It’s Friday and another beautiful day in Brazil. We all woke up a bit earlier than the boys wanted to so we could visit the boat-building factory that is on the premises. Turns out that the marina, the marina hotel and boat-building operation are all owned by the same family. Phil had met Flavia, the daughter of the man who started it all, and she invited us to take a tour. […]
It’s Thursday, July 20 and we arrived to the boat early morning. The boat looks beautiful and the weather is glorious: about 82 degrees with a wonderful breeze. We all took naps (since we had a sleepless night on the plane) and then Phil took Grant, Will and me to a Brazilian restaurant called Sal e Brassa. I have no idea what that means—Portuguese is a bit difficult. But whatever it means, the food was very good. […]
On Wednesday, July 19, 2006, Phil, Grant, Grant’s friend Will Proctor and I flew to Miami to begin our trip to the boat. We flew from Miami to Fortaleza on Tam Airlines. It was one of those all-night flights that many of you are familiar with and even though Phil and I were in business class, I don’t think we slept any more than Grant and Will did in coach. […]
From Devil’s Island, we traveled a leg of over 1000 miles, all at sea, bypassing the Amazon River delta, and for good reason. Especially at its seaward reaches, the river has become a noted haven for pirates. Its enormous length and width is daunting as well. Its European discoverer sailed up the river some 1000 miles before he realized it was not an arm of the ocean. Even 2000 miles upriver it’s seven miles wide. […]
It is a moment we have all anticipated eagerly for some time now, and at approximately 8:30pm on June 20, 2006 it happens: we cross the equator. The crew and I are on the bridge, and Grant snaps a photo of the GPS screen at the instant of crossing thus commemorating on digital memory what we have experienced in real life. […]