29/05/09 Day 1 Well, 29as the YMC said we did finally get to Horta. By the time we had rafted up (tied up alongside another boat) third boat out from the marina wall on Tuesday, we had more than half the jobs done......fuelled up, gas canisters gone for refilling, rubbish dumped and laundry ready for collection....what very organised crew we were. We went for the celebratory pint and tapas and were ready for bed by 5pm but we revived ourselves with steaming hot showers and went out for that slap-up dinner we'd all been dreaming of. Tom got to have his chicken and chips and over the course of the few days we were in Horta we got to sample lots of delicious food and great wine produced in the Azores. Wednesday was the day for cleaning Severance inside and out and re-provisioning for the last leg of the trip. Then we were ready by lunch time to go to Peter's Cafe Sport to sit and watch disorganisation at its best...order something from the menu and an hour later get something totally different, if at all. We enjoyed the spectacle and surprise so much we went back again the next day!!!! By Thursday we had the few last jobs to do, like up the mast and down the chain locker, normal routine stuff and were finally ready to treat ourselves to a tour around the island,,,,in the lashing rain. So half the crew slept and the other half got to see a lot of mist. We did have a very nice taxi driver who tried to make the tour as informative as possible to make up for the lack of views. It is a beautiful island, the bit we did see, and I believe even more beautiful in July when the hydrangeas bloom and separate the fields with walls of blue. Tradition has it in Horta that you paint your boats name and a picture of your choice on the breakwater wall before you leave. Tom and David prepared the canvas....duct taped off a small space on the wall and painted it blue ready for the winning design. Then last night at dinner we spent lots of time and used many table mats designing what reminder we were going to leave behind of Severance and her crews' voyage in May '09. We had boats, sails, people on the boat, person up the mast ...a marvellous array of art work. Unfortunately, when we got back to the boat it was too late, too dark and too much wine. So if anyone ever gets to Horta check out if our blue patch is still there. This morning we were waking our French neighbours at 8 o'clock to move and let us out, as they had rafted up outside us. And then a quick stop at the fuel dock to fill up the jerry cans before we left .....'And it all went very smoothly', said a surprised YMC. Has he forgotten that he has the Ferrari pit crew on board? So it was goodbye to Tom whose mission is complete on Severance. He is off to more exotic locations so has to get the surf board and board shorts ready. The three of us remaining meanwhile pull on many layers of clothes as we sail into very cold north easterlies. No, we're not going north. We're sailing to Portimao in Portugal. We have just 900 miles left to sail, hope to be there in 6-7 days (for the welcoming party) and hope the weather is a lot warmer than we've had since we arrived in the Azores or we're heading straight back to the Caribbean.

Aisling