Atlantic Odyssey 2 - Crew signing out

Day 22 – The Crew – Part 5 – Signing off!

Avast me hearties! Here we are, another 4 days on. Docked in the Azores and time for the ships company to disband as we The Crew hop off leaving Sukama with Malcolm and Sue to continue her quest South! While honoured to be labelled as the A-team when it came to crew we’re not sure who the B-team would be apart from the odd passing dolphin or whale so options for the accolade were maybe equally limited!

So what of the last few days bobbing about in the salty wet stuff and back on terra firma.

We had the excitement of a few days with wind over 20knots and some sea swells around the 4m range which made keeping course a fun game. Turning away when the swell and accompanying confused chop came across the beam (side!) which lurched the boat side to side and returning slowly back on course once it had passed.

We had a very close encounter with a group of whales, one of whom decided to cross our path just a stones throw in front of the boat. Maybe we now know what keeps making the depth sounder jump to 2m in the middle of the night…? Or possibly more accurately we can assume it’s one of the things that could be doing it!

Paul was up on deck and first to spot land after the yellow blobs appearing on the chart plotter indicated we were at least going the right direction along with a whole clutter of boats with their AIS markers. AIS is a system which most boats now having to show their location to other boats in the vicinity; it is hugely useful in the inky black nights. A bit of dancing on the foredeck later and the pole was away, headsail furled, lines tidied and ready to go in.

Anthony took Sukama into port and moored up against the fuel dock with a reasonably stiff breeze coming in on the nose. Formalities of entry started with a customs inspection of the boat, opening the odd hatch, lifting the odd floor board to see what’s underneath a nice bunch and good to talk to – maybe we were a little desperate too having had a choice of 3 other people to talk to for the last 3 weeks! Then on to port authorities to sort a berth and immigration. All being well it was time to fuel up, 417liters(!) later tanks topped off. The berth being offered located, that in itself was a fun game. Mentioned as “the one next to the white Cat on the second pontoon”. Well, the only white Catamaran we could see was on what many would consider to be the first pontoon. After a brief search it was concluded this must be the right location based on the fact it was the only cat in the marina, sounded like good logic to us! So berth located. Anthony looking at the berth, and the width of the boat decided it was about 6 inches to small for his liking and not one he wanted to do the magic shrinking boat trick on, not being his boat for one! Lines slipped Malcolm headed over and with a bit of heavy fending off the boat next to us and the pontoon he guided Sukama in. A small squeak coming from the owners of the yacht next to us as he realised quite how ‘good’ a fit it was going to be!

So on to shore and the trip completed. We are both disappointed to not be taking the boat back to the Canarias as it would complete the task of a round trip but possibly there is time yet on another occasion.

Conversation at dinner turned to events of the crossing and stories of past sailing experiences. With some years on the water everyone picks up a good story or two! Whether it was mention of Malcolm briefly running around on his yachtmaster exam, or recalling Sue’s minor panic mode during her own examination. For those who don’t know Sue has the approach of being highly knowledgeable up to the time an exam starts at which point she appears to briefly but completely forget everything she knows and the resulting panic sets in until the exam is over – at which point all the knowledge previously lost mysteriously returns!! It was good to share and reflect on the events of the crossing. I think our combined conclusion however is that as a general rule we all found the East to West trip more consistent but we also have to keep in mind that the weather we experienced is, according to Charlie, our very accurate weather support, unheard of; it’s normally a game to avoid the storms and high winds, not having days upon days of light airs.

The first full day on land was a day spent returning to the bustle of being connected. Everyone spending time between meetings, calls, emails and catching up on world events over the last 3 weeks. It being Paul’s day to cook then he landed lucky, with the menu plan being ‘what Sue bought at the shop this morning’ for a late breakfast. A selection of cup-a-soups and the final remaining cheese (yes we still had some left!) and crackers for a light lunch before heading for dinner out.

During the day Anthony and Paul took to investigating why the fridge controller had stopped working a few days ago. A short time later and the source was found. One of the cockpit drain pipes was sited directly above and found to be leaking slightly, in the rain showers this had resulted in water damaging the controller. A little more time and a repair of the hose was completed, confirmed by putting a glass of water down the drain and no drips inside. Hopefully it stays that way!! Unfortunately no easy fix for the fried electronic controller; needs a repair to be arranged but it has at least explained why this controller went after such a short period.

We can’t end without a little story from the day can we…. You will recall the milk rations for 3 days because we were down to the last 2 litres and were in danger of running out of milk for that all important tea! That is obviously apart from the 4 litres in the wardrobe now found on return to dry land; ask yourself however, why is milk in the wardrobe!!? So with somewhat bashful looking Sue saying ‘oh yes I’d forgotten about them’ and comments like ‘bet that going in the log isn’t it?’ Errr yes, of course it is!

So we draw our time with Sukama to a close for now. There will be more but this journey has been great. Not the weather any of us expected which could have made it far more difficult had it not been for the right mix of personalities and humour to see the time pass swiftly. From us, The Crew, then our utmost thanks to Malcolm and Sue for allowing us to participate in and share the journey with them, take the reins, and build memories to last a lifetime.

All the best from both of us, this is The Crew signing off, “Out”.