25 August
On the Amazon

KM3 and the balsa raft 'Southern Gailes' have now sailed over 4000 km since leaving Guanay on 16 June. The wind has been easterly since we entered the Amazon, often up to Force 4-5. Now we also have to contend with the effects of the Atlantic tides, although we are still around 400 km away from the ocean. Our support ship Viagiero IV has been stuck on sand banks twice due to falling tides.

KM3 - lighter and faster

KM3's outrigger, damaged in the mishap at the Ribeirao cataract, became severely distorted and water logged. On 23 August despite all attempts to repair it we finally had to beach it and convert KM3 to a catamaran. The boat's jaguar figurehead was transferred to Viagiero IV and KM3 is sailing on well with two hulls. The bow of the central hull is now showing signs of wear, and is also becoming waterlogged. Excess weight has been reduced to lighten the load on the boat and only four crewmembers are on it at anytime. As a result of these measures the boat reached her fastest speed so far of 18 km per hour yesterday. This is possibly a record for a reed boat.

No picnic ahead of us!

As we approach Belem we expect to encounter sea conditions with rollers and strong east winds. We thought that the river conditions were enough of a challenge, until we heard recently that armed pirates had attempted to board another riverboat, similar in size to Viagiero IV. We will be sailing through the area where this incident occurred and are taking all necessary precautions.

Of doctors and snakes…

Dr. Sam Allen's medical team is still hard at work assisting remote communities, and Graham Catchpole removed another 20 teeth today. On the wildlife front, the survey team photographed a five-metre anaconda dead in the river - possibly killed by a boat propeller. The anaconda is said to be the world's largest snake, and can exceed ten metres in length. While in South America we have heard many accounts of these giant reptiles even reaching twelve metres. They are aquatic but are rarely a danger to human beings.