Apologies for any inconvenience.

I took advantage of the good weather to learn how to use the sextant properly. In fact we did the whole of the return journey using sextant and dead reckoning. I was quite pleased to be only eight miles out on making a landfall in Ireland after just over ten days at sea.

The amazing thing is that, despite the fact that you have to refer to the clock constantly for change of watch and sun sights, time doesn’t seem to flow in the same way. It is as if you have been transported to a different watery world where time has no real meaning.
We decide to stop over in Baltimore because the wind died and as it looked like we might have to wait some time. So motoring for a few hours and having a run ashore was a better option than drifting around for a few days.
On our way in we were boarded by Irish customs. I thought it was a neat touch sending two very pretty girls on board but keeping the customs gunboat menacingly in the background.

After a day and a night in Baltimore we had a slow but pleasant return to Holyhead. It took us three days because we were becalmed for the best part of a day floating backwards and forwards in the Irish Sea.

All in all a great adventure. Over 3,000 miles sailed there and back again. A great deal of valuable sailing experience packed into a relatively short time. Would we both do it again? Definitely.

Portuguese and Azorean courtesy flags
After a fast and straightforward crossing from Terceira, enlivened by the antics of a pod of common dolphins, we arrived at the port of Lajes on the Island of Pico. The harbour is small, with only 5 berths for visitors, and is surrounded by reefs. The pilot makes the approach sound horrific but a new breakwater has made it much more straightforward. As long as you follow the directions to the letter and don’t deviate it is fine.

The harbour at Lajes de Pico
Mount Pico dominates the island and attracts its own cloud, as if there weren’t enough already. The island is probably very beautiful but for the two days we were there it was covered in dense cloud, rain and hill fog, reminding me of Mynydd Llandegai.
Lajes was the centre of the whaling industry which only ceased here in 1984. We visited the whaling museum and had a look around.
I have always liked Bill Tillman’s idea of combining a sailing voyage with a lightweight ascent of a mountain. So as Kath was keen to have a go I thought we should give Mount Pico a try despite the awful weather. We packed a compass, GPS, map, waterproofs and extra clothing including a belay jacket each. The ascent is made up a rough but straight forward path with the odd post to show the way in less than perfect weather. We started from the road at 1200m in strong winds, driving rain and 15 metres visibility. About half way up we met an excitable foreigner who through wild gestures managed to communicate that he had turned back at 1800m when unable to stand up in the high winds. He seemed somewhat perplexed when the two habitués of Scotland and Wales grinned, shrugged and indicated that surely twas ever thus. Well, we passed his high point and got as far as the rim of the crater at 2100m. At this point we were wearing every stitch of clothing we had and still getting chilled. The final straw came when the vis dropped to less than 5 metres. Despite being so close to the top we turned tail and ran. As Tilman himself would have put it, our attempt failed due to ‘a lack of moral fibre’.

Mount Pico seen from Horta, Faial
The next day we set off in Firebird towards Faial in a sea state that can only be described as horrid. We both felt quite queasy. However on approaching Horta the wind got up to a 6, the cloud cleared, the sun beat down at last and we screamed into Horta harbour under a reefed genoa. We tied up in the North Marina helped in the difficult wind conditions by a frenchman and a brit called Marcus (whose boat was an old ‘dipping lugsail’ fishing boat painted purple.
After the quiet harbours we had frequented in the Azores Horta came as quite a shock. It is very busy and stuffed full of ’superyachts’. During our first full day in Horta the rain lashed down. Fortunately we had plenty of maintenance and provisioning to be getting on with so it didn’t really matter.

Arriving in Horta, Faial

The next day broke fine and we decided to make the most of it and get some exercise. We hired mountain bikes (what a pleasure after the monstrosities we hired for a day in Terceira) and cycled 16km and 900m of ascent to the rim of the ‘Caldeira’. This was followed by a brisk 8km walk around the rim of the caldeira which includes an ascent of Cabeço Grande, 1043m and the highest point on Faial, which we felt went a little way to redressing our failed attempt on Mount Pico. Needless to say, the best bit was the ride back down. Downhill all the way at breakneck speed. I bottled first and used my brakes from time to time!

Loking down into the caldeira, Faial
The trip’s comedy classic came when Kath took me to a local restaurant she had read about. Just before the waitress came to take our order she delivered the food to the table next to us. Kath says my look of horror was a picture. “Excuse me”, I said to the waitress, ” I don’t wish to appear difficult but surely the fish and meat you just gave them is RAW!” Much embarrassment and amusement ensued as it it was explained to me that we did the cooking ourselves on a hot lava rock.
Today (Friday the 21st of May) was another gloriously sunny day. We hired a scooter and rode around the island. Very ‘italian’ and great fun.
Tomorrow we set off towards home. so we will be unable to post anymore news for at least two weeks. When we get back I’ll let you know how we got on.

The main danger in the western approaches.

Kath in rare sunshine.

Aries, our self-steering, voted the most popular crew member.

Belting along under reefed foresail only in a force 6.

Franco trying to average the compass swing.

Sometimes the heel was such that the lee cloth was used more as a hammock!

The first 2 days were spent beating to windward to get out of the Irish Sea. The next two involved sailing close hauled. After that we had more favourable winds and spent most of the time sailing in winds of between force 3 to 5. However, about 400 miles out from Terceira we ran into an incredibly persistant airstream. The barometer stayed up around 1020 to 1040 but we sailed in force 6-7 winds for 4 days and heaved-to for 6 hours at one point for a rest. We then had a few hours of blissful calm only to run into a series of frontal systems and sailed the rest of the way in force 6-7 with one night of force 8.

Quite a baptism of fire! This included a host of little emergencies such as sewing patches on the foresail and (on trying to start the engine to charge the batteries) changing the oil filters and bleeding water out of the fuel system in a force 7.

Kath gets a mention in despatches for continuing to produce cordon bleu meals in extreme conditions and Aries (our self-steering gear) was voted the hardest working and most popular member of the crew.

Despite all these trials Kath and I are still talking to each other and neither of us has booked a ticket home. We have just spent a lovely week recovering and exploring the island. Highlight was the local version of a bull run. In this the bull gets to chase the humans and although he is goaded into a rage he isn’t killed at the end of the proceedings. Needless to say I kept a safe distance and Kath between me and the bull at all times!

Unfortunately I have just discovered that I forgot to bring my card reader. As soon as I am able to buy one I will upload some photos.

Tomorrow we are off to Lajes on the island of Pico, weather permitting. The idea is to spend some time looking for whales and exploring Pico and Faial. We also hope to ascend Mount Pico (2035m) which is the highest mountain in Portugal (work that one out).