Ivor, thank you for sharing your log. Hoping it will inspire the captain to keep a similar log of the jump to Ireland....but won't hold my breath.
Bermuda to the Azores
Ostinato III
Crew: King Ross, Sue Ross, Ed Fries, and Ivor Groves
Ivor's journal.
Tuesday June 12th 9:30 AM --- Day 1 begins now.
Left Bermuda at 10 a.m. Tuesday June 12th. Hard to believe I am here. I was totally anxious once I committed to come with King and Sue and Ed. After I arrived Bermuda, I felt Ok and slept well last night.
Today has been exhilarating! We are headed due east with winds from the NE at 14 to 16. We have been traveling at 5 to 7.5 knots. This afternoon the wind is backing north and lighting up. We are now on a broad reach. The seas are moderate and the sky's are clear. The boat is comfortable but does pound a bit and travel with the catamaran lurch.
The next couple of days should be clear and reasonable winds. We are traveling about 1700 miles in total so the trip should take 10 to 14 days.
Beautiful night! The Big dipper to the north, Scorpio to the south, Lynn is watching over us. The Milky Way is brilliant overhead, a white highway of stars. Morning has the winds from the NW at 15 to 18 and we are making between 6 to 7.5 knots. Seas are six to eight ft. In 24 hours we have covered 145 nautical miles.
According to Herb we will have winds from the west NW or SW for several days lightening up Saturday and Sunday.
Wednesday June 13th --- Day 2 begins now -- 9:30 a.m.
We have been making 7.5 to 8 knots most of afternoon. Winds are 15 to 23 from the west northwest. Seas are 9 to 10 large swells. The ride is comfortable with little pounding. About four, we reduced sail to a reefed main and no Jenny. Still making 7.5 to 9 knots. These conditions are expected through tomorrow and then to lighten a little. We have been running due east which is south of the rhumb line but away from the low systems. We will move more northeast beginning this weekend based on Herbs weather guidance. We talk with Herb every night at six on single side band and he gives us our tailored five day forecast based on our location.
So far I am enjoying the experience, and have been sleeping and reading. King and Ed trouble shot a blown voltage regulator fuse. After spending all morning exploring options and replacing the regulator, King found a seriously frayed wire rubbing on a fly wheel. Replaced and problem solved, old regulator returned to service.
Weather is partly cloudy, little cool and dry.
We had steaks, potatoes and salad for dinner.
11 to 1 watch-- partly cloudy skies, wind 15 or so, occasional showers. Just had a cargo ship pass about 5 miles ahead of us. It was bound for St Petersburg, Russia. We have AIS, as did they, we could see them and it looked as though they sped up or changed course and passed well ahead. The boat is moving well, still with just a reefed main and speed is 5.5 to 6.5 now. Scorpio continues to watch us from the south. The wake is lit with phosphorescence.
The end of the second day is here. Winds are lighter this morning and we are making about 5 to 5.5 knots. It is partly cloudy with puffy clouds and seas about 5 to 6. We scrubbed the cockpit this morning and shook out the reef. We are now under full main and Jenny.
I finally had time to put some order into my cabin.
Very comfortable today, easy ride, it is smooth sailing. We made another 145 miles in the last 24 hours. We are about 295 miles out of Bermuda just 1400 miles to go. All systems are go, so everyone is lazing around. From our perspective the world is beautiful.
Thursday June 14th --- day 3 begins now.
It is six pm and we have had an uneventful day. King and Ed worked on gauges for the water tanks , I read and Sue slept. There are clouds behind us which could come in this evening with wind and rain, or we may be far enough east that they will miss us. We will see what herb says at 5 eastern time.
We have moved our watches one hour ahead of Bermuda time which puts us two hours ahead of eastern time.
The question with these little squalls is how much wind will they have and for how long. We are currently running an engine to charge the batteries and we are making water. The French bread is nearing done and the salon smells like a French bakery.
So far we are making good progress but when you look at how far we have to go it is a bit daunting. We are still so close to Bermuda. I am using Isailor on the iPad to track our progress. It appears to be accurate.
3 to 5 AM watch-- we must be east of the low that rained on us last night. Wind has moved towards southwest and we are running wing and wing. We passed a tanker at the first of the watch and I hailed him to make sure he saw us on AIS. He acknowledged and passed to the west on our port side and then crossed our path. We are making five to six knots with wind around 12 to 15. Seas are 5 to 6 ft, comfortable ride.
The new moon is up and the sky is beginning to lighten in the east. Just saw another light and checked the plotter there is a second tanker passing way to our stern. It is headed southeast.
We are still running due east well below the rhumb line. We are about 33.45 lat and 56.30 long. The Azores are at 38 lat and 29 long. We hope we will be able to head northeast once we pass the next low that is north of us at about 33.5 lat and 55 long. It will take the next two days to skirt it to the south. The boat feels very secure and the accommodations are great. The cockpit is huge and so far I have not really felt the need to clip in.
We fished today, no fish, but we did catch a bird. It drowned.
Friday June 15th --day 4 begins now
At noon we are moving along about six knots. We are approximately 400 miles out of Bermuda. Winds are from the west southwest at about 10 to 15. We are south of low pressure and there are numerous squalls to the north so far none have hit us directly. I don't think they are generating much additional wind but it is hard to tell. We are currently under full main and genny. Sail management on this boat is definitely not as much work as the Bounty. The electric winch makes life easy.
Lunch today is soup and ham and cheese sandwiches. The sky is mostly cloudy and seas are about 5- 6.
1 A.M. - the wind has gone more southwesterly and is warmer and more humid. According to Herb we are going to have fairly light to 15 knot SW or S winds through tomorrow. On Sunday we can begin to turn more northeast. Herb said we were in a good spot. Some of the boats behind and more north of us may be in for some weather next week. We may be ahead of it.
King said that on his watch the wind clocked all the way around, there were several jibes, and our preventer lines had to be replaced because of chafe.
The wind is light and this is the slowest we have gone on this trip about 3.9 to 4.5 that makes me anxious. We have been making such good progress until now. We are still headed 90 degrees.
Today's project was to begin putting In the electrical lines to handle 220 European voltage. There will be a whole set of additional wiring to run the water heater, the battery
charger and A.C. King wants to get the battery charger sectIon in before we get to Horta.
According to my iPad GPS Horta is 1329 miles to the northeast.
The watch schedule works well. With several naps added during the day I can easily work with the 2 on and four off schedule at night.
Everyday moves us closer to Horta and me being able to get home to Lynn.
Morning brings winds from the south and 6 knots of speed. I had been projecting that we would reach 600 miles out of Bermuda by 10 A.M. but we will be 50 to sixty miles short. Still we are about a third of the way there after 4 days.
Sue made muffins this morning and they are good!
Sailing along at 8.1 knots squall conditions. I am sitting on the bench seat in the back of the cockpit, very cozy. All the curtains but one are in. We are dry, warm and comfortable.
Saturday June 16th--- day 5 begins now
We are currently at 32.35 N lat and 54.01 W long. We are moving about 6.5 to 7 knots. Overcast skies.
Just had a hot shower and I feel rested and refreshed.
We should have the wind out of the S most of the day and then it should go back to SW at around 15.
No projects started yet today.
Around 11 AM the wind died. We motored for a few hours on one engine. Around 1 the wind came up from the south east and we were on a close reach under full main and genny, winds around 10 to 12. Around 2:30 a squall over took us with the initial winds gusting to 25 or so. We now have wind from the southeast around 16 to 18 with higher gust. The boat has responded well and we are now moving 7.5 to 8 +. This should make up for the miles we lost earlier. There are squalls coming thru about every 30 minutes or so, apparent wind has been up to 30 however we are making about 8.5 to nine knots. We have been talking about reefing but have no done so yet. We will reef before dark if this continues.
4:30. We are reefed, winds around 18 to 20. Ed has to go to the mast to reef, king works the main halyard and I have been on the helm . It's my recommendation that setting up reefing from the cockpit or at least the stern winches be a priority.
Today the sea conditions are moderate considering the amount of wind, I guess that might change over time.
11p.m. We had squalls and wind from the SE until about 8pm. Then the wind began to shift more south. The skies have cleared and the stars are out. We are still reefed and winds are about 15 to 18. We are still running mostly east but Herb said we should be at 34N and 48W by tomorrow night or Monday morning. We are currently at 32.46. N and 52.15 W we will need to head more north tomorrow and head right for Horta. We are 1200 miles from Horta.
Ostinato is on a broad reach tonight. She pounds on a reach and it is like going across cutoff road at Shell Point when it badly needs grating. Tomorrow we should be running again.
Herb did say tonight that a system coming off of Newfoundland could become a gale and effect us sometime mid week I.e. Wednesday or Thursday. That gave us all something to think about. We will be listening very closely to what he has to say the next couple of nights.
We continued under southwest winds last night. Today the sky is clear and the wind is 15 to 18 out of the southeast.
Sunday June 17th --- Day 6 begins now. Happy Fathers Day!
We are running northeast about 71 degrees straight for Horta. Distance is about 1100 miles.
Our position is 32.50 N and 50.50 W
We are shooting to be around 34N and 48 W by tomorrow. Horta is about 38 N and
29 W. The weather and the ride are very comfortable. As long as we are off the wind there is little pounding and the ride is much smoother. Today through tomorrow should be routine and restful.
Today continues to be very mellow, good speed, fair winds and 4-5 foot seas. The wind feels like it is starting to lighten. We are under full sails.
Around 6 pm I did spot another sailboat due north of us. It was just on the horizon and the evening sun was shining on the sails.
8 pm. Based on our chat with Herb tonight, it sounds like there is a lot of unsettled weather north of 35 N. Herb advised us not to go above 34 N for the next several days I.e. through Friday. That is going to keep us well below the rhumb Line and will likely add a day. On the other hand the winds are forecast to continue from the southwest at 15 to 25. That should push us very rapidly east. I think I understood that the really nasty weather is around 39 N and 40 W. The reception of the SSB signal was terrible so it is hard to know exactly what we heard.
9 P.M. I'm on watch from 9-11 and 3-5 tonight. We did not reef tonight and hopefully that will be no problem. The winds are currently 10 -12.
I finished my third book since we left and will start on a fourth tonight. I think I shall return to the detective in Istanbul.
3 AM -- still going east at 6 to 7. Winds from the NW. I slept soundly the last four hours. Reasonable comfortable ride.
Tonight it is partly cloudy, the Milky way is brilliant and Scorpio is looking down on us.
Morning, light winds and 3.5 knots. After breakfast we will put up the cruising chute. Day is clear and seas are small.
Monday June 18th-day 7 begins now.
We are working on putting up the chute. Still light winds and 3.5 knots. We are 826 miles out of Bermuda but still 1000 from Horta. Our route has now added at least a day to the trip. I think at this point we will be lucky to get in by next Monday.
Noon, we are making 4 knots under spinnaker. Very light air. It is odd knowing that in the next day or two we will be in heavier air. I can see having a deadline to be somewhere makes slow progress very frustrating. It is counter to when you sail you get where you are going based on the wind. I guess it tries to teach you acceptance.
We just jibed the chute and are now headed about 70 degrees and moving up toward 34 N. Still barely making 4 knots.
5:30PM - Still flying chute making between 4 and 5 knots. Beautiful day accept a little light. This experience helps me understand why sailors would begin to yearn for more wind even if it is a little heavy. Read and played solitaire all day. I am winning more games.
I also took a shower today. Very refreshing as it has gotten much warmer the last two days. The water maker is producing enough water to keep up with every other day showers. Ostinato also has a built in water catchment system using run off from the salon roof. Saturday when it rained we filled the tank.
It will be Herb time soon. Hope we have better propagation than we did last night.
Today we have seen multiple men of war and a small turtle. We have trolled most of the day but no luck. We have also seen a pod of dolphins who came to play on the bow. Not sure which day that was.
Tonight's discussion with Herb was a little scary. Apparently a storm system has formed north of us that is intensifying, appears tropical and is moving east. We are south of it but are going to get SW winds up to thirty knots. Winds are going to be light tomorrow and begin to build Tuesday night and Wednesday. They will reach their peak on Friday. They will continue to blow through Saturday. Hopefully they will decrease on Sunday. This is going to force us to go east at 33N until we get the all clear that we can turn north. This is going to take us way out of our way and add days to our trip and at least four very rough days. Hopefully it will not intensify as much as Herb thinks it might.
This storm system is clearly the scenario that one hopes doesn't happen.
Maybe Herb will give us better news tomorrow night.
1 AM It is calm tonight and the sky is mostly clear. We are motoring east. It is weird to contemplate that the ocean can be so gentle but will soon be in such a froth. We are all a bit anxious but if the weather stays within the parameters that Herb has predicted for our course, we will be fine.
It is a big ocean and one has little contact for additional information or few options. We are essentially on our own. That is rare for people to experience in this day and age.
It looks to me that if we run due east for the next 5 days we will likely be between 35W and 30 W. That will put the Azores NNE of us approximately 400 miles. That will mean we still have about three more days to go.
Tuesday morning - winds still calm and we are motoring east. It is warm and humid. We are about 890 miles from Horta. King has been downloading weather faxes maybe they will be helpful. We sent email this morning.
Ed is sleeping and everyone else is a bit subdued. We had pancakes and bacon for breakfast. A little swell is picking up from the southeast.
Tuesday Morning - June 19 -- day 8 begins now.
Still motoring and still headed east.
Back in my stateroom. Might as well nap. Today will be good, should have 10 to 15 towards the end of the day. Tomorrow the forecast is for 10 to 15 SW
Herb said the wind would fill in around noon. It is noon and we just turned the engine off and are sailing at about 5 knots. The wind is from the southwest at around 9-10.
King and Ed have been working on little things to tighten things up.
4 PM. King and Ed topped off the fuel tanks with two of the spare tanks. It is unlikely we will use the engines until we make the push to Horta , whenever this storm clears. There are starting to be larger swells and clouds on the Horizon. We are at 44 W and 33 N . The ride is comfortable with SW winds on our stern quarter. Everyone is napping and chilling.
The Herb chat tonight was positive. We are expected to have 20 to 25 knots of wind for the next 4 days. Ostinato and crew can handle those conditions well. It is very good considering there are gale winds up to 50 north of 35N. It looks like we will try to turn for the Azores around 35 W longitude. It would be very helpful if the low to our north turned more northeast sometime over the next several days.
11 PM watch -- Beautiful night. Clear skies, nice 12 knot wind and we are moving well.
We are currently about 821 miles from Horta. I think we will be about 400 to 500 miles when we turn north at 35 W on Saturday.
I have been sitting out on the stern seat outside the cockpit watching the sky. It is a glorious night. The Milky Way is so bright that it looks like a band of white clouds across the sky. The wake of the boat is lit by phosphorescence. There was a bright shooting star and Scorpio and the big dipper are looking down on us.
43.13 W 32. 56 N
Wednesday June 20 - day 9 begins now.
We are 846 miles from Horta and still heading due east. There is now TS Chris north west of us. The good news at the moment is that it is tracking NE. We will keep heading east along 32.56 N until we reach 35W. That should be on Saturday and we should be able to turn north and follow the storm up to the Azores. This will depend on Herbs assessment and how much wind we will encounter heading north. The sky is partly to mostly cloudy with large thunderheads to our east.
We are doing about 6 knots in 12 to 14 knot winds. We still have not seen any 20-25 which is predicted for the day. The shift in the storms direction may mean we get a little less wind. Who knows. The crew is in good spirits and looking forward to the home stretch.
We are fishing two lines today but so far no fish. Winds still steady 12 -14 from the southeast.
1:15 --- winds are picking up, skies are overcast. The first reef is in, we are moving comfortably at 5.5 knots. It appears to be nap time.
4:30. Winds are in the 10 to 12 range getting lighter. No 20 to 25 so far. We understand that the storm has turned more NE, actually it is looping around and merging with two other lows, maybe that has taken the stronger winds further away from us. It will be curious to hear what Herb says tonight. If it is moving away we will probably need to turn north sooner.
From a weather stand point, it has been a weird three days. A lot of promise and prediction of heavy air but it has actually been mostly beautiful and sometimes light. Hmmmm. Still no fish. I am hoping as we get closer to the Azores we will find some.
9 PM WATCH
We are trucking! The wind has arrived, it is about 18 and gusting to 25. We are doing seven knots.
We will continue east till Saturday and turn north to Horta. We will likely be 2.5 to 3 days out at that point. We are currently at 41.5W and 32.58 N. We will make the turn at 33W. TS Chris is no longer effecting us but we are now ahead of two merging low pressure systems that are creating gale force winds for the people behind us. We will have in the 20 to 25 range until next Monday according to Herbs forecast tonight.
3AM watch
We are screaming. Winds 20 to 25. Running between 7 and 8 knots. We are at 33N and 40.46W. Partly cloudy skies. The ride is a little noisy and some pounding but overall very comfortable. We are under reefed main and full Jenny. We are getting and sending email. We are now about 675 miles from Horta. Given the distances involved it almost feels like we have reached the Azores neighborhood. It will certainly feel that way when we turn north. I have been using the Isailor App on my IPad and it has worked very well. It shows our track, location --lat and long, heading and boat speed. I have Horta as my waypoint and it tells me how far it is.
We just reefed the Genny at the end of my watch. We were making 10 knots and the autopilot was struggling. We are definitely getting our 20 to 25 probably gust to thirty.
Thursday June 21-- day 10 begins now.
Grey, blustery day! We are at 33N 39.58 W traveling at around 7 knots. Today is sleep, watch, read, sleep. At this point we are well within motor range of Horta, however, Herbs forecast are for twenty knots of wind the rest of the way. I can't wait to turn north and head for the barn.
Well Herb was wrong! Tonight he says we will have 30 to 35 knots wind all day Friday.
We put in a second reef about 5 pm. I was on the helm. We had just finished the reef when the boat lurched and helm pedestal seat that I was sitting on broke off at the base and I fell with it to the cockpit deck. Fortunately other than a few scrapes and bruises I was not hurt, but I easily could have been.
We have a boat about 30 miles north of us. It is a 42 ft boat named Reboot. We think it is a Tayana (actually it was a Catalina). The skippers name is Roger and he is singlehanded. He is sailing to Ireland and says that he will now stop at Horta being he is so far south and going right by. Guess we will have a drink with him in Horta.
We are still planning on turning north on Saturday. Herb now says Sat will be 20 to 25 and winds will lighten slightly Sunday and Monday. We should just about be to Horta Monday. Ostinato is performing well and does not feel overly stressed. The autopilot is handling the conditions well. Thank God.
1Am watch --making 7 knots in about 23 knots of wind. We have headed a little further south east tonight to try to minimize the gale winds. As a result we are on a close reach and the ride is bumpy. The stars are out tonight. We are all a little tired of the rough ride. We really covered the ground over the last 24 hours. We crossed three degrees of longitude which is about 180 miles. We are currently at 32.53N and 37.35 W. Nothing on AIS.
Friday June 22- Day 11 begins now
Last night was blustery. This morning we put in the third reef and are still doing 6 to 7. The swells have been building and the ride is very lumpy. The wind is coming from the south and we are on a broad reach. It would be almost dead downwind if we turned to Horta. Winds are between 20 and 30. This will likely continue until tomorrow morning with maybe 30 to 35 tonight. We are eager and tempted to turn north, the down side of doing so is that it might take us into even stronger gale conditions. I am not yet convinced that regardless of when we turn there may well be Gale conditions tomorrow.
We are all eager for the trip to be over. It has been a good experience and the boat and crew have done well but there is enough.
This morning King found two flying fish on deck. I cleaned them and we will pan fry if we ever stop bouncing so much.
This afternoon we are getting gust over 30 and sustained around 25. It is not clear if this is a sign of building or just occasional gust. The wind is out of the south so we are on a broad reach. The pounding of the bridge deck in these conditions is annoying. The salon table jumps about an inch in response to bridge deck pounding.
Sue has continued to make multi grain bread every day and it is delicious. I am the only one up this afternoon.
It has been mostly sunny today and the barometric pressure has been rising . Hopefully that is a good sign. Much better than yesterday's overcast, squalls and falling barometer.
11PM watch. Hmmmm
Gusting to 27, still moving East. Herb says this front has to pass before we turn east some time tomorrow. We were disappointed as we had convinced ourselves that the blue skies this afternoon were the end of the lumpy seas and high gust. Oh well what's another 24 hours among friends. Apparently there are squalls yet to go. Even easing north we are on a broad to close reach which is a rougher ride. It is amazing how you adapt to it all as time passes. I have felt good and slept well.
We are currently at 33.03n and 34.44W moving at 6.5 to 7.5. I must admit I am ready for a big cold one in Horta.
Saturday June 23-- day 12 begins now.
Saturday morning, we are in a dilemma. Has the front passed. Winds are dropping sky is clear, the barometer is rising. We never had squalls last night. We are working north but could shake out a reef if the front is past and really head north. Last night we only caught snatches of what Herb said so don't have a clear understanding. After reading my watch note from last night, I think the front has passed us. When King awakes I am going to argue that we head for Horta.
Well it appears that I am wrong. By the time that King got up the winds had increased a bit and there is a line of clouds on the western horizon. Hopefully it will move through soon.
11AM. Hmmmmm! The clouds are white puffy and the winds are 14 to 18. We do not know what to think. We now have almost full genny. Could easily shake out a reef.
2 pm ---we are headed northeast at about 58 degrees. We still don't know which side of the front we are on. The winds are steady around 18 to 19. We will be at 34N by the Herb show this evening. By going north we may be opening ourselves to higher winds if the front has yet to come through. At that point we will be about 330 miles from Horta . Two 150 mile days would just about get us there. It will likely be Tuesday morning. Swells are fairly large today 9- 10 ft and coming from the stern, the ride is comfortable.
We are all ready to get to Horta.
Today is Sue's birthday. Happy birthday Sue!
4:30. --- based on the weather faxes we downloaded and printed out we are still ahead of the front. Actually, it looks like the front has moved little since yesterday. The low pressure system that was TS Chris also appears to be just spinning around about the same place. Still under 3 reefs and mostly full Jenny, wind from the SW at 16 to 18 making 5.5 to 6.5 knots with big following seas. We continue on a heading of 56 degrees. Some clouds to the west but not very close.
8:30. --- the front is behind us but stalled. We will go NE 56 degrees until 30 W and then head for Horta! Yahoo! This is the first night since last Monday that there has not been some possibility of us tangling with a gale. We should get into Horta early Tuesday. I think everyone was ready to cheer when Herb said head for Horta.
9 pm watch
Wind is about 15 and with reefed sail we are doing about 5 to 5.5. Mostly clear the crescent moon just set and the stars are beautiful. The big dipper and Scorpio are looking down on us. Seas are smaller tonight. Tomorrow we will go back to fishing.
3AM. --- same winds same direction, less than 300 miles to go. We have come a long way. Beautiful stars, just saw a shooting star and the milky way is brilliant.
Sunday June 24 --day 13 begins.
We are still running 56 degrees to reach 30 W and 35 N. Day is clear winds are still 15 to 18 from SSW with higher gust. That is below the rhumb line but Herb wanted us to get to 30 W before turning north. Because there are gale winds above 35 we are trying to thread the needle and come out at 30W and 35 N. Supposedly the front to our west is going to come east on Wednesday. As long as that schedule holds we will be in to Horta on Tuesday.
We are 255 from Horta but not closing as fast as we would on the rhumb line. Actually today is very like yesterday with regard to wind and sea conditions. Ride is fairly comfortable but on a broad reach with 10 ft swells there is some bouncing. It will take us till tonight to get to our 30 W 35 N target.
2 pm. The sky is clouding up and we are heading more easterly, I think a case can be made that we should be boogieing north as fast as possible. If the front to the east starts moving early we could get some rough weather. At that point the only relief would be to get to Horta. Hopefully the winds will have weakened.
5PM we have turned north and are on the rhumb line, 21 degrees, to Horta. According to the GPS we will be there in 36 hours at the current speed. The weather faxes look like the front might move through earlier than expected but the winds with it look lighter. There is no longer a gale label on it over in our area. We will see what Herb says tonight. Hopefully if the front moves through it will have less intensity. We have had good wind today and we just shook out the first reef. We still have one reef in. We are running wing and wing, it is a comfortable ride.
We are having chicken for dinner, piccata or baked. Looks like we might have a pretty sunset.
Reception of Herb was very poor tonight. However Sue said that she understood that the front was going to come through but that the winds would be around 15 tonight and tomorrow morning . Maybe squall around 37 N.
1PM -- Shell Point has tropical storm and we are ending with good weather. On a downhill sleigh ride tonight. Ride is the smoothest it has been in three days, like silk. We can now think about Horta in hours instead of weeks and days. Tuesday morning is still looking good for arrival to Horta. Ed says we hit 12 knots on his watch. We are wing and wing with a preventer on each sail. I have been trying to figure out how we would slow the boat down in such conditions in the dark. Hmmmmm! Fortunately the wind settled down on my watch between 15 and 18 with few gust.
7:55 AM --- our nemesis front associated with former TS Chris and emerging lows passes by with 30 minutes of heavy rain and 15 knot winds.
Monday June 25 --- day 14 begins now
Headed for Horta full sails, wing and wing. Wind from the southwest 10 to 12. Boat speed 4.5 to 5. Had a little blue sky but now overcast. Fishing two lines but still no luck! One more day of eat, nap, read, nap, Herb show and night watches. We have been sailing for two weeks straight. We just had several days of 20sh wind running with wind on our stern. The boat is damp the floors are moist and everything is a bit sticky. The rain this morning helped rinse off the salt on the outside.
We are currently at 36.19N and 29.37 west. Speed 4.2 knots, heading 16 degrees. Wind 10 to 12. I think King wants to put up the spinnaker. Very easy ride.
At least for the next hour we will be running the engine, charging and water making.
As we approach Horta there are many more commercial ships. Last night we had one going 21 knots that was going to pass within 1/4 mile, we called him and he changed course to miss us 1.5 miles. We have seen several ships this morning AIS certainly helps with identification, course and speed.
Noon, we are Motoring at about 5.5 knots with one engine. Wind is less than 10. Everyone is relaxed knowing we have come to the end of this part of the adventure. Sue is making shopping lists and King is making to do list.
Left overs for lunch. I panfried the two flying fish. They were good! Very mild and easy to work with bones. This is the first day since last Wednesday we could get comfortably out of the cockpit. For most of the last 5 days everything outside was damp to wet and everything was very sticky. The sun has come out and we are cleaning and sprucing up. Well Ed, King and Sue are, I am mostly reading.
Air is drier and cooler, skies are blue.
4PM - sailing at 4.5 to 5 knots about 95 miles to go. Things are back to normal. Projects are being worked on. There will be steaks for dinner.
Still no fish.
All the hatches are open in the salon and the floors are drying out.
Finished my 5th or 6th book, The new LeCarre book, very cynical, he is probably right.
5 PM --- the engine is back on! Just sailing too slow and we want to be into Horta tomorrow morning sometime.
Big swells coming in from the west. Must be from the big low south of Bermuda. We just had a porpoise visit by three playing across our bow. At the same time we saw a big school of flying fish come out of the water. Most life we have seen in several days.
11:30. My last watch of the trip. It has been a marvelous experience. We are motoring at 5.7 knots. There is another boat a couple of miles from us with AIS but no info. It is moving at 5 knots parallel to us on about the same course. It may be Reboot, as it is probably a sail boat. I cannot see any lights.
We are at 37.38N and 29.01W. Oh so close. Actually 48 miles to be exact.
It is partly cloudy tonight and some stars are out. Oops, correct that, I just went outside again and the stars are out in all their glory. Scorpio is looking over us from the stern, the big dipper is to our port and the brilliant Milky Way is overhead. I am going to sit outside and watch them for the last time from a boat off Horta Azores, Portugal.
Went to the bow to watch the stars. First time to the bow at night on this trip. It is fabulous tonight. It is hard to pick out many constellations because there are just too many stars.
6AM Ostinato time. Everyone is up. Sue and king could see the volcano earlier but it is now behind clouds. It is a beautiful morning and we are sailing at 7 knots. We are fishing for the last morning ?????. Oatmeal for breakfast and discussion of where we will eat lunch and dinner. We are all feeling good.
King is chatting up Roger on VHS. He said he had a hard crossings, he was north of us and could only hear Herb half the time.
The island of Faial and Horta are well in view. We are all just happy to be here. Still no fish. It is 9:35 in Horta we should be docked by 11 AM.
We arrived at Horta. We are rafted one boat off the doc. Time for lunch and a beer.
Great trip, boat, crew experience, I am so glad I did not miss it.
