With the first arrival expected here very soon in Horta, Jake the yellowshirt has been posted lookout on the Western tip of the island of Faial. With the Azores "double" high having settled in over the islands conditions at sea look very calm with light breezes. For the crews that are enjoying too much downtime conditions should fill in from Tuesday onwards and speed up the last few hundred miles to land - and all the trappings it has to offer!
The Leopard 48 'Dala' is due to arrive at 7pm local time today and be the first ARC Europe yacht to make landfall in Horta. Albert in his blog earlier today wrote that "With under 100 miles to go this may be their last message from sea...But the end is never the end. It is the beginning of something else. In
the near term, it will be the discovery of the Azores Islands and the
next and last leg to Portugal."
The Azores Islands are certainly here to be discovered and rally participants are often pleasantly surprised by their beauty, the friendliness of the people and the slightly cooler temperatures. Often the first port of call, once entry formalities have been completed, is Peter Cafe Sport an iconic place for any sailor to visit day or night.
There is a busy programme of events here in Horta aswell as the Azores Cruise itself which means crews spend longer than the average mid-atlantic stopover. The islands of Pico is just a 20 minute ferry ride from here and then the Cruise takes in the islands of Terceira, Sao Miguel and Santa Maria - all very different, as each islander will let you know. It is a friendly rivalry that sees each island claim that theirs is the best!