Bermuda to the Azores 27 May 2017 - 17 June 2017

My previous trip from Bermuda to the Azores in 2013 was fairly painless and quite fast.

This trip was much less comfortable. I had to spend part of one night hove too. Then I hit a whale. Then I spent three days sailing at nearly right angles to my course to avoid a big depression. I changed my destination several times, nearly ran out of food and Ali, who was coming to meet me in the Azores had to change her flight three times

However, the reward was arriving in the Azores which I think is possibly my favourite place on earth.

As I said in the previous blog, I had anchored the boat near the opposite shore of St. George's Harbour in Bermuda to get some shelter from a strong southerly. This meant a longish wet trip to St. George in the dinghy to get food and water and I skimped on the food shopping. My previous trip from Bermuda to the Azores had been easy and fast and I expected the same again. I had to take the boat up to the St. George customs dock to clear out but the dock only had space for one boat and there was someone waiting. The rest of the small harbour was jammed so I had no opportunity to take advantage of my proximity to the town to do last minute shopping.

I left St. George in pretty good weather with a fairly light wind behind me.

Four days out of Bermuda, I could see from the grib files that the wind was going to turn contrary during the night. Sure enough by midnight it was blowing force 6 from the NE which was exactly where I wanted to go. By about two in the morning it was force 7 and the boat was making no headway with the jib and the main reefed down to the maximum. I could run off which I calculated would probably lose me a day of northing and easting or I could heave to. I almost never heave to in Westward because she heaves to poorly, drifting downwind broadside to the wind at a couple of knots. However, I did it and it was not too uncomfortable. The sea wasn't too big and Westward has a very high freeboard so she stays pretty dry. Nevertheless, I reset the sails as soon as I could in the morning and crept very slowly and bumpily to windward under three reefs and a tiny triangle of genoa.

The wind stayed in the north and east for another two days and I spent that time miserably slamming my way to windward. Finally the wind relented and went into the WSW at a comfortable force 3 to 4 and I could shake out the reefs and make some speed towards the Azores.

Then I hit a whale. I was down below sitting on the leeward bunk reading when suddenly there was a crash and the boat staggered and I was thrown against the forward end of the saloon. I rushed out on deck expecting to find the mast in the water and the boat starting to sink. I was in time to see a large greenish fin turn over in the wake. I desperately peered down at the rudder expecting to see it broken off but it was still there and the auto-pilot barely missed a beat and the boat picked up speed again. The rig appeared to be intact and I went back downstairs and pulled up the boards over the keel. The bilge was dry and the keel bolts looked unmoved. I spent about an hour pulling up bottom boards and examining the mast and the rigging but Westward appeared to be unscathed. I've no idea what we hit but it stands to reason that it must have been big to bring a five tonne yacht doing six knots almost to a standstill. Big and relatively soft because I never found a mark under the waterline. When I tell this story most people say, "Oh, the poor whale!"

I had another five days of nice wind from the south and west and made a pretty steady five knots towards the Azores. Then the grib file announced the next bad news; a pretty deep depression which was going to pass close to the north with winds up to force 8 and seas up to 4 metres.

I decided to turn south to avoid the worst of this and as I did, the depression developed a long tongue which stretched down towards me. I found myself sailing due south for three days and ended up further south than I had started in Bermuda. Not good.

By now, I was practically in the big patch of weed and light winds in the middle of the north Atlantic. It took me five days to get back to the latitude I was at when I turned south. However, once I did, I began to meet boats on the track from Bermuda to the Azores so I had someone to chat to and three days from Flores, a really big fin whale surfaced just beside the boat heading the same direction as us, breathed three times and dived again. I hoped it hadn't been talking to a friend with a really sore head.

I arrived in Lajes on Flores at seven in the morning and, to my surprise, almost immediately got a place in the little marina. I had started off headed for Horta on Faial but I changed my destination to Flores which was closer. In any case I wanted to see Flores.

It had taken me three weeks to get from Bermuda to Flores, whereas in 2013 it had taken only two from St. George to Horta. I had hit a whale and nearly run out of food. Ali had changed her flight several times and ended up flying to Sao Miguel then getting a local flight from there to Flores. I swore I would never make another rash assumption about a passage time and skimp on the stores.

Going to windward just before the first blow.

Going to windward just before the first blow.

Six days to Flores. Looks like it takes concentration to take a photo like this

Six days to Flores. Looks like it takes concentration to take a photo like this

The lovely little church in Lajes. I definitely lit a candle here.

The lovely little church in Lajes. I definitely lit a candle here.

Westward in the marina in Lajes, none the worse for her encounter with a whale.

Westward in the marina in Lajes, none the worse for her encounter with a whale.

The Azores again