Year 3 -14th October 2026 – Faial -Azores for Hamble UK – Day 7– the Last Passage to Home

When I concluded last night’s blog I failed to mention that the large storm which is to the left of us and which has risen up over Ireland is the remanence of Storm Isaias which was a hurricane which hit the US and the remanence has come over the Atlantic. This is now effecting our weather after the previous low we passed through. All of the models did a curve round going into the tail of Isaias. I decided to pick a route in the lighter wind areas (18-25kts) which was like an inner curve and it was that route we were following. When I checked the weather late in the night at least half of the models were now following my route. I also saw on the news this morning “Gales and heavy rain to impact UK as yellow wind warning issued”. It is this system which is causing it. 

David and I was on at 5.00am and it was dark but we were making good progress and we had been doing mostly 8’s with one 9 kt overnight per hour. The sea state was a bit rolly but not bad. You could hear the odd growler (wave breaking) which would whistle past.  

We were sailing well and fast as we now want to get home. The recent weather has not been pleasant but that’s the risk this time of year. I did a weather check and all the models are now following the weather route I chose.

We should reach Land’s End by the evening of the 15th October and arrive at the Needles in the early evening of the 16th. We plan to probably go and anchor off New Town Creek and get a good night’s rest and will then go to Mercury Marina in the Hamble on Saturday 17th October arriving on the Hammerhead of A pontoon between 10.00am-11.00am.

The dawn did not arrive until about 07.45am and the horizon became more evident. We made some tea for Mark and Dave who were taking over at 08.00am. We went into day mode and we could now see the sea state which was not bad. We were sailing under Staysail and 3 reefed main and doing between 7-9.6 kts and when surfing down a wave up to 12 kts.

I made a smoothie for breakfast and then there was granola and fruit. We had come through the night well without terrible conditions and we had all managed some sleep. Watty got up and made bacon and eggs as usual (he is not allowed in the kitchen at home so when he comes aboard he is in there every day!).

I went to get some more sleep then tried to book the fuel berth in the Hamble so we can fill up with diesel on the way in.

I also sent an email to border force about our arrival which now has to be reported. We also have to fly the Q flag until we have contacted the Yacht line.

It was reasonably sunny but there was a cool air flow but at least it was not raining. I guess it is October and do not forget I have been used to tee shirts and shorts for 3 years.

We had lunch of our usual suspects and settled down for the afternoon. Watty & the Commodore going about their watch duties – fruit and veg turning and interior saloon cleaning.  Our 24 hour run to 12.00noon was 183nm – our best run on the leg from the Azores. We just need a couple of those days and we are home.

We rested, chatted and slept. I made another loaf of bread.

David and I were on at 4.00pm and Dave made a cup of tea and we had some banana cake. The wind and waves were pretty constant and we were making good progress.

Watty made a chilli for supper with rice which was good and warming although not hot. There were some black clouds around although no rain luckily. There was a sunset behind us of sorts and we prepared night mode. We handed over to Mark and Dave and tried to sleep but the motion of the boat seemed to get worse and the waves were more on the side than behind. The wind also got stronger to 32-33 kts so Mark and Dave reefed more. We also passed the Whittard Canyon.

Whittard Canyon is a submarine canyon off the southwest coast of Ireland, located between Celtic Sea and Atlantic Ocean. It covers an area of 2,000 square miles (5,200 km2) and spans over 80 by 20 miles (129 by 32 km), with overall depth below 1,500 m.

The canyon has been the subject of numerous scientific research, ranging from its sediment transport to its biodiversity. In 2015, a group of scientists from NERC's National Oceanography Centre (NOC) on board RRS James Cook studied the canyon for five weeks. During the studies, they found abundant forms of deep-water life, such as blue sharks, swordfishes, cold-water corals, clams, and deep-sea oysters. In this canyon, the coral species can live in darkness and get their food from the passing water, which differed from the tropical corals that need sunlight to survive. The point for us was that the depths change from 4,000m to 200m and whether that effected wave height which it did for a while.

We will see what the day brings. We know the cold front will pass over us in the afternoon changing the wind from Southwest to Northwest and bringing rain.  

The picture of the day is a picture of the Motley Crew still smiling.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com