The AZAB race: ready for the return

Mark Pawlak    sailingbreaks     AZAB, AZAB race, James Hardiman, racing, Sail4cancer, Sailing, sailing holiday

Been here in the Azores for 8 days and really really ready to go now. Just want to get on with the punishment to come! Done a few shoreside parties/events but I’ve been working all week from a laptop so its been muted – and working on a dial up connection is v frustrating! However it has also (sadly) meant we still havent even left the marina yet! I havent even seen the volcano’s, hot springs or ANY of the island.

The start of the AZAB race

We have fixed our auto pilot and many holes in the sails, replaced a few ropes that chafed through and a bent stanchion pole (post on side of boat).

You may remember that we lost all our fresh water after the start in Falmouth – well, closer inspection shows it was due to an actual hole in the tank – so it is unfixable here. We will have to stock up on plastic bottles! Also they dont sell pot noodle or tinned mince (oddly) – and yes that is the only diet we can cook at 45 degrees!. So, our food supplies for the way home are limited to say the least!

Start is at 12 UTC tomorrow (Tuesday), and most boats are ready. Had the Portugese TV filming me yesterday doing repairs to the boat – which was odd because clealy there was a language issue, so I thought that was a bit of a waste of time, but they didnt seem to think so.

Anyway – we will head west after the start and then have to go north for 2 days to avoid a ridge of high pressure (which means no wind). This will be hard to do when home is to the north east and over 1100 miles away! High pressure will mean sitting like ducks and bobbing no where, so we will have to hunt for the lows.

Remember to donate if you would like to – Sail 4 Cancer is a really great cause. <http://www.sail4cancer.org/JamesAzab2011>

About the author

Mark Pawlak wrote 194 articles on this blog.

Editor at Adventure Sports Holidays, Mark's love affair with travel and the challenges of adventure sports continues... "You could save all year for a two-week, all-inclusive, doss by the pool, booze and buffet binge. Or, with a little planning and some good equipment, get off your arse and plan an adventure!"

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Related posts:

1. AZAB racers: Back from the Azores
2. The AZAB racers – heading home and searching for wind
3. The AZAB Race: On route to the Azores

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