9 February 2014 – Ilha Grande.

By Cathleen Hughes.

After saying our farewells in Rio we headed off to an island 70NM down the coast called Ilha Grande. Once we had spotted the island on the horizon, we watched it grow larger and larger as we sailed closer. As we approached Abrao bay, more lights came into view and we could make out a number of small villages scattered along the shore. Because we arrived in the dark, our view was relatively limited but we found ourselves a comfy spot and anchored. The crew had been teased for many days by the thought of Ilha Grande through Peters stories from 2000 and not even the lack of light was going to stop us from exploring the island. We all donned our swimming costumes and packed any necessary equipment; shirts, money, cameras and torches into a capsize bottle, jumped into the water and swam to a tiny beach on shore lit by a single orange light. Rory and Cathleen stayed on the boat to keep a look out and watch for anchor dragging. Four hours later the rest of the crew returned, again swimming back to the boat, and jabbered on about the rustic town, youth hostels and dancing in the main square. We decided that tomorrow would be the day for proper exploring.

The morning brought a whole new side to the island. As we peered out of the companion way, large hills towered all around us covered in trees and greenery. The water was a turquoise green and there were boats anchored all around. Looking towards the shore, we could now make out the towns from the previous night’s expedition with beaches as their welcoming mats. After breakfast we motored across the bay in order to be closer to the hubbub of the main town. We met a father and son duo from Argentina who was anchored next to us. They let us in on a few island secrets about where the best places to explore were and we even scored a magazine which contained pictures of the different bays around the island. Lorraine pointed out a peak that was shaped like an eagle’s head which we later found to be called Parrot Mountain.

We packed our capsize bottle and swam to shore ready for a day of exploring. Chris, Lorraine, Ashwyn and Cathleen went off to find an ATM only to discover that the island did not have any banks and they would have to go to the mainland for money. Instead the four of them went walked the shore and investigated all the beaches along the way as well as going for a lovely local lunch in the centre of town. They visited the state park which had trails leading up the mountains to waterfalls and Aqueducts but they rather decided to take the low road and swim on the beaches after a walk through a bamboo forest. Rory, Virgil and Renier found a grocery store and bought themselves packed lunch before heading off for a hike over a nearby ridge that led them to a secluded beach with a single restaurant and incredible views of the mainland and other parts of the island. The only complaint was the burgers at the restaurant that were small and tasteless and therefore, in a true South African attitud e, too expensive. Peter took a well needed break from the crew and did some shopping and roaming around the town.

We had only been back on the boat for an hour when we were chased away from our anchoring spot for a large ferry that was coming in from the mainland. Only when we saw the ferry 500m away and the size of it did we realise that we actually needed to move quickly or we would be driven over. We decided to move back to our original spot where we soon discovered Myrtle of Bonnievale, a South African catamaran team from the Cape to Rio Race, had come to join us at the island. It was great to meet up with fellow South Africans again and we decided to have a lekker braai off the back of the boat just for the occasion. We marinated chicken breasts in a sticky barbeque sauce and put them on the grid as well as places onions wrapped in tinfoil amongst the coals and a couple cans of baked beans to warm them up. Chris was braai master for the night and he did his duties sporting his new red speedo. Ashwyn had a creative spark and decided to attempt making potato chips. In the end they were slap c hips but nobody minded because they tasted like a slice of South African heaven.

The Argentinian duo had obviously watched us swimming to shore throughout the day and they offered to lend us their 3 man tender which we were eternally grateful for. Chris, Virgil, Lorraine, Ashwyn and Cathleen decided to go ashore to seek out the Samba music which we could hear from the boat. Lorraine fetched the tender and had a quick lesson on how to row it. It was a small rubber duck about 1,5m long and it had 2 paddles each the length of an arm. We now had to transport 5 people to shore with a tiny 3 man tender, this took a bit of mathematics to figure out. Aswhyn, Lorraine and Cathleen all went to shore first and then Cathleen had to row back to the boat to fetch Chris. The trouble comes when there is only 1 person to row the already unstable boat. One has to do a single stroke on each side of the tender with the paddle in order to go in a straight line. For a good few minutes, the crew watched as Cathleen paddled in circles, struggling to figure out how to make the tender go straight. Eventually she figured it out and picked up Chris and they paddled to shore. Virgil couldn’t wait to get to shore so he simply swam across. By the time they got to the town, the music had died down and there wasn’t much excitement left so they walked around town and to the end of the pier to watch boats coming and going. They met a group of Argentinians sitting in a circle on the beach singing traditional folk songs to a guitar. They listened for a while and heard stories of the island before heading off to the boat again.

The next morning we motored off to Angra, a town 12NM away on the mainland, to do last minute shopping, clear our passports, fill up the diesel and water tanks and attempt to fill our gas tanks. The marina allows 2 hours free mooring and then money is paid for each hour over. Peter and Rory went off to clear the passports while the rest of the crew bought fresh food and relaxed in the air conditioned shopping mall. Once the passports were back, Rory and Renier left to attempt to fill our gas tanks while the boat got filled up with Diesel and water. In Rio we were told that our South African gas tanks were banned in Rio due to explosions so finding a place to fill the tanks was impossible. We were told that Ilha Grande still used the same tanks so we would be able to fill them up there but when we arrived we found that just like there were no ATMs there were also no gas stations. Everything on the island comes from the mainland so once there; it was our last chance to find gas. After hours of searching three separate gas suppliers and calling the oil refineries, everyone refused to fill our tanks. In a last desperate effort we gave in and purchased a 13kg tank with new regulators in order to have gas for the trip home. The tank however is too big to sit in the tank compartment so it is lashed on the back of the boat.

We made our way back to Abrao for remainder of the day. When we arrived, Myrtle of Bonnievale had left but we were now joined by Tranquilo, another catamaran from the race and the skipper Piet Van Der Westhuizen was the skipper who delivered Rotary back to Cape Town in 2000 with Peter Bosch after stopping off at Ilha Grande too. For our last relaxing night before heading back home, we decided to have another braai with pork ribs and sausages based in the same sticky barbeque sauce as the night before. Rory and Cathleen watched over the braai while Ashwyn and Lorraine made a delicious potato salad to accompany the meat. We had an early night to prepare for our final leg tomorrow, homeward bound to Cape Town.

Rotary Scout in Abrao

Abrao town

Angra – Mainland