On Saturday, 14th April, Clarissa's family and I decided to venture out onto the Guaiba river in their new speedboat. Something I'd been looking forward to immensely since hearing it existed a few months prior. The night before, the heavens opened and the sun soaked tarmac of the roads below our apartment ran with torrents. This, we thought might put a dampener on the prospect of a marine voyage, but the following afternoon, there we were at the boat club, rain still falling, but confident the grey and black sky would lighten soon.
Boarding the boat, Clarissa, Cesar (her dad), Niki (her mum) and I prepared for the afternoon delights. We'd brought sandwiches from the club and settled down to enjoy them while Cesar sadly, had to endeavour to fix the ignition socket. Seems the mechanioc that gave the boat it's M.O.T. not one week earlier had missed this 'trivial' element. Th ignition had fallen to the bottom of the control panel and as a result, my pro-active girlfriend and her dad had to remove said panel and retrieve the starter.
Niki and I, being blonde and of little use in this effort, simply sat at the rear of the boat and ate our sandwiches. Very tasty too. With the boat duly fixed, we slowly traversed the other moored vessels (that would be all of them) and headed out onto the grey seas.
Looking back, the weather, the ignition and the fact that we were the only people headed out should have been a clue.
Once we cleared the jetty, Cesar allowed me to drive. That's right, Me! To clarify, when I was 16yrs old, I owned a Moped. I crashed it...a lot! I even collided with a stationary car because I had my head down and failed to pay attention to the stop in traffic. I don't drive either.
Cesar didn't know any of this. Had he, he might not have been so willing to let this 32, almost 33 year old blonde, dazey bloke stear his brand new boat...but hey, you live and learn.
I didn't crash it.
Really. I did however come close to bottoming out the boat. We were within a few feet of the riverbed before my beloved girlfriend (also far too trusting of my abilities...and she knows better) advised me to correct my heading.
Relinquishing command of the vessel, Cesar took over and I happily finished my sandwiche. All of half an hour later, Clarissa and I were sitting on the deck of the boat (bow? stern? I dunno?) and appreciating the stylish houses that encircled the river.
I suppose we'd been out around an hour. Clarissa and I were having a blast. The boat certainly goes fast and I had a grin on my face like a demented child at Christmas. Cesar suggested we come inside as the waves were becoming a little more volatile than we had imagined they might. By this time I was a touch damp around the legs, but still happy.
The the weather picked up. A lot!
Clarissa had earlier pointed out a rather larger black cloud that was approaching from not too far away. By now, it was almost on top of us.
Clear weather, calm waves, no visibility issues...we'd be back in 10-20 minutes.
We did not have clear weather, calm waters or clear visibility. We had, black clouds, heavy rain, high waves (3 metres-our boat being around 4 metres high) and were, at this rate, quite a way from home.
Clarissa stood at the front of the boat, next to the steering wheel, doubling as a spare set of eyes for her father, who stood behind the plexi-glass, while she held the plastic access sheeting (that you walk through to get onto the deck) and got a touch damp. Niki sat in the passenger seat, while I relaxed, as best I could on the seats at the rear.
Twenty minutes- approximately, of bumpy weather followed and a good few gallons of polluted river water drenched my girlfriend thoroughly. Again, I sat at the rear and calmly accepted my diminished role as passenger.
'This never happens' were Niki's words when the weather lessened. I smiled and suggested 'What's life for, if not for living?', relieved that the experience was over.
It wasn't!
The lull lasted five minutes, at most. Weather and waves bombarded our vessel again. At this time, Niki suggested we don our life-vests, strategically located under my arse. I pulled out two for our Captain and First Officer, then another two for Niki and I.
Never skilled at dressing myself, it took me a few minutes to place the vest correctly over my head and tie it tight. Thankfully (if you can say that), the other members of the crew were a touch too busy to notice my clear ineptitude.
I said little throughout our adventure. This would later be referred to as 'calm'. Realistically, I think I was just at a loss for words.
The boat rocked side to side, forward and back as the waves assaulted our 6-man berth and showed no sign of stopping again. Had it not been for the sounding depth, we'd have pulled into shore long ago, but the river yo-yo'd between 12 metres and 2 feet in depth. Guess where it was most shallow. Yep.
Clarissa and her father dedicatedly and skilfully stared down the storm, zig-zagging between the high riding, crashing waves. By this point the inside was just as wet as the outside of the boat. I may sound melodramatic here, but hell, you go out there and tell me it wasn't bloody dangerous.
After about 3/4 of the return trip, Clarissa had to join me in the back. sea sickness had taken it's toll and I was there to lend a helping hand. She didn't vomit, amazingly. Neither did I, even more amazingly. Niki took over and finally we reached the marina.
Relief does not cover the feeling I was experiencing at this point. Joy as well. Joy that I hadn't yakked and neither had my hero girlfriend.
She stood there, right in the face of the storm, took all the waves there were and then some. Incredible.
My first words upon the end of this voyage? 'Again Again!' Somewhat revelling in what can either be seen as calm comedy, designed to lighten the mood or hysteria...you decide.
As we pulled into the marina, we moored the craft and headed for the club. A touch damp I might add (think , cat in a bathtub). Clarissa got there first, only to be asked upon her arrival, 'Were you one of the people rescued?'.
Rescued?! Pah!
Who needs rescuing?!
Thinking back and planning for the future...we might read the weather report next time.
Boarding the boat, Clarissa, Cesar (her dad), Niki (her mum) and I prepared for the afternoon delights. We'd brought sandwiches from the club and settled down to enjoy them while Cesar sadly, had to endeavour to fix the ignition socket. Seems the mechanioc that gave the boat it's M.O.T. not one week earlier had missed this 'trivial' element. Th ignition had fallen to the bottom of the control panel and as a result, my pro-active girlfriend and her dad had to remove said panel and retrieve the starter.
Niki and I, being blonde and of little use in this effort, simply sat at the rear of the boat and ate our sandwiches. Very tasty too. With the boat duly fixed, we slowly traversed the other moored vessels (that would be all of them) and headed out onto the grey seas.
Looking back, the weather, the ignition and the fact that we were the only people headed out should have been a clue.
Once we cleared the jetty, Cesar allowed me to drive. That's right, Me! To clarify, when I was 16yrs old, I owned a Moped. I crashed it...a lot! I even collided with a stationary car because I had my head down and failed to pay attention to the stop in traffic. I don't drive either.
Cesar didn't know any of this. Had he, he might not have been so willing to let this 32, almost 33 year old blonde, dazey bloke stear his brand new boat...but hey, you live and learn.
I didn't crash it.
Really. I did however come close to bottoming out the boat. We were within a few feet of the riverbed before my beloved girlfriend (also far too trusting of my abilities...and she knows better) advised me to correct my heading.
Relinquishing command of the vessel, Cesar took over and I happily finished my sandwiche. All of half an hour later, Clarissa and I were sitting on the deck of the boat (bow? stern? I dunno?) and appreciating the stylish houses that encircled the river.
I suppose we'd been out around an hour. Clarissa and I were having a blast. The boat certainly goes fast and I had a grin on my face like a demented child at Christmas. Cesar suggested we come inside as the waves were becoming a little more volatile than we had imagined they might. By this time I was a touch damp around the legs, but still happy.
The the weather picked up. A lot!
Clarissa had earlier pointed out a rather larger black cloud that was approaching from not too far away. By now, it was almost on top of us.
Clear weather, calm waves, no visibility issues...we'd be back in 10-20 minutes.
We did not have clear weather, calm waters or clear visibility. We had, black clouds, heavy rain, high waves (3 metres-our boat being around 4 metres high) and were, at this rate, quite a way from home.
Clarissa stood at the front of the boat, next to the steering wheel, doubling as a spare set of eyes for her father, who stood behind the plexi-glass, while she held the plastic access sheeting (that you walk through to get onto the deck) and got a touch damp. Niki sat in the passenger seat, while I relaxed, as best I could on the seats at the rear.
Twenty minutes- approximately, of bumpy weather followed and a good few gallons of polluted river water drenched my girlfriend thoroughly. Again, I sat at the rear and calmly accepted my diminished role as passenger.
'This never happens' were Niki's words when the weather lessened. I smiled and suggested 'What's life for, if not for living?', relieved that the experience was over.
It wasn't!
The lull lasted five minutes, at most. Weather and waves bombarded our vessel again. At this time, Niki suggested we don our life-vests, strategically located under my arse. I pulled out two for our Captain and First Officer, then another two for Niki and I.
Never skilled at dressing myself, it took me a few minutes to place the vest correctly over my head and tie it tight. Thankfully (if you can say that), the other members of the crew were a touch too busy to notice my clear ineptitude.
I said little throughout our adventure. This would later be referred to as 'calm'. Realistically, I think I was just at a loss for words.
The boat rocked side to side, forward and back as the waves assaulted our 6-man berth and showed no sign of stopping again. Had it not been for the sounding depth, we'd have pulled into shore long ago, but the river yo-yo'd between 12 metres and 2 feet in depth. Guess where it was most shallow. Yep.
Clarissa and her father dedicatedly and skilfully stared down the storm, zig-zagging between the high riding, crashing waves. By this point the inside was just as wet as the outside of the boat. I may sound melodramatic here, but hell, you go out there and tell me it wasn't bloody dangerous.
After about 3/4 of the return trip, Clarissa had to join me in the back. sea sickness had taken it's toll and I was there to lend a helping hand. She didn't vomit, amazingly. Neither did I, even more amazingly. Niki took over and finally we reached the marina.
Relief does not cover the feeling I was experiencing at this point. Joy as well. Joy that I hadn't yakked and neither had my hero girlfriend.
She stood there, right in the face of the storm, took all the waves there were and then some. Incredible.
My first words upon the end of this voyage? 'Again Again!' Somewhat revelling in what can either be seen as calm comedy, designed to lighten the mood or hysteria...you decide.
As we pulled into the marina, we moored the craft and headed for the club. A touch damp I might add (think , cat in a bathtub). Clarissa got there first, only to be asked upon her arrival, 'Were you one of the people rescued?'.
Rescued?! Pah!
Who needs rescuing?!
Thinking back and planning for the future...we might read the weather report next time.
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