Paquetá
Author: Shirlz
Thursday, 17 February 2011
I left Clube Naval Charitas with the rising tide yesterday morning. I had been anchored there for 14 days and wanted to avoid the rapid increase in fees which starts on the 15th day. Problems with my credit card had been sorted out and Paquetá had been recommended as a good place to be. So off we go.
Paquetá is an island about 12 miles up the bay. There was a useful little breeze which meant I was able to sail all the way averaging nearly 4 knots. The newly cleaned hull slipping happily through the water. I had to cross the paths of the frequent, fast ferries that run from Charitas and Niterói to Rio. Then past an oil rig being repaired near the bridge which spans the bay. Tankers, cruise ships, tugs, pilot boats, fishing boats. I was the only small, junk-rigged, yellow boat sailing under the bridge. Beyond the bridge there were many, many big ships anchored, extending nearly all the way to Paquetá. Sailing through them was quite interesting. The wind was directly behind me and gybes were the order of the day. It’s always rather daunting to get so near to these looming monsters. The water was not clean. Fish floated belly up, oily scum drifted on the turgid surface carrying plastic garbage.
Thankfully, it all ended just before I reached the island. Two green lights warning of shallows and rocks near the point at the SE end, then in to a delightful small bay. Flowering trees. A white-spired church. Pony-carts lined up along the shore. There are no cars on the island. I managed to find a spot to anchor clear of the ferry dock. It was hot. Time to relax in the cockpit with a coolish beer.
Friday, 18 February 2011
The yacht club is pleasantly low-key and had no objection to me using their dinghy dock and access to the shore. The ferries to the city are quite frequent and as the usable part of the bay is small they seem alarmingly close.
To my amazement the Itaipu arrived looking resplendent in a new coat of paint. It must have come down from Angra for a refit.
I went for a stroll around the island yesterday. No cars and the roads are unpaved. It’s so relaxing to be in a place with no traffic other than bicycles and horse-drawn buggies. There is a small cluster of basic shops in the centre and the mid-morning crowd was a confusion of people and patient, blinkered horses. I was tempted to sit on a shady bench and sip a ‘coco verde’ but discovered that I’d left my purse on the boat. What an idiot! Wandered on to look at the other side of the island where it might also be possible to anchor. There are a lot of rocky patches but they seem to be mostly visible. Probably a good idea to move around at low tide.
Saturday, 19 February 2011
It’s so different to be in a place where pedestrian traffic is more important than cars, busses, trucks. Trees along all the roads provide cool shade. No acres of tarmac parking lots to trudge across. Benches for a rest and view of the bay. Apart from the horse-drawn buggies there are some bicycle rickshaw taxis. And of course lots of ordinary bicycles. Interestingly there are no mopeds or motorbikes. It’s strangely peaceful. Paquetá used to be a fashionable weekend destination but has gone to seed. Now it seems to be a fairly convenient bedroom community for city commuters. The first ferry in the morning leaves at 5:30 and the last one at night is after 10. Roughly every 2 hours.
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
The weather remains unremittingly perfect. My only regret is that the water doesn’t look clean enough to swim in – although this doesn’t seem to deter the locals. I get some relief from my solar shower in the cockpit.
Over the weekend the club came alive with visitors arriving from Rio. A schooner-load on Sunday meant instant music and dancing. I circumambulated the island. The ferries had been arriving filled to capacity with weekenders. Not many walkers among them so I had the roads almost to myself.
Discovered a beautiful cove at the north end of the island. A fisherman’s cottage at the water’s edge. A colony of night herons each perched on his own rock scrutinising the water. Two white herons and some egrets had taken possession of the dinghies rocking gently on their moorings. I sat on a stone bench under a Flamboyant tree and just watched for a while. There wasn’t much action.
Back on board, later in the day, I was just considering mixing a rum punch for my sundowner when a violent squall suddenly sprang up whipping the water into a very uncomfortably confused state. I was thankful for my oversized Delta anchor and the 30m of chain I had out. There was a splattering of big raindrops followed by a magnificent rainbow and then back as we were.
Friday, 25 February 2011
The last couple of days have been a little cooler. Or maybe I’m just getting used to constantly being in a sweaty state. I’ve taken advantage of it and done some work sanding and repainting around the compass bracket and then got carried away and attacked the ‘aft deck’.
On my afternoon paseo I discovered a wifi hotspot outside a hotel on the north side of the island. A comfy bench where I can sit under a shady tree and get connected. At one point I glanced out over the beach and saw a big woman in a small lilac bikini emerging from the water with a bunch of freshly caught fish slung over her shoulder.
Friday, 25 February 2011
I used the cool hours of the morning to paint the small aft and side deck areas around the cockpit. They had been looking very scruffy.
The east wind sprang up in the afternoon as usual. Some days it’s stronger than others and a nasty chop develops as the bay is open to the east. It can get very uncomfortable. Sitting in the cockpit I suddenly realised that the mooring buoy that was normally a fair distance astern had now crept up alongside. We were dragging! The shore was not that far off so I quickly put the tiller back in place (I usually take it out when I’m anchored to give more space in the cockpit and have been known to forget to put it back when getting underway) and started the engine. Started hauling in the anchor. It was bouncy on the foredeck. When the chain was straight up and down it was impossible to raise the anchor. Obviously fouled on some hidden garbage in the murky water. Back to the cockpit. Motor ahead. Back to the forepeak to try winding in again and thankfully the anchor had freed itself. Found a new spot and re-anchored a bit closer to the club moorings. By 10pm the wind had dropped again.