Sailing on Velvet Lady

So we've been in Punta del Este 2 weeks now. Its a beautiful place in the sun but not so great in the wind and the rain. We get on and off the boat with the dinghy which is occasionally tricky in waves! The tidal range is only 0.2m but sometimes the wind direction can alter the tide by up to a metre. A whole new learning curve for us. We've been making great use of the shore hose cleaning salt off everything, on deck and below and of course been out and about exploring the town. Its light in the evening until 8 pm now so we sit on deck and people watch. Lots of activity on Oosterschelde as they get ready to head off on their next trip south. For us it will soon be time to explore more of Uruguay. Have a read https://velvetlady.wordpress.com/2023/11/27/punta-del-este-uruguay/ #sailingvelvetlady #sailinginuruguay #lifeonboard #PuntadelEste #oosterschelde #cruisingcouple

365 days, 7000nm, 3 continents, 5 countries, 3 gales. We are Lin and Richard sailing on our 1986 Oyster 55 Velvet Lady.   For those of you who don’t know us, this is not our first long trip, or even our longest trip. We’ve been making long trips in the northern hemisphere for the last 20 years. It is however our longest trip, just us, no charter guests and for Richard his first time across the equator. We left Mayflower Marina, Plymouth on 20 th September 2022, the day after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.  I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was somehow disrespectful to set off on our dream trip the same day that Her Majesty was buried. We had been in the UK 3 months.  Closing our Adventure Sailing business, emptying our lock up, working on getting the boat ready with the new equipment for South America and visiting family to tell them of our plans. Like many sailing trips – we were behind the schedule that we set for ourselves. ...

 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 ...