Next Stop: Horta

We intended to spend a couple of days on Flores. That turned into two weeks. One local said if we've seen Flores, we've seen the Azores. Perhaps he's biased, but it's easy to believe.

This is by far the most beautiful place I've seen in my life. The island is COVERED with flowers. Dramatic sea cliffs plunge into the ocean. Cows roam rolling green hills separated by vibrant blue hydrangeas. Sleepy towns hide streets of cobblestone cut from lava rock. Whitewashed homes are topped with red clay roofs. Instead of grass lawns, locals have burgeoning gardens of corn, potatoes, squash, cabbage, tomatoes and cucumber.

Beautiful landscapes aren't the islands only treasure--the people of Flores create the friendliest, most generous community I've ever experienced. And this is as an outsider. You know how people in cities suddenly find the ground really interesting when you walk by? Here, every person greets you as a friend.

We traveled Flores by hitchhiking (the customs official even recommended it). Rarely did more than three cars pass before someone pulled over. What's more, they would stop at scenic spots along the way, turn off the engine, and patiently wait for us to take pictures before continuing. After the second person tried stopping to let us take pictures, we insisted they keep driving, feeling guilty we were taking advantage of their overwhelming generosity.

Amanda and I sat on the dock next to some locals one night and fished for dinner. We eventually packed up empty-handed. But before we could leave, the fisherman beside us reached into his catch and filled a recycled grocery bag with enough fish to feed a family of ten. Us not speaking Portuguese, he not speaking English, we understood each other perfectly; Amanda and I couldn't leave without accepting the fish.

Over the weekend, we ran out of Euros and the local banks were closed. An annual festival was taking place and the locals set up large tent restaurants for the occasion.

We befriended the chef of one restaurant, a Finnish immigrant named Tino, who happened to be taking a break on the street. Amongst casual conversation, we mentioned our dilemma.

"No worries!" he said. "Come eat at my restaurant and pay whenever you can."

The thing is, the festival ended that night and the restaurant would be dismantled and staff disbanded.

"How can we pay if you won't be here tomorrow?" I asked.

"I live on the other side of the island, just ask around for the crazy Finnish guy!" Tino Replied.

With that, we were treated as guests of honor.

Three days later we sought out Tino's house to pay our dinner bill. It only took two tries to find someone who knew him.

"Go up the street. You'll see a big yellow house--that's not his house. Go past it and turn right. Walk down the alley and look for a stone wall between two white houses with a barking dog. Follow the grass trail until you see the wooden house with a grass roof." Explained a woman named Rafaela.

We should've expected that simply paying for our meal and continuing on was out of the question. Tino invited us into his home and introduced us to his family. We spent the afternoon picking vegetables in his organic garden, preparing a feast for dinner, sharing stories, and of course, eating said feast.

While we could easily spend months here, the Flores experience simply reinforces the need to sail on. How many other Flores' await with beautiful vistas and warm people waiting to share a meal and a story?

A small weather window opens tonight amongst 12 foot seas and 30 knot winds...Horta, here we come!

In the News!

Hello Everyone! Today is a beautiful day in Lajes das Flores, Azores :) We recently were featured in an article in the Northwest Florida Daily News. You can find the article at this location http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local/come-sail-away-couple-spends-year-seeking-adventure-on-the-high-seas-photos-1.349224

Soon we will head east to explore a few more islands in the Azorean archipelago. More to come soon!

Crossing the Pond: Bermuda to the Azores

With ample time to think, I've come up with a good way to visualize what our trip is like. However, we're roughing it compared to most sailors we've met, so this may not be the average Trans-Atlantic experience.

Imagine locking yourself in an empty room. You can bring with you two pictures: One of stormy seas, the other depicting a flat, motionless ocean. Also bring a few granola bars into the room.  Now stare at one picture for several hours. When you get tired of it, switch to the other picture. Tired of it? Switch back to the first. Eat a granola bar, then spin in circles 20 times until you're dizzy.  Now stagger around the room, shoulder pressed to wall, leaning at a 45 degree angle so you don't fall over. Now splash yourself in the face with cold water. Let the water soak into the carpet, and take a nap in it. Yay, sailing!

 We averaged 100 mile days for the first 1,200 miles of our voyage. Once again, despite a perfect weather forecast, high winds and rough seas were the norm. We're starting to question the weather man's credentials...this whole "sunny with a chance of clouds" prediction isn't cutting it.

As we pushed further east, we expected to receive calmer weather due to the Azores High, but conditions continued to worsen. Come to find out, we were feeling the distant effects of Hurricane Arthur! While clear of the danger zone, winds still pushed above 30 knots. Never mind Six Flags, we've got our own roller coaster ride.  Amanda nearly drowned by drinking water while the ride was in operation; rookie mistake. 

We encountered several interesting color shifts in the water from electric blue to dark teal for a few hundred miles in the middle of the Atlantic, then back to electric blue near the Azores. Dolphins are EVERYWHERE out here. We even dodged a few turtles!
 

Two hundred miles from the Azores, the ocean turned to glass.  Hot, static air brewed thunderstorms that towered overhead like a parthenon of the gods, majestic and forbidding.  By evening, columns of rain, black with density, poured from the sky.  Bolts of lightning struck the ocean.  Flashes in the clouds illuminated the colossus as it billowed higher.  Never in my life have I felt so small and helpless.

On day 20, we could make out the faint outline of land covered in a salty haze.  As we approached the island of Flores, the wind and swell increased. And increased. And increased.  Once again, we were in the middle of terrible weather, and once again, it was the exact opposite of predicted patterns. Winds around Flores normally blow from the Southwest, so we approached the island from that direction. After 1,700 miles, we were now within 15 miles of the island.  Fifteen miles!  And that's when the wind picked up.  From the Northeast.  For 2 days we hove to and drifted.  For 3 days we fought to make windward progress, only to get pushed back again. Five days and an extra 200 miles of zig-zagging later, we were again within 15 miles of the island. You can bet that we weren't letting it slip away a second time.

We´re Alive!! Made it to Flores, Azores

Hey Everyone! After 25 crazy days - we´ve made it to Flores, Azores!!! We will be updating the blog once we find wifi (a museum was nice enough to let us on their computer), but time to get some exercise, fresh food and good rest :)

Our First Passage

Salt Spray. Constant rolling. Searing sun. Dew-soaked clothes at night; nothing remains dry. For anyone who may have been envious of our trip, trust me--it's no picnic. Crossing oceans is wearisome, and at times, frightening. 

The Gulf Stream, a river flowing in the middle of the ocean at up to 5 knots with waves known to reach 70 feet in storms, gave us quite a wild ride. The first three days of our trip was nothing but seasickness, high winds and large waves. As we crossed the Gulf Stream's point of maximum intensity, mountains rose up from the deep, sending avalanches of whitewater careening down their steep faces.

Breaking waves are a boat's worst nightmare, and we were amongst the biggest I had ever seen. During the worst of it, our normal 3 hour shifts were interrupted and I manned the tiller for 15 hours straight as we ran with the waves. At one point we were surfing (not a good thing), hitting speeds of over 15 knots. We hit multiple eddies--currents  swirling and colliding with opposing currents-- creating inconsistent, choppy waves that tossed the boat around. Wave trains of four in a row plowed through us, building steeper and higher each time. Three days either double-reefed (a lessening of the sail area in response to higher winds) or under storm trysail and jib; we were tired.

It is said that a boat can handle far more than its crew, and Makai performed flawlessly.

For every scary moment, there is an equal number of truly amazing ones. We were becalmed on the 4th day. Amanda and I looked out upon a flat, blue mirror. Complete silence and 360 degrees of ocean surrounded us. A brilliant yellow-green Mahi-Mahi swam up to the boat and performed circles to scope us out. Then a pod of dolphins came by to play. Then an odd looking fish we think was a grouper hung out under our hull, occasionally popping out to look at the funny humans.

Not going anywhere? Why not go for a swim? The GPS said it was 17,000 feet deep.

The last six days were beautiful with light winds and calms seas, allowing us to average 3-4 knots. Not fast, but far more comfortable.

At dawn on the tenth day, we entered Bermudan waters. You know those wallpaper photos of the beach scene with bright turquoise water that looks completely photoshopped? THAT'S REALLY HOW IT LOOKS!!!

The island has a rich history dating back to 1609 when shipwrecked sailors first inhabited the island. There are a million forts. The houses are painted bright pastel colors and the roofs are all white. We could easily spend a month exploring Bermuda, but we've got to continue our journey to the Azores before hurricane season picks up.

Made it to Bermuda!

Hi friends and family! We've made it safe and sound to Bermuda!! New post with pictures coming soon!

Credit Card Fraud

Over the last few weeks Kaiao and I have been purchasing items to prepare Makai for our long voyage. Items include a life raft, foul weather gear and a SSB receiver (to receive weather reports while traveling). To our dismay we received a phone call last night indicating that our credit card had been compromised and a purchase was made in Columbia for a modular building. Fortunately our credit card company has fraud protection and called us immediately. We cancelled the card and are now awaiting a new one to come in before we travel.

Here are a few tips to help minimize your chances of this happening to you:

• Check your accounts frequently and ensure you or an authorized user purchased the item or service
• Shred all statements before disposing of them (or switch to electronic statements)
• Ensure companies are legitimate before initiating phone orders
• Only enter a credit card number on a secure site (must start with https://)

Luckily our bank will cover the fraudulent charges and will pursue legal action, however not all banks will do this. Make sure that your bank has fraudulent protection to ensure you will not pay out of your pocket for expenses you didn't make!