YACHT LIFE :)
This is the story of how I crossed the Atlantic. It would take 32 days along with 7 others on board a 35 - foot yacht.
I spent time in the heart of Brazil, Rio, prior to my departure! From seeing local brands all the way to the itsy bitsy touristy hotspots!
Just to give some background on how I got to this point. I have sailed since the age of 10 on various dinghies. I mainly got involved with sailing through scouts and school regattas. One of the main items on my bucket list, amongst greats such as Everest and the Appalachian trail, was the Cape to Rio race. Once I saw the applications had opened for crew, I knew this was for me. The next thing I knew, I was on my way to Brazil and then in the blink of an eye on the Atlantic Ocean in all its might, traveling down South.
I have heard many tales about the waves, the swells, lost ships and the cold. I went in open minded on what I was to face but I wasn’t going in unprepared. I wanted to find a brand that would resonate with my core beliefs to help me to achieve my goal in the most sustainable and durable way possible. I didn’t just want to buy a bag from an outdoors supplier but rather local and environmentally friendly. I have always been a huge fan of Sealand! You can only guess what came next!
Sealand has always had a special place in my heart. The reason for this is their core beliefs! Sealand believes in a brighter future and that starts with us. To save the environment through upcycling, recycling and Eco-cycling. I got in touch with them, and after some discussion, we decided to collaborate on my journey! With the help of Jess, Jasper and their incredible team at Sealand, we were able to take the brand to the core of its name, the sea to discover new paths.
We arrived in Rio on the 28th of January after flying for more than 20 hours, stopping in Luanda, Sao Paulo-Guarulhos and our final destination being Rio De Janeiro Galea. The drive from the airport to our accommodation felt like a roller coaster. The driving in Rio is something I will never forget as I believe our taxi drivers should learn to drive there. Pending a few days in Brazil, I begun to understand how Rio ticked. The first few days we spent getting to know our surroundings as well as regular visits to the Yacht Club to see the yachts finish the race.
Prior to Rio, I did extensive research on both the cultures, people and local spots. With the help of Apps such as “Like a Local”, I was able to find the best local spots and have an offline app. Therefore, we quickly got into the swing of traveling in Rio. We walked the first week as we visited places such as the famous Copacabana beach, Ipanema beach and many local markets.
From here we started to use public transport which gave us time recover our legs from all the walking. We visited Centro in order to discover how Rio worked, we found beautiful markets wherever we turned and met with Highrise buildings with packed streets.
Approaching our departure date from Rio, we started doing a lot of sightseeing, ticking off the tourist hotspots. We found a local tour guide who set up a day of sightseeing for us. His name was Amaral. Amaral gave us an incredible experience ticking of the greats such as Christ the Redeemer, Sambadrome, Maracanã, Metropolitan Cathedral, the Celeron Staircase and Sugarloaf Mountain. We were also taken to a spit braai where we enjoyed local cuisine with traditional music.
Closing on the 4th of February, being our date of departure, we hit a number of problems. These included problems with the water trap, with a few parts breaking here and there! On top of this, we were informed by the local municipality that all the water in Rio had been infected with algae. We started looking for other sources of water when one of the crew members discovered where their Air BnB received their supply of water. After much deliberation, the Air BnB owner managed to supply us with more than 400l of water across the country to our boat. This arrived just the night before our departure where after we managed to do some shopping. This was no light task as it took 6 hours with 5 people and ended up with us pushing more than 6 trolleys of goods.
We were now ready to embark on the next phase of our journey. We set off midday on the 8th of February where we said our goodbyes sailed off into the sunset. The next thing I knew, we were making our way through oil rigs and oil fields. With oil rigs left right and centre, we had to manoeuvre, and motor sail our way through the ever-expanding field on the blue sea. With this behind us, we had nothing left to see except the odd blinker on the AIS (Automatic identification system) which notified us when boats were in a 24 nm radius. We were alone on a boat for 17 days before we reached the beautiful Volcanic island that is Tristan Da Cunha. It is the most remote inhabited island on the planet with a population of 225 people and is situated 1511 Nm from Cape Town. Interesting enough, they do their shopping in Cape Town, South Africa.
We met a lot of locals, including the boss of the fishing company on the island who was also a scout from Cape Town; and so was I. We both bonded and got to know each other, and when we had to make our way out, he fortunately offered us a box of crayfish, we gladly accepted the crayfish and in return, sent him a true South African bottle of brandy for his generosity.
We took any opportunity to swim, as the chance rarely arose for conditions to be calm enough for us to be able to do so. I am often asked about what I did on the boat to kill time. Living on a boat without internet connection, you are forced to create a semblance of a schedule for yourself. Whether it was cooking or fixing things, you always managed to find something to do, from playing a game of cards to baking a cake. I often baked brownies and bread on board, as these really lifted our spirits during tough times. We were sometimes very fortunate to have caught fish, mainly Dorado, Tuna longfin and Yellow fin.
Following Tristan, we had just over 1500 nm to sail home. We were met with storms, the doldrums and sunny skies. With the weather changing constantly, we needed to adapt swiftly. We all layered up extensively as we approached Cape Town, battling the seas with the wind and the swell increasing as we made our approach. The day on which we were to arrive at home, we were excited but not as thrilled as we were when we could see Table Mountain, just 5 hours away. We passed sailing vessels, tankers and small sailing vessels on our way in. We started chatting as the signal started becoming constant, so did the crew attend to their catch-up sessions. Sadly, we were informed of the ever-increasing winds, reaching up to 50 knots. This was sad news, as on the trip we had a few engine problems that required much fixing and bolt replacement. At one stage, a few bolts had come loose along with some oil pressure sealers, forcing me to enter the engine compartment. It was very tight in there, but along with my fellow crew members and skipper, we were able to fix the problem quickly.
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This left us with a huge problem, as we lacked sufficient oil to sail full speed to the RCYC (Royal Cape Yacht Club). We therefore had to motor-sail into a dark harbour with nearly no oil to run the engine (it cuts off when oil hits a certain level). We experienced more stress on entering the harbour that our docking spot had been taken by another boat. This meant that we had to perform a 180 degree turn to turn into our mooring spot. This was incredibly difficulty, involving a fair amount of shouting, running and pushing to avoid damaging the boat. We finally tied down after many struggles, mainly due to us losing a cleat in Rio when we faced a storm whilst docking there.
We were home - and that was all many of us could think of! It is difficult to explain the things we have seen and all the experiences we have gathered. It has truly been the pinnacle of my life as I feel that my existence has taken a drastic turn. I now believe that any experience, no matter how small or big, can create a big impact on an individual.
A special word of thanks to Sealand for making this collaboration become a reality. Sealand has been incredibly supportive and has been there every step of the way. Sealand bags are incredible; from the different forms of stitching to the tiny details of where to use the different kinds of material. I can safely say that I took a large amount of sensitive goods, such as glass and important documents, all of which came back bone dry with no problems of mould. The outside of the bags took the full force of nature - from being exposed to the heat of Brazil (reaching 35-degree temperatures with a 100% humidity) to the open ocean where we were all exposed to freezing temperatures whilst battling the sea, being wet and all items always being damp. I highly recommend Sealand gear to anyone who intends travelling or who may be an avid adventurer, looking for reliable gear in pushing the frontiers of adventure.
