Bermuda-Horta 01
08 May 2019 | 32:47N 063:44W
Richard Rowley
47.6nm down 1735 to go
Tuesday 7th May 2019 (local time) Farewell to Bermuda
We have managed to release ourselves from the enticing lure of Burmuda.
We left about noon local time and have been underway for about 9hrs now. and are making progress towards the Port of Horta on the East side of the Island of Faial in the Azores.
The wind has settled down to a steady from a force 5 down to NNNW force 4, 10-15kts and pushing us through the water at 4.5 to 5.5kts on a beam reach. We have just ashty of a knot of fair current under our keel, giving us a speed over ground (SOG) of 5-6kts. We are expecting the wind to diminish a bit move round to the North East by morning, than back again to the NW and probably increase a bit.
We currently have 1 reef in the main, full genoa and staysail. The true wind direction is just abaft the beam but the apparent wind is just forward of the beam enabling us to set the staysail.
The sun set here an hour ago just after 8pm, we have slither crescent relaxing on his back, and a few starts and planets visible in the clear sky above us. There cumulus clouds encircling our path of dark dark blue clear sky, some the clouds starting to form small anvil shapes.
Of to our starboard bow, 2 1/2 miles away I can see dipping below the swell the white stern light of S/Y Emotion our Norwegian friends who are traveling in company with at the moment. I suspect that by morning we will have lost sight of them as they slowly pull away from us, certainly as a lighter more modern boat they will have the advantage as the wind diminishes. We shall try to maintain VHF radio contact with them checking once or twice a day. It is nice to to have the company of another yacht. We first met S/Y Emotion in Figuira De Foz in Portugal whilst we were both making our passage down to Las Palmas for the ARC+, and here we 7 months and 9000nm later sailing ion company with them again as we both venture home.
Bermuda is a fair and pleasant an archipelago of Islands as you ever wish to venture to. It has a lovely climate, and a certain uniqueness that puts it into a class of its own. The islands are very 'British' but in as nice relaxed kind of way. The islanders are casual in a smart kind of way, the islands themselves are neat and ordered but not too fussy nor too relaxed The buildings and house all very neat and well maintained all designed and constructed within the strict purposeful codes of Bermudian Architecture, many dating back 100 years or more, may 200 years, there are few storm damaged house and buildings like we have seen the Caribbean islands, may be these islands have not been so ravaged in the recent past by severe hurricanes, but I know for sure that they get there share of gales and storm force winds. The light in these islands is quite something to behold, the shallow waters that are all around these islands enable the suns rays to reflect the sandy sea bed making the sea many shades of turquoise, pastel shades of blues and greens, which are reflected on to the underside of the white fluffy fair weather clouds above and the cloud street that runs the axis of the islands, together with the sunlight reflecting off the brilliant white of the limewashed stone roofs and the pastel colours of the rendered walls to the houses. it perhaps this light that has inspired so many Bermudian artists to create some of the best art i have seen anywhere. If I had to make my home on any one of the 50 or so islands we have visited so far on this Odyssey I suspect this might be the one. No wonder the early British Settlers wanted to make their home.
'Fayre Wynds and Kynd Seas
Richard and Alison yacht Cerulean of Penryn
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