Pouso Beach was our first anchorage in Baia da Ilha Grande when we sailed in from Rio , although the night that we arrived we had gale force katabatic winds tearing down the mountain and driving rain to greet us . It was only the next morning that we were able to appreciate its beauty in perfect , calm , sunny weather , a far cry from what we had experienced the night before .
It is now one of our favourite anchorages and is also the start point of the 1,5km trail over the hill to the Atlantic side of the island to Lopes Mendes Beach , considered to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world .
The blinding white sand squeaks when you walk on it and it stretches for miles and we were the only people there until the first schooner arrived at 11.00am with the first load of tourists . We don't mind sharing a special place like this with other people but if you do prefer peace and quiet without another soul around , arrive early or after 16.00 when the last schooner leaves taking everyone back to Abraao .
Lopes Mendes is also well known as a good surf spot and schooners arrive with surfers from all around the world to surf the various breaks and when its working and the tide is right there are some great barrels to be had . I chatted to an old surfer who grew up on the island and he reminisced about the days when he and his mates had Lopes Mendes all to themselves . He now rents boards to the tourists and when he found out that we were from South Africa , he leapt up shouting Jeffery's Bay , Jeffery's Bay while pointing to the hairs standing up on his arms .
Friends of ours back home who cruised this area two years ago , tipped us off about a place at the far end of Lopes Mendes where they had found some very nice mussels.
Good on you Bert , we found them and they are really nice .
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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