Ponta Delgada
Our time in the Azores flew past rapidly, and we seemed to manage to be constantly doing something but never actually that busy: I think we must have gone local! Any grand plans we harboured as we arrived of visiting other islands were put paid to by a fatal trio of factors: the aforementioned lackadaisical or “manyana” attitude we seemed to gain by some form of osmosis; the requirement to check out and check in again between each island; and finally the need to fix the few items that we had had trouble with on the outward leg. Consequently I’m not even going to try to write this day by day or in any particular order as I’m not sure I can quite remember now (a couple of days out to sea).
Firstly the boat: other than the obvious re-provisioning (always entertaining in a foreign country where your grasp of the language is limited) there were two pressing issues on our minds as we entered, both pertaining to rudders: firstly the snapped windvane servo pendulum rudder shaft, solved by taking the offending joining piece to someone at the yard at the club who knew who could weld it. Secondly and more worryingly was the main rudder, which was stiff and groaning when I had relieved the autopilot of its duties a couple of miles out from the finish. There followed many hours of taking it in turns to lower ourselves into the lazarette (locker at the stern of the boat that the rudder quadrant is mounted in) and poking around, spraying oil and listening carefully whilst the other person turned the wheel back and forth. Eventually we called it a day, heading off for dinner with a vague plan to contact the yard and an engineer first thing in the morning to see if we could get Dragon hauled out and the rudder dropped and main bearings replaced as this was where the sound had been traced to. Slightly dejected and with a place on the start line seeming to slip from our grasp we headed to bed.
Next morning Martyn got up and thought he would have a final play in the lazarette before we went around to the yard; once inside he found that the rubber sleeve that acts as a backup in the case of the main seal leaking and twists as the rudder turns had perished and broken up in a fold that we couldn’t see into and that the edge of the tear had been pulled down in between the rudder bearing and the shaft causing the stiffness and noise. some further poking and pulling it out with a screwdriver totally freed off the rudder. We cut off the remainder of the seal, replacing it with a piece of old wetsuit leg superglued around. Dragon was ready for the return leg!
With all the major jobs done onboard we left stocking up and refilling with water until closer to the start and went and hired a car to be picked up the following morning for two days to explore the island. Claire and Alan off Far Fetched from Guernsey joined us and we headed up to pick up the car at 9:30 the following morning as arranged, along with half the population of Ponta Delgada it appeared. Martyn went and queued and Claire, Alan and I waited outside for half an hour then gave up and went to a cafe for french pastries and coffee (hot chocolate for me). Eventually Martyn arrived with a set of keys and a slightly bemused look as when the one lady running the shop had finally got to him and the car that had turned up was rather different to the one we had expected: we had somehow acquired an automatic diesel Nissan 7 seater instead of the small runabout we had asked for; never mind, we had a car!
Once breakfast had been finished at a suitably leisurely pace we headed to where the hire shop had left the car parked on a steep hill and hopped in, whereupon we discovered that the car was the first automatic with a gearstick… but the key fitted and started so it had to be our car. Off we went!
Ten minutes later we were outside the main doors of the airport and not too sure how we got there, we had eventually found a large duel carriageway which we had naïvely assumed would lead us out of town, maybe if we tried the opposite direction? Here we were having safely navigated half way across the Atlantic to find a small speck on the chart (and maybe more worryingly expected to find our way back again) but couldn’t make it out of town! Eventually with Claire navigating by the rudimentary map on the tourist leaflet that immigration (three men in separate offices we spoke to who welcomed us warmly and with no hassle) had given us we found a road heading across the narrow and relatively low middle of the island to the centre of the northern coast.
We turned into the first town we saw and found a car park with an absolutely phenomenal view a few hundred metres down to the sea and along the dramatic coastline in either direction; we stopped to take pictures and generally absorb the atmosphere of the place when a man pulled in and called to us in Portuguese. Oh dear, must be a private car park, we thought; Claire, who was the closest to understanding Portuguese went over to placate him whilst we returned to the car to go. A minute later she returned to us with directions to the harbour and a chapel with a better view and a quintessential catholic graveyard with a great many flowers and tributes stored in what looked like oversized classic car headlights to keep off the sun and rain. The man, it transpired, had merely been desperate that we went to somewhere with a better view: “this is just the supermarket car park!” he had explained.
After following our mystery guide’s advice we took the northern coast road to the west to the next village where we found a cafe for cool drinks. We decided to turn inland and up the narrower roads to the lakes in the crater of the huge volcano that forms the north-west end of the Island. Here we had lunch at a restaurant that Alan and Claire had found on their last visit to the Azores overlooking the two lakes that cover much of the crater floor, where one is a green-y colour and the other far more blue-y, despite being adjacent to one another.
After an extended and leisurely lunch we drove back to Ponta Delgada by the south-western coast then on past the city to and up one of the central mountains, which would probably have had incredible and expansive views if it were not for the thick mist that we encountered half way up as we hit the cloud base. After a brief stop that felt more like Scotland than only 39 degrees north we dropped back down out of the clouds and returned to the marina, parking the car in the underground car park by the main harbour-side street for the night. The next day was spent very similarly cruising around the eastern side of the island although no jaunts up any foggy mountains this time! All over the island we encountered empty old houses, despite there being plenty of fully occupied modern ones everywhere; at lunchtime we ate on the wooden veranda outside a restaurant that had been built out into the main street over the lines, causing the traffic to stop and go around you. A sort of wall had been put up at the end to shelter you from the oncoming vehicles but this meant that every few minutes a coach or lorry would squeeze by rapidly, inches away from the diners, very strange!
After we had returned the car we were into preparing to leave mode with a few jobs to do, provisioning to carry out (as in Falmouth engaging in that oldest of seagoing traditions - the borrowing of the shopping trolley to take the food to the boat in the marina) and filling up with water. There were also some events organised by the Clube Naval at Ponta Delgada and the RCYC for competitors and their families: firstly a coach trip which we missed as Martyn slept in and when I got up and he told me that we had missed it blithely said “no we haven’t, that’s tomorrow”, which it wasn’t. The relaxed pace of life had obviously go to me! Still we had seen most of the tour from the car so we didn’t miss too much.
Also on, and actually attended by us, was a social at the Clube on the Saturday night, where we got advice from Heinrick, the winner of the first leg by some distance; a meal on the Sunday that didn’t finish until gone midnight, much to our surprise when we looked at the time; and finally a pontoon party organised by the competitors to thank the Clube for their kind welcome that nearly sunk the marina despite the weather not playing ball. All in all we had a really fun time, seeing a bit of the Azores and getting to know the crews of the other boats better, from demonstrating the easiest way to break into a marina (twice) on the first night after a celebratory meal but before getting security passes for the marina, to the formal but still enjoyable meal before leaving. You may notice the prevalence of meals…..
The Start
The day of the start of the second (and final) leg of the AZAB 2015 dawned sunny and warm (well I presume it was like that at dawn- we weren’t up until a bit later having learnt our lesson in Falmouth that it is not much fun to sit around for hours before the start). After the previously mentioned mess up of converting between BST and UTC I was very careful not to do the same thing again for the start! The start line itself was around 1 nm east of the entrance to Ponta Delganda harbour and between a Portuguese Navy Corvette and a large orange buoy on safe water off the just of the shore to the north of it. The course was then to landward (north) of a buoy another mile or so upwind and ENE of the start, which everyone rounded and promptly turn back straight across the start line (which felt very odd for someone used to dinghy lap racing where crossing the start line on the way back downwind is a big no-no) and off round the western side of the island. Class 1 was again last to start but this time we had amended our start plan sufficiently that we were the penultimate boat to start and had already overtaken another one by the windward buoy, we’re getting used to this big-boat stuff!
Although there was nothing like the number of boats that were milling around in Falmouth before the start and no crowds ashore, those who were there certainly did there best to make up for it, coming in close to the waiting or started boats and waving enthusiastically; a fitting send off after a great week in the Azores. Leaving the supporters and very well armed race committee (I wouldn’t want to cross that line early!) behind we headed west along the south side of the island in a flukey NW wind, that repeatedly died and returned from a slightly different angle. A combination of Dragon performing quite well in light winds, a bit of luck, and I would definitely like to say good planning and skill (maybe!) let us pull though most of the fleet like that and by the time the wind died altogether we were drifting off the NW shore and in 3rd place overall and ahead of the race leader! Sadly I think we might have peaked too early as we’re back down more in our normal sort of spot.
Tuesday evening was incredibly frustrating (in retrospect probably not helped by a thumping headache from not having drunk enough in such a hot climate) as we drifted about with everyone else, hoping to catch a puff of wind that might propel us in a roughly Falmouth-ward direction; or after a while any direction, just to stop the incessant creaking and groaning of a sailing boat at sea with full sail up in no wind, even with the sheets hard in.
Wednesday 24th June 14.49
The wind slowly crept back into the picture in the first few hours of Wednesday, discreetly like a petulant child returning after a tantrum, so that we were first making half a knot (a big deal since I handed over about 11pm after a 3 hour watch with a record speed of 0.3 knots, backwards, and for a matter of seconds!), then 2 knots (3 hours later), then 5 (another 3), and finally 8 (you guessed it). Eventually about lunchtime we had to put a couple of reefs into the main as we broad reach in a beautiful westerly with clear skies, bright sun and just a touch too much warmth to want to do anything much. Occasionally a wave sends a splash of water across the deck and creates swirling distortions in the sunny patches front he hatches.
Hopefully the speed stays up as I realised I read 7 books on the way from Stranraer to Ponta Delgada, but only have 2 left before I’m onto the cooking and guide books: maybe I’ll learn something useful…
Most notable events so far this trip have been seeing a whale (of unknown species) surface briefly for air only about 30 or 40 ft away; although only a small section of its back was visible the sense of huge bulk was undeniable, and a little alarming so close to Dragon! Also our newly repaired wind vane has once again lost its rudder (and again saved by the safety line), apparently the weld competed in Ponta Delgada was not strong enough for the phenomenal loads it is exposed to on Dragon’s stern. Still the headache is gone and we’re making quick progress- all is good!
Thu 25th June 23.10
We’re now making pretty quick progress in a slightly east of north direction with one reef in the main and a few rolls onto the furling No 2 genoa, as we are not likely to need to go upwind, but as the wind strength is changing repeatedly it is best to just furl and unfurl this one instead of swapping between different headsails, which entails slowing right down as you have no foresail and turning close to the wind for at least 10 to 20 minutes, not to mention the effort involved on a bucking bow when the boat is, by definition, either under or over powered!
Overnight last night there was quite a strong blow of maybe 10 hours duration, for which we dropped the mainsail entirely and ran under headsail alone; the wind quickly abated as the blow passed at around first light. First light is surprising late here as ships time has remained BST, despite us travelling 25 degrees west, which is almost 2 hours change normally; add that to the fact we are still a long way south and although it is only just getting properly dark now (at about 11 pm) it will not get light until about 6 am. We are now north of 40 degrees and the temperature is returning to something more comfortable, for the moment at least.
There has been a lot more wildlife on this leg: Martyn has now spotted porpoises twice, although I have missed them both times, once within a couple of hours of the start and once earlier this evening, although the species (or indeed if they were porpoise or just shy and un-acrobatic dolphins) has yet to be set in stone in the absence of any ID key onboard. For the record and ID’ing later they were dark on top and light underneath, and rolled in the manner of porpoise instead of the characteristic “jump” of a dolphin; they also were resolutely uninterested in us, although we did have the engine running in neutral to charge batteries at the time. I have seen quite a number or cory’s sheerwaters (I think), with their dark brown backs that seem to turn a steely grey as the sun touches the horizon, paler underside and wings that taper to a curved sharp point. Their flight remind me of the ubiquitous fulmar further north (one of my favourite birds to see at sea) although they perhaps do not have quite the panache of the latter’s death defying swooping just millimetres off the stormy ocean’s surface.
Tue 30th June 19.42
There’s been a bit of a gap in the blog writing efforts here onboard Dragon as I’ve been a little unwell; without going into too much information and in the interests of those of a more delicate temperament I’m only going to go so far as to say that it involved headache, the stomach being upset and painful, and a lot of time spent in the heads (the toilet). Eventually I traced the cause of the problem and why I was not getting better: the water we had taken onboard in Ponta Delgada was evidently disagreeing with me; I switched to using some of the back-up bottled water a couple of days ago and I’ve been improving steadily since. Unfortunately the first aid advice in these situations is drink plenty of water, which was not helping! I’m a lot better now but it did make the trip into a bit of an endurance test for a couple of days, when I was unable to lie down or sleep for more than 45 minutes and the boat was moving around a lot in quite big seas.
Since last entry on the 25th there has been a bit of everything weather-wise, short of taking the main down, but about 24 hours (ending yesterday evening) of beam reaching with a fraction of the headsail and three reefs in the mainsail was pretty quick; now however, we’re just about cheering to see 3 knots! Were only 150 nm short of Falmouth now and the “time to go” reading on the chartplotter had gone down to about 20 hours, now however it is reading more like 60… Ahh well, it won’t take that long to get in (I’m sure!) as there is a reasonable breeze due tomorrow but until then it is looking like we will be trying to make the most of very little breeze for the night. I’ve just rigged the preventer on the main as there is the gentlest of winds from the starboard quarter, I can foresee a long night ahead! The calmer spell and closer proximity has allowed us to have showers though as we know there is plenty of water left - we’re not finished the first of three tanks - so I feel a lot fresher and I think we are less likely to be put in quarantine or arrival now!
The fleet is bunching up as they hit this patch of calm and you can tell - the radio is littered with short catch-ups; we got a call from Outrageous a few hours ago as the wind died totally asking how we were getting on and saying “welcome to the parking lot”! Another competitor just called up a ship that was giving him the heebie jeebies as it bore down on his barely moving boat and was assured they wouldn’t hit him and could see him clearly - very reassuring. It is quite pleasant to have a mixture of voices of other competitors, Irish and even French Coastguards on the radio after days of the only noise being rather gruff spanish trawlermen! Amongst this joviality though a Mayday relay from the Irish Coastguard asking for help searching for 3 people from boats in the vicinity of Baltimore put any complaints about lack of wind into perspective rather.
An amusing conversation recently involved me enlightening Martyn on the practice of large ship crews to refer to sailors as WAFIs and it meaning (Wind Assisted F***ing Idiots)!
The Finish - Thursday 2nd July 5.45
The wind returned from the south on the morning of the 1st of July - how did we get to July already?! - and we made good speed on a beam reach, slowly reeling in Outrageous and Jager, whilst trying to keep Happy away! We skirted around the end of the TSS off the south of the Isles of Scilly, although apparently a few boats went north of the Isles of Scilly? As the light faded we found ourselves approaching the Lizard in very close proximity to Outrageous, with the other two boats still ahead or astern. At this point the tide was still against us, although it was easing greatly; we managed to push against it by goose winging Dragon and making somewhere in the region of 3 knots over the ground, having to had steer to keep the sails filled in the fading breeze and rolling waves that remained from the earlier wind. Outrageous was not able to keep the sails full so gybed off inshore in the hope of a favourable eddy; the gamble paid off and they were soon doing 6 knots past the Lizard, almost able to touch the lighthouse. They duly emerged about 100ft ahead of us as we finally left the adverse current.
The next couple of hours were spent passing and being passed by Outrageous as we sailed close hauled up the coast to the finish line off Falmouth. In the end after over 1300 miles of sailing Dragon was beaten over the line by Outrageous by just one boat’s length, totally surreal! Actually things were a little more complicated: as we were in a different class we had set off 10 minutes later than Outrageous but their corrected time is less than ours due to their handicap being “slower” than ours. Very exciting finish all the same though! We finished at 5:45 on the morning of the 2nd June, after a quick check with the welcoming rib as to which buoy the finish line was from exactly as neither us nor Outrageous were too sure…
Results can be found at azab.co.uk/results-2 and as always comments/questions are welcome. We’ve just spent a few days in Falmouth getting a few bits sorted and relaxing and are heading off for Rhu, possibly via the Isle of Man, this evening to pick up Fergus (my brother) and Jamie (Martyn’s son) to sail the last leg up to Arrdvourlie on Loch Seaforth, the Isle of Harris in time for Hebcelt. I’ll also upload a load of pictures but unfortunately I can’t add any more at the moment and my camera has broken so I am using an action camera that I can’t get to download the pictures to the computer. Watch this space for an update on the rest of the trip and some pictures at a later date!
