Azores → Portugal
Day 1, Oct 19 // Horta and Departure for Lagos
Aaaaaaahoy there everybody! I am writing to you from Horta, in the middle of the Atlantic. FALKEN has spent a whopping four days here, during which we said good-bye to a freshly-salted and fairly-weathered leg 13 crew and welcomed aboard a brand new crew of sailors.
The turn-over was quick and was complicated by a sweeping cold front that blew 45 knots directly into Horta Harbor. The jetty that FALKEN had been assigned to was nearly underwater. Skipper Erik and I spent about 10 minutes in the gale kicking fenders in between the boat and the pier until we decided that anchoring out would be the safest option. We anchored safely just before nightfall. The wind kept up, bringing with it larger swell and a surface chop. We let loose all our chain and hunkered down for a grueling 2 hours-on, 2 hours-off anchor watch throughout the night. Never a dull moment!
Come day, the water was as still as glass. We sailed back to the dock and launched straight into a full day of boat prep. Laundry, maintenance, inventory, deep-clean, debriefs, briefs… we were busy. But not too busy to notice how beautiful it is here.
Horta is truly breathtaking. The small harbor is surrounded by rolling green meadows situated on the sides of these huge cliffs. The tiny town is picturesque. The buildings are old and colorful, the roofs are mostly red. The marina stands off the battlements of an old fort, and there are several canons pointing right at FALKEN. The coffee and beer is 1 euro. We have been frequenting Peter’s Sport Cafe, a fabled establishment touted as the sailors' bar of the Azores. This is the first place where sailors flock after a long transatlantic passage. Lots of history, fun spot!
On Sunday we were happy to welcome aboard Jonah, Michelle, and Willie, our 59 North Apprentices! These folks have joined us to both learn from and contribute towards 59 North. We didn’t have any apprentices with us on our last leg, so it will be great to have three on this one!
Monday; the day of crew arrival. Michelle and I hustled over to the largest supermarket in the area, the ‘Continente’. As far as island supermarkets go, this one was top-tier! It was huge, and I found everything we needed for a nutritious and delicious passage east. We filled up three carts and spent around 800 euro.
Back on the boat, we stowed the food and moved FALKEN to a fantastic floating slip in the Marina. The charcuterie board was ready by the time guests arrived.
So: quick turn-around? Yes. Tough job? Kind of! It was definitely hard, but working with a positive and supportive team makes it fun. Erik is a great leader on the boat and is a joy to work alongside. Our bosun Adam and the rest of the 59 North staff ashore are attentive, available, and care deeply about our success. So the hard work becomes a fun challenge, and the payoff is huge. We’re going offshore tomorrow! LET'S GO SAILING!
Leg 14 takes us from Horta back to where we started: Lagos, Portugal. The trip is an estimated seven days. Weather looks excellent, with a couple of stormy spots along the way. I expect us to be in reaching conditions for the majority of this passage. And I would bet a candy bar that we do it in 6 days!
Okay, more later! Thanks for reading.
Cheers, and until next time, HOLD-FAST!
-- Ben Soofer
FALKEN|Skipper&Mate
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Kärt barn har många namn
A dear child goes by many a name, or as we say in Swedish "kärt barn har många namn". This is the case for many a person, but also some species, not least the Mahi mahi, which also goes by dolphin fish, golden mackerel, and dorado, among others. Soon, we could see the fish jump, a hundred feet or so behind the boat, and as I kept reeling, a beautiful Mahi appeared under the surface. Manot showed us how to clean and fillet it, and after a complete team effort two large fillets are now in the freezer of Adrienne II.
Cast off the lines
When we awoke it was overcast but the Brazilian sun quickly burned the clouds away and we were left with blue skies. We reviewed some safety procedures, cleaned the boat and had an exciting Person Overboard (POB) recovery. Once we were underway spirits soared as we pointed the bow toward the Canary Islands. As I write this we are heading upwind and dealing with all that involves, and working into our first watches. It is hot, a bit bumpy but we are sailing!!
People Get Ready!
The last three days have been an intense (and intensely hot) period of discovery, practice, and planning. Because Adrienne II is not a 59N boat, there's been some extra setup and coordination needed including rigging all the sails that were out for repairs before we arrived. Its been a blast working alongside the 59N team getting to help them work things out on a less familiar boat in real time. Tomorrow morning we'll run through our Person Over Board training as the final pre-departure task, cast off and head out. Can't know all that it will be, but its going to be a great adventure out in the vast world with some pretty fantastic people.