Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

The final journey home covered the miles somewhat faster than the trip out to the Azores.

The two plane tripes were uneventful. The train ride from Boston to Newark left on time but arrived 3 hours late due to a combination of diesel engine failure and trees on the line. I slept through much of it albeit awkwardly. Helen picked me up at Newark – it was great to see her after last seeing her 3 weeks ago in Bermuda.

Since then it’s been down to getting busy – both clearing out home and making decisions on gear for the boat. We’ve agreed on a July 25 sale date. We have realized that we need to acquire all the gear that we intend to ship or take down to the islands well before this date.

We have already ordered our washing machine – a Bosch. We had to get a smaller sized unit to fit the available space. Bosch are a little more expensive than others but their reliability is very good. This is important when you’re off the beaten track. A minor item I’ve also bought is a wifi detector. Lugging a laptop around to find a decent signal turned out to be a pain. So I bought a canary.

I’ve been deciding between Brownie or Airline for a Hookah. Although there are aspects of the Airline I prefer, the Brownie appears to be a larger company and has a longer track record. If I was land based I wouldn’t mind but again, being stuck in odd places, I prefer the backing of a more established company.

Today I’ll be ordering the Hookah as well as chartplotter / radar. I am pretty much set on the Garmin touch screen – the 12″ version. I will only get one for the helm and leave the decision for one inside until a later date. This keeps the initial setup fairly simple.

Other projects on the list are the solar panels / wind generator, getting some folding bikes and researching the best way to sell our two cars.

Yesterday I spent a lot of time looking at internet based backup / synchronizing solutions. The episode of water in the laptop (the one at home) while we were in Bermuda only served to remind us how important backups are. Aboard a boat, backing up to CD/DVD has it’s drawbacks so I am attracted to solutions that automatically save files elsewhere via the internet on the occasions one is connected. Right now I am using syncplicity, a beta product. It not only synchronizes to the files on the internet, it also allows those files to be synced back another computer elsewhere. It also integrates photo sharing with facebook and also integrates with googles document service. These appeal to the geek in me and I look forward to exploring these options. As this is in beta, I get a chance to interact with the developers which is good.

It strikes me as odd that I had more to say when we were at sea and less was going on. I think this is largely due to having the time and less distractions. My journey home began this morning when I said my goodbyes to John, Jim, Bob, Ziggy, Jenny and Connor. I also got to say goodbye (again) to a few of the ARC cruisers who I’ve got to know. On the understanding that the airport was nearby I caught a taxi with 20 euros in my pocket. To my horror I discovered the airport was nowhere nearby and more like on the other side of the island. With a taxi driver that knew no english I felt I was heading for an awkward situation. In the end the fare was only 17 euros and I had enough. I’m now sitting in departure lounge waiting for my flight to Ponta Delgada trying to remember the last few days.

We arrived in Angra, Triceira a couple of days ago around 4pm. We learned that in a nearby town there would be bull racing in the streets. A few of the early boats decided this would be the thing to do so we bundled off in three taxis to watch the excitement.

Turned out there were four bulls. In turn, each one was tied to a long rope and let out of a tight box which must have aggravated it somewhat. Hanging onto the rope were two groups of five men who had the job of controlling where the bull went and how far it got although they did spend a good deal of time jumping over walls. The road where the bulls were run were mostly fronted by houses with high walls behind which the spectators made themselves secure. Gates were boarded where walls ran out. Some folks would be in the streets daring themselves closer to the bulls and either running or leaping over walls when the bull charged.

The first bull looked a little tired but menacing enough. When the second bull came out John and I dared a venture into the street. I figured that as long as someone else was between me and the bull I would be relatively safe. When that guy turned tail and passed me I was very motivated to turn tail and run hard. John had a similar experience as I passed him and left him in the rear. Together we ran down the hill with an building crowd of runners as the bull gave chase seemingly with a lot of slack on the rope. After this adrenalin rush we retired back behind the wall feeling awash with bravery.

The third bull was even more menacing and we stayed behind the wall. Bob ventured out this time and followed the bull up the street coming back with reports of more activity further up. So out we went behind the fourth bull. Fresh from my earlier experience with bull #2 I was emboldened to frequently stay closer to the bull than the locals. I am sure the local crowd who were leaning over the walls and doing everything they could to annoy the bulls were hoping one of the gringos would get caught by the bull. Bob almost obliged them. He was sticking to the leaping over walls tactic and was thwarted by a 70 year lady who would not give her ground. He ended up inches from the bull and was rewarded by being slobbered on. I think Bob owes a lot to the team of bull tenders who managed to stop it just short of him. I stuck to the strategy of running for my life when the bull charged. It sure was a lot of fun.

I started yesterday off by taking a walk on my own. I was out for over two hours and while not initially aiming to do so, I managed to reach the top of a nearby hill where the views were awesome. In the afternoon we took a walking tour of Angra organised for the cruisers. This started off interesting but turned out to be a bit slow. One by one we peeled of and headed back to the boats. The evening ended up with everyone down at the marina bar and restaurant. This was very much a goodbye for many as quite a few of the boats heading to the Uk had decided to head north rather than complete the leg to Ponta Delgada. It was goodbye for me too as this was my last night on the boat and the last I would see of many of these folks. Yet again I have been reaffirmed that a good part of cruising is the people one meets along the way. The ARC crowd were a diverse and interesting lot. I hope I can meet some in the future. Who knows.

For now it’s the long slog home which I am looking forward to putting behind me. This marks the end of my Windancer voyage. I’m thankful to John and his family for letting me crew this leg. Chances are we’ll meet again in December when our paths cross in the Caribbean as they inevitably will. I also hope to cross paths with Jim and Bob, both of whom I’ve got to know well and count as friends.

Currently sailing off Triceira. We were due to set sail at dawn but capt john cast off at 1am shortly after his skirvy crew rolled in from the bar. Yesterday evening we were entertained by Horta ministers on the back lawn of a posh hotel. Food and wine was free. I had vowed not to drink but failed miserably.

The decision to leave early turned out right as the wind has been on our nose. Also, if we hadn’t left when we did we would not have run into a pod of seven beluga whales which we did.

Jim often says “Life is good.”

It is.