2009 - A Year in South America

Hi all

Instead of a lengthy email detailing the “been there, done that”, I thought I’d try something different. So, here are the links to my photo albums of 2009. I hope you enjoy as much as I have!

• Cape to Salvador Yacht Race
• Salvador, Brazil
• Graffiti, Valparaiso, Chile
• Itaparica, Brazil
• The Equator & Suriname
• Trinidad & Tobago
• Bolivia
• Uruguay
• Paraguay – what a nasty, horrid place, so no encouragement for you to go there.
• Iguazu Falls, Argentina
• Bariloche, Argentina – in black & white
• Bariloche, Argentina – in colour
• Bariloche, Argentina – from the air
• El Calafate, Argentina
• Collapsing Glaciers
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Antarctica - a Skua gets the egg
• Antacrtica – Penguin sex
• Antarctica – kayaking
• More Antarctica
• Ushuaia, Argentina – the southern most town in the world
• Are you bored yet?
• Salta, Argentina
• Uyuni Salt Flats, Bolivia
• Atacama Desert, Bolivia
• Death Road Bike Ride, Bolivia
• Lake Titicaca, Bolivia
• Xmas on the Macchu Pichu Trail, Peru

Wishing you all the best in 2010

Cheers

John

Keeping Track on Google Earth

Those of you that are keeping track of me on Google Earth, the login has changed. Please delete the current link that you have and create a new one. Full instructions here:

http://anecdotesfromstingo.blogspot.com/2007/09/google-earth-and-stingo.html

So Close, Yet So Far

And now the wind has dropped. We still have 27 miles to go and are doing
about 2 knots. So much for an early lunch?

Doing It Again.

Given the opportunity to do the race again, would I do it? No way. Not only
were there plenty of compliance rules that I thought added nothing to the
safety of the boat, but there were far too many hidden costs which we would
not have had to pay if we'd simply sailed across the pond. And I am fierce
critic of sailing to a schedule - I think it is positively dangerous being
forced to leave at a fixed time and date, no matter what the circumstances
are eg foul weather or lack of availability of parts because all the
suppliers are closed for the silly season and so on.

Would I like to cross the South Atlantic Ocean again? For the sake of
crossing an ocean, it's an easy sail. The trade winds are gentle and there
are no tricky continental shelves or nasty currents. Unless you arrive there
courtesy of a cattle-class seat in a Boeing 747, the biggest problem is
getting to Cape Town before setting off. The South African coast is nasty in
the worst possible way and that is a stretch of ocean that I would not like
to do again.

Thank You

The fat lady has not quite sung yet - we still have just over 30 miles to
go, so there is still a little time left for things to change.

My crew have been fantastic; there has not been one fight or niggle between
us, despite very nearly four weeks of being cramped into such a confined
space. Given the opportunity to do the race again, would I take the same
team? Yes, absolutely.

Well done guys and thank you for making it such fun.

And while I am about it, thank you too all of you that sent SMS's to the
SatPhone. They were always well received.

Round The Island Yacht Race

On a man-made lake, about an hour south of Johannesburg, The Round The
Island Yacht is held annually. This year, they are hoping to attract enough
entries too break the Guinness Book Of Record's record for the most number
of entries in a regatta on inland waters. The distance of the race is about
20 miles. That's nothing. We've just sailed a much longer version of Round
The Island and it was over 3600 miles. The island being St Helena. Take
that, sports-lovers.

Post-Race Intentions

Lloyd, one of Loram's drinking buddies, has asked what my post-race
intentions are? Lloyd, that's getting a bit personal, but since you asked; I
intend tracking down a young Brazilian lady whose morals match those of my
exacting standards. We shall drink a few drinks, probably exchange the few
niceties that I know in Portuguese and that she may know in English. I may
then
offer to share a condom with her.

After that, my motto of "I don't have a plan and am sticking too it" kicks
in.

High Standards Aboard Stingo

The elder-salts of the sea would probably say "Pah. Them Stingo dudes are
soft - hot showers and a decent cooked meal every day. In them ol' days, we
'ad it tough. Soft I say, they're soft".
Despite having been at sea for nearly a month, we say "Hey granddad, with
the advances in modern design and technology, that's the way the ice-cream
melts" and that is why we were able to enjoy fruit salad and ice-cream for
desert last night.

Happy Hour

Our ETA is still 08:48 am (Brazilian time - 12:48 SA time) tomorrow morning
(Fri 30th Jan) - give or take a few minutes. The boys must be eager too set
foot ashore, because they check and then double check the ETA on the GPS
every ten minutes or so. The ETA-checking is getting far more attention than
the lookout for unlit fishing boats at night - of which we've seen a few.

Does anyone know a pub in Salvador that has a Happy Hour starting at about
9:00am?

That Drain is Alive

Loram has just popped his head through the saloon door and said "Yep"?
"I didn't say anything" I replied, thinking he had just called me! It's that
life-like gurgling drain that Goble-I'll-Never-Do-Another-Cooking-Duty
mentioned in his update the other day. Last night I mentioned to Loram that
I thought it sounded a lot like his voice. He said that he thought it
sounded a lot like the way I mumble & grumble when I wake up.

Maybe we've been a sea too long.

Bang Again

Yep, the spinnaker threw it's toys out of the cot and split again.
Fortunately, not anywhere near as badly as the first time, so down it came,
out came the sewing machine, a few expletives were thrown about, back into
it's sock it went - with resistance, which meant more expletives - and an
hour later, it was up again. Getting it into it's sock was a challenge, but
we have learned for next time.

Voortrekker

Probably South Africa's most famous racing yacht, Voortrekker, has just gone
screaming past us. We called them up on the VHF and asked them to get
reasonably close by so that we could take some photos of them. They more
than obliged and when just ahead, called us to say that they had put a book
about the boat's history into a plastic bottle and thrown it overboard for
us to collect. We collected it and it will be one of the books that I keep
aboard Stingo with pride.

Goble-Warming Retires From Galley Duty

Goble-Warming is as pleased as the proverbial pig. Today is the very last
time that he will be on cooking & cleaning duty. I hope he makes another
babootie - it's the only meal that he's cooked, that has been a real
success. I think I may challenge him too see if he can do it using only two
pots and not the entire set aboard Stingo.

Not Far To Go

Everyday at 7:00 am GMT, we report our position to the Race Office via
email, HF radio or SatPhone. Our position this morning is only 350 NM from
the finish. I was talking with Loram last night and we agreed that the days
have already blended into just a (very) few memorable ones - and we haven't
even finished the journey yet. On both of my other Atlantic crossings, the
same thing happened and when I think back, the days have all blended into
one. I suppose it is like a skiing holiday, where the same thing happens. Oh
well, at least it's been great fun with these guys and despite the confined
space, there have been no clashes of personality.