38 27N 27 35W

Osprey
John Bowering
Sun 14 Jun 2009 19:13
14th June and Osprey left Horta at 0900 this morning after a substantial breakfast and to great send off from Mike and Chris from Reverie and Simon and Hilda of Calisto. Charles parents were also there so we had no shortage of hands to let go the lines. There were three boats rafted outside of us so it was a fairly major evolution unscrambling the lines and getting clear of the berth. Ushomi one of the boats in the raft and Skippered by Andrew decided they would leave at the same time and are now in company with us - if out of sight astern. The wind is light but northerly so we have been able to sail at 6 knots and on the correct course. This is a relief after the difficulties with the wind on the passage from Antigua. Osprey is in good shape having been serviced in Horta and we have no defects at present. We were able to sort out the leach line on the main whilst in port. It had been stitched into the sunbrella during the course of being manufactured and we were able to cut out those stitches to free it then sew up the sail again. Its nice to be sailing without the fluttering sound that the trapped leach line caused and of course the sail now sets properly. We had a great week in Horta with Aku and Anita and it was a little sad to see them off to the airport on Friday although the population of Horta may have breathed a sigh of relief!. Yesterday evening we were all invited over to Calisto for sundowners and afterwards Ann and Rodney joined us on Osprey for a great meal cooked by Charles. The forecast is for light winds for the next couple of days and then we should pick up some good 15 knot northerlies which should move us along very nicely.

"Notes from a Small Quiet Boat" - it is very pleasent to be underway again, and the smaller crew of SY Osprey has fast settled into life on the ocean waves this morning. A brisk start to the voyage motoring at 7 knots to the north of Pico, then once out of the lee of the island to the north the Genoa was unfurled and we sailed along at a steady 6 knots. In the past hour the wind has dropped, so we are motor sailing.
The crew has quickly reverted to role, SC Ted in command in the Pilothouse, although a little sad after the emotional farewell to "Small Bear". John meditating wherever the urge takes him and Charles enjoying the sun on the terrace - truth be told a little too much, so this evening his nose is rather red and somewhat tender!
There is no doubt that the combined skill of Anita, Aku & Kuki combined with the final shop completed by Charles has left Osprey incredibly well provisioned. This voyage is going to be good eating punctuated by the odd bit of sailing. This was started today, with a full fry up before leaving Horta, coffee & biscuits for elevenses, lovely rolls for lunch, doughnuts for tea and we have just had cheesy chicken pasta for dinner. At the moment Charles is manning the stove, but a replacment for Kuki has been found and pictures will be posted in short order.
Now that Kuki has deserted us it is fair to say that Osprey is a little quieter, and this is helping Budda with his search for enlightenment. The pilothouse is certainly not the same without her individual presence.
So, at the end of the first day out of Horta the quest for wind continues and the hope is that we may actually manage to sail for longer than 36 hrs on this leg!

Blog Entries

2013 2012 2010
Dec 2010 Aug 2010 Jul 2010 Jun 2010
2009
Oct 2009 Sep 2009 Jun 2009 May 2009 Apr 2009 Mar 2009 Feb 2009 Jan 2009
2008
Nov 2008 Oct 2008 Aug 2008 Jun 2008 May 2008 Apr 2008 Jan 2008
2007
Dec 2007 Nov 2007 Oct 2007 Sep 2007 Jul 2007
2006