June, 1977 was a big month.
But before I get to that. Today’s sunrise.
Ok, I’m back…
Not to put too fine a point on it but 48 years and one day ago the orthodontist removed my braces.
I was in his office for a routine check, probably one of those visits when they crank things down, one more step to create that perfect smile.
He asked me, “what are you doing this weekend?” to which I answered, “I am getting married, tomorrow”.
With that he stood back, looked at my teeth and decided that enough was enough and said “ok, let’s take them off.”
And with that, no more braces. Of course, that meant that my late afternoon appointment was now taking a lot longer than anticipated.
And that mattered because my next stop was to head home to get dressed for the rehearsal dinner, which I got to barely in time.
I can only imagine what must have been going through my, soon to be father-in-law’s mind when I was late showing up. I am afraid that Jack never a card-carrying member of the Bob Osborn fan club.
Jack, and I never had the nerve to call him “dad”, my future father-in-law was the same guy who greeted me at their front door a few years earlier when I arrived for my first date with his daughter. I said “I am here to see Brenda” and he said “she will be right out” and closed the door, leaving me on the front porch. Love at first sight? Perhaps not.
Anyway, Jack tolerated me and now I was going to be late for his daughter’s rehearsal dinner. Not a great way to kick things off.
I mention all of this because as of today Brenda and I have been married for 48 years. Who knew?
And, while I was late for the rehearsal dinner so many years ago, now I am 1,000 miles from anywhere to celebrate Brenda’s any my special day so I guess that makes me REALLY, REALLY LATE for our 48th.
Well, it could be worse, at least it is not our 50th and I do have Starlink…
I suppose, in a weird sort of way this brings us full circle. Brenda, against all odds, well at least according to Jack, is still with me. So there you non-believing-father-in-law. Take that…
Seriously though, it is a bit depressing to be so far away but at least I know that our son Chris will be holding down the fort and spending the weekend with Brenda, so all is not lost.
And, in less than two weeks, Brenda will be flying to Horta.
So, after six weeks apart, it will be good to see her again.
Yes, June is a big month.
And there is yet another milestone heading my way in a few days, my 70th birthday. And I will so, so enjoy spending it with my crew, Jason and Ted. I am sure that they are equally excited…
One thing that I have been worrying about is how long Brenda will have to wait at her hotel in Horta until I arrive. It is hard to say but I am still optimistic that we will get there a few days before she arrives.
Having said that, since leaving Bermuda on Saturday, and we are now into our 5th day at sea, we have been barreling along at a good clip. We have covered over 700 NM but still have over 1,000 miles to go.
Being somewhat, sorta, kinda, half way there is not nothing but it is too soon to say when we will arrive.
Our speed over the bottom today is in the 9-10kt range due to a bit of help from the Gulf Stream which is giving us a nice lift.
Chris Parker has given us a waypoint to head for that is about 330 miles away to the ENE and then we will turn east toward Horta at about 40 degrees north.
The problem in knowing when we will arrive, in spite of day after day of 180+ mile daily runs, we expect that the wind will pretty much die in a day or two.
And, Chris is telling us that if we turn on the motor we will likely stay ahead of the winds that are expected to fill in behind us. So, Chris is suggesting that we sail, not motor, slowly, to the east and wait for the winds to catch up with us.
And, if we do, he is predicting that we should be able to sail much of the way to Horta. Turn on the motor, to keep moving and we will be ahead of the wind and will have to commit to upwards of 800NM of motoring, which is not appealing or practical. And, we might still arrive at about the same time if we were patient and just waited.
While we have been making terrific time since leaving Bermuda, clocking 180nm a day for 5 days now, close to a personal best for me and Pandora. After we run out of wind, we have no idea how long we will be creeping along, waiting for the wind to fill in.
And, when it does, it will not be very strong so we will likely be making perhaps 140-150nm a day, once we get some wind for sailing, and even that that might be wishful thinking.
When will we get there? Probably before Brenda arrives on June 16th but beyond that, I have no idea.
Ok, perhaps I will speculate, and that suggests arrival on the 13th or 14th. Of course, that assumes that we are a day from our next waypoint and carry wind until then. After that, two days of little or no wind and after that, the remainder of the trip at a low 140nm a day.
“Sure Bob, good luck with that…”
One thing I am certain of, well mostly, somewhat certain of, is that we will arrive in June and likely before Brenda arrives on the 16th.
And we will be together again for a month of exploring the Azores together.
Yes, June has turned out to be a very good month. Even if I was late for the rehearsal dinner.
Good thing I was not late for our wedding.
It is a bummer that I am not with Brenda today but at least I can take comfort in knowing that our son Christopher, on the left, will be “holding down the fort” in my absence.
Note: This is not a current photo.
Remember: You can see where Pandora and the others in the fleet are in real time, at the Salty Dawg Azores Rally Map.
If you want to see where Pandora is alone, check out “where in the world is Pandora” at the top of the page or click on this link.
And, as always, you can register to receive a notice when I post, Which I do regularly, at the top of this page.