Tradewinds Sailing Blog

It got c-c-c-cold last night!  When they say the weather fronts come up from Antarctica, they mean it. I was watching for iceberg and penguins last night, after layering  on most all of my clothes. I even put on shoes, for the first time in over 5000 miles.

Other than that, it was a good day, with more clear skies and sunshine and following winds and seas. The wind went directly aft last night, so the boat rocks a bit more now, and it’s a bit harder to keep the helm balanced and neutral, but I continue to make progress and it’s a dry point of sail. If my luck holds and weather cooperates, I could arrive into Buenos Aires Sunday or Monday, depending on how long I need to hide in Punta Del Este.

An interesting tidbit- I read that long-distance single-handed sailors (not just day-sailing) are a rare breed indeed . Not even one in a million do what I did. Apparently I am only one in 10 million. I always knew I was a little different…

32.38S  52.04W  5071nm gone, 389nm to go.  8am  9/15

Yesterday turned out OK. The wind didn’t veer as early as forecast, so that meant I was sailing a close reach for much of the day- about 12 hours of sailing lightning bolts instead of the expected 6.  But in the evening the wind lightened and started veering a bit, allowing easier sailing through the night.

I made good progress, and expect the wind to start getting stronger and rotating through E to NE today. It’s remained sunny and clear, but it did get cold last night- I’ve had to add a few layers.

One interesting thing is that I passed through a debris field of river effluent about 15 miles long, when I was 8 miles offshore. Literally thousands of tree branches, clumps of weeds, and various other trash and debris, including two nice dining room chairs, floating along all spread out everywhere. I don’t know where it came from, but there it was.

When sailing along a coastline, there are always some places that are windier than others, due much to local topography. In Brazil, they make it easy to see when you are approaching a windy place- there will be hundreds of huge wind turbines lined up to take advantage of it. I’ve sailed literally thousands of miles of Brazilian coast, and am still amazed at the number of wind farms they have.  We may talk about it a lot, but the few turbines we have in the Bay Area and Palm Springs are nothing compared to what they are doing down here.

Finally,  and I know I will probably jinx the last days of this trip, but I realized this morning that other than a few squalls around the equator, I have sailed 37 days so far without  rain. I think that’s pretty lucky…

30.10S  50.06W   4887nm gone, 570nm to go.  8am  9/14

About as perfect as it could get. That’s what yesterday was. The sun burned through the clouds by late morning, and the rest of the day was clear and sunny and nice. And the wind came to 12 knots from the NE, making for perfect broad-reaching spinnaker conditions. And it was so stable, I didn’t need to adjust a thing for 14 hours!  As the sun went down, a huge orange 100% full moon rose, and lit the night like daytime.  The wind did finally veer a bit during the night, but I continued making good progress with the jib.

I scrutinized all the weather info this morning, as the next leg is a longer one, with no shelter for about 300 miles. And based on my meteorological analysis, I need to be like Louie Louie- I gotta go now.  I should see winds this morning from the South, then SE, then East in the afternoon, and finally NE tonight, and then the strength will build. The idea is to stay ahead of the gale that will be chasing me as much as possible, and get to Punta Del Este, Uruguay before things get too exciting. I’ll hide there while the NE gale passes, and continue waiting while a southern gale passes the other way the next day.  If all goes well, I could leave Uruguay late Sunday, and get into Buenos Aires sometime Monday. Of course, all this could change, as weather forecasting is not an exact science…

Hopefully the next few days won’t be too exciting, but I’ll let you know.

28.27S  48.43W   4757nm gone, 695nm to go.  8am  9/13

I was glad to be anchored and comfy when the front passed through yesterday, as the south winds were howling for a while, and I know what that would have looked like out at sea.  I did some routine maintenance, had a nice meal, then a very early bedtime and long sleep.  I awoke early this morning and raised the anchor, then an easy run back out of the bay with the ebbing tide, over the bar and back out into the South Atlantic ocean. I am now headed almost due south in light air and fairly smooth seas, and expect a pretty easy day. It looks like the sun might break through again, so maybe I won’t lose my Caribbean tan just yet.

25.54S  48.18W   4595nm gone,  840nm to go.  8am  9/12

I am comfortably anchored in Paranagua, after crossing the bar at first light, around 6am. It’s a large bay, so of course I had to explore a little bit before dropping the hook. The big surprise here- patchy fog, and I could see my own breath in the air!  The tropics sure forget you fast. If it keeps getting colder, I won’t be able to run around in swim trunks and barefoot day and night anymore. What if I have to (horror!) put on shoes?   It’s a good thing there is only 10 days left of winter, and then I am sure everything will suddenly get warm to herald the arrival of spring.

Yesterday remained lightly overcast with peeks of sun, but the winds were light and the seas calm, so it made for an easy day.  At the moment, it looks like I will wait out a southerly front today, and hopefully make some more progress tomorrow, but obviously I will be watching the weather closely to figure the best timing.

I’ve got a short list of basic maintenance to do today with the boat stopped, and I also plan to rest and relax a bit, as I am expecting a few days of wild and woolly downwind again soon…

It’s kind of nice being disconnected- I imagine lots of 9/11 anniversary news today, but I am not missing it.

Anchored at 25.33S  48.23W   4566nm gone,  857nm to go.  8am  9/11

Yesterday’s morning overcast burned off about 11am, the winds were light and variable, and the sea flat. It really felt like a southern California day. I sailed along the coastline past Rio, through a large area of hundreds of islands, which is Brazil’s popular cruising grounds.  I didn’t stop and anchor, swim or sample the local restaurants like I might have enjoyed, but I did weave through the islands a bit, just to get a look around. Its an interesting mix- the islands are dense and jungley, but there aren’t many beaches, mostly rocky anchorages. The towns seem OK, but not like the Mediterranean with their inviting sidewalk cafes and restaurants. This is also where much of Argentina comes to charter, so it’s interesting to see firsthand.

The night was spent weaving my way back out of the islands, on mostly glossy waters. I’m now back in the regular ocean, working my way west and south, and trying to time the upcoming legs with the ever-changing weather forecasts.  There are some potentially tough bits ahead, and getting the right weather is key. But the weather can change dramatically from day to day- literally from the North at 30 knots to South at 30 knots in 24 hours.  And of course, the southern extremity of Brazil and northern Uruguay have no anchorages or places to hide for about 250 miles, so I really hope to guess right.

This morning is overcast again, and I hope it burns off like it did yesterday, as the sun is much preferred, especially now that I am leaving the tropics, and entering the temperate zone- where it still winter for another 2 weeks. Based on this mornings readings of grib files and tea leaves, I am going to sail on today, hoping to get into Paranagua tomorrow morning, where I will anchor and wait out some weather. Then Monday I will head out again, hoping to get to Imbituba by Tuesday midday, where I will again anchor and wait out weather for a day or two before the next long leg.

Finally, a big Happy Birthday to my faithful (but sadly missing this time because I am too impatient) crew, good friend, veteran Tradewinds instructor and circumnavigator Marianne Wheeler!

24.18S  46.24W   4422nm gone,  972nm to go.  8am  9/10

I rounded Cabo Frio about 10am yesterday, and things mellowed out considerably soon thereafter. It was nice to sail along gently in light air and smooth sea for a while, to relax and re-adjust after 2 days of wild and woolly running.
By evening I was along Rio De Janeiro- probably the most famous Rio in the world that doesn’t actually have a rio. That pesky Portuguese explorer Gonsalves thought he found a big river estuary in January 1502, and named it thus. Turns out he was wrong- it’s just a bay of the ocean, but the name stuck anyway. I couldn’t pass by here without at least a quick peek, and it’s a beautiful spot indeed. At night, the famous “Christ the Redeemer” statue on top of Corcovado mountain is lit up bright white, but the mountain is dark, and blends in with the night. So as you look at Rio, you see all the city lights and activity along the waterfront, and way up in the sky, all by itself, the statue seems to hover over everyone, arms stretched wide. It’s really spectacular.
The evening was quiet, and this morning slightly cooler and a bit overcast, with variable winds around 10 knots. My plan is to keep going while the going is good, and if any ugly weather threatens, I’ll run and hide. There are plenty of good parking places along this stretch of coast,  so no worries there. We’ll just see what the day brings.

23.28S  44.08W   4270nm gone,  1082nm to go.  8am  9/9

Following winds and seas is what I enjoyed all day and night.  Only problem is that it was bit stronger than forecast- I had 20 knots in the afternoon, and it built to 25 in the evening, with a few hours at 30 knots, near the cape.  The plan was to get around Cabo Frio by midday today, as there is a full gale behind me, and I didn’t want to wait around for it. So sail on I did, with the waves and wind at my back, slaloming my way down the coast- to another fantastic 200-mile day.

Last night though, when the wind really started howling, I was struggling to keep control with 2 reefs in the main, so finally put the 3rd reef in, although it had not been previously rigged, With that and a 3-foot by 5-foot piece of jib showing, things settled down nicely, and I was able to keep speed up. In fact I hit a new top speed for the boat, 14.4 knots.

It also got colder last night. I had to put on a fleece and a windbreaker, which I guess is a sign of things to come. I have to remember that in addition to all that East and West stuff, I’ve also dropped 20 degrees of latitude since last week. Right now I’m on the edge of the tropic of Capricorn, so still technically in the tropics.
Looking ahead, I think mother nature is making Sunday a stay-at-anchor day, so I’ll probably see how far I can get by Saturday- maybe Ubatuba, or Santos, or maybe I’ll just stop in Angra dos Reis. I’ll let you know!

22.46S  41.41W   4112nm gone,  1198nm to go.  8am  9/8

Another perfect weather day yesterday. More clear and sunny, flat seas and now broad-reaching wind. And not only that, but I keep going faster than I expect. Oh yeah, the current is going with me!
It felt like Tahiti. Hot weather, more so as I was going downwind, so the apparent wind was almost nothing, and super clear turquoise water. I didn’t realize just how clear until I saw a whale swim beneath me about 30 feet down, and I could see him perfectly clearly. Then I passed over the Abrolhos reefs, and the colors changed with the depths, from deep blues to agua greens and all the shades in between. And whales were everywhere., cruising along the surface, flapping their tales, and just basically goofing off, I think.

In the evening, the wind rotated a bit more behind me, making it a run, which is not quite as good as a broad reach. Running just isn’t as balanced, without the side pressure from the wind, and the autopilot has a harder time maintaining course, and doesn’t react as well to the waves pushing the stern around. The wind built in the late evening, eventually to 20 to 25 knots from behind. I was certainly enjoying the speed (surfing over 12 knots on the bigger waves, and averaged 8.5 knots over a 6 hour period, all with dry decks), but every 20 minutes or so the boat would get pushed around too far for auto to recover, and I would have to intervene. This kept me pretty glued to the helm area, but the wind only lasted until about 3am, then started backing off. This morning, it is way down to less than 10 knots as I am back along the coast again. But still, it all combined for a great run of 194 miles in the last 24 hours.
It’s another mostly clear day, and if the predictions are correct, I should continue to having following winds and seas.

20.07S  39.51W   3912nm gone,  1389nm to go.  8am  9/7