Lindisfarne – Forgus 37 – 7,5t (>9t equipped)
Itaparica - Vitoria
26 July - 30 August 2006
We managed to leave Itaparica in mid August. The delay was mainly caused by
the difficulties to leave new and pleasant friends, and then when we finally decided
to leave, the rain started and the wind came from the south!
Most of our time in Itaparica we spent with friends, having a beer or a meal
together or just a game of Boul.
We used the springtide to dry out Lindisfarne,
to be able to clean the propellers, the Bowthruster locked like a white boxing
glove. The antifouling was almost clean, in spit this is the third season.
Our first trip, 70nm, to Morro Sau Paulo, where we spent the night on anchor
in the river, was nice and smooth, very convenient after 6 weeks in a not moving
home.
Further 40 nm south lays the river Maraú, A very nice place, like an archipelago
with a lots of islands. Partly it's very shallow, one have to navigate
with great care. But once in there you will be well paid. It's very scenic and
especially in the upper part of the river you will not meet many yachts! 
We got
a way-point list for the trip from the estuary and 15 nm up to the village Maraú
so we sailed and motored all the way to Maraú and it's Saturday marked.
We
spent one night on anchor in the river off the village. Most of the traffic to the village was
on the river, and we where probably the only not Brazilian there.
Not a place
many people without a boat or a yacht have seen.
We anchored for some hours on our way back, to make an excursion through the
Mangroves and over the peninsula to the beaches and the open sea. On the trip we
found a man selling bananas for next to nothing. Now we know why sailors have a
hole Banana stock in their cockpit.
We continued after that almost to the end of the river where we anchored behind a beautiful island, waiting for the wind to be favourable for the trip to Abrolhos islands. This was a perfect place to wait, dinghy distance to small restaurants and very nice surroundings for swimming and walking.
When we finally hit the sea again it was pretty rough. Three days of strong
winds had made the waves relatively high and together with the outgoing tide
very steep. It's nice to have the GPS telling you that in spite the log show you
1-2 knots, you are actually going five to six knots over ground. So the
nightmare you think will go on for ever, will soon be over. In the middle of the
night the confused sea disappeared and life was back to normal. You can hardly
believe it's the same ocean!
After two days sailing we arrived to the Abrolhos National Marine Park,
expecting to see some Humpback whales. And we did. Already before anchoring, our
way to the bay was blocked by two whales, so we had to wait to get access...
The Norwegian yacht Empire (Bavaria 42) had left Itaparica some week before
us, and where now at Abrolhos after collecting guest in Vitoria.
Using two anchors we managed to get enough space in the bay for two yachts.
We spent two days watching the whales, the fish, the turtles and all the birds
from the anchored yacht! Completely unbelievable!
The whether report was talking about southerly winds in a day or two, so we
decided to leave in the north-easterly strong wind for Vitoria, some 180 nm to
the southwest.
We had strong tailwind all the way to Vitoria where we arrived after 26 hours
cruising between whales. There where plenty of them Humpbacks (11,5 -15m and
25-30 ton) some of them almost hit the yacht. Because of the tailwind and the
way the sail was arranged we could not alter our course to much, so when we
spotted a whale close to the yacht on collision course we manage only to get 30m
behind here tail.
She was protecting her calf, which luckily was behind her, and
demonstrated her irritation by lifting her tail and smash it into the sea. What
a giant splash, luckily for the photographer it was downwind. (In the file album
you can see the whole show in three photos)
We sailed together with Empire the whole day and there are some photos from Empire with whales and Lindisfarne in the background.
Seeing so many whales in daylight we wondered how many and how close we where
during the dark hours. Luckily we didn't see or feel any "floating ground".
We where pleased to be able to more at a buy in Vitoria yachtclub after an
exiting trip.
We shall now visit emigration to have our visa extended for another three months and wait for the next northerly wind, which will take us to Rio with a stop in Cabo Bòzios on our way southwest.
30 August 2006
Annika & Björn
S/Y Lindisfarne
www.sailaround.info
sm6yxb@winlink.org
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