It has been quiet on the Captain’s Log recently because ‘Land Travel’ with my FAMILY has been the focus. And here I must brag about what a big, amazing family I have. Fly to the Azores?? Hike for hours?? Camp amidst Banana trees?? Barf on a Boat?? Sign us up!!! One of the great things about traveling with this gang is that each moment seems to be documented via Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat and I can lazily just enjoy myself. The sailing between islands was both tough (overnight with 8 aboard and some feeding of the fishes …) and pleasant (day sail from Terceira to Faial). But the sailing was NOT the point. It was FAMILY and the spectacular islands of the Azores. My heartfelt thanks to this crazy, adventurous, and LOVING family. The warmth and affection, not to mention HILARITY, we share has taken us from the Italian Islands to Morocco and now to the Azores. Thank you so very much for doing this!!: Maryly, Maddy, Helen, Pete, Pam, Cindy, Roger, Laurie, Kevin, Will and Cassie. I love each and every one of you. Next year anyone??
So, as I write this, we have prepared Heldeleine for the longest and most challenging Leg of this east to west Transatlantic passage. Who is We? Joining me on this leg is the CORE of Pete, Laurie and Mattia (what a tremendous addition Mattia
has been! All the mothers in the family wanted to adopt him!!). After 1000 miles together we are a formidable team. We add for this Leg the world class 470 sailor Andres from Spain. With a quick smile and quiet manner he has been settling in the past few days and adapting to life aboard.
A quick word about where we are. Horta in Faial Island in the Azores is a legendary island in the sailing world. This small port has hosted many great names in sailing and is always a ‘pinch-me-I-am-here’ place for me. But small it is and parking is at a premium. For the past 5 days we have been rafted next to an italian boat (with 2 French delivery crew and the italian owner aboard). Since they are tied to the sea wall, we are obliged to walk shoeless across their deck to Heldeleine which,in turn, is tied to their boat. We are lucky. Many boats are anchored and last time we were here we were the 3rd boat in a 4 boat raft. With boats in the raft departing at different times, rafting can involve much tying and untying, reassembling and trouble. Again, we were lucky. The italian boat next door was waiting for a new mainsail and has not moved the whole time we have been here.
So, off we go in the morning. We are fueled, watered, provisioned and cleared to depart. Wish us luck and fair winds. As always, the tracker is on the website in the menu called Live Map. We will do our best to update at noon (Boat time UTC) each day.