RACING AN AZOREAN WHALEBOAT IN PICO IS A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE FOR CONRAD HUMPHREYS
The moment the tow rope is released, two of the strongest crewmembers leap forward and begin to haul up the mainsail gaff as quickly as possible. The secret is not to power up the huge main too early, before the halyard has been made off on its rudimentary jammer made from whalebone. Once the sail is raised, you can turn towards the wind and sheet in, but there is definitely a skill in learning how high to point and just how much power these slender hulled rowing gigs can handle on the wind. Acapsize and there is definitely no coming back.
Welcome to Azorean whaleboat racing, where the top crews are truly athletic, able to not only row and hike hard, but also raise and lower the main mast, which is literally a 9m tree trunk, cut from the locally grown cedar forest at the base of Mount Pico. I’ve had the enormous pleasure of racing on everything from IMOCA 60s to Extreme 40 catamarans and more recently even traditional luggers, but the experience of sailing the Azorean whaleboat left a huge impression on me.
The design of these traditional boats, which were used right up until the 1980s to hunt and catch giant sperm whales migrating through the Azores archipelago, has changed very little over time. While I might feel uncomfortable about their past history, few could argue about the sailing skills that were required to get these boats launched into the Atlantic swell, ready for an almighty battle when a whale was spotted from lookouts placed strategically around the island.
When the invitation came from Ana Brum, mayor of Lajes do Pico, to join a small select group visiting Pico Island in the Azores archipelago, with the chance to sail on board these original hunting vessels, I had no idea what a voyage of discovery this would be. It was a chance not only to race these remarkable boats, but also to get to know their history as a vital part of Azorean culture and economy going back over a century.
In fact, ‘Whalers’ have been used in expeditions and for exploration for well over 200 years. These versatile little double-enders, which are fast and could be rowed in both directions, were part of the British Navy right up until the 1970s. So versatile are they, that Commander Robert Fitzroy chose to take four whalers on board HMS Beagle to explore Tierra del Fuego, and Ernest Shackleton managed to partially deck a whaler and sailed 800 miles across the Southern Ocean to South Georgia.
The powerful Azorean whaleboats differ from their North American cousins due in part to the competitive racing experience throughout the Azores archipelago. The boats are longer to accommodate an additional crewmember,
