Arrivers and Leavers

Mina2 in the Caribbean - Where's The Ice Gone?
Tim Barker
Wed 4 Apr 2012 14:20

Arrivers and Leavers

 

Position:  34:26.905S 058:30.54W – Club Nautico San Isidro

Date:  04 April 2012

 

The cruising world is divided into those for whom the best day is the day they arrive in a new port – the Arrivers - and those for whom the best day is the day they leave for the open sea bound for the next port – the Leavers. I am definitely a Leaver. When I’m at sea, I can’t wipe the smile off my face, almost regardless of the conditions. I am master of my own destiny working with the natural forces of winds waves and tides. Arrival in port means the return of all the pressures imposed by the unnatural world – the bureaucrats, the re-provisioning, checking finances, dealing with accumulated emails and sorting out a miscellany of problems. It is tiring and often stressful.

 

Our time in Buenos Aires has involved all this and more, but it has also brought great pleasures as well. We are moored in the Yacht club / country club that Maria is a member of with its civilised restaurants, open acres of golf courses and several swimming pools. We also have many friends here and we have been juggling the time for boat jobs with meeting up with our friends for a final farewell (it may be a year or two before I return to Buenos Aires).

 

The cold front that swept us up so quickly from Ushuaia overtook us in the mouth of the River Plate and left us wallowing in the light winds of a high pressure system. BA had been suffering cold autumnal weather before our arrival, but we brought the sun with us and it has been hot and sunny since we’ve been here. Whilst I’ve spent most of the time so far working on the boat, Lawrence, Tom and Robyn (Tom’s girlfriend who flew out to join us for our few days R&R) have been enjoying the facilities of the club and yesterday took a ferry into town for a day’s sightseeing. Tonight we are all heading into town for a crash course on dancing the Tango followed by a night of dancing ahead of Robyn’s departure tomorrow morning.

 

The plan is that we leave early on Saturday morning for Angra Dos Reis in Brazil, between Rio and Sao Paolo to leave Mina2 for the southern winter. The passage is 1100 miles and should take between 8 and 10 days.

 

I probably won’t post another blog until we set off.