Greetings from Craig and Julie on board Hullabaloo in Flores, a small island in the Azores group, lying approx 1500km off the coast of Portugal in the North Atlantic. Yes I know some reading the journal will think we might be lost since we were originally sailing to Oz but our plans have changed and after spending time in the Caribbean we decided we didn`t spend enough time in Europe so we are in fact sailing back over the Atlantic and heading for Portugal. Eventually we will sail for Oz again but who knows when?
Well after a year away from Hullabaloo on land in Oz we finally returned to Grenada in the caribbean and launched her again. We were pleasantly surprised with her condition and after a week or so had her ship shape again and ready to sail across the Atlantic to the Azores and then on to mainland Portugal. After a couple of weeks we were joined by our friends, Phil and Di, in Grenada who left their boat in Jamaica and joined us to help with the long ocean crossing to Portugal. We spent 2 weeks cruising back up the island chain called the Lesser Antilles to our departure point Antigua. The 2 weeks were spent sailing, fishing and swimming in the warm tropical waters along with further work to prepare Hullabaloo for the voyage and finally provisioning her with enough water and food to last approximately 3 weeks at sea. One of the highlights of the 2 weeks was catching a huge wahoo which provided fish for the four of us for more than a week. Photo included as evidence!
The crossing to the Azores was 2400 nautical miles (4,400 km). It took 17.5 days in a variety of conditions ranging from being becalmed for a few days to enduring a force 8 storm for 36 hours which involved 35 to 40 knot winds and 5 metre seas. Julie was often seen clutching her friend Wilson the bucket and heading for the sea bunk but managed to complete the crossing without actually making a deposit which was a pretty good effort. Wilson was quite relieved! Hullabaloo performed like a champ and having 4 on board meant a lot more sleep than our previous crossing which was excellent. Apart from over 40 years of ocean sailing experience between Phil and Di, Phil also proved to be a very good cook and prepared a range of fantastic curries along the journey so we were actually pretty spoilt.
Notwithstanding the sleep and good food, after 17 days at sea we were glad to sight land and tie up in the small marina at Flores. There are about 20 boats here who all endured the storm with a number of them incurring damage ranging from torn sails to wind generators being ripped out of fittings so we felt quite lucky. We have been here for 5 days enjoying the stunning landscape and local hospitality. The island is only 17klm long and 14 klm wide with a population of 3,500 spread amongst a few villages around the picturesque rural island. Quite amazing really with volcanic crater lakes, lush vegetation, soaring cliffs and waterfalls.
Tomorrow we set sail to explore another couple of islands in the group and in about a week we will head off to mainland Portugal which is about a 6 day sail for us.
So for now it`s goodbye from us and we will update the jounal again in about a month from Portugal.
PS Don`t forget to check out some of the pics attached.
