Rio Grande to Enseada Pinheira - Day 1
10/11/11 22:03 Filed in: Brazil | On Passage
There was a good chance of being able to leave today. Up early to walk into town to check the weather. It looked very good. A five day window of favourable winds.
Took a moto taxi to the Capitania for clearance and buy some charts for Ilha Santa Catarina. Brazilian charts cost R$45 each (about £16). I'm not sure they are corrected to date but they are what they are.
Back on board after topping up with vegetables and Kiriwina was ready to go. WE left the berth at 14:30. It was a bit of a slog downstream with headwinds reaching 25 knots in cloudy squalls.
Something was happening with the fish. There were small and medium size fishing boats charging about all over the channel. They would stop, fish and then move on. I saw one boat heading back loaded to the gunwhales with a good catch. Clearly there were fish to be had.
About 8 larger inshore fishing boats were anchored inside the breakwater. I wondered if they knew something I didn't.
Anyway, off we went and cleared the breakwater at 18:00 and shortly afterwards shut the motor down and proceeded under sail. Wind SSE 5.
At first we were doing 6.3kn over the ground with a noticeable shoreward set. Around 20:00 the wind quickly strengthened to 27 knots followed by some equally rapid reefing.
We made good progress and by midnight the wind had eased to 17knots.
Took a moto taxi to the Capitania for clearance and buy some charts for Ilha Santa Catarina. Brazilian charts cost R$45 each (about £16). I'm not sure they are corrected to date but they are what they are.
Back on board after topping up with vegetables and Kiriwina was ready to go. WE left the berth at 14:30. It was a bit of a slog downstream with headwinds reaching 25 knots in cloudy squalls.
Something was happening with the fish. There were small and medium size fishing boats charging about all over the channel. They would stop, fish and then move on. I saw one boat heading back loaded to the gunwhales with a good catch. Clearly there were fish to be had.
About 8 larger inshore fishing boats were anchored inside the breakwater. I wondered if they knew something I didn't.
Anyway, off we went and cleared the breakwater at 18:00 and shortly afterwards shut the motor down and proceeded under sail. Wind SSE 5.
At first we were doing 6.3kn over the ground with a noticeable shoreward set. Around 20:00 the wind quickly strengthened to 27 knots followed by some equally rapid reefing.
We made good progress and by midnight the wind had eased to 17knots.