Baia to Recife

Nothing venture nothing gain. I have always been very negative on solo sailing, but had no options than to sail from Salvador to Recife single handed. After saying my goodbye's to the friendly people of Salvador and a last visit with friends to Pelourinho, I set sail on Wednesday morning and slipped the dock at 6. On rounding Barra lighthouse, the wind was blowing a force 6 and the waves were huge. Springtime, a South African yacht decided to return to the harbour and try the next day. I sailed out to 25 miles from the coast and set a course for Recife. Colin on his yacht Polly did the same and we kept in sight till nightfall
Mila went like a train on tracks and achieved speeds of 10 knots at times. My first night was scary, as this my first solo night. I kept the radar on, saw a few ships and slept very little. The next morning it was the ocean and me with no one in sight. It was perfect sailing conditions with the wind at 18 knots on the beam and I achieved the best run for 24 hours, a whopping 181 miles. Saturday morning at six I arrived in Recife and anchored off the Pernambuco Yacht Club. As the tide was low and a tricky passage up the river to Cabanga I had to wait till 5 in the afternoon. Colin arrived at 4.30 and we were fortunate to have a local yacht showing us the way to the Cabanga Yach Club. I moored and had a good sleep.
The next morning, Springtime with Thomas his wife Johness, daughter Dom and her friend Alex joined us in the marina. Amigo a German yacht with Martin, his wife Ines and 5 year old daughter Anna also came from Salvador and Martin decided to enter for the regatta to Fernando. We celebrated our arrival with a nice chicken braai Sunday evening next to the pool. The facilities at the Cabanga Yacht Club are outstanding. There are two swimming pools, one with a water slide, saunas and beautiful braai areas. The food is good in the restaurant and not expensive. The staff are friendly and helpful, and I am looking forward to a happy stay.
On my next update I will give you more information on Recife. We moored in the marina till the start of the regatta to Fernando on the 24th of September.
That's all for now