By Andy Lund
Ed note - This is the twelfth installment of a multi-part series by Andy Lund on his first year of cruising on board Resolution , the Nordhavn 46 he took delivery of in February 2004.
Resolution completes 2,000 nm leg to the Azores
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
It was almost exactly a year ago that a fleet of Nordhavns arrived in the Azores as part of the Nordhavn Atlantic Rally and captured the curiosity of the locals and European sailboaters there who were not used to seeing powerboats in their marina. Fast forward 360 days, and the arrival of another Nordhavn to the small island nation was being celebrated. After a bumpy ride, the crew of Resolution reached Horta Marina over the weekend a little tired but in good spirits…and very ready for that first beer at the famed Peter’s Sport Café.
Despite some harried weather situations more than half-way through the trip, Capt. Andy Lund was right on with his prediction of a 13-14 day transit time. The crew left Newport, Rhode Island on June 4, and soon enough, Resolution encountered some rough cross chop. Maintaining a rhumbline course to the Azores, a group of Portuguese islands about 900 miles west of Lisbon, conditions stabilized with 4 to 6-ft. seas and winds at 5-10 kts. for the first week of the trip. Resoltuion had its fins activated and paravanes deployed to make the ride as comfortable as possible. On June 10, the starboard side fin failed, still, the port side was working and conditions allowed for a mostly comfortable trip…but that was to change.
A 40-foot sailboat, Samsun, bound for the Azores from New York City, pushed along a few miles to the north of Resolution and the two loosely “buddied up” the remainder of the trip. With the barometer slowly dropping, both captains intently monitored a storm system about three days ahead of them. An email from PAE’s Jim Leishman confirmed the storm. “The low is very substantial with winds in excess of 40 knots and seas up to 18 feet,” wrote Jim. He advised Andy to stay on top of his weather service. “The best you can do now is carry on and prepare yourselves for some rough weather.”
Over the next few days, both boats altered their courses southeast to avoid the worst of the gales. There were two low pressure systems converging and moving at a swift pace, and as predicted, Resolution ran into the effects of the storm on June 14. As a precursor to what was to come, the port fin gave out. It likely wouldn’t have made a difference though. Rough, angry seas with sets of 12 to 15-foot rollers came up on the boat from behind. Heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 40 knots persisted for 15 hours.
Over the next day and a half, conditions slowly eased up and the crew was able to pin down both fins and shut down the system entirely. Andy was able to contact ABT to arrange for a tech to support them in England. They were able to determine that a hydraulic oil leak in the port stabilizer was responsible for the port fin failure. A call was then made to PAE for some necessary replacement parts which were shipped out of the UK office to Andy’s agent Bensaude in Horta. Resolution maneuvered back to a rhumbline course with seas edging down to 6 feet and winds blowing 10-15. Much more manageable – to the point where the crew could enjoy a glass of wine with dinner!
At dawn on Sunday, as Resolution headed in the harbor, the sun filtered through the clouds that topped the hills of Faial. Just to the east on the island of Pico, the 7,000-foot Mount Pico stood tall and welcomed the weary travelers. “It was a grand sight after 14 days at sea!” proclaimed Andy. Meanwhile, his young crewmembers wondered, “When does Peter’s open?”
Due to the storm and their diverted course, Resolution traveled 2063 nm from Newport to Horta. They plan to stay in Horta for three days, but may opt for a few more days depending on what repairs need to be made. Next stop: Falmouth, England!
Click here for Resolution’s log from Newport, RI to The Azores.
