Sunday, a day of worship? For many it is. Which got me to thinking about the Egyptians, and their worship of the sun god Ra. And then I thought about how every day out here, not just Sunday, I make a point of watching the sunrise and the sunset. It’s pretty, and I like the colors and variety, and the way the light changes, and how it marks time for me on my daily routine. Paying tribute twice a day? Kinda sounds like worship…

Another big score for my random walks this morning. Up near the bow, I found a black washer on deck. Hmmm. okay, a more thorough look around. Ah ha! about 20 feet back, wedged behind a stanchion, is a bolt. That means I must have a screw loose. Well, you already knew that, but now the boat has a screw loose somewhere, too. Based on the size of the nut, it didn’t take long to figure out it came from the forestay assembly under the jib furler.

I am amazed on several levels. First, that I found the parts, and they hadn’t washed overboard. Second, that a bolt and nut is used anywhere on the forestay assembly, as opposed to more secure kotter pins. Third, that this thing somehow worked itself loose. I guess running downwind the pressure comes off the forestay, and repeated pitching could cause the forestay to slacken going forward, then tighten coming back, essentially unscrewing something micron by micron. One more thing to pay attention to, I guess…

I am happily back in better winds and seas, and making good progress again. With luck, another 4 or 5 days may see me reach the SE trade winds, stop going east, and start to turn the big corner of Brazil.

3/26  8am   15.25S  38.52W   1748nm gone,  3700nm to go

That’s what happened yesterday. There were just too many isobar lines in one place. And that place was right where I happened to be. Instead of the 15 knots forecast, I saw a steady 25 knots with gusts to 30, right on my nose, for about 18 hours. So I didn’t make a lot of progress, but I kept the boat moving. And today dawned much milder, so life is good again.

Vitoria, where I had stopped briefly, claims to be the second largest ore port in the world. I guess they must have piles of it everywhere, and when the wind blows, the whole town gets covered, including boats in the marina.

All day yesterday I kept tracking black footprints everywhere, and there was a fine grey dust on everything. But conditions were a bit too bumpy for a good cleaning. This morning, however, when the sun rose at 5:45am, out came the holystones and a proper seamanlike cleaning was done. Much better!

At the moment I am weaving my way through the Abrolhos (open your eyes!) reefs. Its a  maze of reefs and banks that stretches some 30 miles out to sea, and I am picking my way through it along the shore. I should continue to get more favorable wind and seas over the next few days, and I am looking forward to it.

3/25  8am  17.54S  39.14W    1568nm gone,  3843nm to go

I was expecting to be stuck until Sunday, but last night it looked like there would be a 12-hour lull between the waves of strong headwinds, so I decided to go. I departed last night and had a good run- for a while. Now I am paying the price, with some slow upwind work. This should only be for today, as both the farther north I get and the more time that passes will make conditions improve. And I am doing both so I can endure one slow day.

I am pleased to have the primary autopilot driving the boat again, which makes it more relaxing for me. So that’s my plan for today. Try to relax, pass the time and work my way north, with visions of fair winds and following seas not far off the horizon…

3/24  8am  19.22S  39.40W  1488nm gone,  3933nm to go

I had been hopeful the weather would let me continue, and I didn’t really make the call until I was 10 minutes from the harbor here, but I’m glad I stopped.

The winds got worse than forecast (25 in the harbor where I am anchored, 30’s outside), and even the local fishing fleet anchored near me, as it got too rough for them, too.

On the plus side, despite more frustration than I needed, I did fix the primary autopilot, with some local help. It was indeed the solenoid (I’m no genius, it was just the process of elimination), and with the rebuild kit I had we got it repaired, but not after spilling a lot of hydraulic fluid and then rolling around in it and using it as hair conditioner while trying to crawl into the nether regions of the boat.

The official process of entering Brazil, however, has not gone as smoothly. Actually, it hasn’t gone at all. They didn’t show up at the office when they said, then they didn’t come by the boat like they said they would. But I did complete paperwork at the marina office, so there is a record of me being here, and I think I should check in and out right, even though it is the part of cruising I like the least.

The weather likely won’t release me until Sunday or Monday anyway, so I guess tomorrow will be paperwork day.

At least it is sunny and very warm (high of 90 today).

3/22 7pm  anchored at 20.17S  40.17W   about 1400m gone,  4000nm to go.

Hello Everyone!

Due to the bad weather, David decided to stop in Vitoria last night. He went ashore this morning to try to get the autopilot fixed, but there hasn’t been any success so far.
He is currently dealing with the Customs and Immigration formalities which, hopefully, will be resolved today. So, as soon as I have any news on when he might be departing, I’ll let you know.

Warm smiles from my Buenos Aires Autumn,

Cristina.

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