Last time I rounded Cabo Sao Tome and Cabo Frio, I was headed south, and I was riding a gale, seeing the biggest winds and seas on the whole trip. It was very quick in this neighborhood, but I was holding on for dear life.

This time I am headed north, and last night saw gentle seas and a light west wind for beam reaching under a carpet of stars. It was lovely!  Not as quick, sure, but not so stressful, either.

So far, I am very pleased with my progress, having averaged 7.1 knots for the entire first week. This is faster than I expected, so it’s time in the bank.

I didn’t really think about it till it happened, but when I spotted Cabo Frio on the horizon yesterday afternoon, it was the first land I had seen in 6 days. So no more open ocean bliss and relaxation for me, at least not for now. Now I am back with the fishing boats and buoys and traffic. But all that activity does pass the time better.

At the moment I am heading towards Vitoria, where I expect to arrive this evening. If the weather forecast looks disagreeable to my north, I will stay there and try to get my primary autopilot fixed. I tried, and bled all the lines and everything else I know how to do, but to no avail. I am thinking it may be the solenoid or pass through valve.

If the weather forecast looks like I can keep going north for a few days, then I won’t stop, with a goal of making it to Salvador, perhaps on Sunday, and stopping there for the repair. I would prefer to have both pilots working before running 3000 miles in the trades. I’m not on a schedule, and have made good time, so a day or two layover (and repairs, and rest, and maybe a restaurant meal) won’t hurt me a bit.

You’ll know tomorrow morning which option I chose.

Happy first day of spring/autumn!

3/21  8am   21.39S  40.34W    1324nm gone,  4079nm to go.

It’s been exciting times since yesterday morning!

In the afternoon, I passed a massive offshore drilling operation. This was some 180 miles off the coast, in water 7000 feet deep. 4 massive platforms and a huge floating refinery were at work, and a super-duper-tanker (bigger than your ordinary super-tanker) was idling nearby to receive the product and ferry it to a shore terminal. This was one of those ginormous boats that is too big to go through the Panama Canal. Its one thing to see it in pictures, quite another to sail by…

Good progress was made through the day and night, and this morning I crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, meaning I am officially back in the tropics. Woohoo!

About 5:30am, while waiting for the sunrise, a solitary dolphin swam behind the boat, just a few back and forths, then he was gone. I thought about dolphins being Neptune’s messengers, and then the dreaded “Autopilot Drive Failure” alarm started going off. Yikes!  At first I thought that darn Neptune sent a dolphin with bad news. Then I thought better, and realized it happened when I was sitting right next to it, in relatively benign conditions, and at the start of daylight. Had I been sleeping, or busy below, in wilder conditions, the boat could have crash jibed and spun out of control, so I guess I wont curse Neptune more than normal.

I first found hydraulic fluid under the drive ram, and thought a seal had blown, similar to what happened about 8 months ago. But on closer inspection, it seems the end cap on the ram had unscrewed itself somehow, just enough to lose the seal. I tightened things back up and refilled the reservoir, but it’s still a no-go. I think I may need to bleed the system, and the drive motor may have blown a fuse somewhere, as it is non-responsive. Anyway, I’ve more work to do on that, and hopefully I can solve it.

I am currently running with the back-up autopilot, (I am sooo glad I installed that), but it’s not as robust, and likely not up to handling the entire journey. So if I can’t fix things myself, I may make a brief pit-stop somewhere, and partake of some more Brazilian hospitality.

3/20  8am   23.47S  41.51W   1162nm gone,  4231nm to go.

Yesterday was Sunday, and as it was such a pleasant day it was perfect for cleaning and chores, both for myself and the boat. Good progress was made throughout the day, continuing to beam reach to the northeast.

For my Sunday dinner, I broke out a can of Brazilian stew, which was interesting and tasty. Sort of a Brazil Cassoulet, with sausage chunks and pig parts and beans in a thick sauce. A nice break from my regular fare.

So far, my route has been working out nearly perfectly, as there are now NW winds below me, while I have enjoyed SE winds. That luck may be changing a bit, as I look ahead to the next hurdle.

I should pass Cabo Frio Wednesday morning sometime, likely very close to shore, as a pesky low just offshore prohibits my going that way. That’s just north of Rio de Janeiro, and officially in the tropics.

The next leg is the quest to reach the SE Trade winds, a reliable breeze that starts at the bottom of South Africa and flows to the NW, passing the bog corner of Brazil, then merging with the Easterly trade winds that flow through the Caribbean. Basically, I will ride these “trades” for about 3000 miles, all the way to Panama. So I will be very happy to get to them.

And that’s the next hurdle, as they are still some 500-600 miles north from Cabo Frio. And the forecast for the next 7 days calls for north winds along the coast the whole time- right on my nose, and making things unpleasant.

So, I may do another end-around. Similar to this last leg, instead of taking 3 steps forward and one step right, I will take one step right, and then 3 steps forward. This would have me reaching East in the North winds for a few days, then tacking to the N-NW as winds allow, and reaching up the coast, as the offshore winds have more East in them.

Things can change, and the forecasts aren’t always right, so we’ll see what Wednesday brings, and make the call then.

3/19 8am  26.31S  43.04W   985nm gone,  4402nm to go.

/p

I am living again in blue circles. The sky above me, the horizon around me, the ocean below me, everything is blue and in every direction, uninterrupted. So its like being in a big blue circle.

Fortunately, I happen to like it. It means all is well, weather is good, etc. Surprisingly, though, I have not seen another ship of any kind early Thursday, when a tanker and a bulk carrier crossed my horizon many miles away. Since then, nothing.

It is very relaxing this way, off the continental shelf, so no worries about fishing boats or nets or rocks or other hazards. But that also means there are no fishing boats or rocks or coastline to look at, either. It can be a tough choice. But the weather decided this route for me, really.

My weather strategy and choice of sailing 200 miles offshore seems to have been a good one. Looking at the weather this morning, I have E-SE wind, a calm sea for my beam reach, sunny warm days and starry warm nights.

Along the coast, however, its a different story. There is weak high pressure between me and the coast, so there it is blowing 15 -20 knots from the NE. And that means I would be pounding directly into the wind and waves, slamming the boat and probably looking for the nearest anchorage to hide in while waiting for better weather.

So, I am a happy boy for now.

3/18 8am 29.00S 44.39W 807nm gone, 4575nm to go (to Panama)

–Every once in a while I am rewarded for a good habit. But I don’t have many, so the rewards don’t come often. Anyway, one of my habits during a passage is my daily random walk. Basically I wander around the boat looking at things. Examining fittings, looking under floorboards, at the engine, mast, whatever. Is it a random exercise, designed to find things I might normally miss.

Yesterday I caught a good one. The bolt holding the boom to the gooseneck had worked itself loose, and the nut was hanging on by only a few threads. If this had let go, the boom would no longer be attached to the mast, and likely boom, mast and sail damage would result. So I was very happy to have noticed it and fixed it.

The day was so nice and sunny and pleasant, with light beam winds and an easy following sea, I put the spinnaker up, then decided to sit on the back porch and dangle my feet in the water for a while. I was surprised at how warm the water is! I thought I would have to get a bit farther north to find warm water, but its already a nice 75 degrees. So if I get another hour of no wind sometime, I’m going swimming.

3/17  8am   30.44S   46.59W   648nm gone,  4726nm to go

It always seems to take a few days. Getting my sea legs back, getting into the rhythm of sailing around the clock, the routines of life aboard. But I seem to be there, as I am resting better, feeling better, and my body clock is adjusting to the new reality. So that’s a good thing.

Yesterday saw continuing south wind until evening, then it died completely for an hour, then filled in from the east, making for a nice beam reach. So far, it’s been pretty much as forecast, and I am making good progress. Hopefully the next 4 days will continue good and I will get around Cabo Frio without incident.

This morning dawned feeling and looking tropical, although I am still some 600 miles south of the tropic of Capricorn. But I guess it is still summer here, so it should be nice. I am particularly enjoying the clear blue sea, after many months of brown water in the Rio de la Plata.

3/16  8am  32.16S  49.23W   491nm gone    4875nm to go

Conditions have moderated, thankfully, from the bumpy lumpy rocky and rolly stuff I had yesterday. I made good progress though, covering 204 miles for the day, it just wasn’t that comfy of a ride.

The wind and seas both eased a bit over night, and I am now enjoying a sunny day with 12-18 knots of following breeze. The seas are still 6 to 8 feet, but are now rounder and farther apart, so it’s fine.

The coast of southern Brazil goes up and then over, but my plan is go over first, then up. I am using the south winds while I can, hopefully for another day or so, and then I expect a new high to form nearby, and I want it between me and the coast, which is why I am heading offshore. Highs rotate counter-clockwise here, so having it on my left gives me the good wind. Hopefully I get it right!

3/15  8am  33.48S  51.49W   330nm gone 5024nm to go (to Panama Canal)

My first night underway, and I didn’t sleep much at all. Too many hazards and too much traffic on the river. I am looking forward to some open ocean. Good progress though, as the wind filled in as expected, and is now from the south. Another few hours of sailing east and I should pass Punta Del Este, and can head a bit more north and take better advantage of the wind.

One plus to the wind is that is has gotten rid of most of the insects that had stowed away. I picked up an incredible variety of winged creatures, including moths, butterflies, wasps, several varieties of beetles and regular flies, and some I had no idea what they were. They all seemed very happy to ride along with me last night, but when the wind came I shooed them about and they went on their way.

It got cold last night, all the way down to 72. I guess this is the last week of summer here, so a good time to head north.

3/14 8am  35.00S  55.28W