Moving in Circles

It was January 1989. Aboard Jaruschke, a South African 52 footer, with Zeca Martino as skipper, we did Natal-Vitoria-Rio-Cape Town, as if we moved in circles. On that trip we grew sprouts, made fresh bread, listened to music and had great interaction. Lovely passage.

However, on the first part of the trip, the boat almost sank because of a large hole in the anchor locker. We were a bit freaked (and sicked) out by all the pumping - and electrical pumps DO fail - but it all turned out fine: Zeca dived, found the hole and plugged it. The steering quadrant also cracked in the middle of the Atlantic, and that made the rudder very heavy. We were in 3, and I quickly got quite tired of the long shifts. Because we had very stable aft winds, Zeca simply pulled out his state-of-the-Art invention called "autopilot", which consists of a rubber band attached to one side of the rudder, and the large genoa halyard well trimmed attached to the other side, and we 3 decided to take our chances and have a couple of well-deserved nights of sleep. 

There was also amazing interaction with remarkable birds we called "ballerinas", cause they danced on top of the surf following us the whole way. So did the black-browed albatrosses. We say they are souls of sailors who lost their lives at sea.

Albatrosses are impressive cause they have the largest wingspans amongst birds, reaching up to 3,5 meters. Their beaks are really strong. These creatures take a long time to mature sexually, and they keep a single monogamist relationship for the rest of their lives. Albatrosses often return to their original colony to procreate, making their nests in isolated islands where there's no history of mammals. They take good and long care of their egg - one by nestling season - and their offspring must be at least one year old until they can fly. Albatrosses fly for very long distances - sometimes circumpolar - for they can plane easily without spending much energy. They can live up to 50 years.
Of the 21 Albatross species known to men, 19 are in extinction.

Nowadays, Zeca works chartering between Natal and Fernando de Noronha on his Borandá.