So it was a grand farewell to the Azores here in sunny Santa Maria.
After cruising through the islands the past 10-12 days crews have been
overwhelmed by the hospitality of all the islands but it really shines
through here. With a population of just 5,500 the people are so
welcoming and generous and last night's farewell supper hosted by the
Portos dos Acores was no exception.
The local motorcycle club put on the pig roast which was enough to
feed everyone twice over. Thick slices of pork served on a chunk of
locally made bread it was definately a 'man-wich' and the buffet was
also laid out with local cheeses, sausages, desserts, wine and the
'boga' - probably the most powerful drink in the Azores!
Thanking
all the participants for staying longer in the Azores than the average
yachtsman crossing the atlantic Filipe Macedo, Director at the Portos dos Acores, hoped that
crews enjoyed their time in all of the islands and ask that they spread
the good word about the Azores aswell as return themselves one day. In response Event Manager Lyall Burgess
thanked all of the marina managers for a fantastic cruise but with
particular thanks to Nuno Barata from Marina Ponta Delgada and Armando
Soares from here at Marina Vila do Porto.
Aswell as promising to
bring more ARC Europe yachts in future years by way of a big cheer all
the crews agreed that we should also spend more time here with extra days added to the programme. The idea of
an ARC Azores rally was touted aswell, with a nice ring to it's name it
also seemed to be a popular idea... Each skipper was called up to
receive a small memento from the local artisans followed by a show from
the folklore dancing group who in the end had nearly everyone up for a
dance donning various items of headware.
Earlier in the day
there was a half day coach tour of the island which among other places
went to the very top of the island. At 510m Pico Alto is quite small
compared to the other islands but stood amongst the radio masts and
antennas you can still see the whole of the island. Low in profile this
island is the driest and warmest and has a lot of vineyards terraced
into the steep hillsides.
The festivities continued this
morning with a local band playing to the boats as they slipped lines
from the docks to take the start at noon. Light winds meant the
downwind start wasn't as spectacular as others have been but it wasn't
long before the rally VHF channel was full of activity. From thank yous
to the marina team on the committee vessel and Tosca trying to identify
Webster among the spinakers to chase them down, there were even songs coming
through in French, Dutch, Finish and Norwegian! This meant that at
least one square could be ticked off from the Defyr crossing bingo game
and with an apparent splosh and announcement that Igor had been thrown
overboard Webster called out BINGO ticking off another square!
It has really been a pleasure to see the crews enjoy these wonderful islands, many of them have plans to return and Kalimba is even staying here for 1 year! A huge thank you to everyone that has made the Azores Cruise so special, we look forward to returning next year and in the mean time fair winds to the yachts heading to Lagos and also to those yachts bound for other northern european ports.