Vagabond: A Maritime Journey Around the World

Chapter 01 - The Project

Now we're circling the month of September and I sense a subtle change in every member of the official crew. We're about six weeks away from a date. Despite some dispersion and discouragement due to the distance – at this moment I am still in São Paulo; returning in a few days – I feel that even so we are working well for the completion of the final preparations. There are several issues to be dealt with when one lends itself to making such a long journey. A lot of research; a lot of installation; a lot of testing. But now it is only a few weeks away. It is painful to wait, but it is necessary and we will endure well.

I sometimes stop to think about how we got here. They are three young people who give up a few years of normal life to embark on an unmatched adventure. Why has fate reserved this opportunity for us? And after a little reflection on the subject I can not fail to include metaphysical reasons and a lot of energy activity to the case. The answer to the fact is in the very life history of these creatures: their destinies, their fortunes, or I don't know what else to call themselves. Since early we have been preparing for the day of the great journey. The constant break of paradigms in our lives put us in this pool: the experiences outside the country; the learning of other languages; the countless trips; the way to think about society and man; the feeling of indignation; the love for the new and unexpected; the passion for sports and roman adventures; etc... all this led us to this conclusion. Without paying attention, we obstinately followed a difficult path of preparation to embark in 2007, at thirty-something, ready, in the Vagabond, around the world.

I feel and believe to be among people prepared for the company. Particularly, I consider myself more privileged than prepared, I admit. The lack of experience in the management of the sea is a great challenge to overcome. Confined living also constitutes another important issue. Although we have known each other for many years and are no longer surprised by our reactions, moods and attitudes, there will always be the new, unusual situations that will put us in hard and inevitable trials. Friendship, respect and love that we have for each other will know how to resolve any embarrassment and disdain. And so be it.

I hope more people will join the project. I believe that many of our friends would wish to be in our skins, despite the risks, the dangers and the uncertainties. And I'm sure some of them will join forces to join the Vagabond group on one of the legs of that immense circumnavigation journey.

The trip to Argentina was valid. The results obtained were excellent. Crisa needed to buy a lot of things in the shops porteñas because there the prices were exceptionally lower. That market – nautical – is much more developed in Argentina. By bus or even in taxis, we stayed more than a week in this shopping operation whose outcome still forced us to go to the border with Brazil. The reason was that the lifeboat had some explosive cargo and therefore could not be carried by aircraft. So we went to ship her off in Uruguay, by land, in the north of the country. Despite the nine hours of travel it was important to win another stage of this preparation. Nothing is easy in this life. I was still entitled to a prolonged, hard-to-cure southern flu.

Good, but after that work, we went to the Patagonian mountains, to finish and tour with some beautiful moments in the snow. The target this time was a small town north of Bariloche: San Martin de Los Andes. The ski resort was in Cerro Chapelco; good, well structured. In addition we take advantage to fill personal stocks of chorizo steak and wine from Mendoza. Good life. A little mountain also does good for the soul, by the way, the three of us, three or four months ago, also in Chapada Diamantina. A special place where its capons, valleys and general composes a scenery similar to that of the sea: dense, alive, grand, respectable and beautiful. Maybe that's what we were looking for on that one.

And now: the icy mountains! They also make a great, beautiful scenery. There is a chance to return to do this sport – snowboard – during the trip. In New Zealand, in winter. We may have to stay there during the four months of the hurricane and snow season in the south of the island. Anyway I made my initiation and a hilarious session of falls on the soapy board; I still remembered my good times of skiing. It gave him a lot of fun. The Captain showed affinity with the board and came down displaying a good style, his rare and weird style.

So we went looking for the solutions. We acted fast and researched a lot. Today, we have some control. We know the best dates and routes to navigate in any sea in the world; we study guides, websites, maps, books and accounts of travelers; we buy and learn more about safety equipment and relative to the technical part of the sailboat; we are aware of which cities we will visit, their nautical and tourism structures; and also what is best in these places: history, culture and the environment. It took until a trip to Argentina to complete the most essential and financially relevant purchases: liferaft, several essential electronics and a range of useful trinkets to the boat: hooks, handles and various accessories.

So now the phase of mere conjecture has passed: we are in another. A more practical and less theoretical step: the time has come to put your hand in the dough and see the thing happen. There is a lot of work. We need to install everything; finish equipping the boat; do some more navigation tests; and mainly resolve the personal issues. Before all this, you can't think about leaving. I still say that the best thing to do is not to create great expectations about the departure, the day "d", and to concentrate on the preparations, which alone comprise a tremendous story. It serves as an important experience to initiate these sequences of crossings.

The texts of the Message section in the Bottle inevitably bring an air of logbook in this first period. I cannot refrain from saying that we are beginning the month of September, in a difficult phase of the journey: preparation. We have planned an exit for October. Before, we had tried other dates, but this last one prevailed of all.

Yes, preparations continue. Indeed, they could go on for a long time. There are sailors who stretch out so much in this part that they never leave. There is always much to be studied and much research to do. But I feel that the day of the journey is near. The moment is propitious. There are three young people giving themselves at a very special time in life: the initial journey of the thirty. We did not know, for example, that if we want to cross the Panana Canal in 2008, we will not have time to make half of the most classic"" stops in the Caribbean or Central America. Nor did we know that the navigable season in the Caribbean does not begin until December due to the recurring hurricanes of the second half of the year. We had no idea – and even today we continue to see only the tip of the iceberg – of the logistics involved to prepare a ship for a long journey, with minimal planning and reason. We do not know what it will be like to socially coexist, the three of us, in so few square meters. And the thing changed abruptly. At that time we needed attitude.

Vagabond's team needed training. The mini-crossings we had done, from the city to the island of Itaparica, through Paraguaçu and even Morro de São Paulo were not used to test the equipment and nerves of the crew. The skipper already has some experience. He brought the boat from Porto Alegre, on a trip of more than a month to Salvador. But what about the other two? So we decided to launch ourselves into a bigger challenge, which would serve as a good proof for the great journey. Behold, we finally made the attempt... The following text is what we can call the first daily official"" of board.