Getting Ready For Departure.

After the bad storm the last two days, I believe it is time to set sails and head for the Med. I did some work this morning and the crew hired a car to do sightseeing and visit the supermarket. I need to get back up in the mast to reinstall the Horn/Loudhailer. If it all goes well, we should be ready to leave Horta tomorrow morning. The weather is for variable winds from nothing to 20 kn the coming days.

Yesterday we had the mixed grill at Peters Café Sport. The portions were huge, excellent and the crew had, as usual, to finish my dish. It is a great place and all the sailors come here regularly. The prices are OK like the Grill cost € 15, a good bottle of Pico (the island in front of Horta) red wine € 10 and a beer € 1. This is Portugal prices.

This is Joseph the current owner and third generation of the Peter family. Always smiling and pleasant.

 Our dinner with New Dawn's flag in the background.

Horta, Azores In A Storm.

We have a good gale with 40+ kn wind and it was blowing all night and morning, meaning that I was up many times during the night as we are now 6 boats attached together and I fear that our mooring lines will not be strong enough for all that weight, even though the lines are my old trusted 24 mm. We hope for the best. In any case in these conditions, there will be at least one on-board all the time, just in case. The wind should moderate this PM and during the evening we should be OK again, but very heavy rain is f'cast.

Some photos from my tour of Horta this morning:

We ended up being 5 boats linked together and this PM we had 46 kn wind and was less than pleasant. But by 15:30 the rain was there and the wind stopped dropping from 40 kn to only 8 kn. What a relieve. New Dawn is the second from the pier.

These two photos are for Chris.....

 After the storm and the waves remained rough at the beach outside Horta town.

This yacht was less than lucky as they ended up on the rocks and was severally damaged. They lost the rudder, the shaft is bend and they have several important cracks and holes in the hull. The tug boat saved them and towed them to the slip so they could be hauled out while all the way they were pumping out water to avoid sinking. It was close for them. It looks like the yacht will be a total loss. Ugh....

One of the smallest chapels. Also for Chris.....

Their speciality is marries. Guess not too many invitees for the ceremony?

This fishing boat was actually inside the breakwater and even there it is rough. Not the ideal day to set sail, but some did yesterday and I wonder if they appreciated the Gale approaching.

I have spend most of this morning shopping for spare parts. I found some, but not the Relay's I need for the Auto Pilots. I have walked the town through twice, but they just don't have them here except for the 11 and 14 pins. I need 8 pins and don't dare rewiring it for another type. A pity.

Horta, Azores.

Horta Marina is packed at this time of the year, with up to 6 yachts laying outside each other. We were 6 the first night at the fuel station and when I met again the marina manager, he remembered me and the things I helped him with in 2004 and I managed to negotiate a good place close to where I was moored last time, so we moved yesterday PM and are now OK.

The view from the Yacht club and the old Fort, which has been nicely restored and now a first class restaurant and bar.

New Dawn IS in this photo, but barely visible; look for the Luxembourg flag the far end and 3/4 to the right of the photo.

 The HR-53 at anchor is an US registered yacht where the owners is UK and USA nationals? New Dawn is a bit covered. The Vulcan of Pico Island is in the background.

The 3 crew at the most famous café, Peters Sports Café, which everyone sailing from W to E have visited. I met Joseph, the current owner and grandson and son of the last legendary Peters. He remembered me from 2004 and we had a nice chat, as well as I gave him out old and torn Luxembourg flag, which I hope he will hang up inside his Café.

 At least on this photo you will see New Dawn's Luxembourg flag in the centre.

Indeed Joseph hang our flag - or what was left of it - on the wall.

 Some flowers found in Horta, which are similar to what we have in France and Luxembourg. This is a Hortensia.

An Old Rose.

It is thought, as tradition tells us, that if one leaves a painting on the walls of the harbour in Horta, it will bring luck to the sailor on his onwards journey. There are thousands of these paintings here. The one Luigi did in 2004 has disappeared and someone has painted over it. The same goes for Ian's painting done a few years before.

Below is a selection of those I found interesting.

 Today I found "Northern Child", "Skylark" and "Great Escape", moored close together. Em invited for a "Cuppa" and shelter from the pouring rain.

The weather f'cast for the coming night and day, is problematic and we should get already during this night (29 May) 25-35kn wind from S and SSW and it will also bring a lot of rain. Thus, I plan to stay on-board until the system has passed, just in case. The crew is planning to hire a car and visit the Island, but as the rain will be important, I guess that they will postpone the trip. That is good for me as I would like to join them and see again the Island.

I spend most of the day under the aft bed trying to repair Auto. I filled oil in the Drive and checked around. I changed the 2 relays to the last one in my spare box and I cleaned and re fixed the Solenoid devise, but I could not find the Brushes and have asked Simrad where they are located, as it could be that we have a short circuit there, even though they were changed in Trinidad. In any case when I tested Auto, it worked well both in Auto and Wind Mode. But that was done in the Marina and I wonder if it will work out at sea. I need more Relays, just in case, but until now I have not found any as the 24V are not common to stock.