On our way soon

The weather´s not pretty- it´s been raining on & off all day, but the low is on it´s way northeast, so we´ll be heading east for a bit.We´ve been watching the NOAA weather predictions for a few days. Danielle is not going to cause us any problems. I´m looking forward to this leg. We went grocery shopping and toured the Island yesterday. Our visit to Capilinhos (a small relatively recent volcano-1959) was worth the wind and biting volcanic dust. There´s a lighthouse that was partially buried that is also no longer on the coast. It´s a desolate place.

England, here we come!

Açores! (Azores!)

I´ve been keeping a journal and will add all kinds of tales when I´ve got time. We´ve been docked in Horta on the Island of Faial for a couple of days. I could happily live here. We´ve got a new crew member who is Brazillian & I´m using his Portuguese keyboard. The trip here was exciting, fun, sometimes lazy & sometimes a bit scary. We stopped in Vila das Lajes on Flores (known for it´s flowers) overnight, then sailed, mostly with the spinnaker up, the 136 nautical miles to Faial. We arrived before the sun came up, 20 hours later.

I´m taking pictures with disposable cameras, so I can´t post anything until I get them developed.

We´re getting ready for the last leg of the trip, to Dartmouth England. We might see some interesting weather.

Almost ready.

The boat is provisioned, the laundry is done, and the bow thrusters are repaired. We're heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia, then the Azores. We've got stuff to stow, but are almost ready.

Yesterday we took a little side trip over to Port Clyde, formerly known as Herring Gut, where the Balano family home is. His cousin is now living in the house, so we stopped by & said hello, and found ourselves trying to solve a math puzzle:
 A farmer goes to the market with $100 to buy exactly 100 animals. He must spend all of the money. Cows are $15, geese are $1 each, and chickens are $.25 each. How many of each did he buy?

Camden Maine is a very beautiful place. The weather has been wonderful. I would happily live here. Yes, I know the winters are long and can be harsh, but I like snow and winter!

The next time I post will probably be from The Azores. Wish us calm seas and fair winds!

We're protected by an ocean crossing blessing!

Whitney did a blessing for me and John that includes a bracelet brought from India, called a raksa potli.

The blessing is the Navkar Mantra:
Namo'rihantanam, Namo'siddhanam, Namo'ayariyanam, Namo'uvvajjayanam, Namo'loesavvasahunam
Eso panchanamukkaro savva pavva panasanno
Mangalanam cha savesim padamam havai mangalam

We ran errands today. I now have a proper sou'wester rain hat from the Kittery Trading Post. You know that theory that bringing an umbrella prevents rain?

I'm in Maine! But not on a boat yet.

I'm in Kittery, Maine, at John's brother's house. Tomorrow morning we'll drive up to Camden, where the boat is. I'm already letting go of the busyness of my usual life. Today, while we have internet, we're checking out weather forecasts, going to Portsmouth for lunch, and relaxing. Getting to know another cat and dog.

Packing & last minute stuff

I'll be gone for the next month, on a boat! It's a 50' Northwind named Camille. We'll be sailing across the North Atlantic to The Azores, then England, then fly home. I don't know if I'll be able to blog when underway. If not, I'll just journal instead & post later. I'm really excited & a little nervous. A week from now I'll be on that "big blue watery road." (Blog title & that line are from a song by T-Pain and the Lonely Island. WARNING: Lyrics contain lots of foul language.) I'm mostly packed & trying to figure out what I'd really miss if forgotten. Passport--check! Credit card--check! OK.

Looking forward to skies full of stars, whale sighting and sails full of wind.