Stromboli update

Stromboli comes home
John and Sue Chadwick
Mon 4 Jun 2007 19:41
We've had a nice few days here in Horta - 38:32.00N 28:37.00W - (weather notwithstanding - is it actually raining everywhere in the world?) The Azores are a group of nine islands spread in a line running more-or-less NW-SE and about 300 miles end to end. They're level with Lisbon. Horta is the capital of Faial which is one five of the central group of islands (Faial is about 14M x 10M). The harbour here is hard by a 600' high extinct volcanic vent (I think this, in effect, a small* volcano) with a calderea - that's the crater where it used to go BANG - open to the sea. Its named 'do Inferno' which gives you fair notice of what used to go on here. Stromboli is on the outside of a four-deep raft of yachts and from the shoreside you can see the summit of Pico (four miles away across a channel) rising above the outer wall.

(* I'm told there's no such thing as a small volcano. They mostly tend to come in three sizes -

(a) 'big ones',
(b) 'bloody big ones' ,
(c) 'cor, where is everyone?')

Horta is a nicely shabby, red-roofed, whitewashed town strung along the shore of an east-facing bay with the harbour at the S end. Inland the ground rises steeply so the town it's somewhat enclosed. The people are friendly and there are plenty of places to eat & drink. This is like a mid-Atlantic service station for yachts. Almost everyone here has arrived from the Caribbean and is heading for Europe. Next to us is a steel yacht (of uncertain pedigree - she appears to have at some stage been raised from the sea-bed and, after having got her on the surface, the salvor has changed his mind) bound for Falmouth, inside her a Swiss couple are heading for S of France.

Its wonderful to have S on board - she arrived on Friday. Today R, C, S and I all took a hire car round the island. Not, it has to be said, the greatest sight-seeing tour. Cloud base at 25' means that it was like driving in thickish fog. Still, better perhaps than moldering in a damp cabin! Actually the weather has been fairly grim. Vis: Thursday - blowing half a hurricane; Friday - same; Sat - OK, some sunshine; Sunday - rain + low cloud; Monday rain + v. low cloud (visibility now about 15 feet) and half-a-gale again. We're just glad we didn't join the ARC Europe (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) who routed via Bermuda and who have got pretty well clobbered on the way here.

Our thoughts our now turning to the final leg of our little 'oddessy'- (Azores - Weir Quay.) The secret seems to be to go N or NE from here, until you clear the Azores High and get a westerly to take you home. The trick is to stay clear of Biscay so you might end up going as high as 47N before getting any real easting. We're looking for a weather window out of here and hope to leave later this week.

Love from three men and a cook

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