We entered Horta harbour, in the Azores, at 6.30 am this morning and are now berthed in the marina. The first stage of our voyage back to the UK has been completed.

It is two months since we arrived in St Lucia to make the final preparations for the voyage and since then we have sailed over 3,000 miles. During the crossing we seemed to experience more than our share of light or contrary winds. In addition, an unscheduled stop in Bermuda meant that our overall crossing time was extended but as a result I am pleased to say that at no time did we experience winds above 30 knots, at least not when we were at sea. For me personally, the voyage has been an enormous pleasure and a great success. I would therefore like to say thank you  .........

Firstly to Neroli for bringing us safely across an ocean and back into European waters. Although the conditions did not allow her to show her pace, as usual she was at all times comfortable and reassuringly well mannered.

Secondly I would like to thank the crew for making the trip such an enjoyable and memorable experience. Without exception they were magnificent.

I would particularly like to thank Allan for his support and advice. His considerable sailing experience which has included two Atlantic crossings, one of which was single handed, and three visits to the Azores in the last six years was not only extremely valuable to the decision making process on board but also increased my level of confidence considerably. He took on the demanding role of Chief Radio Officer, which involved sitting at the radio on most days for two hours at a stretch, listening and talking to Herb, our weather forecaster from Canada. Allan was always upbeat and positive. His contribution throughout the voyage was extremely valuable, ensuring that everyday we all experienced the maximum pleasure.

I would also like to thank Paddy for his considerable contribution. He very capably filled many roles. As the ‘Ship’s Doctor’ he was an enormous comfort to the rest of the crew even though fortunately his skills were never seriously put to the test. He worked with me to solve the various system and equipment failures we encountered and was a tremendous support. As the ‘Astronomer in Residence’ he ran a nightly class entitled ‘The Sky at Night’. Classes were always well attended and brought a wonderful extra dimension to the voyage. In addition Allan took his master class in Astronavigation and Richard his master class in iPod Management! On shore Paddy was also Auditor General, monitoring expenditure incurred in four different currencies, by four different people to be shared in four different ways – the spreadsheet was enormous! Overall his contribution was very wide ranging and enormously valuable.

Finally I would like to thank Richard who when he stepped onto the boat at St Lucia had only had a few weeks sailing experience and none of it in the dark! It was against this background that he took responsibility for provisioning the ship and for providing us with a varied and nutritious diet. Before we set off, he produced a list of the supplies that the four of us would need. He then took responsibility for all the shopping, the cooking and freezing of some 14 meals and finally the stowage on board. As soon as we set off, he took control of the galley and supplied us with some help from the rest of the crew with one wonderful meal after another. If that was not enough, he also took responsibility for our daily Web Diary. No matter what the weather was like, no matter how tired he was, a blog was posted everyday. For a period of six weeks, he gave considerable pleasure to a large number of the crew’s friends and family ashore. On behalf of blog readers everywhere, a very big thank you!

I would also like to thank our four wives, Diana, Viv, Lesley and Francoise for encouraging four old men to go out and make believe that they were young again! I would personally like to thank Francoise for all her support in St Lucia where she worked long hours everyday for ten days with Richard shopping and cooking food which was then frozen for the voyage.

Finally I would like to thank all our readers for sharing this voyage with us. I very much hope you have enjoyed the experience. If you would like to rejoin us for the final leg to the UK, we will be transmitting again around 27^th June by which time Richard will have returned to Seattle and been replaced by someone I have never met called Wiz!

To have the opportunity to sail across an ocean in a small boat is definitely a privilege. As the days pass, the emptiness, the isolation and the wild beauty of the surroundings touch the senses and then at night, sooner or later, Creation puts on one of its most spectacular shows – a moonlit sea and a clear sky filled with a million stars, stretching without interruption, from horizon to horizon in every direction, as far as the eye can see. This private viewing is most certainly a privilege. It tells us emphatically that we live in a universe of infinite scale, incomprehensible permanence and wondrous predictability.

It was against this background that Richard and I learnt that we had lost two dear friends, George and Peter, both of whom we had known for over 40 years. They had both been intrigued and excited by the project and were great supporters. We are very sad that we were unable to be with their families and friends to mourn their loss. However we have been able to reflect on their lives and their friendship in a place perfectly designed for contemplation. It is in that context that this voyage is dedicated to their memory.

 Neroli

15th June 2010