Rio

We arrived in to Rio a couple of days ago after a very eventful 6 days of sailing. After a first day of calm sailing in 15 knots, the pressure dropped and we spend a wet, tiring but enjoyable 48 hours sailing in 30 knots of wind, up to gale force at times. We lost a winch, a preventer, and, a day after the pressure finally rised and the wind calmed a little, the steering failed. The metal steering arm snapped clean in two. So we had the last 160 miles of hand-steering with the emergency tiller, in constant rain and constant squall. And then on to the approach around the Rio cape and the coastal approach, the GPS coverage became intermittent, and finally we lost it entirely 30 miles to go. Like I say, eventful. Still we hit lots of rebel "firsts" - 7000 miles now sailed, in to the 20s south and 20s west, out fastest over-the-ground speed on surf (11.4 knots), our fastest true wind speed (about 45 knots). We are only a few miles short of 5000 miles from the pub. The are actually tied up in a marina in Niteroi, on the other side of the bay from Rio. An ex-naval base, it's practically country-club; inclusive in our very reasonable mooring fee, we have access to two swimming pools, tennis and volleyball courts, sauna and steam-room, and there are restaurants and beererias in the compound. Quite the perfect place to relax for a couple of days and recouping from the sail. Could be here a while doing repairs. It's less than a month till carnival, and although we planned to get on to paraty and the islands to the west, we'll probably stay for the celebrations.

Illheus and onwards

We are down in Illheus, and are setting off for Rio tomorrow. Before we left Itaparica, we were convinced to go and check out a nearby waterfall ten miles away. So with nothing but a couple of waypoints we sailed off. There was no waterfall. Anywhere. We poked around a bit looking for the ellusive feature, then a bit more, poked around too much then ran aground. Thankfully it was on a rising tide, so after ten minutes of well co-ordinated panic we managed to get free. And then we nearly lost our new fibreglass dingy towing it home when we were hit with 20 knots and it started drowning. Anywho we set off for illheus two days later and had a great sail. Today is day 3. Illheus is described in the guide as "a small fishing village that time forgot". Experience is something to the contrary. We are anchored in dark brown water overlooking a cement factory. Still, I guess with a stretch of the imagination and ignoring the flies, you could imagine it was Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. But it ticks all the boxes: supermacado, cash machine, t'internet. And the yacht club has got a swimming pool. So tomorrow we will be off for Rio, or, more specifically, Niteroi on the other side of the bay. Should be there a week or two taking in the sites, the beaches, and the chart agents before heading for Paraty and the islands to the south.

New Years

Hey all. Hope everyone had an excellent new years. Ours was pretty mad. I've uploaded a few pics of the new years party; just a few of us and some of the guys there, pictures I nabbed from another partygoers camera. We might actually do some sailing in the next day or two - down to Ilheus, for a (planned) quick stop, then probably down to the rio area. Happy 2007 to all!