With the wind dropping and moving round to the west, it was not the best situation for sailing but we had to stick with it as our aggregate diesel stocks were still marginal with nearly 900 miles to Horta. So we sailed and periodically when the faster AWOL threatened to overhaul us, we jogged the... Continue Reading →

What a great day under sail, beam/broad reaching in F4/5 all day long with the sun out. Our days run of 151 miles was suppressed by the wind moderating through the night and we are now only doing 5 – 6 knots, what a calamity! The decision taken with Cliff on AWOL to track north... Continue Reading →

After the big winds and seas we motored in very light conditions with a large but diminishing swell left over from the gale. I invested in a long term weather forecast and discussed the situation with my crew and AWOL. The dilemma is that, with their shortage of fuel, they need to ‘chase the wind’... Continue Reading →

The traditional advice for sailing east to the Azores is to take loads of extra diesel as you are likely to experience long periods of dead calm and flat sea. As I write, we are 4 days into the passage, broad reaching in 23 knots of wind with a lively sea having hardly used the... Continue Reading →

Well, it seems the Watermaker membrane is buggered. We ran the unit through the night and in the morning; the quality of the water was just as bad, if not worse. Email exchanges with the ever helpful Jim at Mactra confirmed the diagnosis and so Peter has another piece of equipment to add to his... Continue Reading →

Something over 25 years ago, I went through the sequence of RYA shore-based courses which culminated in Yachtmaster Ocean. This is way back when Morse was still part of the Yachtmaster Offshore syllabus! I completed them with the practical on all but the Ocean qualification. The Ocean practical is largely about celestial navigation and with... Continue Reading →

Extracting Hejira from her cosy berth was tight with only a foot or so to spare as we turned to leave the harbour, but we managed it with aplomb, grateful that we had squeezed in and spent 3 relatively calm nights inside. The start within the harbour was curious as the course was dead to... Continue Reading →

The second half of our 24 hour scooter hire enabled us to access the town for some chores more easily than on foot. We paid the whopping $375 docking fee for our 4 night stay and we managed to do a final shop. Making the most of the scooters, we explored St.George’s island, swam in... Continue Reading →

What a good decision it was to hire scooters for 24 hours. They were booked for 8.30 in the morning but torrential rain prompted a phone call and a delay in their collection until lunch time by which time the weather had brightened and we set off to explore the islands. Early caution gave way... Continue Reading →