Blog of Catryn
CATRYN
David Rice
Tue 9 Jun 2015 16:43
This is near the end of my voyage. The Azores were not our original
destination, but a great diversion anyway. They say that when sailing
you should not have destinations, but simply directions. But the Azores
are not even in the right direction for us, but we are here now anyway,
so we make the most of it.
The only problem is, it is EXTREMELY busy here. Dai wants to leave his
boat here, and fly back to the UK and return in one month. But we are
having trouble finding an available slot for us here, so he may be
forced to sail back to Wales on his own. He will blog about that I am
sure.
Our last destination, Flores, was so different. We were anchored outside
the marina in a sheltered bay. On Saturday a young guy in a plastic
canoe paddled slowly in our direction. I said jokingly to Dai "here
comes the harbour master". When the young guy got to us, he said "good
morning, I am the harbour master, I need a few details from you". We
chatted for a while, and arranged to meet in his office the next
morning at 0800 to complete the entry formalities. As he manoeuvred his
canoe to leave, I called out to him:
"Can I have your job when you retire?"
"Hey, it's not all easy you know, look at me now, it's Saturday and I'm
working".
And with a toothy grin and a sparkle in his eyes, he turned and paddled
slowly away, whistling as he went, kindly leaving unsaid what he must
have been thinking:
"That old guy will not be around by the time I retire!"
The next day at 0800 prompt, we were in his office. At some stage I
complimented him on his excellent spoken English, and asked him where he
learnt it. Without hesitation he replied:
"From playing video games when I was 10 years old".
Well they must be good for something then!
With that thought I will take my leave, and thank you for reading my
modest blog.
To the sailors, I wish you fair winds.
To my former colleagues and pilots - Keep the blue side up.
Best Wishes
Pete