Fellow sailor and biker René (skipper SY Momentum of Fal) was absolutely right: Faial is another biking island although I have not made it up to the Caldeira do Faial yet. It remains on the list subject to blue sky with less clouds.
Today’s ride offered a variety of slope, tarmac and scenery paired with beautiful viewpoints along the roads.
Tomorrow I will go biking!
Fair winds…
With Rainer having joined our adventures some weeks back it became clear quickly, that individual travel will turn into a group trip. It became obvious in many aspects and did set the right tenor in many aspects.
This was not only limited to drinking beer but also getting a hair cut done! I was long time overdue anyway, so in the spirit of group travel there was no chance for Rainer to escape. 😂
Fair winds…
Following our walk through Horta today, I am positively surprised as it offers not only a nice park but also all basic shops round it. I am tempted to extend my stay to explore further rather than rushing on.
Fair winds…
My first ride on Faial took me to the outskirts of Horta. I was positively impressed and strongly believe that Faial is a biking island. Besides remarkable scenery I got the chance to accompany some local riders. More to follow!
Fair winds…
It was the 15th May 2020 when this adventure started and I moved onto the boat, first time not having an end date. While we were stuck in the Baltic during the Covid time, our journey really took off June 2021.
We have sailed 12310nm and biked/hiked 6706km in 16 countries apart from the interesting people and cultures we encountered on our way.
I will have a silent celebration later tonight with a big toast to the lady having stood by me so far without exception.
The adventure continuous.
Fair winds…
PS: We joined Anna and Decius at their table, two locals from Faial, and learned a lot about the island and its people but also about nature and challenges. They also recommended us some places we MUST SEE. Very nice.
Besides some minor boat work, socialising is high on the agenda these days. Today SY Coya – an X46 yacht – arrived from Bermuda. We had a lot to exchange with skipper Torsten and his crew members Michael and Wolfram over a couple of pints.
Rainer and myself also said hallo to Susanne, skippering SY Nehaj and well known in the space of solo sailing the world. I had spoken to Susanne couple of days back on 14313kHz while still on passage. Very exiting to listen to her stories. Perhaps we get another chance.
The spirit in this marina is very special with all sailors just having completed a longer passage and very different to Mindelo/Cabo Verde, where all sailors were about to start a longer passage. While people in Mindelo were busy and more tensed, here in Horta the atmosphere is driven by party and relaxation as the voyage has been complete and general relief is governing the interactions.
Fair winds…
There was no doubt we will end up at Peter Café Sport on the first night after our arrival. It was not crowded early in the season, just many encounters with fellow sailors to share our stories, here and there spiced with some yarn. We had a wonderful evening with the crew of SY Lothlorien and will for sure end up in this historical pub more often.
After a final sip of BB-Rum from Dominica onboard, we appraised our lady for not letting us off at any point in time. Nothing broken, nothing to be fixed, no dramas. 🙏 you Hullu Poro!
Fair winds…
Our final sunrise at St. George has come and departure planning is in its final stage. We are planning to cast the lines at 3pm ADT this afternoon. Although I could easily stay another month here in Bermuda but the time is due for another serious and hopefully pleasant ocean crosssing heading ”home”.
We will run a short detour (lower line above) rather than going on the rhumb line (upper line above) shortest distance to Azores. This shall ensure smooth sailing and keeping the low pressure systems at a safe distance.
Nevertheless we will need to keep the low pressure systems under constant observations as some of them might turn to far SE resulting literally in turbolences and getting too close to our pathway.
I am now looking forward to another enjoyable passage.
Fair winds…
Today we are getting one of the typical low pressure system’s weather disturbances, which will keep us on our toes going forward, or better while heading back to higher latitudes soon.
Rainy, miserable, gusty, choppy. After 9 hours it will be over. Tomorrow the sun will be back until the next low pressures system gets thrown off the US coast and fights its way through towards NE, E or SE against any high pressure system under development further South. The changes are fast and the winner of the two systems not always clear for quite some time.
No yacht left today and we are all in waiting position. A good day to relax, get some bread and cake baking done. Next to us is gaff cutter “Aurora von Altona”, build in 1934, homeport Museumshafen Flensburg. Small world!
Fair winds…
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