21st April
On the 21st of April, everyone met in Aracaju in the State of Sergipe. We trailered the Hobies to Ilha das Flores, also in the State of Sergipe, which sits at the mouth of the “Old San Francisco” river. By 13:00 hours, we all arrived at the bed and breakfast. By the end of the day, we had prepared the cats for sailing the following day.
22nd April
We hit the water early with the goal to sail for nine hours up the river. Our first stop was the small village of Chinaré in the State of Alagoas.
At roughly 16:00 hours, we stopped at the quaint village of Tapera in the State of Alagoas. By this time, the sailors had spread out along the river and night was arriving. We stopped at a sand bar, hoping to regroup with all of the sailors before sunset.
The sun set and our group had not yet reunited, so, we decided to make camp.
April 23rd- second day
As we woke to the rising sun, we learned that our group had finally reunited around 23:30 hours. We all agreed to stay together today. Our goal for today was the city of Traipu in the State of Alagoas. The wind built and the adrenaline did not allow us to stay together. As the last Hobie arrived in Traipu at 15:00 hours, the early arrivers were met by curious children and adults alike.
24th April- the last day
The fleet left Traipu by 10:00 hours. After a few sand bars, the geology turned very interesting.
Finally, as we arrived at the city of Gararu in the State of Sergipe, the width of the river opened and the wind arrived with force.
When the support boat arrived in the village of Ilha do Ouro (Gold Island) in Porto da Folha in the State of Sergipe, they asked the fisherman if they had seen their friends. The fisherman announced that they were not sure, but, that they saw three boats passing that looked like rockets.
Finally, the sailors returned to Ilha do Ouro, where we camped for the night.
On the last day, we prepared the boats to trailer home. And, told many “fish stories” about our three day journey up the Old San Francisco River.
