Windward Voyage: August 2015

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.

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 .

Friday, August 28, 2015

BAIA DE CAMAMU .

THE CHURCH IN CAMAMU .
NOTE THE BLACK VULTURE PERCHED ON THE CROSS DRYING OUT AFTER A SUDDEN DOWNPOUR .

CAMAMU TOWN .
LOCATED ON THE BANKS OF THE CAMAMU RIVER .

FAMILY TRANSPORT . NOTE THE CHILD SEAT .
A COMMON SIGHT IN BRAZIL ALTHOUGH THE TRANSPORT IS USUALLY A BICYCLE WITH MULTIPLE PASSENGERS .

OUR ANCHORAGE BETWEEN ILHA DO SAPINHO AND ILHA DO GOIO .

HEADING OFF TO FIND THE WATERHOLE ON ILHA DO GOIO .

THE ISLANDERS ARE VERY HOUSE PROUD WITH THEIR LITTLE HOMES AS NEAT AS A PIN .

WITH WICKER WASTE BASKETS MOUNTED ON POLES AND TREES THE ISLANDS ARE TOTALLY LITTER FREE .

WE ENJOYED SOME TASTY CRAB DISHES AT THIS RESTAURANT .

BARRA GRANDE ON THE POINT AT SPRING LOW TIDE .

EXTENSIVE FISH TRAPS SEEN ALL OVER THE BAY AND UP RIVER .

BARRA GRANDE VILLAGE . THIS ARTIST LEFT THEIR WORKS ON MANY WALLS .

THE VILLAGE ON ILHA DO SAPINHO .

ILHA DO GOIO .

Thursday, August 20, 2015

A HISTORY LESSON IN ILHEUS .

With the wind on the beam blowing a steady 16kn occasionally gusting into the late teens we had a dream sail to Ilheus arriving just after sunrise . We were welcomed by a prawn boat crew who kindly pointed out the Ilheus Yacht Club mooring buoys and suggested we use them as against anchoring in amongst their fleet . It turned out to be great advice .

We were not really expecting much from Ilheus probably because most of what we had heard about the place was the rock & roll anchorage and how exposed it was to the swell and how uncomfortable it can get . If it got out of hand we were ready to sail at short notice .What a pleasant surprise our visit turned out to be .

First of all upon meeting the commodore of the Ilheus Yacht Club , he welcomed us through an interpreter telling us that we had full use of the club's facilities free of charge and that we must make ourselves at home . Secondly , they have an excellent restaurant serving great meals everyday except Mondays. We met some interesting people at the club including a cacao farmer who immiediately invited us out to his farm for a visit . What a fascinating story that turned out to be when we discovered that he had a museum on the farm with the entire history of the cacau ( cocoa ) story and how it evolved to where it is today . Their farm Fazenda Primavera is now 200 years old and has seen seven generations of his family . After giving us a tour of the farm on a horse and cart he told us the story of how the super wealthy cacau farmers were brought to their knees by a disease which wiped out their plantations . This disease a fungus known as Vassoura de Bruxa was secretly introduced to the area with the sole intention of destroying their industry and the power that these cacau coronals wielded in the land . This event ended an era of great fortunes .

As you will notice by the pics we took of the city , Urs and l have a thing about old and beautiful buildings and Ilheus has no shortage of them . We were fortunate in that virtually all of them we were able to enter and marvel at their interiors as well . We were even introduced to the Mother Superior ( the lady in charge ) at the magnificent convent on the hill Igreja Nossa Senhora da Piedade. We learnt all about the goings on that took place at the Bataclan during the golden years of the cacau industry . In its heyday this cabaret club/casino/brothel was frequented by cacau coronals along with the wealthy and influential men of Southern Bahia and if you have a rampant imagination like mine you can still feel their presence today .

We got to know Jorge Armado one of Brazil's best known 20th-century writers who spent his childhood here and many of his world famous novels are based on places in and around Ilheus . His stories bring to life the " golden age " of the region when cacau ( cocoa ) production was so prosperous that it was often referred to as " black gold ". We visited his home and a number of his favourite haunts in the city .

Eventually the rock & roll anchorage got the better of us and we set sail for the peace and quiet of Camamu Bay .

THE INTERESTING CITY OF ILHEUS .

SAILING TO ILHEUS . THE NIGHT SKIES ARE SOMETHING SPECIAL .

THE MUNICIPAL LIBRARY .
WHAT WAS STRANGE IS THAT THERE IS A MALE AND A FEMALE WING TO THE BUILDING .

THE PINK BUILDING . ( SORRY , THAT'S THE BEST I CAN DO ).

SAO JORGE DOS ILHEUS , THE OLDEST CHURCH IN THE CITY . INAUGURATED IN 1556

CATHEDRAL DE SAO SEBASTIAO .

URS POSING WITH ONE OF BRAZIL'S MOST FAMOUS WRITERS JORGE ARMADO OUTSIDE HIS HOME.

KING NEPTUNE LOOKING OUT OVER THE ROCK & ROLL ANCHORAGE IN FRONT OF THE ILHEUS YACHT CLUB .

THE OWNER OF THIS 200 YEAR OLD CACAU FARM .
THAT'S US BEING TAKEN ON A PRIVATE TOUR ON A HORSE AND CART .

MAGNIFICENT BUILDING . THE CONVENT .
IGREJA NOSSA SENHORA DA PIEDADE .

THE BATACLAN . CABARET CLUB/CASINO/BROTHEL .
DURING THE GOLDEN YEARS OF THE CACAU TRADE THE CACAU CORONALS , WEALTHY AND INFLUENTIAL MEN WOULD MEET HERE .

THE BATACLAN . IF THESE FOUR WALLS COULD TALK .

STATUE OF CHRIST OVERLOOKING THE ENTRANCE TO THE OLD HARBOUR .

INSIDE VIEW OF THE CATHEDRAL .

WE BUMPED INTO JORGE OUTSIDE THE VESUVIOUS RESTAURANT , ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE HAUNTS .

THE VIEW FROM JORGE'S STUDY WHERE HE WROTE HIS NOVELS .
NOW WE KNOW WHERE HE FOUND HIS INSPIRATION .

THE PARANAGUA PALACE .
BUILT ON TOP OF A TUPY INDIAN CEMETERY , CURRENTLY IN USE AS THE CITY COUNCIL OFFICES .

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

SANTO ANDRE . A LITTLE PIECE OF PARADISE .

Before sailing to Brazil , good friends of ours who have cruised this coast made numerous notes and comments on various anchorages and ports in our cruising guide . Alongside Santo Andre their comment was " A must " so we were looking forward to visiting this spot . We were needing to catch up on some boat projects , some overdue admin and after the Brazilian Navy on the Abrolhos Archipelago had kindly informed us that all the authorities were available in Porto Seguro it was the perfect place to renew our visas . We also felt like chilling for a while , as my little wife calls it " centering ourselves ".

Santo Andre turned out to be the perfect place with the calmest of anchorages on the beautiful Rio Joao de Tiba opposite a forest of mangroves . This laid back village located on the banks of the river is also the place where the current world champions , the German soccer team based themselves for a number of months prior to winning the World Cup . Along the beach opposite the tricky entrance to the river are some very upmarket resorts and it was here that the Germans prepared themselves for what turned out to be a very successful campaign .

We anchored upriver from the well known Gaivota Restaurant owned by Anna and her husband Aloisio , wonderful hosts who soon made us feel very welcome even inviting us to join their family and friends to celebrate Anna's birthday with a big churrasco ( braai ). Our daily routine ended each day with a hot shower and evening meal with caipirinhas in their restaurant with a beautiful view over the river .

The nearest town is Santa Cruz Cabralia which is close to the spot where the Portuguese explorer Pedro Cabral first stepped onto Brazilian soil in 1500 . We explored the old historic town with its very conspicuous church high up on the hill overlooking the sea , the first building that we could identify when we sailed in from offshore . The ferry that connects these towns really fascinated me with the way in which the drive unit ( tug ) pivots from its bow , swinging through 180 degrees when it turns to head back . Two ferries run simultaneously passing each other midway along the river every half hour . They are the life blood of these communities and there is no other way to cross these rivers apart from in a boat . The captains driving these very ungainly craft are highly skilled operators as they have to deal with lots of current and when the ferries are fully ladened with trucks , cars and you name it , winding your way around tight bends and timing your turns takes years of practise . One quite bizarre incident that happened on one of our ferry trips involved an ambulance . While waiting on the ferry to leave we heard a siren wailing on route to the ferry landing . This ambulance arrived and drove onto the ferry . The driver switched off his siren and stepped out of the vehicle as the rules stipulate that no-one can remain in their car while on the ferry . Walking past the ambulance l noticed two patients lying in the back . As soon as the ferry had docked at the other end the driver hopped back into the ambulance switched on his siren and took off like a bullet down the road . Hopefully these patients ailments were not life threatening .

Anna had offered to take us to Porto Seguro to renew our visas . We spent the day with her , most of the morning in a meditation centre , my first experience on how to meditate . We then had lunch at a really nice per kilo restaurant near the famous Passarela do Alcool ( Booze Walkway ) which apparently parties all night .

After sixteen days in Santo Andre and having made a substantial contribution to Anna and Aloisio's retirement fund we sailed for Ilheus which lay 108nm up the coast .

Apart from putting on a few kilos we felt totally relaxed and ready to continue with our adventure .

Thursday, August 6, 2015

SANTO ANDRE' , SANTA CRUZ CABRALIA , PORTO SEGURO .

SANTO ANDRE .
ANCHORED IN THE RIO JOAO DE TIBA .

ON THE FERRY TO SANTO ANDRE .
TWO PATIENTS LAY PATIENTLY IN THE BACK OF THIS AMBULANCE . HOPEFULLY THEIR AILMENTS WERE MINOR .

UPMARKET RESORT IN SANTO ANDRE .

BEAUTIFUL RIVER SETTING IN FRONT OF GAIVOTA RESTAURANTE .

ANCHORED UPRIVER FROM THE GAIVOTA RESTAURANTE .

PASSARELA DO ALCOOL IN PORTO SEGURO . TRANSLATES TO BOOZE WALKWAY .
DEAD DURING THE DAY , PUMPS AT NIGHT .

THE JUICE MAN .
WE HAD A ICE COLD GINGER/LIME/SUGARCANE DRINK IN A BAG . SUPER REFRESHING .

THE FIRST PORTUGUESE EXPLORER TO STEP ON BRAZILIAN SOIL IN 1500 .
PEDRO CABRAL MADE LANDFALL CLOSE TO THIS POINT .

BOAT REPAIRS ALL HAPPEN AT LOW TIDE .

THE OLD HISTORIC TOWN OF SANTA CRUZ CABRALIA .

THE LIFE BLOOD OF THESE COMMUNITIES , THE ALL IMPORTANT FERRY .

MATRIX NOSSA SENHORA DA CONCEICAO .
THE CHURCH SITS HIGH UP ON THE HILL OVERLOOKING THE SEA .

RUINA DESCONHECIDA .

THE FERRY CAPTAINS ARE HIGHLY SKILLED HAVING TO DEAL WITH LOTS OF CURRENT IN THE RIVER .

WONDERFUL HOSTS ALOISIO & ANNA , THE OWNERS OF THE GAIVOTA RESTAURANTE.