Santo André
Author: Shirlz
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
First thing I did after settling into my new spot yesterday was to rig up the cockpit awning. I normally use the lazyjacks to tension it but they were out of action. So I detached the halyard from the crippled sail and used that instead. It was a better solution and I will always do it this way in future. I must try to rig up a boom gallows to take the weight of the furled sail and stop it swinging about rather than my old idea of tying it down.
It started to rain again so I put the water catching gear in action and soon had all my jerry cans full. The rainwater looked beautifully clean not like the rain in Rio which was polluted with fine black stuff.
This morning the weather had cleared a bit so I set to work removing the sail from the boom and battens. It went smoothly until I tried to slide the boom off. It had pinched into the sail at the point where it broke and was bent at 90 deg. I was able to straighten it by turning it over and pressing down. There was still a strip of aluminium holding it together. Freed the sail and slid the boom off. Bundled the sail down below just before the rain started again.
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Treated myself to lunch at the Gaivota restaurant which is at the waters edge close to where I am anchored. Delicious grilled fish with all the trimmings. Too much for me to finish so Sinbad got a meal out of it too. Next stop was the wifi place down the road. Not free. Managed to pick up emails and some new books to read. Bought some homemade mango liqueur from some helpful ladies running a little stall by the side of the road. Found a fairly good shop for basic essentials.
Long walks along the beaches in either direction. It’s a lovely sheltered place. Very pleased to have been forced in here. If I can manage to get hold of a decent sewing machine it would be a good opportunity to remake the sail.
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Started out early this morning to go shopping in Cabrália, the nearest small town. Just missed the 8 am bus and decided to walk the 2 miles to the ferry rather than wait 40 minutes for the next one. Got to the ferry dock with minutes to spare. Only 80c for the crossing. Its really a barge which gets pushes along by a sturdy little tug on one side. The river winds through the sand banks between the mangroves. The scene was what I imagine it might be like taking a boat up the sidewaters of the Amazon. What a way to do the Saturday morning shopping!
Calábria is an attractive little town and there was quite a good fresh produce market. I was offered 5 enormous avocados for R$1. Also picked up some fresh basil, tomatoes, chillies and green leaves.
My search for polyurethane paint was not so successful.
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Spent some time trying to line up and stabilise the boom so that I can do the repair job. I bolted some stainless strips to the inside of one broken edge and slipped a long aluminium rod down the middle. Planning to remove it once the job is done. Wiggled things around, sighting along the length of the boom. When it seemed straight I lashed it down to the big board I used to use as a bosun’s chair. Seemed pretty stable. I was just getting ready to start mixing epoxy when a German boat, Pico, arrived. Nice to have some company again. I went over to say hello after they had got settled in.
Back on board Speedwell the glass and carbon repair went smoothly. So lucky to have the materials on board. I will have to turn the whole thing around to complete the job tomorrow, but it’s looking good.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Spent Monday morning putting more carbon and glass on the boom and yesterday sanded it nice and smooth. Now it just needs a coat of paint and it should be fine.
The big sandbank in the middle of the river was exposed at low tide so I rowed Sinbad across to give him a chance to stretch his legs. He wasn’t all that enthusiastic about getting his paws muddy but ran about until the water started to rise again. Lots of birds foraging about in the mud. Sandpipers, plovers, little blue herons and what could have been two willets.
Tags: cruising