Faial, The Azores

Approaching Faial

The overnight passage to Horta, Faial passed without incident. We motor sailed all the way in fairly calm conditions. The dolphins came quite early on and we wondered if the weather would change. It didn’t. We overtook a yacht and saw two more, all going in our direction. Another yacht surprised me by coming from the NE, crossing my bows and heading towards Bermuda. Two ships passed us just over a mile away. The AIS picked them up. I put the radar on to see how close the yacht was when it passed in front of me. It was only half a mile away. These are busy waters at this time of year.

The impressive Town Hall, Horta

We tied to the Reception/fuel berth at Horta at 2.30pm on Sunday 15^th June. All the officials work daily at this time of year, usually 8.00am t0 8.00pm, so there are no overtime fees. We filled up with diesel (132 litres cost 168 euros), checked in with the port captain and immigration and were allocated berth 13 in the north basin. It was raining as we tied up, but hot showers were not far away for 2 euros including a towel and soap.

Horta

The next day, Monday, we went straight to the dentist’s and Jeremy was told to come back at 7.00pm. There was a lot to do and the time passed quickly. The dentist was a sailor and he spoke good English. He told Jeremy he did not have an abscess; he had an infection in his jaw which should be cleared up with the antibiotics. He would need 6 weeks of treatment, preferably with one dentist, and he should wait until he’s back in the UK. Further antibiotics were prescribed in case the infection comes back. Then the dentist showed him UTube clips of his boat when he was racing, his house and his four by four.

Weigh that!

We found out from our bus timetable, obtained from the helpful Tourist Information Office, that there was a bus that went around the island. The journey took about two and a half hours and cost 6 euros each. It was well worth it and we had a good overview of Faial. We had beers in the famous Peter’s Cafe on our return.

Birds eye view of Horta harbour

Horta was a great place to have laundry done, gas bottles filled, meet sailing friends, provision, clean and repair. Our berth cost 12 euros per night including electricity and water. We met Geoff and Nikki from the Westerly, Spirit of Penmar and Carol and Anton from Shayelle. The last time we saw Anton was in Thailand in 2012. We tried to buy a second hand Navtex, but the seller did not turn up or contact us, so that was not to be.

The dormant volcano on Pico, just a few miles away

 We left the marina on Thursday 19^th June and set sail for Lajes, Pico, 25 miles away.