Logged 1114 Nautical Miles, 8 Days 2.75 Hours
158.5 Hours Sailing 36.25 Hours Motoring
February 10 – 21, 2019
Ascension Island to Fernando De Noronha
Approaching Fernando De Noronha from the east, I was awed with the stunning natural beauty of the islands unique high, rocky peaks and endless sandy beaches. Of the 20 islets in the archipelago Fernando De Noronha is the only inhabited one. 30% of the island is for civil use, the rest is a strictly controlled Marine National Park. The island boasts of having the largest resident population of dolphins in the world.
We had some good times and some bad times during the eight day South Atlantic passage from Ascension Island to Fernando De Noronha. Day one was sunny and nice with good sailing on a broad reach with white sails. A fish got on one of our lines; it took lots of line out and broke the rod holder. Fortunately the rod was tied on, it was dragging in the water and no fish was left by the time we got it in. On day 2 we put the gennaker up at 10:30 and started sailing fast averaging over 8 knots. At 17:20 (5:20) the new halyard broke inside the mast and the gennaker was in the water again. This time the gennaker tore and a line wrapped around the starboard prop. It was a struggle to get the gennaker back on board and Dan had to get in the water to cut the line free. “Aurora Polaris” was close by and headed our direction until Dan was safely back on board. The gennaker is tore beyond repairing it ourselves. We were disheartened, discouraged and bummed. What was causing the halyard to break inside the mast? The next day was beautiful weather with easy, smooth sailing. The day after we had a little light rain, with light wind from behind and with no gennaker we had to motor.
Our double handing routine is getting more comfortable. We eat and early dinner, I am in bed by 19:00 (7:00) ish, then on watch from midnight to 04:00, off for 3 hours and on watch again at 07:00. Both of us try to get one or two hours sleep during the day. The biggest challenge is weather changes that require both of us to adjust sails. Sometimes I will go a little farther off course or slower so Dan can sleep.
On February 14, Valentine’s Day, we were half way to Fernando, it was very warm with a sea temp of 86. Late afternoon, Dan caught a nice Mahi, but it slid off the transom step. For some entertainment we have been playing trivia with the Gobow fleet on the SSB each afternoon. The relaxed sailing is great; it is nice not having to hurry to make a schedule. On February 16 we saw the first ship we’ve seen for several days, other than that there are birds in the sky and flying fish in the sea. We are enjoying the warm sunny days and bright moonlit nights.
The morning of the second to last day at sea while Dan was sleeping, we got a big fish on. I turned downwind to luff the sails and slow the boat. It took 15 – 20 minutes for Dan to reel it in; it kept going deep, close to the boat. When it breached we saw it had a long sword nose, it was a white marlin nearly 7 feet long from the tip of the nose. We hope it taste good as there are two huge fillets. That was exciting! I did some laundry and cleaning today and with light wind we are motoring off and on.
On the last day of the passage, February 18, Smoke and Roses logged 25,000 nautical miles since leaving Florida 16 months ago. Reaching Fernando we anchored in Bay De Santonio which was very swelly and not comfortable even for a catamaran. Immigration was done in an office right by the port; the fees were steep and needed to be paid in reals. It was the equivalent of $75 US to anchor each night and an additional $25 per person per day for an Environmental Preservation Fee, then an optional $60 per person for access to the National Park. The other crews all arrived earlier and were already out touring. It was midafternoon so we took the bus into Remedios Village and walked to the Santander Bank’s ATM for the local currency. From there we walked to Beach Do Meio to meet the Gobow group at a lovely beach bar/restaurant with picturesque sunset views and two private gazebo’s, for dinner. Our most creative event managers, Matt and Sydney, coordinated a very special “Gobow Prize Giving” complete with prizes for everyone. All crews and all boats won prizes, some of them were; Some and Roses for the best fishing boat with a spinnaker, Aurora Polaris for sailing the straightest course, Mark for best dancer, Helen for bravest crew, Agnes for best photos, Martin for best hair, Pia for most angelic radio voice, Hal for best squadron leader and Sydney for best tour director. It was a hilarious, fun time. Great job Matt and Sydney!
In 2001 UNESCO designated these islands as a world heritage site because of the importance of the environment. It is said that Fernando has three of the five best beaches in Brazil. The number of visitors to the island at any one time is limited and in addition to the fees mentioned earlier most things are very expensive. There are strict rules in the park including where you can swim or not and for some trails it is mandatory that you hire a guide. For such and exclusive place, I was surprised that it was not better kept. Cleaning up some garbage, paint and landscaping would give the place a more manicured appearance. After months of being in English speaking countries I had forgotten how challenging a language barrier can be, Google translate has been a big help as the language in Brazil is Portuguese.
The next day was the start of an international surf competition and several of us went to Cacimba Beach near Boloro to watch the surfers. The popular beach buggy that is rented on the island, were hard to come by; because of the surf competition. The beautiful beach was deep, and long with golden sand and two picturesque rocks at the end separating it from the next bay. It was very hot, with no shade and limited umbrellas available. We climbed a path up the rocks and sat on the top with a nice breeze and great views of the surfers. That afternoon Dan cleaned the boat bottom and grilled marlin for dinner. The marlin was very good; it is a meatier, yet mild tasting white fish.
As we are only planning to stay another 1 ½ days, we decided not to purchase the National Park Pass. The next day was spent walking the beaches. The Northern coast of the island has miles of lovely beaches separated with rocky points. After stopping for a late lunch at a beach bar restaurant, the tide came up limiting the beach access, so we walked through the village back to the dock. The next morning a huge pod of dolphin swam through the anchorage while fishing. The last day we went for walk around St Antonio Fort and little church, then rode the bus around the whole island. Departing shortly after “Aurora Polaris” and just before sunset, it was time to say goodbye to our “Gobow” buddies. “Aurora Polaris” was going to Natal, we were heading for Cabedelo, “Influencer”, “Cayuse” and “Mad Monkey” were staying at Fernando. We had all been cruising together since Cape Town, six weeks and 4,000 nautical miles. It was a great journey with great people.
Agnes Long