Horta, Ilha Faial

 

We are at the eastern crossroads of the North Atlantic!   Horta, Ilha Faial, Azores, Portugal. The marina is an eye opener for this Lancaster girl.  We are the only USA boat here among approximately 500 sailboats  (…and we are the ONLY boat that has “varnished" teak.)  The local language is Portuguese; however, at the marina we hear Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Danish, Finnish... and of course almost everyone speaks the world’s common language, English.

Here are some pictures of this fascinating island:

Here we are rafted outside three other yachts: and what a backdrop!

 Bird's eye view: JFK went up to change a light bulb! Inside us on the dock is a German boat with four young boys: the father is a pharmacist in Berlin. Outside were 5 Swedish young men and an Australian, on a two year jaunt. Also rafted was Henri from Basel Switzerland, who had just single handed his 44ft yacht for 17 days from St Martin.

 

Dave starts our wall painting...

 

 ...and JFK and Nancy make some finishing touches...

 

 .... at 38.32.022N and 028.37.493W, precisely!

 

 "Lord Nelson" Bob is busy being a good Samaritan, hand stitching a repair to our friends' Jib

on the yacht Meer Lust

 

 Horta has that tidy old architecture that breathes charm

 

 Of course these fish are fresh!

 

 ...and local produce is on sale daily in the town market.

 

 Here is a Mosaic footpath laid by a drunken fisherman!

 

 Peter's Café Sport is the sailors' watering hole....

 

 ...with a cozy bar that welcomes the flotsam and jetsam of the harbor.

 

 That's Pico in the distance, taken half way up the hill on Faial...

 

 ...and here is the top of the hill: a perfectly round quite uniform volcanic crater.

 

 The woods and pastures are lush and majestic.

 

 Rolling fields....

 ...and fertile coastal plains: and see the wild hydrangea hedges.

 

 A ravine slices down to the sea.

 

 The horse has deluxe grazing and quite a view.

 

 In 1957 there was an earthquake, and then a new island reared up about 300 feet beyond the lighthouse!

 

The barren rock is impressive with the caves and surf.

 

 The stark beauty everywhere.

 

...and here are our new friends, Annehei and Willem Stenvoorden.  They have been cruising the world on their 55 foot yacht (which has a washing machine!)

 

 

Next we travel to Pico to continue our exploration.

 

Our very best,

 

John and Nancy, with Dave and Bob



Arrived Horta

 

On Tuesday, June 3, we left Flores to sail 133 miles to Horta on Faial, the main yachting harbor in the Azores.  We had a beautiful downwind sail with the Gennaker!  This picture was taken by our friends Willem and Annehei on Meer Lust, a 55 foot Contest boat, built in Holland.  Several hours later Dave was on the helm when the sail fell into the water! Our snap shackle on the halyard had come open!  John and Bob rescued the sail.

 

We are rafted on the outside of three other boats in a very crowded marina.  There are probably 500 boats here from all over the World. Tomorrow after a cold front has passed through many will be leaving for their passage to Europe.  What a sight the harbor here is, with all of these boats!

 

We will stay and explore Faial, and then move to visit another island.

 

John and Nancy with Bob and Dave

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