With Peter on watch, at 0130 he decided to start the engine to maintain our pace as the wind dropped away. He had forgotten that we sail with the engine in gear astern to feather the propeller and when he started the engine in gear there was a loud banging noise which propelled me out... Continue Reading →
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Bedfellow
With the prospect of the wind increasing and already under sail with a thankfully silent engine, it seemed prudent to decant the diesel stowed in containers on the aft deck into the tanks while we still can. This is a mercifully simple job and requires no pouring as they are syphoned from their recumbent position... Continue Reading →
Fog
We plod on under the engine with the drizzle replaced by thick fog. Thank goodness for AIS and radar. We have little wind and that from behind so our progress matches the wind speed. At least the sea state has moderated so, apart from the engine noise, things could be worse. The almost continual running... Continue Reading →
The ‘C’ Word
The SSE wind of between 15 and 25 knots gave us a good sail but the day was grey and drizzly so we mostly watched ensconced within the cabin. The deck saloon layout and clear washboards give good visibility from down below and with the auto pilot working seamlessly and using the radar and AIS... Continue Reading →
Close Encounter
The day offered little in the way of wind and that from an unhelpful direction so we continued to assist our progress with the engine. We said our goodbyes to the crew of Alegria over the VHF as our courses diverged and wished them well. Peter made some fried egg and ham sandwiches for lunch... Continue Reading →
Lucky Escape
Our perceived weather window was more ajar than open and although the German yacht ‘Cerce’ left as planned, Alegria and Hejira chose to spend the night in the marina and leave at first light. In theory, to leave after a good night’s sleep is a fine plan but the surge into the marina made Hejira... Continue Reading →
TeDiouS
The mission was to get the jobs ticked off before exploring the City and first among these was to replace the membrane on the water-maker. This turned out to be a surprisingly easy job and the mechanism was ‘fired up’ with some trepidation given our rather chequered history with the unit. Switching to production, we... Continue Reading →
Michelin Star
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 was ‘ere
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 →
Emotions
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 →