Brazil

As I sip a cold beer in the wonderful Convento Do Carmo hotel which is the best in Salvador Ba Brasil,I take a little time to reflect how the journey went,we cant always tell of the stories when sailing in case it gives the other boats an edge , but all I can say is that day 2 in the Bay of Biscay the boat hit a squall and the Spinnaker Pole and Jockey Pole both broke in half .. yes we were in a brooch but the Lady Qing as ever looked after us and  we came out of it in one piece, we then had to sail the rest of the race with one spinnaker pole and  a make shift jockey pole which Ant and Carlo strapped up .. as for the sails they were fine ... infact coming into port we found how well we had done looking after the Lady , other boats seem to have had a harder time and lets remember this is a long race .. so with just a few mends to make ,, pole and a winch that sheared its bolts in the last 3 days we are ready to go again .. so it gives me joy to meet the locals ,have some cocktails and enjoy the culture , Salvador is a colourful town with a fantastic vibe , if you ever want to come here for a break I recommend the Hotel Convento do Carmo , an old convent placed in the middle of the old town which is up on the hill.It gives one time to enjoy the surroundings and yet feel safe in a peaceful hide away. Plus a quick ride away is the beaches on the islands of Itaparcia  nice and peaceful and not harmed by the human hand , great for sipping the local juice.
So Tomorrow we prepare the boat for the trip to Durban I feel positive that we can do well. We have a great team , a great vibe and the Lady does well , so with Neptune on our side I look forward to the next adventure.
Enjoy the journey with us , and just remember when we hit land after 3-4 weeks we are all a bit weird for some reason .. I have to say it took a little time talking to the welcoming party .. we will grow stronger with every nautical mile.
Thanks for all your support keep the comments coming and if you want to contact me on board please email my mum and dad and they will get it through to me
johnjessop@onetel.com

As for the charity update , thank you  all .....  justgiving.com/garyjesop
So as the sun says ´`have a good night for another day ``.. I sip my cold beer
Enjoy your day and make someone laugh.
garyj-qindao.blogspot.com
gj