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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 interesting country to visit. Corinne has been working to coordinate how best to participate in Carnival later next week and plans to join forces with the crews from several other boats.

Our first challenge upon arriving in Fortaleza will be to secure a dock at the marina and then clear through customs, immigration and port control. Since we are the only boat arriving in Fortaleza we will be on our own without the benefit of Rally Control's assistance. Also, the marina manager only speaks Portuguese so we plan to call Suzana by phone to be our interpreter in communicating with him.

We just passed a large, deep water oil rig. Brazil is having quite a boom with the recent discovery of vast oil reserves in very deep water. The name of the rig, Deepwater Discovery, reminded us of the Deepwater Horizon well which blew out in the Gulf of Mexico. We still wonder whatever happened to all the oil that leaked out? Probably drifting around the oceans somewhere...


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