Sailing on Velvet Lady

 We have been sailing in Brazil for 3 months now, and I realise I have been very remiss about writing here.  Just found that my last blog has sat here as a draft since May! Last week we went to Parity. It is beautiful there, shame it was an overcast day. Paraty – pronounced Parachee by the locals and spelt Parati on the chart is described in the Lonely Planet as an enticing blend of colonial architecture and natural beauty. Without fail, every Brazilian sailor we’ve met (and even Uber drivers) have said – you have to go to Paraty. Parati is situated at the end of a shallow bay.  There are plenty of marinas but none with enough depth for us so we anchored about half a mile away from the public pier and launched the dinghy. Our first impression as we looked for somewhere to land the dinghy was of colour.  First we passed the pier full of colourful tourist boats, then colourfull fishing boats tied to the wall. We found a space and ...

  Skip to content US   Crossing the Atlantic: 2600 nm Cape Verde to Brazil may 24, 2023 by  velvetlady , posted in  1. 2023 ,  brazil ,  cape verde ,  uk to south america the whole trip 23 days, 2688nm on the clock. 65 hours motoring. Not by far the longest trip we have done together, but the longest on Velvet Lady, the longest just us 2 handed, the longest trip ever without a tack and more important NO GALES. Not really any dramas, just a couple things to fix. How lucky were we, a really mixed variety o f weather and sea conditions, A thoroughly enjoyable experience. After a week in Sal, Cape Verde, we were chomping at the bit to get going again. We were rested, had explored, done our chores and the forecast looked great. We wanted to leave early Sunday so were allowed to clear out Saturday afternoon. Like kids at Christmas, Richard and I were both awake at the first sign of light filtering in through the cabin window.  Hot water heater on f...