We have sailed the last 24 hours with all sails set with the steady Force 4 SE Trades blowing us along at
6-7 knots!
As the Sun came up we could see the island of Fernando de Noronha off the bow.
At 8:30 and we took in most of our sails except for the spanker and the topsails preparatory to our arrival.
After 1400 sea miles, and the crossing of the Equator, we have crossed the Atlantic Ocean and arrived
at the first green island I’ve seen.
Later…
We anchored without using the engine. We used the sails to back away from the anchor to set it and pull
out the required scope of anchor chain. Since we sailed off the hook in Cape Verde when we started this
passage it made for a nice symmetry.
The Captain went ashore to get cleared in and once the decks were cleared up and everything coiled down
and made neat and tidy the “swim call” rang out and over the side we went. The water was a beautiful
blue and was about 26C and crystal clear. That is the first time I’ve been swimming on this trip and it was
nice to do it in such an exotic place.
Word came back that we were cleared in so everybody but the 8-12 got to go ashore.
First item of business was to get some Brazilian Reals to spend which meant atrip to the airport which is in
the middle of this 5 mile long island. Once that was done we went Internet access hunting without much
success. We did find two Internet providors but neither had a working wifi system. This was frustrating
because the signal strength was actually the best I’ve seen so far!
Well without wasting any more time on Internet stuff, we rented a dune buggy, headed to a market and
bought, munchies, beer, rum and coke. Then we headed out to the nicest beach on the island as
recommended by the buggy rental guy.
He was right! The beach was fabulous and very isolated. To get to it you have to climb down two 30′
ladders inside the 50m cliff that surrounds the bay. There were even a few coconut palms to confirm that
we were indeed in the tropics.
After a few hours of drinking “Cuba Libres” and letting the massive surf wash around my legs David and
Gary and I hauled ourselves back up the cliff ladders and then headed in to the village to a restaurant also
recommended by the buggy rental guy. His recommendation was fantastic again. We had a very fine
dinner and then wandered back to the port to catch the 11:00pm skiff run. A fabulous day ashore on the
first landfall on the West side of the Atlantic!
Tomorrow we head back to sea for our passage to Grenada. This will take 14-20 days depending
on the weather. Unfortunately I couldn’t send this to you all before we have to leave so you will probably
get to read this once we arrive in Grenada.
Thanks for reading
KJ
Here are pictures from my run ashore on Fernando de Noronha
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