It looks like a weather window arrives tomorrow. A moderate northwesterly breeze will help us to exit the North Atlantic (Azores) high and begin our passage to Kinsale, Ireland. And there are no major weather makers in sight, although we learned on the passage from Provincetown that such conditions can change very quickly.
We have done a lot of work on the boat and hope that we've dealt with almost all of the leaks.
The mainsail was repaired by Ralf, the local German sailmaker who drives to the dock each day at 630PM, picks up the sails for repair, and drops them off 24 hours later. Amazing service, nice work, fairly priced. Cash only, please!
We've fixed the binnacle light, replaced the raw water impeller, fixed the fresh water pressure leak, dried out the cushions, filled up with diesel, and are nearly ready to go.
We have two big jobs left. The first is a big shopping trip to the "super mercado". We are really low in stores.
The second is the "tune up" of our wind vane self-steering system. For the Provincetown-Flores trip we couldn't get it to work and used our autopilot, the hardest working, least complaining, member of our crew. But the autopilot uses a lot of electricity and, like any electronic device, is susceptible to breaking down, potentially leaving us hand steering, a frightening possibility.
So it is Harry to the rescue. He took one look, called his friend Peter (who made the system!) and will work with us to get it working today. Yahoo!
We have loved the Azores. It will be tough to leave. And we've made a lot of new friends. But Ireland will be fun, too!
We are still having a great time, are healthy and well, and looking forward to our northward passage.......