We have just enjoyed a magic month of reconnecting with members of our family who flew into Rio to spend time with us onboard Windward .
First to arrive was Rob and Marcelle who flew in from Canada to join us and this being their first experience of living onboard a yacht , l am sure they arrived with a little trepidation of what lay ahead of them for the following two weeks .
After spending a couple of days enjoying the sights of Rio they traveled by bus to meet us in Angra dos Reis where we had Windward waiting to head off to Ilha Grande . It had been so long since we had last spent time together that none of us could remember exactly when it was .
What followed were lots of special moments , plenty of laughter , too much eating and drinking while we introduced them to as many of our favourite anchorages that we could within the two weeks that we had together .
All too soon , it was time to sail for Rio . Our good friend St Bill had arranged a second invitation to the exclusive Rio de Janiero Yacht Club so the plan was to drop off Rob and Marcelle in Rio and pick up our daughter who was flying in from Capetown . We sailed from Paraty for Ilha Grande , overnighting off Pouso Beach and the following morning at daybreak we set off for Rio arriving late afternoon with a stiff south westerly as we entered Guanabara Bay and headed up the the yacht club . We spent a couple of days together in Rio including celebrating Rob's birthday at the yacht club before they headed back home via Miami . After arriving as total novices , they looked completely at home by the time they left and we all enjoyed a great time together .
Two days later our daughter arrived and it was wonderful to see her again . We have really missed our family so the three of us were excited about spending the next two weeks together .
The plan was to spend sometime in Rio together and then wait for the right winds to get us back to Baia da Ilha Grande .
After visiting the famous beaches and the iconic landmarks of Rio we had a glorious sail with a steady 20kn on the beam virtually all the way back . Our boat loves a beam reach and with full sun and warm weather it was heaven . Just the right start to welcome Tam to the islands and the following days were spent visiting anchorages , swimming and taking walks while introducing her to some of the local dishes at the restaurants on the island .
We hired a car and drove down to Trindade as a friend of hers had highly recommended we visit the spot and we were not disappointed . In fact it reminded us of the Kwazulu Natal South Coast which is where we raised our kids .
Once again it was time for Tam to return to SA , so we sailed from Paraty for Angra dos Reis where she caught the bus back to Rio and flew back to Capetown .
Our best holidays as a family have always been on a boat , but what made this one more special is that it was on our boat .
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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Sounds like you guys had fun and you must have been so happy to see Tam
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