The Catamaran Adventures of Noel and Ceu

Arrived in Lajes, Flores, Azores 7am

Current Location: Lajes, Flores, Azores
Current Position: 39 22.74 N 031 10.17 W Click to view map.
Distance sailed since last post: 1673 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track here

Once again the wind disappeared, so for the last 24 hours we motored the rest of the way, very slowly, so as to arrive with the dawn.

Flores has imposing cliffs and lots of vegetation, so we could see it from 40 miles away – but it still took us all night to actually get there.

We arrived to a beautiful sunrise over the cliffs, with a clear blue sky. As soon as the sun was up, the evening chill melted away.

The harbour is small, and the anchorage is in 12 m of water. With about 8 boats in here is is already pretty full, but around the corner is a tiny marina, not yet opened, where about 10 boats have squeezed themselves in for free moorings.

Already met a bunch of people from Bermuda, plus some more who sailed directly from the Caribbean – for them the trip was 23 days, compared to our 16 days.

So, here we are! We crossed the Atlantic with no drama and no breakages. And Phillipe is due to arrive here tonight some time too.

Tomorrow we will go and explore the lakes and do some hikes.

But one thing we have noticed already: it is so much CHEAPER here than Bermuda and the Caribbean! A can of pop, a bottle of water AND an ice cream Cornetto for only 2 euros!!! I was ready to spend my 10 euro note! And we had an awesome lunch with a huge plate of barbequed chicken, fries, rice, salad and bread – more than we could eat.

Of course Ceu is busy chatting in Portuguese to everyone – and admiring all the goats, sheep, cows, potatoes and cabbages in peoples’ back yards. Plus all the beautiful flowers along the roadsides. All very neat and very well kept.

Only 5000 people on the whole island, so it is small, rural, and friendly.


YouTube Link: Mid Atlantic Cruising

STATS for the crossing:

Engines: mostly ran one engine at a time, and at low revs – typically about 1800 rpm to minimize fuel consumption. 135 engine hours in total. The fuel gauges say we have about half a tank for each engine, but we shall see when we actually fill up.  Still, we had plenty spare.

Water: we got through 150 gallons, so did well – still had half a tank, plus another 50 gallons in jerry cans. We were very careful about washing up with salt water before rinsing with fresh, and only showering minimally every few days.

Food: Still eating fresh salad and vegetables on the last day! Ceu did an excellent job with provisioning – so we had lots of food, and still heaps of cans. Even the beer lasted till today.

Repairs: The mainsheet blocks came off the traveler. They were held in by a pin, which was held in by a split ring. We believe that the mainsheet, when flopping about in the calm, snagged an end on the ring, and pulled the split ring out, thus allowing the pin the fall out. Moral: use split pins, not rings to secure clevis pins. We were able to replace the double block by using the blocks from the spinnaker guys.

We also fixed some minor chafe on the luff of the genoa on the last day as it was so calm. Apart from that, no repairs needed!

We shall stay a few days here, and then go to explore the other islands.

The adventure continues…

 

4 Responses to “Arrived in Lajes, Flores, Azores 7am”

  • Wolf:

    Hi Sailors
    Congrats on the passage with no trouble. Nice to read from your adventures. 16 days, that is a long time on a little floating island. Any idea how long it will take from the Azores to Britain? I looked up your new island and found the harbour but could not see your boat ha ha.
    Wolf

    • Noel:

      Wolf, how could you miss our boat! We have a huge Portuguese flag on it! I know, you were too busy checking out all the boats with German flags! 🙂

  • Hawdy,
    So happy to see you arrived safe and in 1 piece (no missing limbs. Ceu, thanks for the F/B chat note this morning. Great crossing stats. Have fun exploring the Azores and practicing Portuguese.
    Julie

  • Heidi:

    Congratulations on your safe arrival. We just picked up all the blogs as we have been in Holland from 20 – 31 May. We got your phone message after we arrived back home. We did not realise that you can send blogs and phone call from the High Seas!

    Too bad that you had so little wind, but it was better than braving a storm. We had some really big winds in Holland – could hardly walk – so we worried that you might have the same.

    When will you be leaving the Azores, and how long do you expect that crossing?

    You may have heard that a volcano in Iceland started to blow ash again, but luckily no major air traffic disruption.

    Dad is hospital today for an angiogram and probably stent.I go on June 10 for an angiogram to assess whether I need a new valve.

    We look forward to seeing you soon.
    Mum and Dad

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