Hurricane threatens P.E.I. man’s round-the-world voyage

A Summerside man sailing around the world is taking shelter at a port in the Azores as Hurricane Lorenzo thunders toward the Portuguese islands.

P.E.I.’s Alan Mulholland sailed his eight-metre boat the Wave Rover from the island of Flores over to Horta to get away from the eye of the Category 2 hurricane, which is expected to pass directly over Flores Tuesday night and into Wednesday.

“The harbour master, when I left Flores, said this is going to be a very dangerous harbour,” said Mulholland.

“The harbour isn’t that well protected.”

All the fishing boats have been pulled out of the harbour at Flores.

Spending the night away from his boat

The harbour in Horta is better protected, he said, but there is still the potential for serious damage.

“It’ll be nine hours that will coincide, unfortunately, with a high tide, and it’s an extremely high tide that we’re having in the last few days. It comes within about a foot of the top of the breakwater,” he said.

“With the extra pressure from the hurricane and the winds and the swell, we’re expecting water to breach the breakwater, which will be an added concern for all the boat owners and property owners.”

Alan Mulholland created this video of some of his adventures crossing the Atlantic.

The harbour master in Horta recommended getting as much as possible off the deck of the boat, and doubling the lines from four to at least eight. Mulholland will have 12 lines protecting his boat.

Sailors have also been told not to stay on their boats. Mulholland will stay in a nearby club, where he said he has no concerns about his own personal safety.

He can now only hope the Wave Rover isn’t destroyed in the storm.

Mulholland left Summerside late in July and arrived in the Azores late in August for rest and repairs.

If all goes well he will continue his journey, heading for the Canary Islands, in about three weeks. From there he will cross the Atlantic again and pass through the Panama Canal to the Pacific.