4 days 15 hours and approximately 700m from Porto. An average speed of 6 knots. Very happy with that.
A successful passage, with an inauspicious start a great middle and pants to conclude. We left Porto at 07:00 on Thursday morning in the pouring rain. It was as cold as we’ve known it on this trip, which meant T-shirts and jacket!
All Orca avoidance measures deployed.
Unfortunately the waterproof fire crackers had sold out to previous sailors!
On the evening before our departure we enjoyed meeting Pete’s sister, brother in law and friends who by coincidence were holidaying in Porto. We then had the obligatory Sandeman’s cocktail and off to bed for an early night.
Day 1
We had good winds in the right direction and at a good force allowing us to make good progress, which with every mile eased our concerns over Orcas. The boat 3 along from us in Porto had been hit twice in two separate months each requiring repairs. On the first, they continued their attack whilst the boat was being towed by the Salvamentos! It appears that the frequency and severity of the attacks has finally led the authorities to consider tagging the whales and giving shipping warnings. At last!
Day 2
Still no wind. We have entered the eastern edge of the Azores high pressure system, which should give us good winds, if it moves further east. We have 365 l of diesel. Enough to drive about 350 miles so we need to be able to sail. It’s an unusual experience for most sailors to set off with the knowledge that they cannot motor home if anything goes wrong, and the mid way point takes on more poignancy.
Day 3
Still no wind!
Eventually at 10 am we had 10 knots at the stern so we deployed our new sail – The Blue Water Runner.
The sail pulls out on a roller from the bottom to the top on both sides so when the wind is from the back we get pushed along. This was the first time we have used the sail, so it took us 6 attempts to get the lines right. Each sail is supported by a boom or whisper pole, each of which needs to be supported.
Interestingly Pete’s wife Wendy made contact to see why we had completely stopped – not knowing it had taken us so long to figure out. As with all long distance sailing an enormous amount of care is needed to ensure that there is no chafe or rubbing of lines, poles or sails as it takes very little time to wear through and result in breakage, which may or may not be capable of repair under way. The winds eventually picked up and we put the main and Genoa out for a beam reach over night.
Day 4
We had some lighter winds on sunrise so ran with the Blue Water Runner for another 8 hours making good progress.
We made such good way that we reached the point that if the winds died and didn’t come back, we could motor to our destination.
One of Peter’s daily tasks is engine maintenance. Checking oil levels and pressure. Checking coolant and gearbox oil levels, belt tension and for leaks. Today, after an alarm occasionally appearing suggesting that a battery fault exists I finally RTFM – boating shorthand for read the manual! This suggested that the alternator was not charging the engine battery fully, so we tightened both belts. Carioca is fitted with two separate alternators to provide redundancy.
Day 5
Paul captured the mood when he expressed suprise at his friends who asked rather incredulously whether he wouldn’t be bored on such a long passage and we all looked at one another and agreed we couldn’t understand them! None of us have been bored at all. We’ve been busy with our watches, two hours on six off, boat jobs, fishing, cooking, cleaning reading chatting and generally loving being offshore.
The last few hours. So we set our minds to planning our next few meals!
So chef has decided fillets for dinner, and the balance to a fish curry!
So Pete thought he should help him/ her out!
We’re off for a beer. Then a long sleep!
Carioca Sailing 
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