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December 18th, 2009 – At Sea, 23º 26′S, 044º 30′W
by Herb McCormick
The rain commenced right in the middle of last evening’s fueling operation, a dense, tropical downpour that left no doubt as to why the surrounding hills and countryside were so lush and green. Some seventy-five miles west of Rio de Janeiro, the Ilha Grande region of coastal Brazil – including the big, central island of Ilha Grande; the vast Bahia da Ilha Grande, with its dozens if not hundreds of associated islands and beaches; and the coves, bays and villages on the adjacent mainland, including a place called Angra dos Reis, where we’d tied up for fuel – is a popular vacation spot, resort area and cruising ground. It’s where the citizens of Rio go for a respite from the city’s bustle.
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| After a long, interesting and challenging stretch of travel, Ocean Watch has finally taken leave of Brazil. |
In some aspects Ilha Grande looks like the Pacific Northwest (think the San Juan Islands or British Columbia), in others, like certain choice parts of southern Europe (think Italy or Croatia). But for the crew of Ocean Watch, Isla Grande represents something different and significant, for if all goes according to plan, the next step they take on terra firma will be in Punta del Este, Uruguay, some 900-nautical miles to the south. For after a long, interesting and challenging stretch of travel, Ocean Watch has finally taken leave of Brazil.
We’re not free and clear quite yet, not by any stretch of the imagination. The actual border between Brazil and
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| Brazil didn’t quite chew us up and spit us out, but it made us work for every mile. |
Uruguay is still hundreds of miles away. But when we untied the dock lines at high noon today, it felt like an important milestone. Brazil didn’t quite chew us up and spit us out, but its blazing heat, adverse currents and vast geography made us work for every mile. In some ways we’ll miss Brazil, I reckon, particularly its breathtaking natural beauty and friendly, smiling people, but what we’ll really leave Brazil with is our utmost respect.
It took us three full weeks to negotiate the coastline of Brazil, with just four very quick stops along the way. Rounding the eastern point of the nation – the easternmost extent of the entire trip Around the Americas – proved to be even more difficult than gaining the far western or northern extremes of our journey…and that’s saying something. “Getting around Brazil was like getting around Alaska,” said David Thoreson earlier today, and by that he meant that the sheer coastal mileage of both places is almost impossible to fathom until one attempts to skirt it; maps alone certainly don’t do it justice.
Like Alaska, as far as exploration is concerned, we barely, barely scratched the surface of Brazil. Even so, we were left with a wide range of impressions. More than ever, it feels like a country on the rise. A nation of rich natural resources, including enormous reserves of oil and the Amazonian rainforest, Brazil is in many envious ways a self-reliant entity in the global economic arena. But it is also a country growing in leaps and bounds, and the attendant pressure on those resources comes from within and beyond its borders.
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| One get the impression that, as Brazil goes, so will the entire continent. |
Earning the right to host the Olympics, which Rio recently did, will be a double-edged sword (as it often is); yes, the event will be costly, and the lead-up to prepare the infrastructure will be a scramble, but the Games will also focus attention on not only Brazil but on all of South America. One gets the feeling that, as Brazil goes, so will the entire continent. Will Rio, and Brazil, be ready for its close-up? Only time will tell.
The rain finally lessened last night, but getting away from Angra dos Reis presented a scramble for us, as well. The generator went out while we were fueling up; the credit-card machine wouldn’t take our card; the boat bank was emptied of its cash supply before we could finally un-cleat the dock lines. But we also managed to top up those tanks; lay in fresh food and provisions; and enjoy one of our best dinners out in quite a long time, a seafood feast at a quaint local café.
At the stroke of twelve today, we pointed Ocean Watch into the Bahia da Ilha Grande. The waters were flat and glassy, reflecting both the low and high cloud and the crooked peaks that lined the bay. We motored for a good hour, maybe a little more, before we were out beyond the shadow of Ilha Grande itself. The first inklings of new wind rippled the surface, and the mild heave of a long, gentle swell rolled beneath the boat’s keel. We were back on the ocean, and Ocean Watch was back on her way.
- Herb McCormick with photographs by David Thoreson
This crew log submitted by Iridium OpenPort and Stratos
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