Sailing Our Last Leg!

It is nice to have Bob and Merc onboard Trillium

The time has come to bring this big sailing adventure to a close. What could be better than sharing it with sailing friends who understand through experience in the World ARC! Merc and Bob from Chicago sailed the first half of the WARC on Vivo, a boat that stopped in Australia. Since they didn't get to complete their circumnavigation, we invited them to join us for the return to our starting point: St. Lucia. That was back in January of 2014!

The Marina Jacare did a nice job of hosting a huge group

for their first time. Good food. Good fun. And a translator!

Unless you have been part of the World ARC, it is hard to relate to those who have not been part of it. So it  was a perfect choice of crew to join us for the bittersweet sail "home." We will miss all of the wonderful people from all over the world met though sailing with the World Cruising Club's rallies. After all, we participated in three of them: 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17! S/V Trillium will be well decorated for the final Parade of Sails.

Having used a lot of energy in the heat while attending the three Carnivals in Brazil, we were all ready to be back on the water. Although, we were still running without a water maker so showers were not on our "do to" list. It can make for a grouchy crew from time to time - including me. Delta. Alpha. Mike. November.

There is always a boat project and often it is

a head problem! Not fun, but must be done.

Merc and Bob had carried a new high pressure pump to Brazil for us, but due to Carnival, we couldn't get anyone to install it! So once again, we loaded up on water at the dock and set off with limited use. We haven't been able to make water since Indonesia. Each country who tried to help us, only made the situation worse. In South Africa, the "best" engineering company actually blew the piston in the pump which was the final straw! It is dead! So a new one ordered in Chicago and came in their luggage.


Our trip north to Grenada was uneventful and a good sail. There were a number of squalls that doused us from time to time, but overall, it was a fine trip - sans showers. Merc was a great help in the galley and Bob proved to be a fine dish washer! Love them both!

What a catch! A 4.5 foot MahiMahi!

Probably the highlight of the trip was the huge MahiMahi the guys caught! It was 4.5 feet long! We ate on it for days and even gave some of it away. The freezer was having a challenging time trying to freeze, but it kept things very cold. That issue will be addressed in Grenada where they are to have competent tradesmen. And since S/V Trillium will be there all summer, they will have plenty of time to get everything ship-shape for next fall.

Merc managed to read a few books and snooze a little.

Of course, we crossed the equator again, but didn't do an outstanding celebration. I was on watch when we crossed around 2330 so no costumes and offerings to Neptune. I think we were all just anxious to get to Grenada. I did buy a crown at one of the carnivals and had planned to make it a big celebration, but ... Instead, I wrote a note and put it in a bottle and tossed it overboard at the equator. I wonder if I will ever hear that it was found by someone somewhere.

We were all looking forward to our arrival in Marigot Bay, St. Lucia, but first we will enjoy our time in Grenada. There will be the usual parties, dinners, prizes and tours in Grenada. We so appreciate that the World ARC makes so many great arrangements for us on land. It takes the hassle off our hands and we always get to see the highlights of each landing location without the local ripoff artists bothering us. And the transportation is first class, as well, with knowledgeable guides.

As usual, the World ARC provided a great marina experience with rum punch welcomes and fun activities. It was the best rum punch I have ever had! But I haven't had it frequently so I might be a little biased. There were warnings: watch out to the rum punch as it goes down easily just before you do!

Heading North for Carnivals

Carnival is a major holiday in Brazil and they go all out for it. In fact, they have pre-Carnival events several weeks before Carnival! Every city has its version; some bigger and better than others. In the smaller towns, it is more of a community event with lots of music and dancing, some parading in costume, others in street clothes.

Our first encounter of pre-Carnival was in Salvador with music and body painting. We didn’t really participate as we had been warned about the cautions one must take at Carnival. We chose to sail north to Cabadelo, where we would stay for a couple of weeks. From there we could go to four different Carnivals.

Our sail up the east coast of Brazil was lovely. It was just the two of us for a change. In fact, it was the first time we had been without crew since last August when we left Mackay, Australia. I love crew for long passage, but enjoy the quieter time when it is just two of us. Of course, we don’t see much of each other as one is usually sleeping when the other is on watch. It works for me for 4-5 day passages. Longer than that is too tiring. 

The Marina Jacare lies up the Rio Paraiba (river) between Cabedelo on the north and JoAo Pessoa to the south. We had to arrive at the river’s mouth at the beginning of a rising tide to avoid the 3 knot current against us. The marina is owned by two French guys and fortunately, Nicholas speaks English. They have a nice restaurant and gathering place for the fleet to relax and use the Internet. The marina arranged for  the bus trips to the Carnivals in Recife and Olinda for the WARC plus to the local ones. 

Dennis waiting for cold drinks and food.

The first Carnival – actually, pre-Carnival – experience was in JoAo Pessoa, a twenty-minute bus ride from the marina. We went at night and tried to figure out what gringos do at Carnival. First, we walked the length of the street, passing huge entertainment trucks. It was like Pine Knob on wheels! I have never seen such large moving stages or heard such sound systems. I could feel the music vibrations in my chest!

People paraded in costume and carried banners.

There were all kinds of foods and beverages available on the street. Vendors were selling everything: cold water, plastic cups, head decorations, candy, beer and soft drinks, cotton candy, etc. We found a place to buy drinks and sit for a while. The parade did not start until 9 PM and we were at the lower end of it so it would take a while for it to reach us.

One of the many large sound stages on a semi truck

The one thing that was very noticeable was security: municipal police and military police. They were perched on high platforms every few yards and they continuously marched single file through the crowd. They made it clear that they would not tolerate any trouble. We saw them body frisk a number of young boys looking for drugs. The kids seemed to be used to it and were very compliant.

I can’t say we were impressed with the event. The music was too loud and we were not into street dancing. Maybe it is a sign of aging! The young people were so wound up and excited. It was like 10 New Year’s Eve parties in one.

Westward to Brazil

It took all three guys on deck and me at the helm to make

a sail change. As you can see, we were heeling a bit!

We would soon be back in the Americas! Throughout the world, we have been asked “where are you from” and we have replied: America. As we were approaching Brazil, it occurred to us that we need to say: The USA! Why? Because there are a lot of Americas. North American, Central America and South America. All the people of Brazil are Americans, too.

Since the crossing from St. Helena to Salvador, Brazil was 1900 nm, we had plenty of time to discuss this issue. We also discussed the various reactions to our Presidential election campaign and results. We have seen numerous political cartoons depicting other countries’ view of the USA. Frequently, we were asked whether Trump will survive four years or if the USA is going to collapse. It has been very apparent that the rest of the world has been caught up in the media – real or false news! We have been out of the fray out here.

John was our tactician and kept us in the lead the whole way.

Dennis had decided we were going to sail all the way so the guys spent a lot of time making changes to the sail plan. The options were: 1) main and genoa, 2) main and light air gennaker, 3) any of those alone, 4) medium duty gennaker alone, 5) main and medium duty gennaker, or 6) main, genoa AND the medium duty gennaker!

Medium duty asymmetrical

The last one was the winning combination. Trust me; they tried them all – and more than once each as the wind demanded diligence to keep Trillium moving toward the finish line in Salvador, Brazil. For two days, the wind was quite light as in 6-10 knots. S/V Trillium is a solidly built blue-water boat intended to give a safe comfortable ride in the big waves. The downside is that she is heavy and needs strong winds to make her fly.

Poling out the genoa to fly with the main.

The best days were when the wind was in the 12-25 range. Now we are sailing!                                                                          

Fortunately, the rest of the passage was made in those conditions. With clear skies and sunshine, strong steady winds and a great crew, we had the best sail of the whole circumnavigation! The South Atlantic crossing was the longest leg and topped them all! No seasickness; no medication. WOO HOO!

We sailed for six days and six nights with the main and genoa fully deployed plus the medium duty gennaker! Talk about a beautiful sail plan. And probably not one suggested in the Hallberg-Rassy Owner’s Manual either. We got what we were after: First Across the Line Honors AND First Place Overall for the Monohull Division! Hurrah! What a way to finish the last of the five oceans.

Our light air asymmetrical

We had a lot of support from the shore all around the world. Friends were reporting our YB Tracker position and positions of other boats coming behind us. We were getting all kinds of encouraging emails, including screen shots of positions. Thanks, everyone! It was fun to have your enthusiasm cheering for us. I normally am not into the racing thing, but this time I was actually clenching my teeth causing my jaw to ache. It looked like we stood a chance of winning this leg of the rally, but we knew there were two really fast racing boats coming up behind us.

Of course, having two experienced racers on our boat kept the energy level high. Dennis had turned the navigation and weather duties over to John, who was really into it. He brought his “equipment” to get up to date information and GRIB files. And his family sent midnight updates from the tracker. John and Colt race in the Port Huron to Mackinaw and Chicago to Mackinaw races on the Great Lakes annually on Colt’s boat, Weather Edge. They have been on the winners podium nine out of eleven of the races! Did we pick a great crew or what!

Oh, I forgot to mention that just before we left St. Helena, the freezer decided to quit working. We had just recharged the coolant in Cape Town. There was no one in St. Helena to look at it so we were looking at a 12-16 day passage without it. That meant I was throwing meat and other frozen food overboard after the first few days at sea. I lost about $300 worth of meat, but the worst part was all the time I had spent preparing it so it would make it easier in the galley. Delta. Alpha. Mike. November!

John caught this one. They are giving it a shot of rum to kill it.

Fortunately, my Captain is a good fisherman, too! He caught two huge Mahi-mahi with two more getting away as there was one on each line both times. Something really big took a lure again. We probably didn’t want to see that one up close anyway! Then he caught what we think was a young either blue fin or yellow fin tuna that weighed 20 pounds. By the end of the passage, I just wanted some good Brazilian beef. I could hardly wait for those famous Brazilian restaurant meals.

Here we are flying all our sails across the South Atlantic Ocean

 

And as the first boat across the Finish Line in Salvador, Brazil.

Ready to Sail West Again!

Farewell Cape Town! It was a grand time!

Our time in Cape Town and Africa was coming to a close as the World ARC Start for the Cape Town to Salvador, Brazil leg was scheduled for January 7, 2017. We had had a wonderful time in all of the places we visited – especially on our safari. Ringing in the New Year with the WARC family and our friends Ann, John and Johnnie Walton from home was fun. John was there to crew with us and his friend, Colt Weatherston, was arriving a few days before the start.

Ann, Johnny and John

This leg was a very long one. In fact, I think it was the longest of the whole around the world rally. It took us 21 days to sail across the Pacific Ocean from the Galapagos Islands to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. This will take even longer not counting the 72 hour break in Saint Helena.

John had crewed with us on the WARC New Zealand Rally a couple of years prior and we welcomed him back. He and Colt race in the Mackinaw Races and have been on the podium something like nine out of eleven times! If there is a leg where we might stand a good chance of winning, we figured this was it and we wanted crew who knew a lot about sailing and sail plans! And Dennis turned the navigation and sail planning over to John and his technology.

Dennis made the decision that we were not going to motor at all on this leg. I wasn’t sure he would stick to it if the wind died and we were bobbing about the ocean. We had done so much motoring from Australia to Cape Town and we just wanted to sail! It seemed like we were always racing against weather or catching up due to various delays in departing with the fleet. So this was to be our big sail!

We actually missed the Start by one hour and 15 minutes due to the holiday work stoppage. Our relatively new B&G broadband radar had had a lightening hit, probably when it was on the hard in Mackay, AU last summer. It had not been working properly, but with AIS (Automatic Identification System) and regular weather reports, we felt comfortable not having a functioning radar. However, it was worth the time penalty to have it replaced where we had a good B&G dealer.

These photos show the approach to St. Helena.

The B&G representative was very good. Unfortunately, the holidays delayed the shipping of our radar so it did not arrive until the day we were leaving. We waited for the installation, stopped at the fuel dock as we were heading to the Start Line – albeit a bit late, but still there! We motored to the Start while raising the sails. Once we neared the Start Line, the engine went off and we  planned to never used it for propulsion during the leg! Even I was amazed!

We had perfect weather and sea conditions after the first two days, which were relatively rough and mal de mar got a couple of us. I won’t say who besides me, but it wasn’t the Captain. Once the swells off the coast of Africa settled down, it was the most beautiful crossing yet. We used every sail we have in some capacity. When sailing with racers, they think nothing of changing the sail plan often. When we are alone, we stick to an easy, but not most effective one.

A minefield of unlit boats at night makes entry tricky!

Unfortunately, the wind died about eight hours out of St. Helena which meant we were going to arrive at the anchorage in the dark. Our plan was to arrive right around sunset. In reality, we arrived near midnight! Once we had crossed the intermediary finish line at the northwest corner of the island, we were allowed to motor to the anchorage area without penalty.

Not a place to land a dinghy!

We were first greeted by a row of bright lights reaching from the ground up toward the sky. While impressive, it made getting a fix on any land objects difficult. Finding a mooring buoy was challenging as there were so many lights on shore that we couldn’t see the buoys on the black water. Just as we were deciding to spend the night holding off shore, the water taxi guy called us to say he would guide us in. Amen!

This is Jacob's Ladder in daylight. At night

it is a long row of lights and confusing. 

He was so helpful once we finally spotted him and could follow his light. He helped us tie up to the buoy and get everything shipshape so we could get some shuteye. It had been a 1700 nm passage and we were ready for a break in night watches. In the morning, we could see the mooring field and were so glad that help was waiting as one could have easily gotten tangled. There were at least fifty unlit boats moored on connecting lines. That could have been a real mess!


The first unique experience in St. Helena was the water taxi! It is too dangerous to take your dinghy to the break wall and there is no beach on which to land. So the procedure is to call for a water taxi on the VHF and it comes when it comes.

Actually, they were pretty good about coming to get you. Getting back to the boat was a different story. Instead of running a group out as we congregated, the skipper stuck to his schedule of 8 PM and 10 PM and midnight. As a result, there were a lot of us on the pier hoping to get on the boat first. Otherwise, we had to wait a couple of hours. He finally started taking a second and third boat loads after realizing we were not all night owls.

The biggest challenge was landing on the ferry dock and disembarking the boat! The surf kept the ferry bouncing up and down and into the quay. The trick was to grab one of the large ropes hanging at the edge of the wharf and swing upon onto the landing area! Not my favorite move. Getting off was somewhat the reverse, except this time you had to step down into the bouncing ferry and let go before you got jerked back. You just never know what skills you can develop out of necessity! Usually there were others on board to grab you as you landed.

The worst ride was when he loaded twenty of us into the ferry after a night of partying on shore. It was dark and one of the guys was ridiculously drunk. When some of the people realized his condition and they had experienced his actions before, they hopped back off onto the quay. We were on the far side of the boat so we had to ride with him! He kept leaning over the side as people were trying to keep him onboard. Fortunately, the ferry captain took him to his boat first and then went back to the quay to get the others. That made for a much safer ride even though we were still overloaded.

A beautiful airport sitting unused. Hopefully it will open soon.

The crossing from Cape Town to Brazil was nearly 3700 nautical miles as the seagull flies. We were allowed a 72 hour stop in the little British island of St. Helena near the mid-point of the crossing. Not many people get to St. Helena as the only way to get there is by boat! Twice a year one sails between England and St. Helena. Or you take a four-day cruise on the HMS St. Helena to Cape Town and fly out of there. This makes it very challenging for anyone needing medical treatments not available on the island. Even then, it would be a rough ride on the boats to get to hospitals in the UK or South Africa!

Last year they completed the airport so people could get onto and off the island more easily. However, there is some challenging issues regarding wind shear and landing there. After the first several flights, they stopped all arrivals and departures. We took a ride way up the mountain to see the beautiful new airport and caught up on the local commentary as to the situation. It looks like it will become operational again within the next year or so. I am betting there will be times when it will shut down due to the wind.

This is the beginning of the walk to the grave. Note the

elevation and that the gravesite is at the bottom of the

valley to the left. It was a long way down and back up.

Now for some more adventures on this quaint little British island. Located in the South Atlantic, we had sailed approximately 1700nm from Cape Town, South Africa to reach this remote British colony. It is a little like going back in time. Santa Helena is an island of volcanic origin, 14 million years old in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and has an interesting history.

Napoleon Bonaparte selected a beautiful spot that is in a

valley with a view of the ocean - not that he could see it!

Originally discovered in 1502 by the Portuguese navigator João da Nova, St Helena is Britain’s second oldest colony which held strategic importance for ships sailing from the Far East to Europe. It was seen as a place of refuge for liberated African slaves and since 1815 was used as a location of exiles, most notably for Napoleon Bonaparte where he died in 1821.


Stay tuned for more of the island tour. We only have 72 hours to see everything. Then it is off to Brazil!

Cape Town At Last!

The sun was rising as we started our turn

toward the north at the Cape of Good Hope.

Cape Town, here we come! It has been several years in the planning to arrive in Cape Town, South Africa for the Christmas Holidays. At one point, we even though about having the whole family join us for a safari. NOT! Two factors: 1) most safaris don't like little children as they can be "bait" for the wild animals; 2) it was going to cost about $80,000! Whoa!


Our time in Cape Town would be about seven weeks, but two of those will be spent in safari camps with just the two of us - no kiddos. Again we would not be with family for the holidays, but we were planning a most memorable safari to make up for it.

Our first view of the iconic Table Mountain. It is that really

flat area at about 11 o'clock above the middle stantion.

Of course, the World ARC family always makes the holidays away from home a little nicer. This particular WARC fleet is very close-knit and welcoming. We were embraced as soon as we joined them in Mackay, AU. We have participated in three different WARC fleets over the past three years and they all have a unique personality.

A view of the Cape Town Harbor

The WARC fleet will all be berthed in the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Marina, known as the V&A. And we will all be on one floating pontoon. That will make it easier to connect with others and plan our on-dock New Year's Eve party. The word is there will be fireworks over the harbor at midnight!


The location is perfect as we are right in the heart of the tourist area and there is a lot going on all of the time. And it is really active with the Christmas and New Year's Eve events. It will be fun!

We can see the big ferris wheel from the dock and hear lots of music coming across the water. There are many restaurants and shops in the area so this will be a great place to be for a lengthy stay. And best of all, it is all within walking distance and English is the language! Slightly different accents, but it is understandable.

We had to pass through two pedestrian drawbridges to

get to the berthing area in the V & A Marina.

The location is also ideal because Dennis' brother and sister-in-law are coming to Cape Town to join us for part of the safari adventure. They had been with us back in Tahiti several years ago. They will be staying at the One and Only Hotel next to the marina. How convenient! Thanks to our great travel agent, Beth at Travel World in Grosse Pointe!

Here we are coming around the Cape of Good Hope!

I never dreamed of this! Thanks, Dennis, my Dreamer.

We were next to the lovely One and Only Hotel.

The Elusive Aghulas Current

It is nice when the current is helping us.

There are a number of places on the various oceans and seas of the world that cause sailors' nightmares. Mother Nature has made sure she stays in charge and keeps cocky mariners in line. We have experienced a few and tried to avoid most of them. Sometimes, though, they lie between where you are and where you want to be. Then it is judgment time!

The first challenge we met was crossing the Gulf Steam that runs north along North America's east coast. You can experience the "perfect storm" out there. The current runs north and the wind often blows from the north making a crossing quite lumpy when the wind and sea meet. There are numerous eddies where the current spins the water in circles and if you get caught in one, you go nowhere fast! In fact, you may just go the wrong way fast!

We were all looking for the red-orange area.

Our first experience crossing the Gulf Stream was at night in early November right after Hurricane Thomas. It was also our first offshore passage and we were rookies. We experienced 15-20 foot swells that often looked like they we going to douse us. Fortunately, we had very experienced crew who showed us the way - even though I had my head in the porcelain throne for the first four days. I just wanted to die right there and then! I recall thinking that I would die before we reached Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

Here we are on Fleet Tracker heading to East London.

After five crossings (three down and two back), I am still not looking forward to that last return crossing. I have endured sailing from New Caledonia to New Zealand in wretched seas as that is never a pleasant passage. Once was enough! The return trip to Tonga via Minerva Reef wasn't pleasant either, but the thrill of being inside a reef in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean made it worth the discomfort. Definitely a once in a life time experience.

And we had plenty of company day and night! Day after day.

The three-week sail across the Pacific from the Panama Canal to French Polynesia seemed daunting at first. Thousands of miles from anywhere without seeing land for three weeks caused a few nightmares, but it turned out to be a great passage. Sailing alone through the low-lying atolls of the Tuamotus was a bit unnerving, but the two of us managed quite well without crew. And I gained a lot of confidence in my sailing skills and night watches.

These ships are huge! Three football fields long!

There was much discussion and concern about sailing inside the Great Barrier Reef of Australia prior to arriving in Oz. Some of the fleet yachts had various challenges getting inside the Reef and a few more once inside while exploring. We found it quite comfortable as long as we kept good watches for all the things that go bump in the night - or day - and there are many out there! And we tried to sail during daylight hours as much as possible.

The Indian Ocean was our next challenge as it is a very long sail in confused seas, variable high winds and quickly forming gales. We were both dreading that passage. As it turned out, it was a walk in the park for most of it. And a few times it was like being out of control on a black diamond ski run! Fortunately, we did not experience any gales and had such calm conditions that we had to motor-sail more than we liked.

The contour of the ocean's floor causes some of the effects

we feel while sailing - especially where the depths at the

shelves change dramatically - meaning rough water.

Once we landed on the shores of South Africa, we began to anticipate the next big challenge: the Agulhas Current. Oh, the tales we had been told! It seemed like everyone had an OMG story about the Agulhas Current. Based on these, I was dreading the trip around the southern tip of South Africa.

Yes, this can be a very dangerous passage if the wind is from the southwest against the current running from the northeast to the southwest. There are only a few places to duck into along this 900-mile coastline to Cape Town. The winds can quickly switch directions or build to gale force and it is not easy to get across the current to a calmer area near shore. Then there is the risk of being blown onto the shore.

Sometimes we had the big guys passing on both sides of

us at the same time. One nautical mile apart is close!

We had to wait a week for the right weather window before leaving Richards Bay on the east coast of SA. Then it was a push against time to get to East London, SA before the wind clocked around from northeast to southwest.

We managed to get into the harbor around 2100 and easily anchored. It was a little exciting going into a new harbor at night with so many different lights on shore. Fortunately, it was a harbor for cargo ships so the leading lights helped us get lined up for the entrance.

But at night, you see them on the screen like this. When

you look out, you just see some lights coming or going.

After sitting out a big blow for 24 hours and getting a good night of sleep, we were back out in search of the Agulhas Current again. We had a couple of knots of current giving us 9-13 knots of speed over ground (SOG) on the way to East London. Some boats never found the current and others complained about the current being against them. I guess we were lucky to have found it for most of that leg.

The little blue dot is us at anchor in East London.

But not so much on the next leg toward Cape Town! We had a little boost early on, but then it turned against us. We went further offshore to see if we could find the southbound current, as it runs north closer to land. No luck! In fact, no one was finding the elusive 3-5 knot current that was supposed to give us the ride of our lives!

Oh, yes! Then there are things like unlit fishing boats and

oil rigs and platforms to avoid along the way!

So, as we sailed along with the freighters passing on both sides, we just took our medicine and motor-sailed into an 0.8-1.8 current against us or from the side. We managed to average above 7 knots on the second day. I love our 110 hp Yanmar!

Several times, we had 13 freighters on the screen at the same time. This was especially fun at night! And there were oil well fields to avoid as well. But we were making good time towards Cape Town in a decent weather window despite the marine traffic.

Always checking the rigging and adjusting the sails.