Location: s/v Liberty, port of Horta, Faial, Azores
Position: 38 32.039 N 028 37.525 W
We had a nice, uneventful overnight sail from Flores to Faial and the port city of Horta. We've been here for just under a week and will leave for the island of Terciera tomorrow morning.
We just heard yesterday that, despite the cruising season being only a couple of months long here, Horta is one of the busiest yachting centers in the world. Seeing the number of boats that arrive and leave every day, we can believe it. It's a primary destination for West-to-East Atlantic crossings, and is also a very popular sailing destination for Europeans on vacation. When we first pulled in here we saw a boat we know from Deltaville! Unfortunately, they left before we had a chance to stop by and say hello.
Always on the lookout for new ideas, we've enjoyed walking the docks and looking at how other ocean cruising boats are set up. Invariably, we've been met with cheerful good will whenever we've knocked on a stranger's boat to ask questions. Most of the cruisers seem to speak at least some English, and we've met several very helpful folk who have given us some great ideas and even tipped us off to some local knowledge we hadn't heard yet.
Horta is quite different from Lajes, although still not as metropolitan as one might expect from reading the tourist guides. We had expected it to be quite touristy and were surprised that there were hardly any souvenir shops. Most of the businesses we've found so far occupy a single street, a block back from the sea. The sea front is mainly houses with a wide cobbled promenade.
We had to get a slip at the city marina because anchoring out is not allowed unless the marina is full. The harbor is fairly small so that is understandable. We're rafted up 4 deep (that means there are three other boats between us and the bulkhead and we have to cross all of them to get ashore). On the one hand it's a bit of a pain to have to walk across the other boats, but on the other hand, we don't have a bunch of strangers walking across our boat, either.
We had a nice walk yesterday. All the way around the harbor and then around a spit of land to a lovely beach and some old fortresses and an old whale processing works built into a cliff. We then walked back through the back streets of Horta.
There's a well-known international sailor's hang out named "Peter Cafe Sport" that's been in business here since the early 1900s. Some of the most famous boats in cruising history have stopped there and left a burgee or an ensign or some kind of memento tacked to the walls or ceiling. Of course we had to go and have a few drinks while checking out the decorations, an added bonus being free wireless internet access.
Position: 38 32.039 N 028 37.525 W
We had a nice, uneventful overnight sail from Flores to Faial and the port city of Horta. We've been here for just under a week and will leave for the island of Terciera tomorrow morning.
We just heard yesterday that, despite the cruising season being only a couple of months long here, Horta is one of the busiest yachting centers in the world. Seeing the number of boats that arrive and leave every day, we can believe it. It's a primary destination for West-to-East Atlantic crossings, and is also a very popular sailing destination for Europeans on vacation. When we first pulled in here we saw a boat we know from Deltaville! Unfortunately, they left before we had a chance to stop by and say hello.
Always on the lookout for new ideas, we've enjoyed walking the docks and looking at how other ocean cruising boats are set up. Invariably, we've been met with cheerful good will whenever we've knocked on a stranger's boat to ask questions. Most of the cruisers seem to speak at least some English, and we've met several very helpful folk who have given us some great ideas and even tipped us off to some local knowledge we hadn't heard yet.
Horta is quite different from Lajes, although still not as metropolitan as one might expect from reading the tourist guides. We had expected it to be quite touristy and were surprised that there were hardly any souvenir shops. Most of the businesses we've found so far occupy a single street, a block back from the sea. The sea front is mainly houses with a wide cobbled promenade.
We had to get a slip at the city marina because anchoring out is not allowed unless the marina is full. The harbor is fairly small so that is understandable. We're rafted up 4 deep (that means there are three other boats between us and the bulkhead and we have to cross all of them to get ashore). On the one hand it's a bit of a pain to have to walk across the other boats, but on the other hand, we don't have a bunch of strangers walking across our boat, either.
We had a nice walk yesterday. All the way around the harbor and then around a spit of land to a lovely beach and some old fortresses and an old whale processing works built into a cliff. We then walked back through the back streets of Horta.
There's a well-known international sailor's hang out named "Peter Cafe Sport" that's been in business here since the early 1900s. Some of the most famous boats in cruising history have stopped there and left a burgee or an ensign or some kind of memento tacked to the walls or ceiling. Of course we had to go and have a few drinks while checking out the decorations, an added bonus being free wireless internet access.
Another requirement when passing through Horta is to paint your boat name on the sea wall, to ensure a safe passage home. We have spent quite a lot of time walking around admiring some very artisitic and unusual paintings. we have seen an anchor, several T-shirts and other pieces of clothing, and some burgees epoxied to the stone and concrete. We also recognised the names of some boats we have met. John & Carter will add Liberty to the wall after we leave, but have assured us that they will add our names along with theirs (and send us photos to prove it
Mark & Julie
s/v Rachel
