28 February 2011
Well I said it didn't I, alert and awake and that is just what we were for either of us hardly had a wink of sleep last night. After two days of strong north easterlies this morning it died away to nothing but we had just spent a sleepless night weaving our way between dozens and dozens of fishing boats. Well, we had been warned in an email from Graham of Eowyn. He went out 25nm in order to avoid them. We just ploughed our way through the lot of them but it did not make for a restful night watching. Poor David every time he went below to try and snatch some sleep I was calling him back up into the cockpit. Our decision to come closer close the coast on the fifty metre contour was as a result of the wind direction but it was obviously where all the fish were. I only managed a couple of hours in the cockpit at most. I find it impossible to sleep in the aft cabin with the constant drone of the engine and besides, it is too hot down below. I wouldn't even want to think what the temperature might be in the engine compartment. I guess I could cook a breakfast of bacon and eggs on the engine if I so wished. With all the spray we have had to keep all hatches shut too. But.... at least we made really good progress flying along at sometimes over 8knots, the effects of the Brazil Current weakening noticeably, although we still had the engine on low revs just to keep up our speed. We are determined to at least get in behind the breakwater where we can moor overnight. The passage has not been one of the easiest and the temptation of dining in the cockpit, a glass of wine to hand and a sound night's sleep is too hard to resist. A Lady, Tzigane, Ariane and Lady Lisa arrived ahead of us. Ourselves and Tucanon followed on. Dick kindly offered to call out soundings for us to get us through the very shallow entrance to the Cabanga Yacht Club but when we heard from John saying that at one point he had only 0.2 metres under his keel we decided sense should prevail and we would postpone our entry and go in on a rising tide tomorrow at high water, around 2pm. The approach to Recife looked much the same as Salvador, except from the sea the city looked three times bigger. This is a city with three million inhabitants also. We are principally here for carnival. With a population that size it should be quite something. We glided past the docks and both remarked how quiet they were, not a single cargo or cruise ship. In Salvador hardly a day went by when a cruise liner did not come in and there were always ships at anchor in All Saints Bay awaiting their turn for an alongside berth at the wharf. Having made our decision to moor up for the night off the tiny but friendly Pernambuco Yacht Club we settled down for a glass of ice cold beer, a short afternoon nap and David's absolute favourite dish for dinner, macaroni cheese. It seemed strange that we could see all the other rally yachts from our peaceful mooring. We love the company of the other rally boats and their crews but sometimes, just sometimes we crave a night spent on our own and tonight.... is one of them.....
Susan Mackay