On Passage 1-6 November
06/11/08 22:45 Filed in: Brazil
Day 4 - Saturday 1st November 2008
The wind died away during the early hours and when I awoke from a short sleep at 05:00 it was raining heavily and Kiriwina was heading slowly NW in a SW breeze.
I beat into this wind for about an hour with little progress. Then the wind died leaving a calm sea and light rain. As the Abrolhos islands were not too far away to starboard I started the engine and continued under power.
A lone fishing boat was sighted inshore. Fishing boats in these waters make me slightly nervous as there have been reports of piracy as far south as the Abrolhos. This one slowly disappeared from view astern.
Noon Run: 76.5 miles
More whales jumped and spouted in the distance.
It was a very frustrating day. Rain, calms and the wind from dead ahead. Finally, around 15:00, a good SE F5 wind took us rapidly away from the Abrolhos towards Cabo Sao Tome and an increasing amount of shipping traffic.
Day 5 - Sunday 2nd November 2008
The SE F5 wind continued until daybreak when it backed and weakened. By 12:00 it was fine on the starboard beam at ENE F4 where it stayed for a few hours before backing NE.
It was becoming busy with fishing boats, commercial ships and more whales, though none came close.
Noon Run: 95.95 miles. A large charted oil/gas rig was sighted at noon, fine on the starboard bow.
Afternoon sun reflecting on the waves
At 18:00 a northbound naval vessel passed inshore.
Later in the evening three uncharted oil/gas rigs lit up like christmas trees were visible to seaward.
Day 6 - Monday 3rd November 2008
By 04:00 the wind backed to between N and NW F5 so I gybed to put the wind on the starboard quarter. In this wind the Superwind is keeping up well with electricity consumption.
Noon Run: 92.30 miles
Kiriwina was making good speed in these conditions. At 14:00 the wind increased to F6, gusting to 27 knots, and I put 2 reefs in the main.
Later a number of rigs were visible to seaward. These were uncharted and the giant Pampas field was still some way to the south.
A large southbound car carrier, Gran Cosmo, passed to seaward around 18:00.
This favourable wind was not to last. At 21:00 the weather changed. Frequent changes in wind speed and direction with heavy rain were followed by a flat calm. Reluctantly I started motoring at 23:00.
Day 7 - Tuesday 4th November 2008
It stopped raining during the early hours. Dawn revealed a flat calm sea with a gentle southerly breeze. I continued to motor.
Lack of wind apart it was a lovely sunny day with lots of passing ships. I took the opportunity to practise with the MARPA anti collision feature on the radar.
Noon Run: 90.94 miles. Not bad considering the lack of progress last evening.
A huge southbound crane barge passed to seaward likely bound for the Pampas oil/gas field.
I'd been hoping that the wind would back and strengthen. Finally at around 15:00 it did a bit and I was able to set the yankee and staysail, reduce engine revs and still achieve 4.5-5.0 knots.
During the evening the wind died away to be replaced by heavy thunder storms some of which briefly produced winds in excess of 20 knots as they passed.
Vessel traffic was very heavy as Cabo Frio was neared. My MARPA practice was quite timely as it proved to be very useful during the night.
Day 8 - Wednesday 5th November 2008
Cabo Frio (so named because of lower temperatures caused by the upwelling of a subsurface antarctic cold water current) was approached in light airs.
There were two Brazilian warships in the area. F40 and F48 "Bosisio"
F40 is a Niteroi class frigate built by Vosper Thorneycroft in the UK in 1976.
F48 "Bosisio". She was previously the HMS Brazen, a Type 22 frigate sold to Brazil in 1996.
At 10:00, near Cabo Frio, F48 came to within a couple of cables and called on the VHF. I responded and they asked a few routine questions before speeding off to join F40. Later Rio de Janeiro radio broadcast a navigational warning giving naval exercise area co-ordinates off Cabo Frio.
I had wandered into this area. However, I had not heard any prior broadcast and there was no indication of this activity on my charts. At least two large ships also steamed through as well.
With Cabo Frio dropping astern a light NE wind F2-3 began blowing. I opted for a downwind rig with the yankee poled out to starboard and the main sheeted out to port. Later, when the wind veered to ESE and increased to F4 I reverted to normal rig with all sails up.
Late in the afternoon the Brazilian flag RoRo "Intrepido" passed less than a mile off to starboard.
Towards sunset the wind began to drop and the horizon became distinctly misty. By 20:20 it was calm with dense fog and I had to resort again to the engine.
Day 9 - Thursday 6th November 2008
I had anticipated a bit of a light show while passing the entrance to Rio de Janeiro. Instead I saw nothing in dense fog. To add a bit of drama the engine alternator belt began to self destruct when the entrance to Rio was abeam at 00:40. The radar showed a few ships in the area but none looked dangerous. I stopped the engine and fitted a new belt and westward passage was resumed after 35 minutes.
Shredded alternator belt.
At dawn it was still foggy but visibility had improved to 2-3 miles. The coast here is a bit deceptive. One first sees high land but this is well back from the low lying coastline.
High ground poking out of the fog between Rio de Janeiro and Ilha Grande.
At 08:48 Laje da Marambaia was passed close abeam to starboard. This is described in the pilot book as a small rock but it looked pretty big to me.
It was still calm with no wind when the entrance to Baia Ilha Grande was passed. The fog had lifted though there was still haze on the horizon.
Just after 12:00 Kiriwina entered Enseada das Palmas and at 12:40 anchored off Praia des Manques at the head of the bay.
Approaching Enseada das Palmas.
Passing Palm Island on the way in.
The anchorage.
Total distance 817.16 miles in 8 days 6 hours.
I noticed a familiar red boat in the anchorage. Giles on "Menkar", who I had last seen in Boipeba at the end of September had arrived a few hours earlier.
I had been up all night and fell into my bunk for a few hours sleep.
Later, Giles and Dominique came over for a drink and to catch up.
The wind died away during the early hours and when I awoke from a short sleep at 05:00 it was raining heavily and Kiriwina was heading slowly NW in a SW breeze.
I beat into this wind for about an hour with little progress. Then the wind died leaving a calm sea and light rain. As the Abrolhos islands were not too far away to starboard I started the engine and continued under power.
A lone fishing boat was sighted inshore. Fishing boats in these waters make me slightly nervous as there have been reports of piracy as far south as the Abrolhos. This one slowly disappeared from view astern.
Noon Run: 76.5 miles
More whales jumped and spouted in the distance.
It was a very frustrating day. Rain, calms and the wind from dead ahead. Finally, around 15:00, a good SE F5 wind took us rapidly away from the Abrolhos towards Cabo Sao Tome and an increasing amount of shipping traffic.
Day 5 - Sunday 2nd November 2008
The SE F5 wind continued until daybreak when it backed and weakened. By 12:00 it was fine on the starboard beam at ENE F4 where it stayed for a few hours before backing NE.
It was becoming busy with fishing boats, commercial ships and more whales, though none came close.
Noon Run: 95.95 miles. A large charted oil/gas rig was sighted at noon, fine on the starboard bow.
Afternoon sun reflecting on the waves
At 18:00 a northbound naval vessel passed inshore.
Later in the evening three uncharted oil/gas rigs lit up like christmas trees were visible to seaward.
Day 6 - Monday 3rd November 2008
By 04:00 the wind backed to between N and NW F5 so I gybed to put the wind on the starboard quarter. In this wind the Superwind is keeping up well with electricity consumption.
Noon Run: 92.30 miles
Kiriwina was making good speed in these conditions. At 14:00 the wind increased to F6, gusting to 27 knots, and I put 2 reefs in the main.
Later a number of rigs were visible to seaward. These were uncharted and the giant Pampas field was still some way to the south.
A large southbound car carrier, Gran Cosmo, passed to seaward around 18:00.
This favourable wind was not to last. At 21:00 the weather changed. Frequent changes in wind speed and direction with heavy rain were followed by a flat calm. Reluctantly I started motoring at 23:00.
Day 7 - Tuesday 4th November 2008
It stopped raining during the early hours. Dawn revealed a flat calm sea with a gentle southerly breeze. I continued to motor.
Lack of wind apart it was a lovely sunny day with lots of passing ships. I took the opportunity to practise with the MARPA anti collision feature on the radar.
Noon Run: 90.94 miles. Not bad considering the lack of progress last evening.
A huge southbound crane barge passed to seaward likely bound for the Pampas oil/gas field.
I'd been hoping that the wind would back and strengthen. Finally at around 15:00 it did a bit and I was able to set the yankee and staysail, reduce engine revs and still achieve 4.5-5.0 knots.
During the evening the wind died away to be replaced by heavy thunder storms some of which briefly produced winds in excess of 20 knots as they passed.
Vessel traffic was very heavy as Cabo Frio was neared. My MARPA practice was quite timely as it proved to be very useful during the night.
Day 8 - Wednesday 5th November 2008
Cabo Frio (so named because of lower temperatures caused by the upwelling of a subsurface antarctic cold water current) was approached in light airs.
There were two Brazilian warships in the area. F40 and F48 "Bosisio"
F40 is a Niteroi class frigate built by Vosper Thorneycroft in the UK in 1976.
F48 "Bosisio". She was previously the HMS Brazen, a Type 22 frigate sold to Brazil in 1996.
At 10:00, near Cabo Frio, F48 came to within a couple of cables and called on the VHF. I responded and they asked a few routine questions before speeding off to join F40. Later Rio de Janeiro radio broadcast a navigational warning giving naval exercise area co-ordinates off Cabo Frio.
I had wandered into this area. However, I had not heard any prior broadcast and there was no indication of this activity on my charts. At least two large ships also steamed through as well.
With Cabo Frio dropping astern a light NE wind F2-3 began blowing. I opted for a downwind rig with the yankee poled out to starboard and the main sheeted out to port. Later, when the wind veered to ESE and increased to F4 I reverted to normal rig with all sails up.
Late in the afternoon the Brazilian flag RoRo "Intrepido" passed less than a mile off to starboard.
Towards sunset the wind began to drop and the horizon became distinctly misty. By 20:20 it was calm with dense fog and I had to resort again to the engine.
Day 9 - Thursday 6th November 2008
I had anticipated a bit of a light show while passing the entrance to Rio de Janeiro. Instead I saw nothing in dense fog. To add a bit of drama the engine alternator belt began to self destruct when the entrance to Rio was abeam at 00:40. The radar showed a few ships in the area but none looked dangerous. I stopped the engine and fitted a new belt and westward passage was resumed after 35 minutes.
Shredded alternator belt.
At dawn it was still foggy but visibility had improved to 2-3 miles. The coast here is a bit deceptive. One first sees high land but this is well back from the low lying coastline.
High ground poking out of the fog between Rio de Janeiro and Ilha Grande.
At 08:48 Laje da Marambaia was passed close abeam to starboard. This is described in the pilot book as a small rock but it looked pretty big to me.
It was still calm with no wind when the entrance to Baia Ilha Grande was passed. The fog had lifted though there was still haze on the horizon.
Just after 12:00 Kiriwina entered Enseada das Palmas and at 12:40 anchored off Praia des Manques at the head of the bay.
Approaching Enseada das Palmas.
Passing Palm Island on the way in.
The anchorage.
Total distance 817.16 miles in 8 days 6 hours.
I noticed a familiar red boat in the anchorage. Giles on "Menkar", who I had last seen in Boipeba at the end of September had arrived a few hours earlier.
I had been up all night and fell into my bunk for a few hours sleep.
Later, Giles and Dominique came over for a drink and to catch up.