Who: Geoffrey, Cindy, Mya, Tylio, Aliyah and Cassy
Multihull: Saint Francis 44
Where: Gibraltar
Blog: www.cataprofite.wixsite.com/cataprofite
After Sal, we arrived in front of something that looks like an oasis in the hollow of the mountains. The next morning the men left to go underwater fishing; they were accompanied by Francisco, a 28-year-old Cape Verdean. He is a professional fisherman, and therefore was a great help in filling up the big bowl we took on the dinghy. The men returned with big smiles, and posed proudly with their day’s catch. I was very happy, I even had a lobster just for me – life’s good, isn’t it? At Tarrafal, we prepared our Christmas meal; along with our ‘boat buddies’, we’ve shared our recipe ideas; everyone would cook on their own boat, and we would raft up two catamarans for greater comfort – one for the adults and one for the kids. Another morning, our captains abandoned their vessels well before dawn to go fishing with Francisco and his brother. It’s incredible how, with very little they can manage so well – a garden tarp as a sail, a long piece of wood to make a mast, an old bleach container filled with water to drink, no GPS - surprising! The fishermen brought our men back and as a bonus gave us some fresh tuna. We were anchored off a new Tarrafal, on the island of Santa Antao. Some men were hard at work building, others were constructing a new fishing boat, and we found all the women at the water distribution point. The children accompanied them, some of them came alone and left with their water containers on their head, all smiles! At the end of the day, the fishermen came back to meet us and gave us some more fish; they asked us about our voyage, life aboard, schoolwork. It was time to leave for the first big ocean crossing. We loved Cape Verde for its authenticity, the kindness of its inhabitants, their generosity, as well as the abundance of fish.
