MORE IN THE MIDDLE
Sitting nearly 800 nautical miles off the coast of Portugal, the remote islands of the Azores have been a mid-Atlantic haven for sailors for centuries. Christopher Columbus was forced to take shelter from a storm there in 1493; Joshua Slocum stopped off on route to becoming the first person to sail singlehandedly around the world in 1895; and Robin Knox-Johnston is known to favor a tipple at the archipelago’s most famous drinking hole, Peter Cafe Sport.
Comprising nine volcanic islands – São Miguel, Santa Maria, Faial, Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico, Flores and Corvo – the Azores’ geographical position means that a large proportion of superyachts have also paid a visit. Horta on the island of Faial – where the harbor is lined with murals painted by superstitious sailors who believed this would grant them a safe onward passage – is a common stop for refueling who spent nearly six weeks in the Azores in 2018 during the yacht’s 20- month circumnavigation.
