Grown Ups Gap Year
Now the girls have finished University it is our turn for a gap year! #grownupsgapyear
| Vessel Name: | Mirage |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Moody 38CC - 1993 |
| Hailing Port: | Poole, Dorset, UK |
| Crew: | Sally and Paul |
| Extra: | After the girls had finished university we decided it is our turn for a gap year. |
04 August 2020
Falmouth to Studland
We spent two nights on a mooring buoy in Falmouth but wished we could have stayed longer and had a slow passage home to Poole. However we are getting Mirage lifted out of the water as soon as practicable and we do this near to where we live. To get to the boat yard we have to go up the local river that [...]
02 August 2020
Azores to Falmouth - the arrival
With the final 400 NM we were typically doing 140 NM a day or better until the last night on the way to Lizard Point and the entry to Falmouth. The wind was around 20 knots for most of the time but the wave grew bigger during the first 200NM and became steeper once we had crossed the continental shelf. These [...]
29 July 2020 | Atlantic Ocean
Azores to Falmouth Update 2
Day 4 brought the strong winds we had been expecting but we had kept ourselves further south than the shortest route to help keep out the strongest. The day was a mix of drizzle and sunshine but still warm enough to keep the shorts on & we carried on sailing at a good pace crossing the 800NM to go [...]
25 July 2020 | Atlantic Ocean
Azores to Falmouth Update
We left just after 10am on Wed 23rd to sail the 1156NM to Falmouth. The weather did its best to give us a good send off but the wind was missing! We were waved goodbye by the boats from Praia do Vitoria and help with our lines by some friends we had met there. With the lack of wind we needed to motor [...]
22 July 2020
Terceira
We did an overnight sail to Terceira Island (Ilha Terceira) from Sao Jorge to ensure we arrived in the daylight. Our destination was the marina at Praia da Vitória. This is known to be the cheapest in the Azores but is also a good departure place from the Azores to the UK. The sail took us initially [...]
15 July 2020
São Jorge
We left Horta for São Jorge at 08:30 to sail the 22NM. We knew it was going to be a slow sail as the wind was light and we also only had the genoa which when on its own isn't the ideal sail for an upwind sail. With her clean bottom however Mirage didn't disgrace herself and we managed the sail in just [...]
Trade wind sailing to Corrubedo
Leaving Finisterre this morning we had a slow sail out of the anchorage before picking up the northerly winds, the Portuguese trade winds. Our first true trade wind sailing which will hopefully be what we sail for the majority of the journey to the Caribbean in December. The steering was under the majority control of Heidi, our Hydrovane wind steering system. The good thing about Heidi is that she doesn't need sleep, food or a rest and no answering back for requests of a course! We sailed in a poled out Genoa and Main in the goose wing configuration as shown in one of the photos. The sail today was only another short hop of 25nm, but moving us 20nm further south.
As mentioned, Corrubedo was our destination and this is an amazing anchorage with only us in it. The bay we are anchored in is a 1.5 mile curved beach with almost white sand that is soft under foot. From the anchorage we walked into the local village and did our usual tour around. There was a small harbour for the small local fishing fleet as well as a couple of further smaller beaches. The village appears to be empty, just like most of the others we have visited, either they have heard we are coming and have gone into hiding or they are used as summer/holiday homes or even just left empty when people move away for work. This evening we were treated to a wonderful sunset with a brilliant red sky once the sun had fully dipped below the horizon.
We would also like to thank friends, family and neighbours (house and marina) who have left comments and good wishes. We hope the ongoing pictures of us enjoying ourselves doesn't annoy you too much! There doesn't appear to be a method of responding to your comments directly with a reply but will investigate further. Please feel free to ask questions and we will try to answer them with the blog.
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Journey to Cabo Finisterre and the visit
11 Photos
Created 9 September 2019
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The final loading and setting up for the start of the true Adventure
2 Photos
Created 10 August 2019
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