Year 3 -4th October 2026 – Faial -Azores – the most Western Point of Europe
We woke about 8.00am as we had arranged to go on a snorkelling trip. We had a quick breakfast (our usual) and we then met at the diving company on the front at 9.00am where Dave and John joined us.
We were given wetsuits and snorkelling equipment and went out on a rib with a Swiss couple who were going to dive. There is a Hallberg Rassy 53 in the marina and the helmsman Pedro is sleeping on it. He explained that the owner has been round the world twice and goes off for chunks at a time. That is the second person from Horta who has been round the world twice. Hmm interesting thought provoking!! Only joking!
The sea conditions were quite rough and we went round the outside of Monte da Guia and round to the bay with the Porto Pim beach which was more sheltered from the wind. It was quite a rough crossing but we got to a position where there was a ledge and rocks and we got out of the rib. The water took your breath away a little to start with and there was a lot of fish life around the rock and ledge and I saw a lot of the types of fish I had seen in the Aquarium the day before and which they export to different Aquariums. I also saw a nice barracuda and some orange star fish clinging to the rocks. Once we had circled the rock and ledge we went over to the rock face encasing the bay and snorkelled along that. There were lots of fish eating bits of the rock and a number of ledges and caves which we could swim into. John was having trouble breathing so went back to the boat and was fine but he could not explain why he had difficulty when he got into the water. We spent about 40 minutes going along the rockface before returning to the rib and clambered aboard. The divers surfaced and then we returned to Horta which was a bit easier once we had the wind and swell behind us.
We changed and showered and Mark and I returned to Stormbird to get something to eat. Dave and John went to a restaurant.
After lunch Mark and I decided to check out the main supermarket (yes we lead an exciting life!) to see what it was like. It was very well stocked so we got a few things there and Mark got enough fish material to do another seafood linguine as we had discussed potentially eating on board. Dave remained behind and helpfully prepared 8 bags of bread material to make it easier for us on passage and to each bag we just need to add water, milk and oil and it is good to knead.
We returned to Stormbird and Mark started his preparation of his feast.
We put on some good music and relaxed and had a drink. John and Dave joined us and we had a great evening. Marks seafood linguine was delicious and he had cooked off the octopus for a long time and so it was so tender and sweet. We put the world to rights and had a great time.
David Mark joins us tomorrow and he has been on a couple of legs and he also was with Mark and I when we crossed the Atlantic for the first time on my previous boat Luce di Mare-a Hallberg Rassy 412. I am getting the veterans back for my last passage on this circumnavigation.
The picture of the day is the 4 of us in our wetsuits before we went snorkelling. What a lot!!
Need/Opportunity Year Three
I am now at the Azores and hope to head back to the UK on about 9 October 2026. At present I am full for the final passage back to the UK with some old veterans returning David Mark, Keith Watson (Watty) and of course Keith Winstanley -the Commodore.
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