There are always fixes to be made on the go. This tale takes the biscuit though. Now, for some unknown reason, the compass light failed, and after some testing, it turns out it was the bulb. A tiny LED bulb that you wouldn’t really think to take as a spare. So here’s creativity.

On a trip to the supermarket in Horta, our skipper decided he’d like a kid’s remote-control car. He took great pleasure driving it along the promenade, making young girls giggle and young boys envious. He drove it to the restaurant and back in the dark, weaving around the parked cars and even driving underneath vehicles waiting at junctions. We all watched its cheeky flashing lights buzzing around the port. When it came to ‘where can we find a red LED bulb,’ it didn’t take our lateral-thinking skipper long to go with a screwdriver to his little car. Some snipping and a little soldering and job done. An LED transplant from car to steering compass.

I guess it’s not too ‘Atlantic Crossing’ related, but it’s hard to pass by Horta and Faial Island. We had some fixes to do on the boat and had six days there. In the town, Peter’s Bar is buzzing all day and is good for beer, dinner, and breakfast. U Bar was cool too, with a view of the marina and had some evenings where the music and mix of customers just gelled and made for a great evening of dancing, chat, and general fun. Even the laundry ladies warmed to us catching up on all our washing. A shout out for Mid Atlantic Yachting Services and Good@Wood Shipwrights who each were massively helpful in sorting out our issues.

Now, the coolest thing we did was rent scooters for a few days. We managed to take a trip up to the volcanic crater and make a circumnavigation of the island on land. It was a stunning trip with amazing coastal features and fascinating volcanic stuff. A lovely island with welcoming grounded folk, not to mention great food.

From Horta, we managed to find wind on or aft of our beam that we had been longing for, but it brought its own challenges. To have wind that shifts you along at a good pace generally comes with ‘lumps’ – yes, waves. And these waves follow you, so steering becomes a small battle to hold a course with every wave trying to swing the boat off to one side or the other.

Now, as far as catching some wildlife to eat, one of our number worked tirelessly with line and lures from Antigua to Azores and caught a grand total of zero fish unless you count numerous flying fish that volunteered, landing in various places on the deck. One actually flew down the companionway and skidded under the saloon furniture, only to be found a few days later when a few with superior olfactory equipment were convinced there was something fishy going on! However, from Azores to Mallorca, minus our intrepid fisherman who left the boat in Horta and turned street artist, we caught two very decent tuna and fed on them for a few days.

The flying fishy culprit above was probably discovered when the ‘watch’ was performing its domestic duties. Both of the day watches (the six-hour ones) carried duties. The morning watch performs the daily rig check; cleaning the heads; hosing of the cockpit, and then prepare the end of watch lunch. The afternoon watch washes the lunch dishes and pots; cleans the galley and saloon; performs the fruit and egg check (turning both as necessary), and finally prepares the evening meal. With the inspired rolling watch system, so the duties roll too, and nobody is stuck with the same jobs all the time. So good for everyone to know that heads and communal spaces will always be clean (or nearly). As everything is done daily, tasks aren’t too onerous as they are already nearly clean. It really works and is a big part of ensuring all the crew are happy and ‘getting on’. Granted, there are those with extra culinary skills and creativity, so some meals were better than others. Bit like normal life, I suppose.

/Brian Deacon – Surya Noctis First Mate, Second Star Sailing cruising and powerboat Instructor/