Azores at last! - 38:31.82N 28:37.51W

Moya
Doug Smith
Tue 5 Jun 2012 13:29
Hello All,
 
I am happy to report that on Monday 28th May at 1300 we dropped anchor in Horta Harbour - yes, we have made it! 38:31.82N 28:37.51W and we are all delighted!
 
After a difficult night, dogged by squalls we finally dropped all sail at 0600 this morning and continued under power toward Horta in lumpy seas with little wind - we were prepared to delay no longer.
 
At 0900, whilst on watch and at the helm, I was able to cry "Land Ho" in a voice that overcame all engine sound and roused the watch below.  Horta is backed by the island of Pico, with its 2000 metre volcanic peak, which can normally be seen up to 30 miles off shore, but these islands are known as the disappearing islands and that is exactly what they had been doing until six miles off when they could hide no longer and showed themselves looming out of the morning mist.  Despite motoring for the past few hours, we still did not have it easy, and the Atlantic swell pushed us along from astern, trying to broach us whenever the helmsman lost concentration - we still had to fight those last few miles.
 
At 1245 we rounded the breakwater, called the harbour authorities - who sent us to anchor much to our dismay, but we were there and 35 metres of chain rattled through the hawse pipe at 1300 precisely and the team set to preparing the dinghy to take me ashore, complete formalities and negotiate a more permanent berth.  A first shower for three weeks was thought necessary before they would let me ashore, then rapidly to the harbour master's pier with my coxon (Rick) totally ignoring the 3 knot speed limit - he does that when driving too - as the possibility of a beer on firm ground became a real prospect.  We climbed the stone pier, which swayed below our feet, then rolled toward his office to queue for interview, first with the Harbour Master, then with Immigration, then with Customs and finally with the Police.  With all dues paid, we were given a temporary berth alongside the wall and went back on board to stow the dinghy and procede alongside.  All was accomplished by 1630 after shoe horning Moya's overall 53 foot into a 60 foot berth, the task made easier by Frank shouting the clearances to me in a voice that could be heard in Lisbon - it was also heard by a gathering throng who stood watching in hopeful expectation of a big crunch, which luckily never came.  Then the fuel stop was pulled, the engine died and it was all over, we had sailed the Atlantic, all 2,440 miles of it from Antigua.
 
We were all tired and the bottle of Champagne was soon empty, to be followed by Richard's skilled hand with the Gin & Tonic, followed by me making a nuisance of myself with anybody prepared to talk to me on the quay until we all dragged ourselves or flowed, into Peter's Bar - famous to Atlantic crossers - for Soup, Steak and Ice Cream.
 
I cannot write about the night we had, I can't remember it except that it was very good value and not much in the way of a sore head for any of us!  We had all repaired on board by midnight, with my minder, Rick, ensuring safe passage back to the boat however hard his Dad tried to fall in.
 
We were looking for a rapid turn around to complete the passage to Liverpool and planned to leave on Wednesday but life is never that simple.  We had arrived on a Bank Holiday Monday, followed by a further public holiday on Tuesday - I had not realised that Portugal was part of the Commonwealth and celebrating the Jubilee! (joke) - but it meant we could not provision until the shops were open on Wednesday.  On Wednesday a big storm was forecast, meaning we could not leave until Thursday at the earliest. Dave was leaving us and we had a tired crew, with work committments that required attendance before we could possibly get home, so the decision was made to leave Moya in Horta and fly home.
 
The storm came, gusting 50 knots, one boat wrecked in the harbour, and all flights cancelled on Wednesday - so our decision to stay alongside the wall proved to be a good one!
 
Our shore support team then sprang into action, with Carol managing to arrange flights back to the UK for the holiday week end - a story for another time and possibly the most stressful part of our journey! - but well done Caza, we are all grateful!  A further thanks must go to Jean, who had joined us for Antigua Classics and loaned us her husband Dave for the passage, and her brother Andy, who between them, passed us excellent weather routing information on a daily basis and kept us away from the worst the Atlantic has to throw!
 
And finally, a special thanks to all those who have e-mailed us during the trip, keeping our spirits up, and to those who are reading these words - for, whilst I admit to completing this in the comfort of home - the earlier episodes were written in some very uncomfortable weather when really it would have been easier not to bother, convincing myself that nobody was interested.
 
Until the next journey,
 
Doug
 
Photos: Horta at first sighting; The town of Horta.

JPEG image

JPEG image