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Arcarius of Plymouth - Arcarius. Spoken to soon!!!!



"Spoken too soon"

Why did I end the last blog with the immortal words "It was good to be at sea again"?

Ponta del Garda, on San Miguel, The Azores largest Island. A beautiful, green place where the winds howl and yachts cling tightly to the pontoon, sailors wrap their oilies around them and then seek refuge in a tot or two of warming rum.

The tired cold sailors, arriving that morning toured the Island, on a coach, learning the farming techniques of the area, pineapple growing in greenhouses and dairy farming for the export of powdered milk. Some learnt more on this trip than others, the rolling of the coach around the hairpin bends sent some tired sailors off to sleep.

Rested, Arcarius welcomed on board for pre-dinner drinks, very thirsty crews from Shenanigan, Webster, Jonny and Lyle from the ARC and the poor electrian who was mending the sat phone. Another casualty of the Atlantic crossing. The 151% rum quickly took its toll and dinner had to be considered before we all slipped unceremoniously into the harbour.

Skipper decided an early departure for the next Island was important, we rose early slipped the lines and motored into the harbour. The smell of burning seeped through the boat and sent the crew on a sniffing mission to try to find the source. With no success and believing it could be the engine, skip switched it off and also went below to investigate. A large ship then entered the harbour!!!!!!! Oh shoot. The foresail was swiftly hoisted to allow us to steer Arcarius to safety.

Da da da................ Morning Haze to the rescue, we threw, the gallant, Morning Haze a line, skilfully they very kindly interrupted their departure to tow us safely back to the pontoon. Well done and a very big thank you to all who helped to rescue us. Love you all xxx

Now three very sad faces sit on iPads in the harbour side cafe using their wifi, and still we wait............. It's bank holiday Monday and we still can't leave. The last party in Portugal is looking more unlikely, we will not be able to say farewell to our new friends and awesome sailors. Our new starter motor is in Lisbon, the Scare-Pirates charms having failed on the engineer and still we wait."...............



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