to their calves is a unique experience . At times we were surrounded by whales and on a number of occasions l had to quickly alter course to avoid bumping into a whale that has surfaced right in front of us .
It all started out with a tough sail from Vitoria . I tracked the weather for days and the forecast was the same , persistent easterlies 15kns gusting through 20kns plus . So it was close-hauled all the way , non-stop for 170nm with frequent rain squalls creating gusting winds into the high twenties . The problem is that with a forgiving boat like ours we tend to hold full sail through the squalls otherwise you are forever reefing or shaking out reefs as they pass .
Soon out of Vitoria we started seeing whales , plenty of them and the more we headed offshore the real show began with breaching , fin and tail slapping and on one occasion a competitive group that had targeted a female that l had been watching about 100m away appeared just ahead of us charging and parrying with some heavy blowing indicating that the competition was fierce. We had a number of whales cross our ends with one surfacing right next to us . It was peak hour traffic out there .
As it started getting dark the first thought that crossed my mind was that we needed to get through 12 hours of darkness without hitting one of these 40 ton giants , so although we had good boatspeed we started the engine and motorsailed throughout the night so that they could at least hear us coming .
The following day the show continued unabated with one individual giving Urs a demo on breaching less than 100m away while she was on watch .
Mid-afternoon the islands of the Abrolhos Archipelago appeared dead ahead on the horizon and we both looked forward to dropping the pick and getting some rest . We had held one tack the entire passage heeled all the way so it was good to motor into the anchorage that was protected from the east .
The Abrolhos Archipelago located thirty five miles off the coast consists of five islands and an extensive reef system providing an area of rich marine fauna . It is apparently Brazil's largest group of offshore coral reefs and has certain species of brain coral unique to itself . The islands are also a breeding ground for pelagic birds with some endemic species found here . The islands are uninhabited apart from the main island of Ilha de Santa Barbara which has a small group of Brazilian Navy personal and a group of researchers who monitor the cetacean population who visit the archipelago . If my memory serves me right they have four thousand catalogued whales on record .
The following morning while having breakfast on the stoep we were approached by a small inflatable carrying what turned out to be a special young lady .
Daniela Abras who heads up a team of cetacean researchers on the archipelago stepped on board and introduced herself . She is totally obsessed with whales in particular humpbacks and when two adults swam past in our anchorage you would have thought they were the first whales she had ever laid her eyes on . When she realized that we were very interested in her favourite subject we hit it off immiediately and from that moment on she became our personal guide and ensured that our stay on the archipelago would be a memorable one .
She took us on walks explaining in great detail exactly which birds are found on the islands and we visited their roosting sites and because they are not intimidated by man at all , we were able to get really close . She arranged for us to go ashore on Ilha de Santa Barbara to visit the 150 year old lighthouse which still operates today and apparently on a good day can be seen from forty nautical miles away .
We met Berna who has spent 27 years on the archipelago and she is literally a walking encyclopedia when it comes to knowing what exists and goes on here .
They are passionate about the place and they passed on all their expertise freely with us .
We spent hours in our cockpit watching the turtles swimming around us while the birds flew about our anchorage and the magnificient frigate birds roosting on the cliff on Ilha Redonda with their bright red throat pouches all inflated . The white and brown boobies on Ilha Siriba talked all night with the grazinas chirping all day circling our boat . It was magic witnessing nature at its best all to ourselves .
One of the big advantages of having a cruising boat is being able to access these far out places and in this case having your waterhome anchored in the middle of one of Brazil's gems is really special in anyone's book .
We had a whale of a time ( sorry l could not resist that ) and we are definitely richer for this experience .
Allan & Ursula Ward: Port Owen, Cape West Coast, South Africa.
Shearwater 39:
- L.O.A. 43ft (13.22m)
- L.O.D. 39ft (12m)
- L.W.L. 34ft (10.3m)
- BEAM 13ft(3.9m)
- DRAFT 6ft(1.8m)
HOW IT ALL BEGAN .
I placed my order on Nebe Boats on the 19/10/1992 for what was initially planned to be a complete factory built yacht that l would sail home to Durban from Capetown once she was completed. Unfortunately due to the demise of Nebe Boats in the early days of her construction it did not turn out that way, so l decided to truck her home to Ramsgate on the KZN South Coast to finish building her in our garden at home.
For many years we could proudly boast that we had the most expensive piece of garden furniture in town, but at the time l had no idea of how massive this project would turn out to be. As anyone who has built a blue water cruiser will tell you, particularly if she is kitted out with all the systems and the equipment that a modern cruiser has onboard these days, it is a daunting task . Looking at the positive aspects of this project, l know the boat intimately in that l designed and installed the systems, so from a repair and maintenance perspective l have no issues carrying out the work that is necessary from time to time.
The big day arrived on the 29/8/2008 when we craned her out of the garden onto a rig to truck her through to Durban for launching . What followed was three months of preparations to ready her for the maiden voyage to our home port in Port Owen on the Cape West Coast.
We had a fast passage down the South African East Coast including a storm off the notorious Wild Coast and arrived in Port Owen in dense fog. Windward had passed her first test with flying colours and since then we have enjoyed some great sailing on the West Coast.
We had a fast passage down the South African East Coast including a storm off the notorious Wild Coast and arrived in Port Owen in dense fog. Windward had passed her first test with flying colours and since then we have enjoyed some great sailing on the West Coast.
The master plan has always been to go cruising, so our plans are to leave for Brazil via Luderitz and St Helena Island at the end of February 2014. So far everything is on track although the “To Do“ list still grows each day.
The purpose of this blog is to record our adventure for ourselves, family and friends. Although it will probably end up being a brief summary of events while we are cruising, we hope you will enjoy and share some of our experiences with us.
LIVING THE DREAM .
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