#9. Azores to ireland | pre-departure

June 16, 2024 | 16:30 UTC

The new crew of eight joined myself, first mate Manot and apprentice Athena aboard Falken yesterday at 1300 to sail from Ponta Delgada, Azores to Galway Ireland.

After a friendly introduction to the staff, the boat and the forthcoming passage, we dove straight into the domestic briefs followed by the essential safety briefs (fire, flooding, abandoning ship, gas safety, dismasting and the on deck orientation).

After a delicious meal at a local restaurant and an early night, we commenced the safety brief this morning with winch safety, lifejackets and a Man Over Board (MOB) drill.

Lunch gave everyone a chance to recharge the batteries and digest all the information thrown at them over the past 24 hours. This afternoon we discussed the weather forecast and the crew started working on our passage plan and pilotages out of Ponta Delgada and into Galway, with a potential stop in the Aran Islands. The weather forecast shows fresh Northerly winds on Monday, so we might delay our departure until Tuesday to have a slightly easier start into the trip.

Everyone is excited to leave and looking forward to 1200nm passage.

Fair winds and a following sea.

- Chris