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      Picture by Diabaig Roe-Bose

      Sailing in Newfoundland and to the Azores

      Neil Bose

      Copyright 2011 Neil Bose,

      All rights reserved.

      Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

       http://www.eBookIt.com

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0475-2

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

      To Desmond Jerome (D.J.) Murphy who dreamed of sailing around the world.

      Preface

      This is a book of days and moments spent sailing on the east coast of Newfoundland and over the Atlantic to the Azores. Newfoundland is a beautiful cruising ground, one of the best in the world for a short period of the year in July and August, perhaps from late June. Optimistically and romantically, the Bay of Exploits has been called the Caribbean of the north. Many cruising days in summer start from calm in the morning, develop into a strong wind in the afternoon, sometimes as much as 25-30 knots, and drop to a peaceful calm again at the moorings in the evening. It can be sunny and warm throughout. The effect is exaggerated by starting and ending at a really sheltered anchorage, of which there are many on the coast.

      The book has some factual information on anchorages and passages, but this should be used with the usual caution of any cruising information. Newfoundland has a rugged coast for those who like to be self sufficient and it suits the cruising sailor who does not expect to find a shop, chandlery or restaurant in every harbour. There are places where one can sail for several weeks without seeing another sailing boat.

      I bought my Contessa 26, Murphy’s Boat, in March 2003 and re-acclimatized myself to sailing after a break of almost 20 years. We kept the boat at Holyrood Marina in Conception Bay, Newfoundland. The first season we sailed amongst the inlets of the west side of Conception Bay, the second season we took the boat to Bonavista Bay and in 2005 we sailed up the coast to Notre Dame Bay. That winter we hauled the boat out at Lewisporte Marina. In 2006 we sailed to some of the western parts of Notre Dame Bay and then crossed the Atlantic to the Azores islands, part of Portugal.

      This is a book of dreams and atmospheres. It describes a re-awakening after twenty years of looking after a young family and the exceptionally long hours required to build a strong career as an academic researcher. I thank all those who made it possible, the friends who sailed with me and the friends I have met along the way. But I especially thank Fiona Roe, who feels queasy on any boat even at the dock, who realizes the importance of sailing to me - probably the only activity that really gets me to switch off completely from everyday life - and who has supported all the voyages and has accepted the changes that have occurred along the way.

      Neil Bose, Tasmania

      Newfoundland to the Azores

      We rode the bus south from Lewisporte, Newfoundland, to St. John’s, the capital, in July 2006. I had six hours to think. We would be moving to Tasmania in 2007 and I didn’t want to sell Murphy’s Boat. I knew I would never be able to replace it at anything like the cost I would be able to sell it for and I knew it could make the trip – if given time. The bus stopped at Gander Airport for half an hour and we got something to eat. By the time dusk fell and we arrived in Mount Pearl on the outskirts of St. John’s, I had made up my mind to sail.

      Synopsis: Lewisporte - Dog Island (Dildo Run) – Seldom (Fogo) - Horta, Faial, Azores. 14 1/2 days Seldom to Horta. Winds forward of the beam for most of the way so we were driven 60 miles north of Azores. 1 day calm, 1 day following wind/reach. Hove to for 8 hours in 35 knots plus. Sailed for extensive periods with reefed jib only or reefed jib and triple reefed main. Vane gear steered the whole way. Boat handled well, but I need to reduce persistent small deck leaks in strange places. Crew did very well.

      So read my first report to those who had asked to be updated. But many asked for more and some said: what about those 8 hours hove to; there must be more to it than that?

      The new boat

      I first saw Murphy’s Boat, deep in a snow drift in February 2003. Yachts in Newfoundland don’t get launched until May at the earliest and even then there are often still snow drifts in the woods and ice on the ponds.

      I had time to replace the engine mounts and get the gear together before launching on some brilliantly sunny days at the beginning of May. Rigging the boat was like opening presents. The gear was in good order and the boat had been rigged and fitted out for a long ocean trip. I went round checking everything, aligning the mast and seizing the rigging screws with wire. It was magic to be on the water again on a boat that was really capable of going to sea.

      It is 10 miles from Manuels to Holyrood. I spent the night with my three children on board and we set off early the next morning. It was still very cold at night. We had to hand start the engine as we had learned the hard way that the cabin lights, though lovely and bright, were a heavy user of the limited energy stored in the batteries.

      The wind, about 5 degrees Centigrade, was blowing out of the north. By the time we were entering Holyrood Bay we were romping along in 1 metre waves with a smattering of white caps, but these lessened as we got further in towards the head of the Bay. We tied up on the outside of one of the Tee piers in the marina. There was plenty of room as none of the Holyrood boats had been launched for the season yet. Soon after we arrived the rain came down heavily and it was even colder and wetter as we packed up the sails. The children had enjoyed it, had been exhilarated and anxious at times. They described the waves as enormous.