On Monday, 14th June 2010, We set sail for the Azores with our good friends Sue and Bill, newly arrived from England. We expected the trip to be fairly slow, with probable calms and possible, but unlikely, bad weather.

We adjusted into the daily routine very quickly and were all very relaxed, doing 2-hour night watches and then covering the daytime pretty evenly amongst us. We took turns cooking the evening meal which, for Bill, was Fray Bentos pie, potatoes, onions, carrots and gravy each and every time - but no-one minded!

The first days were spent reading, relaxing on deck, trying to find a bit of shade to keep cool, taking turns at the helm and having seawater "showers" either in the cockpit or on the foredeck.

Bill followed Fi on night watches and no matter what method she employed - quietly whispering his name, almost shouting, tapping his leg, shaking his foot - he always woke up with a gasp of fright and shocked expression, usually resulting in Fi going back to the cockpit to await his arrival with tears of laughter streaming down her face.

One clear, starry, calm night followed another and we couldn't believe our luck as, although progress wasn't too quick, we were managing to sail and were hopeful that the fair winds and weather would continue.

Sue was blighted with a blocked ear since her snorkelling expeditions and we tried all sorts of "old wives" remedies to assist from pouring olive oil into it to jet-washing with a fairy liquid bottle (do not try this at home!). Eventually it did clear itself (or did Sue just say it had so we'd leave her alone?).

We had another yacht in our sights for a few days and Fi talked to them a couple of times. Their friendly skipper Francois and his two crew were French and spoke a little English although we could never quite grasp the name of the boat - something like Melange or Mes Anges. They were also bound for Horta and had managed to get a French forecast which predicted good weather. They would endeavour to contact us again the following day, but unfortunately after that night we lost touch.

Fi also spoke to a Cargo Ship which sounded like Lady "Rajirki"and again the forecast was for fine weather. We also listened in on the SSB to good ol' Herb each evening to hear him talking to other yachts in transit. There were a couple on passage to the Azores but none within less than 200nm of us; still, it gave us an idea of what was happening around us.

Bill amused us with magic tricks and we had a quiz every evening, taking it in turns to be quizmaster. The prize was a lucky-dip choc or sweet but surprisingly the prizes weren't claimed on quite a few evenings, resulting in a lot of chocolate sitting in the fridge doing nothing which is most unusual!

A highlight of the day was the "guess the mileage" competition which was won pretty consistently by the Skipper but all had their day.

Fi and Sue were sitting on the bow one afternoon and two amazingly beautiful dorado swam around the boat - blue and green with yellow tails. They stayed with us for quite a time and Fi willed them not to take the lures trailing astern. Unfortunately, a shearwater did "take the bait" and got his beak hooked on one of the lines. Luckily, he was completely unhurt - Dave reeled him in and unhooked him and, after a couple of pecks to Dave's cheek and arms he was set free again, none the worse for wear - unlike Dave.

By Day 6 we were motoring a little and by Day 7 we started to see Portuguese Man O'War's floating past with their pretty pink "sails" and 3 Tropic birds were circling our mast. We still saw the odd shearwater and the petrels started to become more prolific as we headed further out.

Day 9 saw us trying to sail but slowly. Dave shaved Bill's head and he now looked just like Ghandi and reappeared from his cabin for a photographic session with a white sheet wrapped around his nether regions like a yogi.

Another ship, Skia Trinity, gave SE 10kts and "good weather for your trip" and we saw two further ships within half an hour and then no more until a large motor yacht appeared called Teliost. Fi called it up and the very helpful and friendly skipper, whose name turned out to be Nigel, gave us a very detailed forecast and even called us back on VHF 16 to ask if there was anyone he could contact for us. We said no initially but then at Sue's suggestion asked him to send an email for her husband Gwyn to pick up to say we were fine but making slow progress. He said that wouldn't be a problem and asked if there was anything we needed - water or the like? Jokingly, Fi asked "I don't suppose you've got any ice cream?" to which he replied that he'd have a word with the chef! We were all laughing by this time as we didn't expect him to take us seriously but soon he was back on the radio saying they'd "sorted some things out" for us and would bring them over. Well! They were a good few miles ahead of us by then so had to turn around and come back (which probably cost about 100 quid in fuel!). They launched their rib with two crew on board who brought over 4 huge shopping bags full to the brim with goodies - lots of bottled water, huge cheeses, biscuits, crackers, bread, oranges, apples, and most importantly, Chocolate Ice Cream!!! We thanked them profusely, and the crew let slip it was the skipper's birthday so Dave called him back, changed to CH6, and we all sang happy birthday to him which we hope he appreciated. It was such a lovely gesture by Nigel and his crew and it really made our day - in fact our week! - and we all said how much we looked forward to emailing him when we could to thank him for his help and generosity. Isn't it great when you cross paths with lovely people. With the rib back onboard and a couple of blasts of their horn they were back on their way, leaving us to enjoy all the goodies and to eat the ice cream before it melted!

At last, the following day, a small dorado was caught on Fi's watch (thankfully she had just finished her cockpit shower or it could have all got a bit nasty!). A few tropic birds were sighted, a log of bamboo and a yellow plastic box.... Sue did her laundry and the Skipper read most of the day, well engrossed in his book. That night we saw a very bright light in the sky with the motion of a satellite. It was so huge and bright we guessed it must be the space station (or had Bill added hallucinogenic to the evening meal?)

Day 13 was half way and we held a half-way celebration with some "party food", all washed down with a glass of wine or beer. Sue and Fi dressed for the occasion in borrowed wigs from Sue's sister and pirates clothing. Sue produced one of her amazing poems, donned a daft hat and read it out to us - An Ode to True Colours - followed by a further, apologetic poem, by her friend Gloz which also made us laugh. The afternoon was rounded off nicely by a visit of about 20 dolphins. Needless to say Dave-Dog and Billy-Boy retired below to sleep off the effects of a glass of wine/beer whilst us women took the helm, made the ship in order, and kept a good lookout..

The next few days followed peacefully enough with a few visits by dolphins but not even any ships in sight. A fishing line got wrapped around the propeller so Dave went in to free it which luckily didn't take too long and afterwards we were rewarded by a beautiful Dorado which was enjoyed for lunch and also made into one of Dave's speciality fish dips (actually he got the basis of the recipe from our lovely Dutch friends Henk and Angela but adopted it as his own!).

30 June and Bill's 60th birthday. He didn't know we knew so it was quite a surprise to him when we woke him with coffee in bed and sang happy birthday. He came on deck to find balloons and banners, cards and presents and then Sue cooked a special birthday breakfast . A party lunch, champagne to toast this auspicious occasion and a cake at tea time, plus a visit by some dolphins rounded off the celeberations nicely.

The weather changed to grey skies and damp nights much to our disappointment. The skipper busied himself by changing gaskets in the heads' toilet, checking batteries etc but apart from that it was a case of motoring through the drizzle and the air had by now definitely got a European chilly feel to it.

It was at about this time that the reality of going back to the UK and leaving the beautiful Caribbean behind started to hit home so it was great having Sue and Bill onboard to lift our spirits. A couple of beautiful dorado swam with the boat for a long time and I'm pleased to say didn't take the lures as they were the most beautiful fish you could imagine and look so much better in the sea than on a plate......

Sue was the first to spot whales whilst on watch early one morning when about 5 killer whales (Orcas) swam slowly across our bows. They were a magnificent sight and we were happy to have at last spotted whales of any kind. A few more were seen in the distance and the rest of the day was busy with sightings of shearwaters, dolphins, a tree trunk (Fi thought was a whale...!) and then there was a pod of sperm whales all around us - amazing! They are very slow moving so we had great views of them but didn't want to bother them in any way so didn't sail towards them.

Approaching the Azores, we were concerned when a Portuguese Navy warship that had been patrolling up and down on the horizon announced they were going to start firing practice. Fi called them up to ensure they were aware of our position and to confirm we were not in a restricted area and the incredibly friendly watch replied that they were aware and we were fine on our current heading. He then wished us a "good trip with fair winds and following seas"....what a nice man.... A few minutes later we were given a great firework display by the ship's guns firing what looked like

On Day 24 we arrived weary but happy in Horta on the island of Faial, where we spent a week relaxing and replenishing stock for the next leg to Falmouth.

HORTA

We went out each evening to dine and drank lots of local wine. We hired a car for two days and toured the island, stopping for lunch at what initially looked like a closed bar/restaurant on the cliffs above a (very rough!) natural pool in the rocks and lots of big surges over the very rocky coast - spectacular to watch but we didn't chance it for a swim. The food and wine produced for us there was wonderful, tasty, cheap and plentiful. We camped out that night, after luckily finding the place we had camped with Bill and Liz on our last visit. The lads rigged a bimini but as it happened it was a clear and dry night. The sunset was stunning and the sky was changing colours for at least an hour afterwards. The shearwaters came in at dark and kept making their weird and wonderful noises most of the night. The next day we drove to the top (culdero) of the volcano and had an amazing clear view of the crater. We also went to the lighthouse which now stands about 5km inland due to a volcanic eruption in 1957 which resulted in new land formation. We had a disappointing meal at Peter Café Sport this time and his shop didn't have much of interest on offer but we enjoyed most of the meals out and Sue and Fi hit the shops, resulting in both buying a fair amount of clothing. Dave bought Fi a scrimshaw whale necklace which was lovely.

We bumped into Graham and Mark on Quasar IV who we had met initially in Porto Santo and then again in Grenada. They had a third crew with them, Clare, and were leaving for Falmouth also, so we arranged that they would contact us daily on their SSB radio (ours is just a receiver, not a transmitter) to let us know their position and any weather info they may have.

HORTA TO FALMOUTH


We set off from Horta with the engine running and motored until clear of the islands. Very soon, Sue spotted what looked like whiteish, large dolphins or small whales, which turned out to be Grampus (dolphins) and none of us had ever seen them before (or after come to that!) so spirits were high.

With daily updates from Graham and the Navtex picking up a signal for a good part of the passage we were not short of weather information but nevertheless Fi called up almost all vessels sighted, not only for any current forecasts but also just for the interest factor.

The sky turned grey and overcast for days on end and we struggled to ensure our mood didn't match the weather. It was like sailing inside a big grey ball - grey sea, grey sky, and almost no sighting of sun, moon or stars to be seen through the cloud.

We kept ourselves amused by playing the "what do you call a girl/boy with" game (e.g. what do you call a man with a seagull on his head - answer "Cliff") and it got really silly with more and more obscure clues and even more obscure answers but it's surprising what you'll do to keep sane out there!

We had daily visits by dolphins, usually at around 1700, and one day they stayed for most of Fi's watch and well into Bill's watch too, giving us an amazing acrobatic display. On a couple of occasions when they swam by the boat in the dark we were treated to a fantastic bio-luminescent display (aka phosphorescence) and most nights our wake would produce a star-spangled display of fairy lights too.

One day, with a little blue sky and a steady breeze keeping the boat steered by the wind vane, Fi was sitting at the helm talking to Sue and the boys were down below. All of a sudden there was a tremendous bang into the boat and whilst we were still reeling from the shock a whale surface behind the boat, thrashing around as if angered or shocked. A large pool of brownish coloured water accompanied it and Fi was at first concerned that the whale was injured (never mind the boat then Fi!) but apparently it's not unusual for whales to "poo their pants" when shocked so we hope that's all it was. It was certainly unhappy but hopefully uninjured. Dave pumped the bilges and did a quick inspection but all appeared to be sound with True Colours so we breathed a sigh of relief and continued on our way. For days after we were still saying "can't believe we collided with a whale!" and in fact are still saying it now....

We were soon in the Western Approaches and the shipping became more busy around the TSZ (traffic separation zone) as we approached Falmouth. We arrived in Falmouth late morning after 12 days at sea and the weather was fairly sunny although cold. We picked up a buoy and then went onto the town quay for a few days.

We ate lots of pasties and drank a fair amount of ale and generally relaxed, before Bill decided he'd like to jump ship and head on home by road so, with lots of hugs and fond farewells we were down to three.

We met up with Quasar IV who arrived shortly after us and had fun reuniting and sharing sailing yarns and fishy tales (they caught a huge tuna which did about 5 meals for 3 people!). We left them in Falmouth with the promise of a further reunion when they arrived at Hardway SC 3 weeks later.

So, Dave, Fi and Su set out for a great sail down to the coast, with an overnight sail bringing us to the Solent just at the right time to catch the tide through the needles channel. We were going through so fast - at 11.8 knots - that Fi jokingly remarked that we'd have to make sure we made a good grab at a visitors buoy at Yarmouth or we'd shoot past the moorings there! As it turned out we arrived there just in time to get the water taxi ashore for a well-earned drink and a bite to eat and we all agreed the sail from Falmouth had been one of the best and most enjoyable parts of the trip so far - what a bonus for some slightly down-in-the-mouth sailors!

The next day saw our final leg of the homeward passage and with mixed feelings we left Yarmouth to catch the tide into Portsmouth Harbour. Sue's sister and brother-in-law waved us on as we passed Stokes Bay and a call to our pilot-boat friend Nick brought him whizzing out of the harbour on the pilot launch to give us one of his big, beaming smiles and a quick shout of "Welcome home!" before he whizzed off again to do some work. Once inside the harbour a patrol boat came to inform us we couldn't go any further than Gosport Marina for half an hour as the harbour was closed off for a Navy Days practice. Dave lost his cool but we had to see the funny side - so near home and yet so far! By this time Sue's sister and brother-in-law, as well as husband Gwyn, were waiting for us on Hardway pontoon. Eventually, after a fun display by SBS patrol boats and helicopters flying down the harbour, we were allowed to continue on. As we approached Hardway a tug was letting off its hydrant creating a great waterfall in front of us and I said "I bet that's Jeffers saying hello" to which Dave replied something like "don't be daft". With that, I received a call on my mobile from Jeff himself saying to look at the big ship approaching us - which he was skippering - and that he had indeed arranged the other tug to give us a greeting with its hydrant. What a fantastic welcome home from our friends and we hadn't even arrived yet!

At Hardway, Sue's relatives kindly took our lines as Dave brought True Colours alongside after two years away. What a weird moment - mixed feelings for all the crew I think.....

Mum and Dad came and joined us shortly afterwards and we all went along to the Jolly Roger for a drink, before we finally had to cut the ties with our brilliant shipmate Sue and let her go on her way home.

So, here we are, landlubbers again, back in our home town of Gosport. As I write this, we're house-sitting Dave's sister Lisa's beautiful Dorset cottage and enjoying a month's break in the breathtaking surounding countryside.

However, I can't get rid of this lump in my throat as I think of the past two years and how privileged we have been to experience so many wonderful moments together on True Colours, making lots of new friends along the way, and we're thinking how strange it is that the decision we made not to cross the Atlantic again is slowly starting to change......