August 13, 2008 - Update from Jem Crew |
"The motely crew of Nick Moran, David Petrie, Andy Elson and Chris Seaton assemble at Ponta Delarda, the Azores on 5 August 2008. Chris and Mark (the owner) have already been in town for 2 days giving JEM a shake down after having been out of the water in the Azores for the last 2 months. Mark flies back to the UK on 5 August leaving his treasured JEM and home to Mark and Louise for the last 4 years in our hands.
After getting to grips and crawling over JEM the team sets of for a tour of the Azorean island of Sao Miguel, which is volcanic as the whole of the Azores is. We were all gob smacked by the beauty of the vegetation and scenery. Field hedgerows of hydrangea and sub tropical plants. A dip in a hot waterfall and keeping well clear of bubbling mud geysers we return just in time before the hire car brakes fail. We realise then, this could be the start of quite an adventure.
We set sail on the night of 6 August as the Azores high is filling in and we need to escape to find weather to the North. Also it is of course a punchy departure to go straight into night sailing and night watches. Sadly poor winds means the engine for the next 18 hours, but at last we find wind and the throb of the engine is killed. What relief!. On our first day we have dolphins around the boat, including a mother and her calf and then spy a whale (humpback we think) about 200 yards from us.
So far we have had the spinnaker up and cruising shute for long periods and averaging 6.5 knots under sail. By the evening of 8 August we are third of the way and we pass the all important, no turning back, half way point on evening of 9th August. We are all mesmerised by the Atlantic in these conditions. While there is quite a swell (up to 3 metres) at night there are amazing trails of phosphorescence, incredibly dark skies and masses of shooting stars. However we know that we are experiencing benign conditions and it could change very quickly.
We have stuck to the menu so far including chilli prawns and spaghetti carbonara....we think the women in our lives would be proud. Nick is the yacht's fisherman, but sadly no fresh fish to date
Next update soon as we approach the 2/3rd point this evening. We hope to make La Coruna, N Spain, on evening of 12 Aug or morning of 13 Aug. Looking forward to Paella. Pictures to follow when USB cable arrives via Catherine in La Coruna."
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About Me
Left UK in May 05 in our Moody Grenadier 44, summer in Med, then ARC 05. South from St Lucia to Venezuela by May 06. UK for some shore time. Back sailing Jan 07 Venezuela to Cuba, east coast US, then Mexico, Belize & Guatemala. March 08 Back across the Atlantic to UK via Bermuda & Azores.
Jem is now back in Berthon Lymington - hoping for a new owner?
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