ratCATcher Cruises: Anchorages 9 to 17

Anchorages 9 to 17

I have not been logging the anchorages daily so have listed them below. I will post our position daily from now on. This you can see on the world map on the blog page itself.

Anchorage 9 we were in Rio for the Carnival which you have all read about.

We left Rio on route back to Ilha Grande and 3 hours out our chart plotter died. Although it is possible to sail without it we did not feel comfortable as it shows hidden rocks, other dangers ahead and the depth of the area we are in. Deciding we were more likely to find someone who could fix it in Rio we reluctantly turned back!

Rio is exciting, the people friendly and helpful and for a city of its side incredibly clean. In all the time here we have seen one beggar and he was hiding in the subway that crossed under the street. The traffic is heavy and they drive as the mood takes them. Usually like cowboys on a racing track. The bravest has right of way! All over the city there are subways and bridges for pedestrians and cyclists to cross. Pedestrian crossings are also plentiful but one cannot assume that because the light is green to walk they will stop at the red light. But Rio is still a city, and we are not city people. Small doses of the hustle and bustle are enough.

The other “problem” was it was still Carnival week and many businesses were closed. So we found ourselves once again anchored at Iate Clube Rio de Janeiro!

Thanks for our friends we have made in Rio Lelia Winckler, her husband Armando Serra and Marcelo Dias our carnival buddy. We phoned them, explained the problem and asked who we could call. Not even an hour later they called back saying they had contacted and English speaking Raymarine technician and he would be at the boat the next morning!

Ricardo arrived early (no carioca time) and quickly admitted he could not fix the plotter as he did not have spares in Rio and it would take a week or more to get it to Sao Paulo and back! L He told us the other Raymarine workshop in Brazil was in Angra! Whoopee!!!! Right across the sea from Ilha Grande. He suggested we sail to Angra dos Reis and give it in. We could then continue to explore while waiting for it instead of sitting in Rio. He called the agents in Angra and organised everything. We were to meet the agent at Marina Verolme on Saturday morning.

So we were once again on our way back to “our” islands!

Anchorage 10 – Lagoa Azur

We set sail early the next morning (Friday) excited to be leaving the city and getting back to the Island. We arrived at Lago Azur early found a good anchorage and settled in for the night. Lagoa Azur is where I spotted my exotic pre-historic looking fish which I have since discovered is a Bat fish. Many thanks to Elmarie for finding the exact picture.

The next morning we set off early to Marina Verolme which is an hours motor sail across the water to the Angra Dos Reis mainland. It is situated in the industrial area of Angra. The technician we were supposed to meet never arrived but Ricardo (from Rio) called him and organised we took the plotter out ourselves and give it in at their shop. Which we did. We then set off for Rio yacht clubs subsidiary in Angra where we have stayed before. (Iate Clube Rio De Janeiro subsede Angra dos Reis) That was anchorage 11.

Anchorage 12 Praia Matariz

We needed to get our dive cylinders refilled and we set off for the dive school we had seen on Ilha Grande at Praia Matariz. We found ourselves a private little cove 10 mins ride in the rubber duck from them. It was perfect!! We anchored, backed the boat into it then tied the back of the boat to rocks under water. The setting was perfect, we snorkelled and bird watched, (added a new bird to my list) then showered and set off to the dive school.

It is owned and run by a Chinese Portuguese family. Although they initially insisted they didn’t speak English, one sentence of our broken Portuguese turned them and they were soon all chatting quite comfortably in English to us. It was the owner / dive master who identified my fish for me. They have a small hotel attached and the whole establishment is beautifully decorated. They also have a “tame” turtle that lives in their bay; she has one front flipper missing after a tangle with a motor boat.

Anchorage 13 - Praia Passaterra

From Matariz we went back to a favourite anchorage at Praia Passaterra. The first time we went there and picked up one of the floating buoys to anchor on the owner came out to help us, much to our surprise. We were expecting to be chased away. This time we managed to meet Julio. He was the CEO of the Chile airlines and after suffering two heart attacks was told to retire to a quiet place. He had owned the little beach cottage at Passaterra for many years and on his ex-employers advice turned it into a restaurant. He made the lady who had been working for his family for 26years the proprietor and cook. She now employs him. He spends two weeks n the island then goes to Sao Paulo for two weeks to see his wife. They alternate visits so she gets to spend two weeks a month there. He made us very welcome. They filled our water tanks with fresh mountain water with their hose pipe for free. Their hose is about 50 meters long to reach the boats. We had lunch there and learnt some new Portuguese. Thank you Julio. We will be back!

Anchorage 14 - Marina Verolme

The next morning it was back to Marina Verolme as we had an appointment with the refrigerator mechanic who had worked on the freezer in Rio. The thermostat he had put in wasn’t working and nothing was freezing. To cut a long story short it took him 2 days to get it sorted out and we ended up spending the night at the marina. Carioco time in Angra (that’s like African time but worseJ)

Marina Verolme is clean and very well organised. The staff are friendly and very helpful. When we got stuck with Portuguese they start up their computers and we use Google Translate. The marina manager befriended us and organised us a free stay at Marina Passaterra in Angra where we could shop.

That stay and the following birthday you have already read about.

The busy horizon out of Rio.