of the cats that left a few days before us were there and planning to
depart a few hours later.They arrived on Monday and it was swell to
spend some time with the young captain and crew and sharing
experiences.Three hours later we had our fuel,our water tanks was full
and we could relax next to the pool with a few capairinhas.First work
hard,then we can relax.I've had to wait three days for fuel before and
was most thankfullthat we got it done in extra quick time.The marina has
no fueldock and they have to bringb the fuel on the back of a van in a
container.I ordered 800 ltrs and twenty minutes later the guy was there
in an old Ford F250 double cab with a 1000ltr container on the back.I
escorted him to the fuel station which is just five minutes away,paid
for the fuel and the petrol attended had both nozzles filling the
container.Once filled we drove back to the marina.There is about a ten
mtr water channel between the driveway and the dock.A length of string
with a bolt attached to one end is thrown over to the dock,the end of
the hosepipe is atttached to the string a pulled in and across the
channel.A small electrical fuel pump is then used to get the fuel from
the container to the boat.All in all the operation took about two
hours.At the sametime we were filling the water tanks.
We are on a bit of a tight schedule as my next delivery to Tahiti will
depart late December early January.Also never leaving on a Friday we had
to move quick to get and do all we wanted to.Thursday morning we had a
breakfast buffet at the 5 star hotel which is part of the marina and we
could enjoy fresh fruit and a long list of other culinary delights.It
was also good tohave some internet and we all could check our
emails,skype,catch up on facebook etc.Thursday after breakfast we spend
some time next to the pool,washed the boat down,checked the motors
throroughly,had a few games of table tennis and after skyping a bit it
was time to cast off and start our next leg again.So yes,in and out of
Fortaleza in good time considering that we got our fuel etc.I have
previously been in and out of Fortaleza in six hours,but that was just
for water and some provisions.
Leaving a port at night is much easier than entering a port at
night.When you leave you get away from the city lights,when you enter
you face millions of lights at times.GPS does assist a lot and if you
are familiar with the port it makes it even easier.I have entered
unknown places all over the world at night,with sometimes difficult
currents to contend with,tides running in or out,a whole lot of
information you have to processs.But this is what we do,this is what we
love.Other sailors and even very experienced sailors will rather slow
down and enter at first light,even at a place like St.Helena.Respect to
them,I prefer to get in when we get there and get an extra few hours to
rest afterwards.We are always on a schedule in the delivery business,no
time to tally around,and sometimes our schedules are very very tight.F1
style stops are then called for as our operations manager Nicky in Cape
Town calls them.And we don't only try to meet expectations,we aim to
exceed expectations.
We just had our first dolphin sighting for the trip,a huge single
dolphin,not sure exactly which species,but there are some very pertinent
markings which will assist in identifying it.Unfortunately I left my
book on mammals of the ocean at home so it will have to wait till then.
With this very special event I am signing off and running out to enjoy
the dolphin playing around our boat.
Take care
Paul
No comments:
Post a Comment