The passage to Terceira was uninspiring and a bit unpleasant as it started with strong but unreliable winds mostly from dead astern and when the gods finally decided what we deserved, it was a big quartering sea with little wind so we motored most of the passage to make our ‘check in’ deadline at the... Continue Reading →

We had arranged with the Dutch yacht rafted outside of us that we would be looking to depart soon after 6am and they agreed to co-operate by leaving to clear the way. They were an old couple in an old but solid ketch and they had been around the world twice together which prompted some... Continue Reading →

The organised tour of the island was interesting and enjoyable with our coach finally delivering us to the venue for the evening prize giving. The 1957 volcanic eruption added 2 square kilometres to the western end of Faial and the event was held in the underground visitor centre built within the volcanic ash. I was... Continue Reading →

I now know that it is not only the English that have a pre-occupation with the weather as it has been the primary subject under discussion among the whole ARC fleet, irrespective of nationality. We have been told that the Horta departure is delayed by 24 hours because of another gale and the rally will... Continue Reading →

Being rafted three out has its drawbacks especially when you have used a dozen lines to secure the yacht in the big winds. So we really didn't want to hear that the Finnish yacht inside of us wanted to leave. In the event, slipping and ‘standing off’ while the Fins extricated themselves was fairly painless... Continue Reading →

My mission was to visit the chandlers, get a haircut and a loaf of bread. In the event, people were queuing out of the door of the chandlers so it was off to find a barber. Obtaining a haircut while cruising has been a mixed bag of experiences. At the zenith of these experiences was... Continue Reading →

Our first glimpses of Faial were through a heavy mist and it was remarkable in its greenness. The islands are undoubtedly volcanic and the isthmus we had to round before heading up to Horta was clearly originally the rim of a volcano. The small fields were bordered by hedges and the whole impression was one... Continue Reading →

As we close in on the Azores, yachts crossing the Atlantic funnel towards the island of Faial and the harbour at Horta. It has become one of the four busiest yacht transit harbours in the world. Zooming out on the plotter I can see 13 vessels within AIS range homing in on the refuge and... Continue Reading →

Torrential rain, thunder and lightning, lumpy sea and semi darkness did not augur well for the day as we were forced to motor to try to beat the storm into Horta. We had spotted the threatening weather system on our long term weather forecast nearly a week ago but it has only just shown on... Continue Reading →