Flores of course is the Portuguese word for flowers!

See what we mean?
 

 



 Yes, this is a 1500 foot cliff, not with a beach but with fields at its foot.

 

 Wild pansies and note the trees on the top of the rock.

 

 Wind shaped tree canopies shelter the flowers.

 

 

 John's favorite picture!

The near cliff is actually concave.

 

 

 These must be the happiest cows in Europe:  Their pasture is so lush, they can graze with their tummies on the ground!

 

 

 Looking south towards Santa Cruz.

 

 

These flowers have three foot stems, yet they are a thousand feet off the ground!

 

 

 The northeast coastline is dramatically surreal.

 

 

 Yes, that is the Atlantic Ocean shimmering in the background.  Magical!

 

 

The green cliffs of Flores:  sheer striking nature.

 

 

Is this donkey fertilizing potatoes?

 

 

 The island of Corvo lies just north of Flores.

 

 

 Wild hydrangeas grow as complete hedges.  The village in the background is Punta Delgada.

 

 

 John says this could be Devon or Cornwall, except for the orange roofs and the sunshine!

 

 

Lunch at the country inn, Por do Sol, at Fajazinha.  Sr. Curvelo served us a wonderful traditional Portuguese meal.

 

 

 A large black bull guards his kingdom.

 

 

 Volcanic beach.

 

 

 Bob finds a cattle trough reserved for Canadians.

 

 

Waterfalls are seen through the mist.

 

 

Volcanic crater lakes adorn the center of the island.

Bermuda to the Azores

The Captain and the Admiral have a hug prior to leaving Bermuda

 

Skipper at the helm on a chilly, damp day.

 

Dave equipped for the ocean

 

 

Dawn on a broad reach on the Atlantic

 

Bob and John

 

 

Kazoo serenade on Bob's birthday

 

Oops! Bob's special birthday outfit!

 

Birthday boy!

 

Froggy stowaway?

 

Berthed in Lajes, Ilha das Flores, Azores

 

The Admiral inspects the fleet.

(Adventuress in the background)

 

Porto das Lajes, Ilha das Flores

Thursday May 29  17.15 local time (GMT)  39.22.767N 31.10.155W  At dock.

 

It was dark when we arrived, but the entry into the anchorage here is wide open and there was plenty of light from the street lamps of Lajes to see the other boats in the anchorage: none! We dropped the anchor in 34 feet of calm protected water, let out 175 feet of chain, and opened the champagne.

 

With light following winds we had motor-sailed the last 112nm. This added 15.5 hours to our engine time, making a total of 31.5 hours motoring. Our passage was fast: we dropped anchor exactly 11 days and 7 hours after leaving the fuel dock in St George's harbour, Bermuda. We travelled 1,795nm for an average speed of 6.6kts, and we still had over half left of our 250 gallons of water. We saw lots of dolphins in the second half of our trip, and we enjoyed winds behind the beam for most of the passage.

 

Now we are berthed along a floating pontoon in the inner harbour's new marina, and we are on vacation! We will stay in Flores for a few days before sailing 130nm to Horta on the island of Faial, one of the five islands that make up the central group of the Azores islands.

 

John and Nancy, with Bob and Dave

 

 

Sneaky Squall

Wed May 28 1200 GMT 3914N 3255W Wind SW 8 Cloudy Motor sailing 085T at 7.5kts

Approaching landfall is at once exciting and slightly disappointing. First, we are looking forward to the Portuguese culture in Flores, to a good dinner with local fish, vegetables, wine and cheese; and to the people of these distant islands, who are reputed to be both friendly and civil to us yachties. On the other hand, this passage is over and it has been almost all fun. The good thing about this passage is that we still have the third leg up to Falmouth to anticipate and plan.

This morning just before dawn we were hit with a sneaky squall that looked innocuous enough on the radar screen, until just before it arrived. Then an eight mile deep cloudburst suddenly appeared on the radar behind its puny first line of showers. Bang! We were blasted with a downdraft of 40 knots plus (not sure how high it went as we were too busy handling the boat to look much at the wind instrument)and, although we already had two reefs in the main, we had out all the jib. It was a strong blow for a bit, but we managed to get two reefs in the jib: it was hard work and the boat was on her ear a while, but we came out unscathed. The lesson here is: when it's dark and there is some rain about, you better be ready for a nasty surprise. The skipper was at the helm, and as the crew came tumbling out of bunks and up into the cockpit, no doubt they were a bit apprehensive, but very glad that we were not caught with our pants down (sails up!) while on their watch!

This rain lasted about an hour and a half, and after the first blast, the winds in it were down to 15kts. Then, as usual,as the skies cleared we lost our wind. So now we are motor sailing along about 80nm from Lajes, and we expect to arrive at the anchorage there just before nightfall.

John and Nancy, with Bob and Dave

Kazoos and Cake

May 27 1200 GMT 3846 3846N 3640W Wind SSW 20kts Seas 8ft Sunny COG 75T SOG 8.5kts

Here we go sailing down a following current in the Gulf Stream, adding half a knot to our Speed over Ground (SOG). If this wind and current stay, we will, after all, make Flores tomorrow afternoon. The chances are, though, that something will change!

Yesterday we celebrated Bob's birthday with Kazoos and with Ghirardelli Brownie Cake baked by Nancy. We also loaned him some special birthday attire and as long as he does not get hold of the camera and delete them, the pics will appear here soon!

All is well, and we are enjoying this favourable wind shift and ocean current.

John and Nancy, with Bob and Dave

Sunday's Fiddling Soft Glide

May 26 1220 GMT 3816N 4005W Wind SW 13kts Sunny Seas 4ft Beam reach full main and jib at 6.5kts

Like the Phantom's dinghy we are gliding over the Atlantic stage, and we could be having a June day out on the Long Island Sound -except that we cannot see any land. Yesterday we hit a couple of bugs. And about time too: we had been bug-free for 13 sailing days!

First, the Autopilot went on strike. So we hand steered while we waited for Jay Fiddler-Kay, the maintenance guy, to show up. He fiddled with the wires to the drive's computer brain box, and nothing happened. He fiddled with the power on and off; he called in Jay Sparky-Kay with his volt meter and they fiddled with more switches on and off; and nothing happened. So they went down to the pub for a beer, and while they were away, JFK read the manual! And watched the Autopilot trying to start, and made a lucky guess: he went bravely amongst the buttons and pressed here and there to disengage from the autopilot the speed wheel (that sits down on the hull and measures the boat's speed through the water). Hey Presto!

Then the modem would not come online to send out these updates. More fiddling! No luck there, though: so no update yesterday. Sitting here typing this and hoping that the dear lovely little modem will work today. If you are reading this, it did.

And meantime the sailing continues to be smooth and quite fast, but we do expect to slow a bit as the wind lessens: so we will probably not make Lajes Harbour on Flores until Thursday.

And today is The Celebration for Bob's BIG birthday: Nancy has baked a Brownie Cake and we have some fun planned!

John and Nancy, with Bob and Dave

(no subject)

Sat Maqy 24 1105 GMT: 3712N 4610W Wind S 18kts; Sunny; Seas 5ft COG 75 7.8kts broad beam reach, under full Jib and Main

And for the non-sailors: those words '7.8kts broad beam reach' mean: a dream sail! The low pressure areas have cleared out of the way as forecast, and we have perfect conditions. The crew are showered. The boat has been cleaned too; and for dinner this evening we have more Wahoo. The Admiral is sleeping, and with wind and waves astern, the boat is quite stable. The decks are dry and so the main hatch is cracked to air out the boat.

After these first wonderful one and a half legs of our crossing, surely on the third and final leg up to Falmouth we will encounter some less benign weather. But meanwhile, we are enjoying the day and living in this moment: and thoughts of things to come are focused on, for example, finding 'sardinhas assada' (sp?) for lunch in the Azores.

John and Nancy, with Bob and Dave