From the Marina in Horta, Azores

Photos from The quay iin Horta Marina.
Look closely and you'll see a mountain in the background on one of the photos. That is the volcano, 7000 feet, on the island of Pico across the strait. I have just started painting on the quay, as you are meant to do as a long- distance sailor.

Flores, the Blue Island in the Azores.

Hydrangeas on Flores!

Flores is called the BLUE Island, and not without reason. The Hydrangeas bushes are every-where!

Island of Flores, Azores July 2009.

We arrived early morning Thursday 23rd to this little pearl of an island in the middle of the Atlantic.
We put down the anchor in the harbour bay at the village of Lajes das Flores in the south east corner of the island of Flores, which is the most north- western of the Azores .There is 138 Miles west of the central group of islands. It is supposed to be the most beautiful, and its people the most friendly. Well, I can believe all that now that we have been there.
The Quay area is small and the swell and the tide would have made it uncomfortable to be lying along side. Three other yachts were also anchoring, one British, one Canadian and one South African yacht. Two French yachts were along the quay but one were later asked to move out as an inter-island ferry were due to arrive. Uppersite the quay is a big cliff, lush in vegetation and full of nesting birds who chirp away all through the night.
We ventured up in the village which stretches itself charmingly up the hillside on the south east side of a mountain. Very pretty whitewashed houses in lush well kempt gardens gave us the impression of prosperity and tidyness. Everywhere beautiful wild flowers grew in abandance. Especially Hotencia, which bordered fields and pastures.
Unfortunately we don’t speak Portuguese but everybody were very friendly and helpful. A little lady, by the name of Florence was happily letting us use her internet from a bench in her very pretty garden. She also gave us tomatoes, couchettes and herbs from her garden .When asked she would take a very nominal fee only. She was just extremely friendly and helpful. She even offered us a lift to a festival in a neighbouring town.
We didn’t take the lift. In stead we took our bikes, which we bought last year, and which normally live in the forepeak of the boat all folded up. The bikes were transported in the dinghy to the pier and we then pushed them up through the town and much further up hill to the top of the mountain along the road, in baking heat (Mad dog an Englishman!). It was very beautiful with the views all over the countryside to the sea. We could see two crater lakes from the top of the road. The water was green and it was very scenic. Every where we found blue Hotencia growing all over the hills. We took hundreds of photos as one view was prettier than the previous one.
Yesterday we lighted ancher at Flores at 10.00 and in light SW winds we sailed to the island of Faial and the capital of Horta. The distance is 138 miles and boat went like a dream doing 6-8 knots all the way so that we arrived in a speedy time of 7.15 this morning. We are in the marina along the quay-side. For the first time since I arrived on the boat about a month ago is the table flat- horisontal without rocking and rolling all over the place. It is a strange but lovely feeling.

Atlantic crossing to the Azores July 2009

to

we





Atlantic Crossing from Rockland ME., USA to the Azores from July 4th to 23rd July 2009.

We have just arrived to the Island of Flores the most western island of the Azores Islands. We have had the most exciting and great sail you could possibly image. We started out from Rockland ME. And have been at sea for 19 days and nights. Most of the time the wind has been very favourable. Every Day David has communicated with the weather-gods via weather fax and single side band (SSB) radio and his labtop and has managed to make the most of the wind patterns of highs and lows of the Atlantic Ocean. We have sailed 2100 Nautical Miles, just the two of us in this little wonderful boat named Aros More, and we are still speaking!

The fog was like pea soup when we left Rockland on Saturday morning of 4th of July, but the weather-forecast was good and we got SW winds as we had been promised. Soon all sails were up and ’Adolf‘, our wind- pilot was happily steering. When leaving the last islands belonging to the US behind we got a quick taste of what was to follow as the wind suddenly gusted to 25 knots. We quickly lowered the mizzan and reefed the genoa. We both put on our lifejackets and David went up on deck hooked on to the lifeline and put two reefs in the main.

During the crossing we have had beautiful sunrises and sunsets and seen beautiful seascapes. We have had visits from schools of dolphins, seen whales, many Portuguese man of war(poisonous jellyfish), birds such as petrols, sherwaters, and tropic birds. We have tried to fish but with no luck.

One day’s entry in my logbook I add to this so that you get some idea of what it was like :
14th of July 11th day at sea.
I was on watch from midnight till 4am, and it was a lovely night. Nice and cool, 27degrees C with light winds force 2-3 giving us 5 knots of boat speed on a broad reach. The moon was in his third quarter and there were millions of sparkling stars in the sky. I slept in between doing the hourly log, and overslept the last one to wake up at five am to a lovely cool morning - the best time of the day. Dolphins were playing around the bow, and as I gave David his early morning cup of tea at 6.00, I saw the back of a whale through a porthole -only 20 feet off to startboard - wow! We both rushed up on deck. I think the whale was sleeping, as he was lying very still giving an occational blow. Another whale blew out water a couple of hundred yards away. How exciting!
If it wasn’t for:
the bilge-pump giving up,
problems with David’s pc and printer to get weather fax,
the boat batteries being drained due to a loose connection,
and last not least the toilet pump was blocked, it was another boring day of 35 degrees C in baking sun in the middle of the Atlantic.
David was working solidly all day. Afterwards he did get his well deserved sundowner.

There is always some sort of problem to deal with. A skipper has to know his boat and his stuff. He has be ready in all situations and be prepared to deal with it. I am really pleased that my skipper is just the tops.

Last night we saw the looms from the lights from island of Flores. We were so, so excited. This morning at 05.00am we lying outside the harbour of Vila das Lajes, Azores, at the south point of the island and waiting for daybreak o we could go in. We had done it!
I was really quite relieved. Two days ago the winds and waves were terrifying me. I started worrying that something should happen. Now we are here in this wonderful little island in the middle of the Atlantic. We still had our sea-legs when we ventured out to explore.

Leaving Rockland, Maine USA.

Tomorrow we are leaving Rockland. 3th July 2009.
David and I left Bev and Ted Cowan's house yesterday and are now living afloat again on Aros More. We enjoyed great hospitality from the Cowans and hope to be able to repay them when they one day sail across the Pond in their Schooner or even in their Endurance, which sits under cover in their back yard.
We are now ready to leave. We have done all the shopping we possibly can, includingbuying knitting wool and fishing tackle ( to be used when as the wind demands!) , and filled up with water and diesel. Now we just hope the forcast is correct and the wind will weer to S- SW which is the favourable wind for us. We hope to reach the Azores in 15-21 days time.
We need some sunshine and to get out on the ocean wave!
All the time here in Rockland the fog has been down........a very depressing Summer, so far.