Cabo Verde

Anyone feel like it's been a couple of weeks since the latest fiasco?

We were motoring into the marina at Mindelo, Cabo Verde. Somewhere in the harbor, we caught a fishing net, and as we approached the fuel dock, it got a good wrap on the propeller.

You probably know that boats don't have breaks. To slow down, we put it in reverse. So when the propeller can't spin, not only do we not have the ability to forward, but we've also lost our ability to stop.

We bounced off the dock (ouch) and started blowing toward a moored mega yacht. Missing that by a couple of feet, we got a tiny bit of anchor down. Luckily it was enough to hold, but little enough that our dangerous swinging kept us from hitting two nearby anchored boats. Somewhere in there was a mad dash to reset a tripped breaker for the windlass, but it was so fast that I don't now where in the process that happened.

Once we ascertained that we were more or less safe, I went for a swim and sawed the prop free.

The liberated fishing net

From there, we were able to get back to the fuel dock, fill up, and get to a med moor for the stay.

As soon as I went to the marina office, I knew we were out of Europe. The breeze was warm instead of cool. The whole area was lively, and there was music playing. It turned out that there was music everywhere -- the sounds of live bands singing in Portugese or in their Creole filtered out into the streets at night. And in the day, you could walk through streets and hear rehearsal wafting through a window.

On top of that, the people were very nice, there is boat service by very competent people at the best prices I've seen. Food and drinks were cheap too.

Before we even officially checked in to the country, I scheduled the boat repair that we needed, and an unbidden laundry lady showed up to handle our sweaty clothes. That left us to mostly wander around, eat, and drink for most of the time that we were there.

You know how you go to the beach, and it's never as pretty in the pictures as it is in real life? Well somehow, this beach is prettier in the picture. It's fine in real life too, but not this nice.

At the vet's office, to get paperwork for the next country.