finally getting some photos to work

Tocorime sunset and as in the following photos ciros name is misspelled should be Rameck.

Trinidad

Fernando de noronha- an absolutely remarkable place. The whole island was created in a vulcanoeruption and is swammed with life, its a marine natural park and have more than one peculiar fish.

And then we started on our 1800 nm leg. As Im weiting weve pu about 1200 behind us, with the 3 first days filled with a favourable current of almost 4 knots we managed to get up to SOGs of 16 knots (although mostly lingering around 14), we were just flowing over the oceansurface. Today we passed outside of the Amazonrivers opening, which unfortunately meant we spent the day sailing through alot of garbage accompanied by a rather unpleasant smell and I made the not so wise choice of having this as my laundry day..

But lately weve been struggeling with unfavourable very unstable winds, well, what doya expect in the doldrums? According to my pilocharts we should have pretty favourable conditions but it is also a tricky area. Yesterday we figured we entered the NE tradewinds, but seemed we got thrown out of them (or rather, we were mistaken). 

Caught quite alot of fish though, so food is not a problem and the watermaker is toddeling around quite alright so no problem there either, and I guess I was just naiv making timeschedules under sail.

On the first of june at ? we crossed the equator! I was quite shocked as I woke up without tar and feathers and with all my hair still intact, guess my 2 sailorfriends are going too much buy the gentlemencode to acctually go through with all the threats that theyve been giving about the initiationrite. 

5/06 

Ive been travelling with Sticky Toffee for 22 days now, in the beginning it was terribly hard to get used to the fact that barely anything is manual and that Ive got 2 very experienced sailors with me which summed up too meaning practically no real workload for me, add to that a lack of structured routines and it is easy to slip into a very lazy mode. But, as time passed Ive realized that I am learning alot everyday. Not only are they extremely patient with all my questions and on top of that great teachers on the teoretical part, Im also learning a lot just watching how they handle different situations. I even get 2 sets of knowledge since they have two totally different ways of working (I can ask captain 1 (mr American) a question and get the completely opposite answer as if I were to ask captain 2 (mr Englishman) and that would be true whether the question concerns sailing or cooking or anything.

Today we reached our preset fuel-limit of 25%, so from now on its only sailing. Today we spent most of the day toddeling around at about 2 knots, but in the evening the speed went up and since then weve been doing around 8-10 knots. Still got about 440 miles to go to trinidad and there I will find out whether I have to cheat and take a plane up to Antigua to meet up with the Canadian that I am suppose to go with to europe, We got hurricane-season starting soon, so he wants to get his ass out of there as fast as possible, or if he found someone else in which case Ill continue with Sticky. 

Todays nightfall might have been one of the most beautiful ones ive seen in my life. It started out with the horizon beein filled with little cummulus clouds and a beautiful rainbow moving on to a red sunset (red sky at fall of night-sailors delight) where we even caught a Tuna that ended up being sushisupper and ended up at a starfilled night with thunderstorms in the horizon and a moon lighting everything around us up. I guess Ill loose quite a few of my machopoint right here but with all of these wonders around is it strange if my eyes got a bit (just a little bit I swear) tearfilled?

8/6

Now weve done a little bit more than 3600 nm, which is more than an atlantic crossing. Ive been wondering how it would feel once we arrive in trinidad, worried that Id just wanna get on  a plane and not see the ocean for a while, but what I feel is that at this point it would acctually be harder to stay on land than to continue with the crossing. 

For me it does feel a little bit wierd though, I know Im on my way home, but, how come it is taking so long, its not that far right? In a world where everything is espressofastfoodjetplane most of us never had the oppurtunity to acctually experience the full distance between A and B. Brasil and Sweden are not 10-15 hours apart, they are 1-2 months apart. (And the world grew to take its original size once more.

One sideeffect of taking the long way home is that sometimes it is hard to remember that I am travelling, that I already arrived at my goal so to say. It is easy to get lost in daydreams about home and ever so easy to feel those waves of homesickness come over you. I do long to get my mothers embrace, go swiming with my father and sit up and watch movies all night with my brother. I have oh so many friends that I cant stop thinking about (many of which I might not even have met during this time if I was still in sweden but these feelings rarely work that way, after all, Ive only been gone for four and a half months, indeed these feelings contain no logic). And then we arrive at the subject of food. The food that we are eating here is amazing, fresh fish, sushi and lots of salad every day. This apparently does not stop me from longing for lingosnsylt, flädersaft, lakrits or Sophias vegan meatloaf. sigh. or Snus. Im feeling like Pippi Longstocking when she screams out "utan snus försmäktar jag på denna ö". 2 more containers to go and they gotta last for a month, you do the math. 

So, Sweden might be cold, dark, and terribly boring at times, but it is also pretty wonderful.

9/6

And so is Triniadad apperently. So much nature and filled with piratecaves along the coastline. Add to that very nice people and a beautiful set of marinas. I just got  a ride through all of the different marinas by a man who works restauring boats. Only problem is understanding their dialect. 

So I ended up staying on the German boat. The canadian already left when I arrived so new plan is trottle around in the caribean for some days and then move on to the azores.

The murder of Naivity

No matter how painful it is to have all the gradual realizations about how many seatravelers treat the ocean that they travel upon it is also very educative. I understand that in order to look for the right solutions it is important to see the reality for what it is. Many people still dont understand that their individual descicions have a certain impact. For many it is still normal to throw anything in the sea, especially when youre in deep water, since it just magicaly dissapears. Many people still dump their oilspill straight into the oceans. And some can do all of this and still look upon themselves as environmentally correct, it seems to be part of some kind of weired tradition. At some stops that weve had I felt like ive dived into a completely different world with strange rituals and strange traditions. Unfortunately that is not the case, we are all part of the same world and to change anything, understanding is part of the solution. Even though... I often wish I could just close my eyes and ears to some of the stories that I stumble upon.

Well onboard all is still well, except for the continual timestress. Technically Ive gotta be in Antigua in 7 days, and thats more than 2000 nautucal miles away, mission impossible. And since Im already not officially in brasil I cant get off and get a plane (which is something Im trying to avoid anyways, since part of the reason for me to do this trip is the environmental impact that airplanes have) so Im pretty much stuck here. 

For me personally it is not a huge problem, I can continue with this boat to europe and ive got another boat that leaves on the 10th of june, but Ive already said Id go with one canadian who is waiting for me and the bad concioussness is killing me. 

Fortunately my captain understands this so well sail up to fernando de noronha(maybe) to catch the winds and then were heading straight for Trinidad! 

IKEA

Who would ever have imagined that I would travel half around the world just to end up at an IKEA-furnished boat? Im surrounded by GOSA Syren and MYSA vete, well nothing like the comfy feeling of real quality swedish designs.

So I ended up jumping onboard another boat, a german sailingboat with far more luxury than dear toco. Here we have a watermaker, weve got warmwater, ive got my own cabin, and thats just the things that make your personal-life more comfortable, moving on to the navigationgear, well, were pretty well covered. Strange to jump from one world to another like that, and it was no easy descicion. Tocorime and the people that Ive met there will always have a place in my heart, and I really hope that everything falls into place so that the project can be realized, and that day I would love to return to once again watch the sunsets over the ocean with her. 

But since the project is delayed I realized its time for me to get home, and as I met Sticky Toffee in the harbor we made a pact to share one leg of the voyage. 

So here I am, once again rocked by the ocean, on my way to the carribean, furthermore I have the honour to sail with two very experienced sailors so I am constantly learning more about this wonderful art filled with tradition and pride. 

Tomorrow we should arrive in Salvador, from that the current plan is to go Fernando de noronha, Trinidad, Antigua. In Antigua Ive got another boat waiting and then its off to the crossing!

The Tide

For a little girl born and raised by the baltic sea it can be hard to fully grasp the concept and possible implications of the tide. Well, if I didnt grasp it before today I sure got a crashcourse in the subject. 

I havent been writing lately, basically because I havent had that much to write about. Life is moving along here in marina da gloria and except for some smaller excursions with the kids from british school the boat hasnt moved. But to be secured safely in the harbor doesnt appeal to a pirateboat like Tocorime, she taught us that today. 

Woke up by a terrible noise at 8 o'clock, thinking the world was coming to an end, turned out one of the bowlines got loose and the boat was almost crashing into our neighbours kitchen. Once secured we figured the worst was over, but Toco still had a fierce wish to travel the oceans once again. With the tidal water bouncing her from side to side all the ropes started running, even though properly secured they too seemed tired of staying in the same place. The current got so strong (in our safe secured harbor) that one of the main cleats (huge in solid wood) basically exploded due to the force exercised on it and that rope started running. We had to put the two thickest ropes onboard in the stern and one more at the bow. Fortunately a friend who used to work here came along unexpectadly and helped out, controling all these ropes and taking them in would have been close to impossible for only me and Nikollas to manage. 

Now we are basically safe (for the moment) but the ropes keep on destroying the bridge and the tidal currents keep throwing us around as if we were nothing but a toy in a pond. 

Aside from all this, the project wont happen until september, Im probably leaving, maybe Ill be going with a German boat here in the harbor to the Carribean next week to continue with another boat back home, but lets see how things turn out. 

So the boat is still in the same harbor, we still dont have any answers on whats gonna happen next, but Ive got a little bit more information. The project is more delayed than I thought and will probably not hapen until august, but on the other hand theres a possibility that we'll be able to dock her soon to do the work necessary to get her in shape.
It does however put me in a position where I should take a descicion whether to stay and help out or if I should leave and return on a later date, Ive got some interesting possibilities but im still confused about what I want. crossing the atlantic would be an intresting alternative, lets see what happens...

now what?

So now we've passed our big brother period, recorded some tear-filled goodbyes and even had the pleasure of seeing the real face of television. Recording the morning, evening and night scenes within one hour in the afternoon, repeating lots of scenes and sailing with motor. All sweaty and exhausted after putting the sails up the director comes with a: "very good, now can you do it again a little bit faster because I didnt manage to get all the angles right". And the best thing of it all, one month of recording, of repeating scenes and hours of sailing will all be cut down to 26 minutes of television ;).

Last few days weve had some visits from potential sponsors, right now the most urgent needs of the boat are to repair the masts and the sails, two pretty essential needs. So Im crossing my fingers hoping everything will work out. 

Nice though to feel that things are moving in the right direction, even though the actions of the next few weeks is very uncertain, this weekend well hopefully get some more information. Until then we have three more parties and lots and lots of cables to take care of.

Navegar é preciso (sailing is necessary)

Lately the crew has been very close to cabinfever, everyone started to get superannoyed over nothing, which is probably merely a sideefect of too much work and a very intense living-situation. Marcelo managed to 4 times in a row enter the bathroom with a (not so) small present waiting for him and went crazy, I had several misunderstandings with most of the crew and came to the point where I even wondered why im here. And then came the cameracrew. Ready to film every move we make. which at the beginning seemed like a very bad idea, until we found out that part of this was that we were going to sail. The feeling when the sails catches the wind is indescribable but its like all of your worries just blows away. 

Or to quote one of the books on sailing that we have on the boat:

"Sailing is a hobby that can provoque the most contradictionary reactions; excitement, fear, boredom, confusion, love and hate.. and very likely in the same person during the same day" (Fitzpatrick 1992) 

fame

We are gaining more and more fame, today we were interviewed by Renata Simoes that is travelling with us during the red bull events (there are lots of videos from the events on the homepage of red bull, look for music armada, but most of them are in Portuguese). But wow, it feels kind of strange when one of the most famous bands in brasil leave their instruments in your room.  

After a successful party in Ilha Bela we set sail for Paraty, where we finally gained some free time. Everybody was getting on eachothers nerves but after some hours on land I think that we all will calm down. The return to firm earth was on the other hand a horrorfilled experience for me. Landsickness is far worse than seasickness, because you don’t even have the grace of the ocean to enjoy.

Tocorime has a new improved website: http://www.tocorime.com.br and now I´m even listed as an official crewmember!

Anchoring in Santos

The workday just finished, the last few weeks have been really hectic with a huge workload for the whole crew. Were raising money for the project, hosting various parties for MTV and Red Bull. So the days are filled with sailing from place to place and lots of maintenancework. My time is mostly spent in a close relationship with all the ropes on the ship, doing splices and trying to keep them all in shape, or if Im not there im inhaling paint or repairing sails. 

The first voyage that we did from Paraty to Florianopolis threw us in the middle of  a storm with a windspeed of 35 knots and waves of 5 meters, but also dolphins swimming on the side of the ship and huge turtles passing by. A good reminder that life on the sea never is predictable and that it generally provides its visitors with enough emotions to cover a year on land. 

Hopefully Ill be able to put some fotos up the next few days. I could spend the whole night trying to descripe the absolute harmony and peace of a sunrise on the open ocean but I prefer to show you. 

the beginning

24^th January 2011 – Up, up, up!

So Im off. I try really hard to keep my restlessness in its leach, but when the world calls so persistantly, I find it hard to. I justify it with acknowledging the amazing oppurtunity that this journey is to me. 

Except for that, Im trying to live choosing the most challenging way, since I believe that is the best way for me to constantly develop. And god knows this has been a tough descicion to make, because even though this is the journey of my dreams, life in sweden is so easy. It is nice never having to think about economy, its nice not having to numb yourself in order to manage the injustice of the world. The bad conciounceness is wild and vivid in sweden aswell, but at least there you are not faced with it on a daily basis. Having a safe harbor should not be underestimated. 

Now im going on a journey that im not qualified for, the warm shower from yesterday will be a memory Ill treasure dearly since no one knows when Ill be experiencing that again. 

Leaving my family, once again, is increasingly difficult. At the same time I know I might be seeing parts of my other family, its all very double-sided. 

But there is one very effective cure to most of my fears, aside from challinging them head on, I just sit down, turn on the computer and turn on Into the wild. It reminds me of that part within me that only wishes for a life in the middle of the world. A life where I can feel my strenght and my weakness, as that is the only thing I have to work with. I am no supertramp, I lack his determination and I enjoy being the gueststar in most of the worlds that this earth has to offer, Im not the protagonist here, barely an observer. But this is a reality that I am looking forward to take part off. 

”You can't depend entirely on leaves and berries. - I dont know if you want to depend on much more than that” (Into the Wild)

Let's start off with an introduction

"It is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins, the exact 

same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and therefore, 

we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the 

ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it — 

we are going back from whence we came. "

—John F. Kennedy 

I find it intriguing, the effect that the ocean has on me. Whilst studying for exams, repeating lifecycles til I drop or writing reports that sometimes barely make sense to myself I find myself doubting why I put myself in the position of studying something that has few, at the best, chances of ever landing me a secure work-position (even though a secure job never was my highest priority, it is still something I would like to have the possibility to procure one day). 

Then I feel the smell of the ocean, and it all falls to place. The question has no concrete answer. For me, it is simply the feeling of finding your way home after a long array of confusing paths. And there are few things as natural as searching for ways to protect the essence of your home. 

The oceans are the origin of life, and neither the natural nor  the anthropological evolution since has created an independence from those two-thirds of our planet that we still know so little about.  We need the oceans to survive, and here, in their prescence, I feel it in every cell of my being. 

Backround-check 

My name is Therese Carlsson and Im studying to become a marine-biologist at the University of Gothemburg, I started 2010, but ive studied some environmental science, environmental law and environmental politics before. 

This is my third time in Brasil, I was here 2007-2008 and 2009, at a total for 13 months; 10 months working at a wonderful orphanage outside of Rio called casa do caminho, and 3 months working at the chinese djunk Kublais Kahn II (she was my first real introduction to the ocean when I met her the first time in 2006, and maybe my first love, but thats a story we can take another time).  It was then that I first met Tocorime and her owner Markus Lehman. 

When I heard that Tocorime was the ship that was going to make this journey (I already heard about the project it from some dutch sailors I met whilst crewing on a boat this summer) I quickly applied to join the boat as a volunteer-crew. After a long nervous waiting Markus answered that I was welcome to join the crew. 

So, 23 years and 123 days old I joined the crew onboard of Tocorime Pamatjori (the name means adventurous spirit) in Paraty in Brasil. My intention was to partake in a project designated to follow the footsteps of Darwin from Fernando do noronha to Galapagos. It turned out that the project was very delayed, but nonetheless I fell inlove with the boat and the experience, so when I was offered to work on the boat I decided to stay to help realize this amazing project. So at the moment we are raising money, sailing the coast and partaking in different events and doing alot of maintenance work. 

Since we are spending alot of time sailing I wont always be able to access the internet but Ill do my best to keep the blog up to date.