From the Other Side of the Pond

Bayona, Spain – I am writing from the boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  Our position is 42° 03 N and 18° 20 W (this is read as “latitude 42 degrees 03 minutes November and longitude 18 degrees 20 minutes Whiskey”) it is Day 3 since leaving the island of Terceira in the Azores.  By the time you read this entry we will have already landed in Spain.  We have already sailed 450 nautical miles and are more or less at the midpoint.  We have another 3-4 days to go for a total of 6 days at sea, making it the longest sail for me and the kids.  We have relatively calm seas, very peaceful, no sea sickness.  Begonia is travelling an average speed of 6-7 knots.

We are on the radio twice a day:  at noon with the boat PRATI (the wonderful couple from Spain we met by radio back in Puerto Rico, whom we met in person in the Azores) who we are traveling with and again at 11pm with the Argentinean radio net.  The man who runs the net from Buenos Aires is Alejandro and is a radio-aficionado who provides weather information to sailors out at sea.  There are about 4 or 5 other boats participating at this time, each at various parts of the globe, all Spanish-speakers.  The great thing is that you see/hear people all over sailing and it makes you feel less alone out there in the vastness of the sea.  It is also nice to be travelling in tandem with another boat.  PRATI is actually a very luxurious 50-foot Catana catamaran, which is bigger than some condos I have seen NYC!  Because of its size, it travels much faster than Begonia, so we really are not side by side, but the good thing is that any weather hits them first and by radio we know what to expect.

The sun does not go down until about 9:30/10pm and then it is pitch black.  It is very ominous to be traveling in the pitch black, but inevitably the moon appears at about midnight and lights up the sky.  Because everyone is asleep while we do the night watches, we always wear a life vest and harness when going outside of the cockpit.  If someone were to fall in, the one sleeping would never hear it, so we need to be extra cautious.  Even when we both are awake and the weather is bad, Sebastian always asks me to watch him while he is outside of the cockpit so I can respond quickly if he were to fall.

We have been eating dinner late… around 10pm, we put the kids to bed and do the radio net from 11-11:45. I have been doing the night watches from about midnight to six in the morning.  I then go to sleep until about noon while Sebas takes over the helm.  The night watches are not that bad.  We keep ourselves busy by reading and/or watching movies.  Mostly we are indoors during the watch - since it is colder here -  and will get up every 15-20 to survey the situation outside.  I have calculated that I can read about 12 pages every 15 minutes so that is how I keep track of when to get up and out to the cockpit to take a 360-degree view. Crews do all different types of watch schedules (2 or 3 hours at a time) but we have found it more comfortable for us this way:  sticking it out and doing watches in one big chunk, because this translates into a large chunk of time that to get uninterrupted sleep.  I definitely am more of a night owl than Sebastian, and he is one who likes to sleep early and wake up early, so this schedule works best for us.  I do pretty well staying awake… but if I start dosing off, I just think of all the bills we need to pay back home and the anxiety kicks in and BOOM, I’m awake again!  : )

We have what is called an AIS system that provides information on any other vessel with an AIS transponder.  All international cargo vessels are required to have an AIS system.  The information provided is the name, location, speed and direction of the vessel.  We then call the boats by radio to make sure they see us on their radar and generally ask them to change their course if they are headed directly for us.  This for me – not for Sebastian - is the scariest thing during night watches, as the darkness plays with your eyesight and depth perception.  It is not clear where the horizon is exactly so there have been times where I have mistaken a low hanging star for a boat, or when I see a light that is a boat and I think it is a large cargo vessel off in the distance.  After looking through the binoculars I come to find out it is actually a sailboat, for example, about 5 miles away! 

We enjoy talking with the other vessels by radio… it breaks up the monotony of the watches and is interesting to hear where people are headed.  A typical conversation might start like this:  “Cargo vessel  SAVANNAH, SAVANNAH, SAVANNAH, this is catamaran BEGONIA, BEGONIA, BEGONIA…. We are traveling at 5 knots in the direction of 90 degrees toward Bayona, Spain.  We are 9 miles off your starboard bow.   Can you see us on your radar?”  Sometimes it takes a while for someone to answer, so we repeat this… then once we establish contact we can understand if they have seen us and if they will overtake us by bow or stern, etc.  We have had people asking us questions like where we are from, who is travelling on the boat, how many people, etc.  And we have asked other boats if our radar reflector is working, etc.  Very interesting.

Anyway, before leaving Terceira, we did some major food shopping – the prices here were reasonable, not like in the Caribbean – and I precooked some lentils and rice and stir fry; sliced cheese and fruit and put them in Tupperware so it was ready to eat; and hard boiled some eggs.  This way no one had to cook while travelling…. We simply heat up the food.  I need to take a break here to give my husband some kudos.  The other day he caught two black fin tunas.  Not one, but TWO!  When it rains, it pours!  It was too much fish for us to eat, so we threw one back in the water, seared the other on the spot, and ate it with white rice and wasabi.  Delish!

Black fin tuna, sushi!!

Time of the day with the Argentinian radio net

same size as Begonia

Our own sleeping beauty

Reading time, silence please.

Our own super heroes

Daniel Resnik style!

_________________________________________________

So, by DAY 4 things had changed drastically and I was not able to continue writing en route.  I am now writing from Bayona, Spain where we arrived at 9am on Wednesday, June 28 after 5 days and 22 hours of sailing.  The first half of our trip was “navegar como los caballeros” (sailing like gentlemen)… very smooth, blue skies…  we saw our fair share of dolphins, flying fish, turtles and even two whales!!!  I even cooked a nice chicken soup at sea … but by Sunday the forecast changed for the worst.  We did actually know about this bad weather, and we tried to go as far north as possible to avoid it (up to almost 43 degrees latiude), but we did not make it in time.  Neither did PRATI.  By 3pm Sunday afternoon, we had about 25-30 knots of wind and although the waves were not especially high, they were very erratic and coming from all directions.  I have never experienced anything like his type of weather - it’s the type of weather I often have had nightmares about – but you’d be surprised to know that it really was not that bad. 

Honestly, I was taking my cues from Sebastian and the children and everyone was absolutely fine – a little uncomfortable – but, fine.  I kept asking Sebastian about all the infamous sailing stories I have heard from him throughout the years, “Is this as bad as the weather you had going to Bermuda?”, or “is it as bad as the time you went to Mar del Plata?” … he would always say no.  Later, after we arrived, he did admit that it was pretty bad and very comparable to some of his past experiences I had heard about.  (This reminds me of when I was giving birth to Benjie and pushing for 4 ½ hours.  I kept asking the midwife if this was normal.  She was very cool and would answer, “Oh yes!”  Later though she admitted that I was a record for her, none of her previous clients had pushed more than three hours!)

I realize now that my main fear of a long crossing with bad weather was that the children would be sick or scared and how would we take care of them and the boat at the same time, especially if I got sick too?  But they were the ones who best handled everything.  They continued playing like normal, even jumping up and down with the waves having a ball.  We ended up taking the table down in the main salon, making it into a bed and installing ourselves there – all four of us… à la John Lennon/Yoko Ono!! (Yet with children, of course, in the middle of the sea… and dressed!)

We felt more comfortable having the kids right where we could see them, and felt better to be all together, even if one was awake doing the night watches.  I did not get sick since I am using the trusty patches to avoid sea sickness (thanks to my friend Laura who visited me in Saint Martin and brought about 4 boxes full of these patches); however, once the weather turned bad I was not moving around the boat a lot… I basically stayed on the bed the entire time.  Sebastian had the brunt of the work because he was the one going outside to trim the sail, preparing the little food we ate (this is where the prepared cheese, fruit and boiled eggs came in handy!) and taking care of everything.  He was exhausted when we arrived.

This experience was surprisingly not scary, just uncomfortable.  The waves were breaking right over Begonita, and water seeped through some of the hatches, making the beds and bedding wet (this didn’t matter too much since we were all sleeping together in the salon and not in our beds anyway); no one showered or changed their clothes for the remainder of the trip, we were not eating or drinking well and we were very parched when we arrived.  The salon was damp because even though we had closed all doors and hatches to “seal” us up, water would inevitably get in when we’d open the doors.  Every once in a while you do ask yourself, “Why am I subjecting myself and my family to this?” 

Sebastian is an excellent captain and handled the boat very well under the circumstances.  Rather than run the motor to try to go as fast as possible to get through the squall, which makes the boat pound hard into the waves, Sebastian’s strategy was to trim the sail to slow us down… this meant it would take us a little bit longer, but the ride was much more “comfortable.”  I think deep down there is always the concern that something will break while out at sea, so Sebastian did regular checks on the motor and sail, etc. 

We arrived in Bayona in the morning, with wonderful clear blue skies.  PRATI had arrived earlier than us, at 3am, and once they saw us coming toward them in the harbor, they sounded a horn to welcome us.  What a nice feeling… what wonderful people.  It was a little emotional to have experienced such a situation together.  It makes you feel you can conquer the world.   And I have come to realize that the bad weather is a necessary evil in his type of lifestyle, but the benefits way outweigh the negatives.

About Terceira, Azores:  I do want to add a little note about our time on the island of Terceira that we just left since I was not able to send a posting from there…. In a recent email from my brother Max, he did mention that there is probably a lot going on behind the scenes that is difficult to transmit by blog.  This is true… there is so much to tell, so much detail that I am probably leaving out, which I know our family would like to hear about.  For those of you who don’t want detail can just scroll down to the pictures!!!

Anyway, Terceira means “third” in Portuguese, and I guess after having been the first country to make so many of the discoveries around the world, the Portuguese became lazy with the names.  You guessed it… Terceira was the “third” island they discovered within the archipelago that makes up the Azores, thus the name.  Very creative.  The capital city of Angra do Heroismo where we were docked is a UNESCO world heritage site meaning much of the original colonial architecture and cobblestone streets must be preserved.  Many of the façades were well kempt, painted in various colors, with the typical wrought iron balconies with potted bright red and pink geraniums.

We arrived during the biggest festival of the year, “As Festas Sãojoaninas,” or The Festival of Saint John.  The city comes alive for 10 days, where the streets are covered in lights, there are parades, music in the streets, typical dances performed, booths of typical Azorean food and lots and lots of bulls.  Everything is on European time, meaning that the party gets going very late and goes on and on in the evening.  Many times we would be on the boat trying to sleep and the music would be pounding away until the wee hours.

Every day there was always one of the following three activities related to the bulls going on:

They have a “corrida de touros,” which is your traditional bullfight in a ring… however in Portugal they do not kill the bull like in Spain; they just mercilessly torture it until it is so exhausted that of course the toreador “wins.”  When you really analyze this, you see the bull never had a chance and although we are often made to think the toreador is very brave, everything is done to protect him and not the bull, with other toreadors running into the ring if anything ever got out of control, etc.  What I do like about the bullfight is all the pageantry involved:  the costumes, the music, the trumpets, the horses, the crowds, etc.  Of course a lot of the toreador attitude carries over into flamenco and the toreador many times will turn his back toward the bull and walk away in a very proud manner, with his shoulders back and down and arch his back in a very arrogant way with a shout up to the crowd with his chin up in the air… similar to some of the flamenco poses.  Even though the bulls are not killed, they still are hurt with small daggers… we were all a bit disturbed by this and I don’t think we have to go to another one ever again.

A “tourada à corda” is when the bull is left to run throughout cordoned off areas of the town, but held by a rope by six very strong men.  These men have all have worked up the ranks to have the honor of this position for the festivities.  They are all dressed alike in baggy pants, white shirts, a red scarf and black hat, and hold on for the ride.  The bull then runs after whomever is “brave” (or stupid?) enough to get in its way while the group of men try to hold it back.  There are many people who taunt the bull, run in front of it and then run for their lives when the bull charges, much to the delight of the crowd.  I guess it is the teetering between life and death that makes this an enjoyable event.  We actually saw many stores selling DVDs of scenes from previous festivals where people were mauled by the bulls… very entertaining.

The third bull event is just a “tourada,” which is basically the same as the above, but the bull is left to run free without anyone holding it back.  So, the streets are cordoned off again and most people watch from their geranium-filled balconies everything that goes on down below.  Still there are these “brave” (drunk?) souls who try to run from the bulls and some get very, very hurt. 

Who are we to judge?  These all are centuries-old traditions that he crowds seem to really enjoy!  It just made us all uncomfortable.

Other than the festival, the island of Terceira has much more to offer.  We went to a place called “Salgar do Carvão.”  This is a volcano that exploded hundreds of years ago and left the entire inside hollow.  One is able to climb down into the volcano, literally underground.  Quite amazing and one of our favorite activities.  The kids really enjoyed this and asked many questions, segueing into a great lesson on volcanoes. 

On the other side of the island are groups of volcanic rock jutting out from the ocean creating natural baths that are popular to swim in.  Still quite too cold for us, we just watched as the locals frolicked there in this beautiful natural setting.
So, I feel a little more caught up in our journey… I still have not talked about my stay in Saint Martin with Laura and will try to do so at another time.

NEXT STOP:  For now we will stay in Bayona another day or so, and then on to Vigo… another Galician city.

Downtown Angra do Heroismo (Terceira)

Keep me safe!

San Joanina ornaments



Important people, they forgot us!



The king of the holidays!

Terceira from the hill.

Local people.

Still trying to understand the deal of the bull run on the street

Place to see bull abuse

The abuser

The abuser and the victim

Not even close to Karlita's style.

New friends, good friends!

Terceira's country side

Algar do Carvao with Carlos and Malena

More volcano.

Volcano experts!

Empty volcano, out of this world.

Do we look good?

North coast of Terceira

Begonia's princess

Before the abuse

Scroll down left panel to see prior postings!

FOUNTAINE PAJOT ATHENA 38 CATAMARAN FOR SALE – After our wonderful experience, BEGONIA is ready for its next sailing family – with or without children!  Please contact sebastiankoziura@hotmail.com for more information.

REUNITED!

Horta, Faial, Azores – From white sand beaches to black volcanic rock; from warm, crystalline waters to deep dark blue cold waters; from sundresses and sandals to long pants, shoes and socks…. we have all finally arrived in this beautiful archipelago of the Azores!  After a long voyage for Sebastian by boat, and me with the kids from Saint Martin we are finally together again.

There are nine total islands, and the island of Faial, where Horta is the main city and has the only marina on the island, is where the majority of sailors first make landfall.  The islands are an autonomous territory of Portugal, so Portuguese is the language spoken here.  Faial is not the biggest of the Azores, but is one of the most western ones where Sebastian and crew arrived a week ago.  This is a frequent stopover for boats crossing the Atlantic since the Azores are located about ¾ of the way across the Atlantic en route to Europe, from the Caribbean or from Bermuda.   The month of May is the “weather window” when most boats leave the Americas, so by June of every year, Horta is packed.  We are now about 3-4 boats thick across the marina wall, making for a very social environment, as we have to climb over all the boats tied up beside us to get to the dock.  Many of these sailors also passed through Bermuda, like Sebas, so it is yet another place for everyone to reunite, compare notes and anecdotes. 

The islands are volcanic making for very interesting landscape of high mountain peaks offset by green hills full of cattle and goats.  The Portuguese are well known for their dairy prowess, so we have been enjoying many local cheeses and milk.  The Azoreans specifically are known for their whale-fishing prowess, and although whale fishing has been banned for a couple of decades now, Horta at least, is very focused on the whaling culture, with a museum dedicated to the industry as well as various scrimshaw (the art of carving and painting designs onto whales’ teeth) shops around town.

The first day we arrived, we went to the whaling museum (= “school field trip” for the kids!) where we learned about how whaling was done here throughout the centuries.  There actually was a man here in Horta whose sole job was to climb up onto a hilltop, where he had a chair and a pair of binoculars - and a telephone!-  to watch for whales all day.  If he saw one, he would use that phone and call another guy down in the village, who would then set off a rocket/firecracker to alert all whale-fishers that a whale had been sighted and to run to the marina with their wooden boat to catch it. Since whales were not spotted every day, these fishermen held other jobs but would be allowed to leave them to catch whales when necessary.  The fishermen would use small wooden boats which they would row out toward the whale: no motors so as not to scare the whale away!  Each of the 8 or so crew had a very specific job: one was to place the rope of the spear into a very neat spiral (if not, the rope could knot up or catch itself on something which would ruin the catch), another’s role was to spear the whale, etc.  It is amazing when you compare the sizes, that a man with a spear and a wooden boat could actually kill a beast of this size.  And, it is difficult to believe that this tradition had been practiced in this archaic fashion (except for the telephone of course!), exactly how I am relating it to you now, up until about 25 years ago.

The kids enjoyed this whaling “lesson” but we swear Sofia is going to end up as president of Green Peace or something after this trip (she could not stand to see the pictures of the whales actually getting killed).  On the bright side, this experience inspired her to rewrite the story of Hermann Melville’s “Moby Dick.”  But instead of about Ishmael, her story is about Ishmael  - and Max (after her uncle, my brother) and how they both got stuck in the whale’s mouth, and then somehow Moby Dick morphs into Dumbo…. That’s my girl - very creative!

Now our life aboard has a very different focus.  Many sailors who have done this trip have told us the Caribbean is more about sailing and frolicking in the water, whereas from the Azores on, the trip is more about wearing real clothes and sightseeing.  The cold and the rain here is a welcomed change from the life we have lived for the past six months, but it also has made a little less motivated to get right up and at ‘em in the morning and get outside.  This is fine since the kids and I are basically moving back into the boat after the five weeks in Saint Martin; so we have been pulling out all the homeschooling books again and now getting out all the colder weather clothes, reorganizing, etc.  We are also still on the Americas time zone (Kimberly, my sister-in-law, will get a kick out of this!), so we are all going to sleep after midnight and not waking up until after 9am!  It really doesn’t get dark until 9:30/10pm so we are really off.

I keep saying that he world is getting smaller… Sebastian actually ran into a guy he knows from the sailing community in Argentina and they spent the afternoon today drinking “mate” and catching up on old times.  We also finally met, in person, the people from the boat PRATI who are originally from Spain and have been participating in the same daily radio net we participate in also.  We felt like we already knew then since we have been communicating with them since back in Puerto Rico... and ran into them here.

Our proposed itinerary may be changing from here on out in the big picture, and it is not clear exactly where we will be and when.  In talking with sailors here, many of whom have done his trip before, some say the Mediterranean (or “The Med” as they all refer to it), is extremely expensive for sailors with some marinas charging 300s euro per night especially in the summer months, and others say not to worry that there are many anchorages available for free where one can go.  In order to avoid the Med, a thought was to spend our time on the west coast of Africa.  But again, you find people who say it’s too dangerous and poor, and others who say it’s not dangerous at all, in fact it’s beautiful and very inexpensive.  So we have a lot of researching and planning to do….

What we do know for a fact is that we will wait here in Horta to meet up with Aurora, the Argentinean woman travelling solo, who is to arrive on Tuesday.  Then to spend time around other island of the Azores for the next two weeks or so, and then onto the mainland, to Galicia, Spain, with the idea to head south down the Portuguese Coast from there.

That’s all folks!

Aerial view of the town and marina of Horta on Faial Island in the Azores.

Que tul, Begonita!

The traditional paintings of sailors from all over the world who have passed through this Mid-Atlantic port.  The boaters paint directly on the walls and floor of the marina boardwalk.

Horta Marina with Pico mountain, of Pico Island, in the background.  This is the highest point of all the Portuguese territories.

Busy marina with boats tied up 3-4 in a row.

Horta street scene.

Another view of the town.

The beginnings of a masterpiece.

Who would have thought?  Little Sofia in the middle of the Atlantic! 

Work in Progress.

Ta-da-da!  Couldn't be left behind... had to leave our mark.

Welcoming Aurora, first Argentinean woman to cross the Atlantic solo!
By the way, she proudly states her age of 66! Unbelieveable! Only a few more nautical miles to go and she will reach her goal to arrive in Portugal.

Ready to dock after 22 days at sea from Bermuda.

Part of the welcoming committee.

Helping Aurora clean and dry out her cabin cushions on Begonia.... everything gets salty and damp during a long passage.  Aurora is tied up next to us in the marina.

Is that Henry the Navigator!?

Sebastian and Enrique Celesias, a sailing friend from back home.

The kids get creative with their cabin spaces!

Scroll down left panel to see prior postings!

FOUNTAINE PAJOT ATHENA 38 CATAMARAN FOR SALE – After our wonderful experience, BEGONIA is ready for its next sailing family – with or without children!  Please contact sebastiankoziura@hotmail.com for more information.

CRUCE DEL ATLANTICO

Horta, Faial, Azores

CRUCE DEL ATLANTICO

Hola todos nuevamente, hace rato que no escribo, con lo cual hay un monton de historias para contar.  Tratare de acordarme de casi todas. Empezare con el cruce del Atlantico, saliendo desde St. Martin.

Tuvimos la visita de Pablo Nepo y su familia, ellos alquilaron un dpto. en Oyster Pond, que queda en la costa este de la isla justo en la frontera entre el lado Frances y el Holandes. El lugar muy lindo, el complejo donde se estaban quedando tambien, y la combinacion entre tener casa y barco es perfecta, especialmente teniendo dos familias con hijos de estas edades.

Hicimos un monton de asados (Pablo los hizo, la gente que me conoce sabe de mis hablidades culinarias) nadamos en la pileta, caminamos mucho con los ninios, salimos con el barco para hacer snorkeling, pescamos, para resumir, pasamos unos muy lindos dias con Pablo, Nicole, Lucas y Sebastian. Ni hablar de lo bien que se llevaron los chicos y todo lo que jugaron.  

Aprovechamos la ayuda de Pablito y Nicole, para dejar los chicos y buscar una vivienda para Karlita y los chicos para su estadia en la isla mientras yo cruzaba. Fue bastante facil a pesar de nuestra falta de idioma, ya que Karlita se queria quedar en el lado Frances y mandar los ninios a la escuela por un mes.

Despues de cinco dias, llegaron JC Lamas y Daniel Resnik, que se sumarian a la tripulacion para el cruce. Tambien pasamos muy lindos dias, muy lindo estar con amigos de tantos anios, despues de tanto tiempo y ponernos al dia con las historias de nuestras vidas.

Despues de algunos dias llego el resto de la tripulacion, Lula Meani y Malena Mieres, las dos argentinas tambien, y de los pagos de Puerto Madryn.

Empezamos a planear el viaje, la comida, el agua, combustible, roles para la travesia y a preparar el barco para tantos dias de mar. Hicimos varios viajes al super, casas de nautica, estacion de servicio, etc.

Que caro que es todo aca en las islas!!! Por eso dicen que navegar es para la gente que tiene dinero, no como nosotros!!!

Salimos el 06 de mayo, en la maniana, con un dia de sol barbaro, con viento del cuadrante perfecto y con muchas ganas de ver esto del cruce del Atlantico, que tanto lei, y tantas ganas tenia de hacer.  Como augurio de buen viaje pescamos un Mahi-mahi (dorado) el cual JC se declaro jefe de la operacion y ningunos de nosotros nos atrevimos a discutir la estrategia.  Los que han pescado con JC saben de lo que hablo.  Cocinamos en la parrilla y disfrutamos  de una cena con uno de los pescados mas ricos que he comido.

Los dias pasaban, las guardias se sucedian y el clima acompaniandonos, prometia ser un cruce muy facil, seco y sin novedades.  La gente que navega sabe este sentimiento, y tambien sabe que es lo que viene despues de sentir esto. Yo tambien lo se, con lo cual estaba esperando que empiece el ventilador, y de proa como no podia ser de otra manera.  Por fin el viento llego, de PROA y entre los 25 y 30 nudos.

Estabamos a unos 350 millas de Bermuda y a unas 1800 de Azores.  Momento de tomar una decision, y de donde ir, con unos de los tripulantes no en servicio para decirlo de una manera, la decision fue mas facil y pusimos la proa hacia el norte para llegar a Bermuda en los proximos tres dias.

Navegacion incomoda, el barco humedeciendose cada vez mas, la comida siendo cada vez mas basica y la vida a bordo reducida a la cabina principal, estabamos bastante ansiosos de llegar a St. Georges, el Puerto de entrada de la isla de Bermuda.

Llegamos a Bermuda el dia 13 de mayo despues de 6 dias y medio, entramos en la madrugada , hicimos los papeles, que las autoridades nos convencieron que era barbaro hacerlo apenas uno llega en vez de tirar el ancla, descansar , y al otro dia ir a migraciones y aduana.  Creo que casi me tienen convencido que es una muy buena idea.

Al otro dia limpiamos todo el barco, secamos todo lo mojado (que parece ser un ritual de entrada a puerto) armamos el bote y nos fuimos a conocer esta maravilla de isla, tan distinta a todo lo que hemos visto en el caribe hasta ahora. 

A los pocos dias de pasear, conocer y charlar con otras tripulaciones, llego nuestra amiga Aurora en su barco SHIPPING, que habia salido de St. Martin unos dias antes que nosotros y que a esta altura pensabamos que habia cambiado de idea y habia ido directo a Azores en vez de parar en Bermuda. En el muelle estaban esperando un grupo de Argentinos que viven en la isla y que estaban en contacto con Aurora por satelital. Entre ellos Roberta y su marido y Sebastian, que nos cocino uno de los asados mas ricos que hemos comido con molleja y todo!Pasamos unos dias muy lindos con toda esta gente, nos llevaron por todos lados y la ventaja de pasear con “locales” y gente que sabe donde ir.

Despues de algunos dias , JC y Dani decidieron que no tenian tiempo suficiente para el resto del viaje, y compraron pasajes para volver a Argentina, lo cual sin VISA para EEUU o Canada la unica manera de salir de esta isla, es a travez de Europa, que mirando el mapa ya se imaginaran el precio de los pasajes. Pero bueno con tal de navegar uno gasta la que no tiene!!!

Zarpamos de Bermuda el dia 19 de mayo, con Lula y Malena solamente con una linda brisa del SW y haciendo un monton de millas en los primeros dias. Salimos con unos cinco barcos todos juntos, mirandonos las caras, y en el termino de 12 horas estabamos solos en el medio del Atlantico sin ver a nadie y ni siquiera con alcance de VHF.

Este parrafo se lo voy a dedicar a Alejandro, de la rueda Argentina de BLU. Alejandro brinda un servicio se pronostico y apollo a los navegantes que no tiene precio. La buena onda de esta persona que algun dia me gustaria conocer, es dificil de explicar. El estuvo ahi cada noche durante los 14 dias del viaje, dandonos todo tipo de informacion, desde clima, viento, hasta info de puertos y procedimento de entrada a Puerto. Tambien conocimos otra gente a travez de la rueda, que nos encontramos en Horta cuando arrivamos. GRACIAS ALE!!!

El cruce fue sin novedad, el barco se porto muy bien, con problemitas menores que fui arreglando a medida que pasaban ( filtros, battens, etc.) La comida estuvo muy bien, y los calculos funcionaron. Tuvimos comida fresca y fruta hasta un dia antes de entrar a Puerto. El resto muy bien, pudimos baniarnos con agua caliente cada dos dias lo cual es un lujo para mi, despues de navegar en barcos por 10 dias sin ningun tipo de hygiene personal, el famoso olor a OSO!!!

Arribamos a Horta en la Isla de Faial, depues de 13 dias y 16 horas. Llegamos a las 6 de la maniana, atracamos en el muelle de recepcion junto con barcos que conocimos en Bermuda, barcos que habian salido un dia antes que nosotros!

Fui a un internet café, hable con Karlita, planeamos su  viaje en avion que no es directo ni barato, y me relaje sabiendo que llegaban en los proximos dias. Proximo plan, limpiar, limpiar y limpiar…

  

Pablito y JC navegando en St. Martin despues de 15 anios

Que junta!!!

Cena en St. Martin noche de despedida

Toda la tripulacion del "Begonia"

Vida dura en el atlantico norte

Jefe de pesca y su trofeo

JC me deja tenerlo para la foto!

Mar para valientes unicamente

Nuestro proximo barco

Sebastian, pero este sabe hacer asado!

Cena en la casa de Rberta y Peter, con Aurora.

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FOUNTAINE PAJOT ATHENA 38 CATAMARAN FOR SALE – After our wonderful experience, BEGONIA is ready for its next sailing family – with or without children!  Please contact sebastiankoziura@hotmail.com for more information.

Au Revoir Saint Martin, Bom Dia Horta!

Baie Nettle, Marigot, Saint Martin - No chance to write a long blog entry... the latest is that Sebastian arrived in Horta, Azores on Thursday.  Since we now know that he's arrived, I booked my ticket for the kids and me to travel to Horta o meet him there.  We are leaving this Sunday, one week earlier than planned.  We are in overdrive cleaning and packing.  It's amazing what one can accumulate in a 5-week period!  Will write more from Horta, but we had a fantastic time here in Saint Martin and will miss all our friends.  Great memories.

Scroll down left panel to see prior postings!

FOUNTAINE PAJOT ATHENA 38 CATAMARAN FOR SALE – After our wonderful experience, BEGONIA is ready for its next sailing family – with or without children!  Please contact sebastiankoziura@hotmail.com for more information.