As usual our stay in St.Helena was magic and much too short. They begged
us to stay for Christmas but with more than 5000nm to go and the Miami boat
show to attend, we had to decline :-((( The weather from there to the coast of
Brazil was predicted to be fairly light winds, which it was. We have two motors
and lots of fuel to assist in keeping our required average, but being sailors,
we will do anything to rather sail than motor. Such a thrill to switch the
motors off and just sail. Pure bliss. We have four sails, the mainsail, the
head sail, a gennikar and a screecher. Screechers are notorious for being
complicated for various reasons. I joked with Nathan and told him our screecher
is bipolar, and gave her two names, "Full of Shit" and "Halleluja" When she is
happy we are all happy, when she is moody, it gets complicated and can get
downright dangerous. The screecher and gennikar are made from much thinner
material than the main or head sails are designed for lighter winds. One can
sail the screecher with the main sail or by itself. The gennikar I named
Morning Glory. Easy to raise anytime, easy to drop, no problem here.
Nathan and myself were pondering how great it would be to be able to fly both
the screecher and the gennikar together. Having only one halyard made this
"impossible". Unheard of to fly both these sails together anyway. You will not
find it in any sailing book or being taught at any sailing academy. Uncharted
waters in a manner of speaking. It took me a couple of days to figure out how
we could safely do it, and a couple more days to build up the courage to give
it a go. I looked at it from all angles, slept on it, weighed up all the pros
and cons, and were certainly not rushing in. In the meantime we were
maintaining our required speed and burning a lot of fuel. One morning early I
woke up and decided, it is time. Today is the day. A dream without action just
stays a dream. I hoisted Dan up the mast with a 2m length of line, a long
length of spectra line, a block and two shackles. Gave him clear instructions
of where to tie every thing and hoped for the best. The wind was coming dead
from behind. Dan being an avid rock-climber, enjoys these type of activities.
He safely ascended and tied the 2m line with a shackle to the genoa uphaul, and
on the other end of the 2m rope tied the block. He threaded the long length of
spectra line through the block and tied the end to himself. As he descended
from the mast he brought the one end of the spectra line down with him. He
reported that he attached everything as explained and could now see what I had
in mind. We raised the screecher first on the fitted halyard and unfurled it.
Next we raised the gennikar with the halyard we just rigged and gently opened
her up. And there it was!!! Two big sails flying happily together wing on wing,
catching the light breezes and giving us great propulsion. High 5's and big
smiles all around when I turned the motors off and we were sailing smooth and
fast. From 10kts of apparent wind at 180* we were doing 7kts SOG. Yay!!!! A
spectacular sight to behold. A feeling of Morning Glory Halleluja :-))) In my
own little world we made a bit of sailing history. As per my previous blog, I
don't do content, always looking for a better way to do something. We sailed
like this for about 10 days before the wind gradually shifted to 120* in
relationship to where we needed to go. And again we did something I have never
done before. Raised the mainsail to 2nd reef and tied the boom down as wide as
it could go, the sail just not touching the shrouds. We were on a starboard
tack and tied the gennikar tack lines down as close as possible to our
starboard bow. And again we were amazed at the results. The main did not shadow
the gennikar and again both these sails happily farmed the light breezes for
miles and miles day in and day out. Another little trick I use is to tie a
length of bungee cord to the slings we tie to our headsails, whether genoa,
screecher or gennikar. It gives the sails a more gentle action and also pumps
them all the time adding extra power.
We were dragging our fishing lures behind us since St. Helena but no luck. For
fishing line we us 2mm flat braided line, breaking strength 1500kg. Lure on one
end and the other end tied to the boat. We then also tie a meter or so of
bungee cord to the boat, pull it out as far as it will go, and tie a loop in
the fishing line which we attach to the loose end of the bungee. When a fish
takes the lure, the bungee absorbs the shock of the fishing line, pulls tight
and the hook sets properly without ripping the fish apart. We use No.9 double
hooks and for lures mostly blue or pink squid like lures with a shiny head with
small holes that creates a jet stream behind the lure. Blue is best nine out of
ten times. Pink for when it is overcast. We also use a metre or so of trace
wire in case we pick up a wahoo. We normally start getting fish as we reach the
Brazilian coast, and it one again proved true. But we do try our luck before
the time as well, just in case. We thus use hand lines most of the times. Some
of the guys try a fishing rod and reel, and really struggle to get a fish in as
we are moving forward all the time. It is possible to stop the boat but it
takes quite a bit of time when you are sailing downwind. If we are sailing on a
beam reach we can stop the boat in a flash, just turn the bow through the wind
into a hove to position. Also the best manoeuvre to pull should someone fall
over board. Sailing schools will teach you a figure of eight manoeuvre with one
person allocated to watch the person in the water and counting 10, 9, 8, 7, all
the way to zero as you sail away from the person. You then tack the boat and
sail back to the person, counting from zero back to ten. You have to be able to
this when you do your Yachtmaster exams. Very convenient to have someone ready
to point at the person and counting, another person at the helm, and a third
person to control the sails. All good in a perfect world. So make sure before
you fall overboard you have all these people ready to assist :-))) Sorry to say
but doing it by the book is neither the fastest nor the best way in my book. By
turning my boat immediately through the wind I protect the person overboard
from the swell and wind, and don't stand any change of sailing over the person.
And I won't need two other people to make it work. On both manoeuvres you
should also hit the man overboard button on your chartplotter. It will make a
mark at exactly where the person went overboard. You press the same button
should a woman fall overboard :-))) Fortunately I have never had a person fall
overboard, but we do the hove to manoeuvre for various other reasons. In rough
seas you can use it to prepare a quick meal and eat before you go back on the
beat, or perhaps a line caught around the prop, sometimes to show my crew how
to do it in case they need to, or to reel in a fish on a rod and reel. We have
caught and released marlin this way as well. The number one safety rule on a
boat is to stay on the boat.
On a catamaran landing a fish is quite easy. If it is big dorado for example
one person will pull the fish on the hand line just past the sugar scoop, and
another person will slip a noose around the tail, and the other end of the
noose line
will be tied to the boat, about 5 metres will do. You let go of the the fishing
line and lure and drag the fish backwards through the water drowning the fish.
If you have a gaff you can use that to get the fish aboard, but normally you
can just pull the fish onto the sugar scoop. You can then either use a knife or
a baton to kill the fish, quite a bloody and messy process, and you can damage
the boat. The quickest and best way is to spray some alcohol into the gills of
the fish. Takes less than a minute before the fish no longer moves. No slapping
around spraying blood everywhere. Surgical alcohol works very well too. I hear
it is called rubbing alcohol in the States. A knife sharpener and a good
filleting knife also comes in handy. Once the fish is filleted and the skin
removed I prefer to wrap the fillets in paper towel and place it on a paper
plate. The plate is then placed in a jiffy bag and the air sucked out with a
straw. Recently I have used cling wrap instead of a jiffy bag and works just as
well. A section often goes straight to the pan, and the rest to the freezer. We
always have wasabi, pickled ginger and soya sauce and the freshest sushimi you
can wish for. A dash of lemon juice for those who like the fish slightly
cooked. For the more adventurous one can make proper sushi. Nathan is getting
quite good at it. Another factor when fishing is the moon. Time and again I
have seen that if the moon is right above you fishing is best. Right below you
is also good, and an hour before and after the moon rises or sets also not too
bad. As expected we started getting fish once we passed the corner of the
Brazilian coast. Two yellowfin tuna in short succession that Nathan and Jaryd
pulled in. It was a first time for Jaryd. A day later I caught a nice size
dorado, and after weeks of eating red meat and chicken, it was great to have
some fresh fish aboard. Our last six meals were fish :-))) Today I broke the
trend by making some beef stew.
To keep morale high I like to make a quick stop every two weeks if possible.
The crew can then catch up properly with their families via cell or wifi, we
can get some fresh fruit and veggies, and just basically good to touch land,
even just for a day. I decided to make a quick stop in Fortaleza as I have done
many times before. We anchored just outside the Marina Park Hotel, a 5 star
establishment. Was super eager to have a nice long chat with my daughter, have
a buffet breakfast at the hotel, and just laze around the pool sipping on
capharinhas with some tasty snacks on the menu. Normally we don't clear in.
This time they however insisted that we clear in and the hotel clerk assured me
it will just take ten minutes with the taxi, a quick visit to immigration,
customs and port control, and I should be back in an hour. It was a Sunday and
should go really quick. Nathan and Jaryd went shopping, Dan stayed at the pool
to keep an eye on the boat and I caught a taxi to go and do the necessary paper
work. South Africans don't need visas for Brazil, US citizens do. Nathan and
Jaryd are US citizens so I knew there would be a little problem, besides the
obvious language problem as I don't speak much Portuguese and they don't speak
much English. I asked the taxi driver to stay with me, I will pay him for his
time, as I thought he may speak a bit more English than I can speak Portuguese.
Arriving at immigration half an hour later was still ok. The hotel clerk said
ten minutes, but not so bad. I handed our passports to the immigration officer
who could speak no English. He was just pointing at the US passports and
shaking his head and waving his hands quite vehemently. He made a few phone
calls to try and find someone that could speak some English. The taxi driver
eventually called someone who could translate for us a bit. I showed the
immigration officer my South African passport again, pointing at the picture
and pointing to myself. Only then he realized I am South African and relaxed a
bit. This took about an hour. I then had to complete some forms, he made copies
of our boat papers and proceeded to enter the same information on his computer,
really struggling. I was then informed that the US citizens will have to stay
on the boat, and I assured him as Captain of the vessel that that is exactly
what will happen. I first pleaded ignorance about US citizens requiring visas,
then explained that we never planned to stop in Brazil, we are here just for a
day to get some fresh provisions, and that maritime law the world over allows
24 hrs for cases like this. I understood his reluctance. The US will not allow
me in without a visa, neither anyone from Brazil. So why should he. I
concurred, agreed with him, anything just to get out of there. After three
hours I had two passports stamped in and out,and shook his hand in a most
friendly manner. They were really friendly chaps just doing their job. I was
super frustrated but even happier to go. At one point I even told him to hand
me back the passports and boat papers, I will get on the boat now and go. I had
enough of this shit. I am not here to fight or talk politics, I just stopped to
get some fresh food. If I am not welcome he must tell me. We departed as
friends. Then customs, forms to fill in, same information on my boat papers
they made copies off, then transferring all this to their computer, another
hour. At last port control. I walked in and popped them a left handed salute.
They all jumped up and saluted me back. Right handed salutes :-))) The taxi
driver explained to them how much time it took to get us this far, and yet
again I had to fill in papers, they made copies of my boat papers containing
exactly the same information, and the gruelling process of duplicating all this
info onto their papers and computers. When at last they were done I now
extremely frustrated popped them a left handed salute again and once again they
all jumped up and saluted me back :-))) Including the taxi drive the whole
process took me six hours. I could hardly breath on our way back to the marina.
I was dying to speak to my daughter and with the time difference I was running
out of time. Arrived back at the hotel and found Dan. He told me the security
asked him to bring me to the reception desk so they can make copies of the
documents I obtained. I told the hotel clerk who could speak English and told
me the whole process would just take an hour, in clear and no uncertain terms,
that he must get his facts straight and not give out false information. If it
takes 5 hours, tell me so!!! He profusely apologised. He could probably see the
smoke coming out of my nose and ears :-))) I walked out of the hotel lobby with
Dan and had to let out a loud as possible swearword and sustain it for as long
as possible :-))) Felt slightly better after that. And the whole purpose of all
this bullshit I don't understand. If they came and checked the boat's papers
and searched the boat for drugs or arms or contraband etc, no problem, be my
guest. I didn't enjoy it, the officers didn't enjoy it, the hotel clerk didn't
enjoy it. I got to the pool, connected on the wifi with my daughter and for the
first time ever sent her 5 angry emoji faces saying I just wasted 5 hrs to
clear in. I have never even sent her one before. She send me a few smileys back
and said if life gives me lemons, I must think of her :-))) We then video
called and soon life was exceedingly good again. Spend a lovely afternoon next
to the pool catching up on my emails etc. And send my one and only 4eva friendy
Dianne the usual wish you were here 360 degree video :-))) Decided to not
depart that night, but do breakfast at the hotel again the next morning before
we depart. Also wanted to do a final check on the weather, send Dan up the mast
again to make sure everything is fine and check the motors before we set off.
As I walked into the hotel another gentleman approached me and requested copies
of my port clearance papers. My stomach jolted for a moment, but I calmly went
with him to reception where they made copies of the required papers. Don't
think I will visit Fortaleza again. I also told Nathan who will soon be setting
sail with his family that clearing in and out is probably the thing yachties
hate most. I understand that people can't just come and go, but damn, it is
2018. Speed up the process dudes !!! Breath...................:-)))
Catch up with you soon again, apologies for the sometimes crude language :-)))
Paul
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