Laura and I have just arrived
in Grenada having finished our sailing adventure that started in Rio and ended
on the beautiful Caribbean Island of Grenada.
Laura and I returned to
Bellaluna on February 5th and Debbie stayed in Orillia because of health
reasons. So, I was left to find crew to
assist with our trip. At the marina in
Rio I asked around and put the word out for “crew needed”.
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| Edison |
A day later I was introduced to Edison. He is a retired pilot and also an avid
sailor. He was able to sail with us to
Natal. (North tip of Brazil) It was
great having him along. He was very
knowledgeable about the coast of Brazil having flown over it and sailed it many
times. Debbie then went to work to find
someone to crew from Natal to Grenada.
She placed many ads on sailing forms on the net and other places. NOW, this is how small the world is!! We received a response from a woman who is
Canadian, grew up in Toronto and lived about 10 minutes from the Toronto family
home I grew up in. She went to the
neighbouring high school and we actually know some of the same people. She has been sailing in the World Arc Rally.
(an around the world cruising rally) She
was in Brazil and needed a ride to the Caribbean so she answered our ad. Irene was on board from Natal to
Grenada. The three of us got along great
and she did a great job assisting us with the 2200 mile passage.
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| Laura in Salvador |
We departed Rio on February 9th
and made four stops as we sailed north up the coast of Brazil. 1,390 miles and we had not even left the
coast of Brazil. We stopped in the
cities of Vitoria, Salvador, Natal and Fortaleza.
Prior to this trip Laura has
had very little sailing experience.
Riding on the trapeze of our Hobie Cat on Lake Simcoe was about it. The only ocean sailing experience is on the
Lido deck of Carnival Cruise line sunning herself. So she was in for an experience.
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| Laura at the helm |
So began the large learning
curve of living on a sailboat for five weeks.
Laura jumped in with both feet and learned very quickly the ins and outs
of Bellaluna, sail setting, anchoring, obtaining passage weather reports, route
planning, docking, 2 hour watches and cooking at sea.
Prior to leaving Rio she had
cooked many meals and had them in the freezer ready to eat. That proved invaluable because of the sea
conditions throughout the trip. It is
not easy cooking pasta dinner travelling at 10 knots per hour with 3 meter high
waves. I have to say we have done very
well in the meal department.
When you sail 24/7 someone
has to be on watch all the time. I set
up a 2 hour on, 4 hour off schedule.
Three of us sharing the rotation.
After a few days Laura was in the groove and adjusted to the watches,
sleeping, eating and back on watch again.
It sounds hard but once your body gets used to it you feel pretty good.
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| Resting between watches. Go Jays Go!! |
Memorable Moments:
· 3400 nautical miles sailed
· Three rain storms sailed through. Each with winds greater than 36 miles per
hour. Just a little WILD!!
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The storm is coming!!! |
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| Equator |
· Sailing over the equator and stopping for a photo op. Could not swim because of the high winds and seas.
· Three days of rain while crossing the equator
· The rest were sunny warm beautiful days and amazing
star lite nights.
· Fantastic sun rises and sun sets.
· Full moon at the start of the trip
· Waking Gord up for help. He would not wake up. He went all “ninja” on us. (I think they made
that up)
· Sail furler maintenance while on the go.
· Flying fish
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| Flying fish on the deck |
· Not seeing land for 13 days.
· First steps back on land (why is the land moving)
· Snorkeling and scuba diving along the way.
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| Gord checking the prop. All is good |
· Dad asking “What is the wind and boat speed all the
time” (stop already)
· 350 liters of diesel fuel carried to Bellaluna with
jerry cans and emptied into the tanks.
· Many firsts and
many new things learned and experienced
One thing that had eluded us throughout
the trip was the sighting of dolphins.
While, two days in a row they appeared in a big way. The first day was a small group of about 10-15
(hard to count because they move so fast) and the second day was even more
amazing. Our best guess was
approximately 40 dolphins. They played
at the bow of our boat for over 45 minutes.
Putting on an amazing show of swimming, playing and diving for
food. Had to be one of the highlights of
the trip.
We have arrived safely in Grenada. For that we are very thankful. Laura has been a fantastic crew member and
lots of fun to be with for the last 5 weeks.
As a Dad this has been a very special time for me. I have been able to share my passion for
sailing with Laura and have enjoyed our father/daughter time very much.
Laura, can’t wait for our next
adventure. You can crew for me on
BellaLuna anytime. You are the best!!! I love you.
Now it’s back to the Canadian winter for
you. Sorry the 35 degree sunny days must
come to an end.
Thanks Laura
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| Beautiful sunset while sailing to Grenada |
