Back to the Azores

Marion is busy with the church renovation this year, so this time I’m setting off the old way: with crew first. To keep my sea legs in shape, and because it’s a truly beautiful spot on this planet, we’re heading back to the Azores.

We first sailed there in 2015, with a whole series of rotating crews. First Gerard and Hanneke as far as Lisbon. Then Dinand and Edith to Lagos. Marc and Martine, together with Miguel, to Madeira. On Madeira Miguel was home, and Marion and Ella joined. From there on to the Azores. There Marc and Martine left, but Arnold and Marleen arrived on the same flight. Then, for the return trip, Marion and Ella got off again and Koen and KJ came to keep Arnold and me company. Phew!

This time we’re keeping it a bit simpler. On Thursday I’m leaving with (once again) Gerard, plus Peter vd Klei, to sail non-stop to the Azores. What was a big adventure last time is a lot less nerve-racking now. Once we arrive they’ll fly home, and perhaps some other friends will drop by. When the school holidays start, the kids will come out with Marion.

Since the boat hasn’t just come out of the yard, the job list is fairly short, the biggest item being replacing the broken chain counter sensor on the anchor windlass. The windlass still works without it, but there’s no little display telling you how many metres of chain are already out. You can manage that in other ways anyway (counting in your head, or painting coloured marks on the chain), and in the Azores anchoring isn’t really a thing – they’re volcanoes, so 200 m off the coast it’s already 200 m deep… Still, a new one it is. Unfortunately the existing sensor turned out not to be available from stock. It was available in the UK, but they’re not allowed to ship this part to the Netherlands because of the manufacturer’s pricing policy. I’m slowly getting fed up with Lewmar. So a sensor from another brand, then. After some fiddling the replacement sensor turned out to work, and once the sealant has cured a bit this afternoon everything can be put back together.

Gerard is coming aboard tomorrow afternoon, and then we’ll have three and a half days to provision and tick off the last little items on the job list.