BRIZO - Miss Brazil Visits BRIZO!

A beauty pageant was being held this weekend at the hotel/marina where we are staying in Fortaleza. The winner was crowned Saturday night and she and the runners-up were being photographed by the pool on Sunday. The photographers stopped by BRIZO to ask if they could bring Miss Brazil on board for a photo shoot. Although he wouldn't ordinarily let anyone on board wearing platform heels, Lew was a gracious host and welcomed Miss Brazil and her entourage on board. After finishing their photos on the foredeck, the last photos were of Miss Brazil giving Lew a big hug and kiss by the helm. Our first day in Fortaleza was busy: completing all of the clearance formalities, arranging to have fuel delivered dockside, and getting settled for what will be a one month stay at the marina. The marina. read more...

BRIZO - Excitement is Building!

It's been 13 days since we departed St Helena and we are less than 100 nm from our destination of Fortaleza, Brazil. Sailing conditions have been extremely favorable for us and now we are trying to slow down by reducing sail so that we don't arrive in the wee hours of Saturday morning. This leg has perhaps been our best sailing conditions of the entire Rally, a leg known for light winds and slow progress. Much of our good fortune may have to do with our destination of Fortaleza instead of Salvador where everyone else is heading per the Rally itinerary. The other boats are experiencing light winds and slow progress, but the first boats have already arrived.Everyone on board is excited about arriving tomorrow morning. None of us has ever been to Brazil before and we think it will be an. read more...

BRIZO - Tuesday 29 Jan 2013

We are just over 600 nm from Fortaleza, continuing to make very good progress for an expected arrival on Saturday around lunch time. The wind has been fairly good; 11-16 kts from the SE. We are still configured for wing-and-wing sailing and will likely continue that way for the remainder of the trip based on the current weather forecast. Our sweet spot seems to be 13 kts of wind, at or above which we sail very nicely at 6+ kts of boat speed. Below that we generally turn on the engine at low rpm's to keep going faster than 5 kts.The sail repairs done last week while underway seem to be holding up: the sticky-back upper spreader patches solved the problem of the tear and Lew's Frankenstein stitches on one of the upper seams are still holding nicely. Based on the limited availability of. read more...

BRIZO - 27 Jan 2013

We have been at sea for exactly one week and are halfway to Fortaleza, still on track to arrive late Saturday or early Sunday. The wind has been far more favorable than we anticipated, we have not had to use the engine very much and have mostly been sailing at 6kts directly along the rhumb line. We have used less than 1/4 of our fuel between running the engine and generator, and don't expect to have an issue with fuel regardless of how much wind we have for the second half of this leg.As we head north both the air and sea have become warmer. The nights have been great with the waxing moon early, then a very starry Milky Way after the moon sets. The days have been very comfortable although each day seems a bit warmer and more humid, conditions we need to get used to again! There has been. read more...

BRIZO - 23 Feb 2013

We are 300 nm due south of Ascension Island, approx half way across the South Atlantic ocean. Last evening we entered the stationary high pressure area which produces very light winds and have been motoring through the night. We took the opportunity of having excess electrical power from the engine to run our watermaker for the past several hours and our water tanks are full again .Today's big project will be to bring down the main sail to re-stitch a seam and apply spreader patches to an area of chafe. Our temporary repairs should be fine until we arrive in Brazil and have permanent repairs made.. read more...