Liveaboard sailboat life, searching out places beyond the crowds
In February 2026, extreme flooding in Spain and Portugal, due to successive storms, caused significant destruction. In the Rio Guadiana, where we were moored, the river’s level rose 6m above normal. Boaters faced peril as unattended vessels drifted amid fast currents and debris. This is our tale.
We dodged squalls as we set sail from Santa Maria to Sao Miguel. The next day we departed Sao Miguel with an unexplained uneasiness, however we had one of our best sails in a long time. In Terceira, we anchored in Praia da Vitoria, the best anchorage in the Azores.
We had a perfect day anchored in Sao Lourenco Bay, with a BBQ, and kayaked to explore a cave. I climbed the Fajazinha Steps for stunning views before the rising wind moved us on to Praia Formosa. The anchorages reminded us of the best bits of life on a sailboat.
We had a memorable 18-day stay on our first Azorean island. I fell in love with Santa Maria for its rural interior and rugged coastal beauty, and the warm and welcoming community. We enjoyed various adventures, including a picturesque bus tour, coastal walks, and a scooter ride through stunning landscapes.
An account of our sail from Canary Islands to the Azores. The seven-day, 740-nautical-mile journey included squalls, seasickness, and challenging waves. We successfully navigated the passage and reached our destination, supported by new technology like Starlink.
LAT|36|09.05|NLON|24|13.34|W VIA Telnet Day 6 of maybe a few more Canary Islands to Santa Maria, Azores. Daily miles sailed: (Tue-Wed) 12 noon-12 noon 89 nm (69.9nm to go. Well the early part of the day was a hard earned 35nm, the rest under the iron genny) Current position: Roughly 70nm […]
We’re Colin & Nichola and we’re sailing the world on a liveaboard sailboat.
Join us as we explore anchorage by anchorage, seeking out places to explore away from the crowds.
Emerald is a Kelly Peterson 44, designed by the American yacht designer, Doug Peterson.
Launched in 1979, she’s been our home since 2004.
We’ve travelled over 18,000nm in Emerald, as far north as the Orkney Islands and east through the Mediterranean to Turkey and back.
We’ve visited 2 continents and 17 countries with plans to add to that number.
We use the app and website NOFOREIGNLAND to log our sailing route. Follow us there to keep up to date with where we are.
We’ve created guides to the places we’ve visited which share our tips of what to see and do.
We share our experiences for getting the most out of liveaboard life along with documenting the boat projects we’ve completed. These include anchor chain replacement, installing a dry toilet, painting Emerald’s hull and applying Coppercoat.
The ship’s log contains all the blogs that we’ve written about the passages we’ve sailed as well as about our every day life.