The first few days were quite rough (we knew it would be as friends that left earlier had reported back). The seas sorted themselves out and winds became more favourable. The idea was to head north while gaining as much easting as possible (very difficult with easterly winds pushing us west), then when far enough north (approximately the latitude of Bermuda) use the westerly winds which in theory would push us all the way to the Azores. It did happen much that way, with the exception of the "Azores High" which is a very large expanse of area with little or no wind Known as “The Horse Latitudes" which I think came from earlier years when they had to eat the horses as they had become becalmed and all their normal food supplies were gone. Sure makes you admire the sailors back then !!!
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| Horse Latitudes |
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| Mid-Atlantic |
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| Mid-Atlantic swim ! |
We both were a little quiet for the first few days then bounced back when the weather improved. The crossing took 19 days which was very good - 2 other boats leaving almost the same time took 30 and 32 days. There are 4 boats missing to date - some over 4 weeks overdue and several boats left floating after their occupants were rescued. We had a boring crossing compared to some – and very thankful for that.
We made landfall in the Azores at the island of Flores “island of flowers” which was very beautiful and very quiet with only a few thousand inhabitants - though it felt more like a few hundred. The island is not usually visited by the yachts as the winds usually do not allow an easy passage but we were fortunate. The houses & gardens and streets are beautifully kept, so clean & neat & tidy after the Caribbean islands. Although Portugal is supposedly economically in trouble you wouldn't know it here - paved roads everywhere and well maintained infrastructure.
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| Whales |
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| Whales |
After spending a few days in Flores we sailed overnight to the port of Horta on the island of Faial. Faial is a popular stop for boats with a thriving port, restaurants, cafes and touristy shops. There were so many boats in the marina that we had to raft up 2 - 4 deep. Unfortunately for us the boat against the wall wanted to leave and we ended up in that situation every day - it was difficult and time consuming for us to continue to move spots each day and as a larger boat we were very restricted in where we could go. Whilst on Faial we were able to catch a ferry the short distance across to a nearby island, Pico. Pico was also a beautiful island with hydrangeas lining all the roads & the landscape dominated by the 2300m volcano in the middle of the island. Lots of dairy farms and vineyards, all the paddocks are fenced with black lava rocks which makes quite a contrast to the green fields.
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| Flores |
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| Flores |
We said good bye to Scott who flew out to England then off we went on what was supposed to be a 10 hour sail to Terceira. Strong winds on the nose and a big swell turned our trip into a very uncomfortable ride – 23 hours later at 3:30 am we arrived at the new marina. We considered anchoring out in the bay and entering the marina at daybreak but it was too rough so we slipped in slowly and quietly and were surprised to find security guards awake to assist us into a slip. The town of Angra do Heroismo is decorated with lights and flags - very colourful. The marina is new, bathroom block huge and spotlessly clean. A festival was running which included music, concerts, parades, demonstrations and of course running with the bulls and bull fighting !!!
The only downside to all the festivities is the timing - seems everyone here sleeps in until late then parties all night - a lot of the concerts do not begin until after 10pm - children and grannies are all around the streets well after midnight. Don and I watched the "infantile" running with the bulls at the local beach. We expected to see young children, girls in frilly dresses and boys in sailor suits, with a gentle cow tethered by a long rope. What we saw were 14 - 16 year olds teasing a bull calf who was only a few weeks old - the poor little thing kept going over to the dark side of the beach and trying to hide in the rocks. When provoked enough it did chase them and try to buck but the lads were too fast and the baby calf tired quickly only to be replaced by a fresher version. We attended the adult version of running with the bulls – that was fun. A group of 4 toreadors in uniform hold on to a long rope from which they try to control the bull when it is trying to gouge a fleeing person. The horns are doctored so the end point has been removed but people still fly through the air. A few grievous injuries do occur and even a few deaths.
I worked out a way to browse through gift shops - I parked Don in front of the tv screen which is always playing excerpts of the bull running and he is happy for ages and I can hear him laughing every now and then - he loves to see the bull get the better of the teasing humans. Apparently these bulls are bred for the purpose of bull fighting and the various breeders have followers throughout the islands similar to our football teams. Check out "running with the bulls Terceira, Azores" on internet or Utube - it can be funny.
We left Angra and headed back out to sea our plan being a 2 week sail to UK – circumnavigating Ireland and Britain then either wintering in Britain or Portugal.
We crossed the Atlantic in constant contact with SV Christina Pearl who was skippered by her owner Steve and a lone sailor. Steve is a British citizen but has lived in Portugal for many years – he is certainly a great ambassador for Portugal, it was not on our “must see” list but as with all plans our sail north to Britain was not possible due to persistent northerly winds so after a few days of not getting anywhere we turned to starboard and followed Steve to Lisbon, Portugal.
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