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 .

Saturday, April 30, 2016

TCHAU BRAZIL .


After two seasons of cruising in Brazil we were ready to move to our next cruising destination which would be the Caribbean . My little wife decided that she was not up for the 2200nm passage to Trinidad so my staunch Brazilian mate Philippe Gouffon who had just retired from the University of Sao Paulo decided to join me . Apart from being an accomplished sailor he has also become a close friend and the two of us looked forward to this sail on Windward our Shearwater 39 .

After flying out of Capetown in the early evening via Joburg l arrived in Sao Paulo at 4.00am in the morning to be greeted by Philippe at the arrivals hall at Guaraulhos Airport . After a couple of days spent in Sao Paulo we flew to Joao Pessoa up in the North East of Brazil to rejoin our boat in Jacare where she had been berthed at Peter's Pier for the four months that we had been back in South Africa . We prepped and provisioned the boat for sailing while taking strain in the intense heat and humidity that even had the locals complaining . There was a lack of the normal steady sea breezes which resulted in these stifling conditions . We discovered a small restaurant in a backstreet in Jacare where the locals all eat who served good wholesome food so cheap that it did not justify getting our plates dirty back on the boat . The main feature of their offering was fresh home-made fruit juices served ice cold in 2lt Coke bottles . After working the entire morning in that heat we would polish off two litres without even blinking .

Philippe being very involved in the Brazilian Cruising Association has many sailing contacts and in no time we had fellow sailors offering to transport us around to the various places we needed to go and to assist us wherever they could . Brazilian hospitality is something to be admired and even after an incident where l suffered a gas burn to my hand a local yachtie took me down to the local Emergency/Trauma Hospital and sat the entire time in the waiting room while the doctors treated my burn and then on the way back to the marina he took us on a tour of the area which included a stop at a pharmacy to pick up dressings and muti for my hand . Amazing people .

This time around I got to meet Brian Stevens, well known amongst cruisers as the GOTO man in Jacare when it comes to sourcing anything related to yachts . Along with fellow South Africans John and Wendy Lochead S/V Headway he invited us to his smallholding for the day where we chilled , swam , played pool and enjoyed a churrasco ( braai ) in typical Brazilian fashion . It turned out to be our farewell party as we sailed soon after for our last Brazilian port of call Natal .

We had been invited to the Natal Yacht Club while in Recife in 2015 and arriving in the early morning we motored up the river to a reserved berth at the club dock . Once again Brazilian hospitality kicked in and friends of Philippe's came to our aid organizing our stay at the club and then escorting us around the city to check in with the authorities and pick up bits and pieces .
After a comfortable stay utilizing the club's facilities we cleared Brazil for the last time and set sail for French Guiana .

Looking back as the Brazilian coastline disappeared over the horizon l thought of all the good times and wonderful people we had met during our two year stint in this beautiful country . Tchau Brazil .




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