This was a straightforward passage of 873 miles that took 7 days and 5 hours. We set out with the wind from the north, which meant we were on a fine reach, a comfortable and fast point of sail.

On days 3 and 4 the wind backed round towards the west, but rather than battling against them, we continued on the reach which meant that we ended 70 miles left of course. The forecast suggested the winds would once again veer back to the north and so it proved and our cross track error soon disappeared.

As a crew we soon slipped into the rhythm of 3 hourly watches, with one person keeping a look-out while the other 2 were able to catch up on sleep or just relaxing.

 

We thought we had hooked into our first fish on day 5 when the fishing line whizzed out, indicating a ‘ big one ‘ .  Unfortunately we had only snagged a large piece of fishing net complete with two small crabs which had made it their home.

During the passage we had several visits from dolphins, including the common, bottlenose and Atlantic spotted varieties; alas we had no encounters with whales. Shearwaters were our constant companions, even when we were more than 400 miles from land.

 

We arrived in Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel by lunchtime on 7 July. After completing the fairly protracted arrival formalities which meant visiting port officials, maritime police, immigration as well as customs, we celebrated with an arrival libation. The crew on a neighbouring boat told us that we had arrived in the middle of the Espirito Santo religious festival and that the grand parade was about to start. The seafront was lined with crowds watching a very long and extremely slow procession. There were floats, bands, marchers and many bull-drawn waggons from which free bread, cake and rough red wine were being handed out.

 

Throughout the evening all the local church bells were competing with each other to sound out melodies and chimes. Next morning as we sought out a bar with a TV so we could watch the British F1 GP, we had to make our way through the crowds leaving the open-air Mass, that had been held in front of the cathedral, and who were now heading towards the main square for a free lunch.