So, why they did not respond to your request for identification?
HA: They did not respond because they were Chinese or Koreans.
But there are pirates in these areas?
HA: Yes, of course there are. In Mauritania and Venezuela, are very bad. Plunder and kill.
I say this because they only hear about is about the pirates in Africa.
HA: In Somalia? There have always been pirates, they are now different. They has sunglasses, dress better, are more bandits. The ancients stole gold and cargo. These are attached to the crack. They disguise themselves as fishermen, appear in small canoes, look harmless and funny, but instead of fish, they point you a gun. Some sailors die and disappear. Just to steal the boat and some cash. Those who sail on the sea, have no more.
But, you turn out to Madeira after the end of the Atlantic crossing. When he left the island?
HA: In the Canary Islands was where I settled. I had a bar, a companion and organized my life, like any human being. After fifteen years, that relationship ended. I wanted to browse and be six months at sea, let her everything. I found a friend surfer, who came to Madeira. He invited me to come with him; I do not want to go back. Domingo's, Jorge and Carlos insisted on coming to the Garden of the Sea to surf. Stop there! To that place I'm not going. I had left the island, almost flee from Jardim do Mar. As a child, there was no access by land, we came by boat. When they finally built a road, while traveling by bus I always vomited. I remembered all that suffering and said I'm not going to that hole. I am now free. I then decided to return with a condition, I returned, but no Garden of the Sea Anchor in Machico, but they insisted. One day I agree on going, in the Garden of the Sea, I saw cows loose grazing on land and on the sea perfect waves for surfing. I then told my father, I want to buy a house, I have to go back to Canary settle some business, but I come back to live here. The truth is that after you return, you cannot leave. This place holds you here. It's like throwing an anchor site and you cannot hoist it, the more you pull the chain, the more you stay stuck.
Do not you miss the sea? Going back?
HA: I'll tell you a secret. Not quite yet I am going to the Canaries. It was a challenge from a group of friends that are anchored in Paul do Mar. Tomorrow, I have everything ready for my flight. But I need some shorts, some slippers and sweaters and in a few days I'll be back then. It's just to kill the addiction.
Andreia how the experience of sailing with your father?
Andreia Afonso: It was a punishment from my father. I had lost some of the school year for some laziness on my behalf, I wanted to go out with friends and have fun instead of studying. My mother fed up with the situation told me that my father would go with the boat to the Canary Islands and I was going. At first I cried a lot because of my friends and leaving my life behind. But after a while I loved making this trip. I met all the islands and took a Spanish course at the University of Tenerife. Sailed to Brazil, when I was seventeen. I went to Sweden with my colleagues of the course, learning about new cultures and made great friendships. One day my father came up with a box with pliers and beads and I started to make earrings and bracelets, only during the week-end, sold in the ports. Then, I went for five years studying in France and took a diploma in the field of aesthetics. I opened a small business, only one problem I could not live there any longer, because I like places with heat, sun and ocean. I was tired of living away from the sea. It was as if they had torn a part of me and I could not resist anymore. I now have the aesthetic Maktub, where I do facials, massages and all kinds of services associated with feminine beauty.
Worst of all was this trip?
AA: Nothing! Because this punishment was very good! It was different from others. (Laughs). Perhaps, going back to the origins.
