12:58.70 S, 038:31.50 W

 

Yesterday evening the wind picked up just as it got dark as a rain squall came over and in fact we rushed towards the buoys marking a shoal off Salvador in pitch black and slightly over-canvassed. We chose the more off-shore path as the pilot said it was the principal one, but we couldn’t spot the buoy at all. In the end we put on the radar and found it from about 1/2 mile away: a S cardinal but with lights broken.

 

We then crept in under engine and found that hundreds of tiny craft were out fishing without lights and so chose to anchor just inside the bay of Todos os Santos  rather than go further in. We stopped just off the ‘Iate Clube’ which isn’t really about sailing or yachts but is at least in a reasonably protected bay despite being really in the city and backed by sky-scrapers. We passed a peaceful enough night before rising at 7 or so and going a further couple of miles to the Marina Bahia. This may have been a mistake – hard to say. We are the only foreign boat and almost the only sailing boat and it’s instead full of big motorboats. It’s very expensive as well – Solent prices – and full of fat-ish blokes with trophy wives in absurdly high heels. But nonetheless they are very welcoming and friendly. We have already had a chap dive down to scrub the hull, clean and change the anodes on the prop.

 

We have been told that the customs, immigration, port health authorities and port captain’s offices are all closed until Monday which gives us a day or two to be here rather unofficially. Nonetheless we got a taxi from the marina – we have been told in no uncertain terms that the choice is a taxi or getting mugged – into town to find a bank with ATM so at least we have some cash. Not all bank cards work however, Barclays in particular doesn’t. Over the next few days we will post pictures of the voyage, as well as getting an internet connection so we can catch up on our emails.

 

View from anchorage

 

Awelina in Bahia Marina completely surrounded by motorboats