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.