We arrive and anchor at the Natal Yacht Club and actually tie up to a dock to take on water and fuel. This is so much easier than transporting large full containers to Severance through wave break. A comment: I'm not sure what it is about Brazil and sailboats but there seems to be no effort spared to ensnare us in multi levels of bureaucracy every landfall we make.
The first day in Natal is similar to Naronha. A visit to 4 separate Ministries in various parts of the city, having documentation stamped yet again bearing in mind that we are repeating the same process as in Naronha. Among the detailed questions to be answered is...”Did anybody die in transit?” Well... no, we all sort of got along. At certain Ministries there is even a dress code. Try wearing shoes, shirt, and long pants in 35 degree C temperature and near 100% humidity. I guess the natural reaction to all of this love of Brazilian bureaucracy was the thong bathing suit for the ladies and the speedo for the men.
Armando, with his insatiable desire for shrimp and more fresh shrimp taps into the local market. He is up early in the morning bargaining at the local market returning usually with a couple of kilos of ...guess what and the appetite to take care of it. Listening to tunes on the aft deck, eating shrimp and sipping a cold one is a great way to start a day- every day in Natal.
March 24 Fortaleza
We leave Natal on March 22 and it is an uneventful run to my final destination, Fortaleza, except for the addition of another crew member, Armando’s girlfriend, the beautiful Sonia.
I say uneventful, except for the spike in night ship traffic. Not everything can be picked up by radar or AIS, especially small fishing boats. We go through a fleet of 50 or so plus larger vessels, and I leave my last watch exhausted but relieved there have been no close calls. A 34 ft. sailboat is going to lose to just about everybody out there.
We arrive in Fortaleza on March 24, tie up Mediterranean style in the hotel marina and my sailing odyssey is over. I crossed the Atlantic on a small sailboat, didn't get seasick, and completed an adventure of a lifetime in the company of very fine sailors. It is a wonderful life!
Posted by Danny McJannet
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Speaking of the bureaucracy, among all of the papers that were stamped and shuffled, one apparently critical paper did not make it from Naronha to Natal - the crew list. The customs officers were very upset about this. Scott had never seen it and tried to tell them that he had never been given it. They said this was impossible.
Anyone who knows Scott understands his aversion to order, but to his defense, papers were handed back and forth between many hands. Anyway, this crucial lack of a crew list could be responsible for the interest in if anyone had died in transit. Happily, nothing died except some flying fish and a couple of mahi mahi!
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