Saturday,

 

We are now all in Azores and can reflect on performance so far. Our class 3 has 6 seriouse racing boats that Gerty in cruise mode had no chance , so if we forget them and compare to other in class performance is fair.

If we do a return match in four years it would have to be new race sails , no gear on board like outboards , dinghies, books, spare biscuits etc. end result should week 2 hours off so we will be one place better!

The light winds of the last week has seen boats droping off like flys, all the small heavy boats have had to give up.

Two different Contessa 32 boats said if we pay the tickets home we can have the boats for nothing apparantly very slow and wet.

Gerty sailed well on the trip, 2 days on port tack and 25 knots found a new leak ; this has been sealed. My cunning battery twin alternator system is getting better, one part is sorted ; and one part is eating belts, this has had a tweek and maybe is fixed , either way we can now run engine 2 hours a day and battery is always full. Maybe by end of year we will have bomb proof systm.

Azores authorities are worse than carribian, book in with 4 different people, then we have to book out; could be fun as gerthas Small Ships Register run out today , can the local beaurocrats handle it, will I be locked up, will this be my last blog, are the local prisons full of large coloured people?

There is one more body that we have to see £ 2.00 for light house dues and it takes 30 mins to do. In the words of the simpsons “ deerwap”

S