Oh what a night! The welcome reception and
prizegiving for leg 2 (Bermuda to Azores) has just drawn to a close and
it has been great evening. In fact for the majority of the crew it has
been a great afternoon aswell, taking part in the bus tour of the island
of Faial and seeing all of the sights on what has been another
beautiful day in the Azores. The Azores high seems to have planted itself on top of Faial and has been stationary for the past 2 days and will be here until Tuesday/Wednesday. This means sunny days and hot temperatures, but little wind for the late arrivals and the day sail to the next island of Terceira tomorrow.
The great weather has meant some crews have been easily able to climb to the top of nearby Pico island, the 4 hour return walk is pretty steep but offers fantastic views from the summit at 2,351m. Here on Faial the coach tour went to the Caldiera at the top of the island, which is a huge crater that opens up like something from Jurassic Park - Aurora NZ thought they spotted a pterodacty flying below! The tour then took crews around the north coast of the island to the prizegiving which was again held at the unique Capelinhos museum, an interpretive centre at the sight of the most recent volcanic eruption in 1957.
Almost like a James Bond villain's lair the museum is located underground and is a surprise after walking across black lava that is just 50 years old! Welcome drinks of Pico island wine were served and a buffet of regional dishes from cheeses and sausages to seafood and desserts. We were hosted by the Azores Tourist Board and invited guests from the City Hall and Horta Port Authority. Each yacht received an ARC Europe 2014 memento plaque and crews updated on the plans for all the boats. The Azores Cruise gives yachts the opportunity to sail to 3 other islands after Faial, however it is inevitable that some repairs must be completed after the difficul long leg from bermuda and also some crews are keen to stay longer in Horta and all the islands - the crew from Kalimba for example are planning to stay 1 year!
An update was given on those yachts still at sea, Athenea, Andromeda of Plymouth, Anna Sophia and Persistent Lady with their ETA's here in the islands, hopefully we can see many of them again in another island. It was also great to look back on the start in Bermuda and thanks to the guys at Bermuda Aerial Media there is a short video which highlights the start through the Town Cut, click here to view.
Leg 2 will be remembered for the missing yacht Cheeki Rafiki and particular mention was given for the efforts of all the rally boats that detoured to sail through the search area; with particular thanks to the crews of Malisi, Gertha 4 and Kalimba. Glasses were raised in memory of the Cheeki Rafiki and her 4 crew members Andrew Bridge, 22, Steve Warren, 52, Paul Goslin, 56 and Jame Male, 23.
Results for the leg can be viewed by clicking here
Tomorrow sees the departure of the majority of the fleet for a day sail to Terceira, the port of Angra do Heroismo. Horta is a beautiful landfall to make after sailing across the north atlantic but there are more of these Azorean islands to see...