1st leg of round-the-world solo sail complete for P.E.I. man

Alan Mulholland arrived in the Azores around midnight local time Monday, 26 days after leaving his hometown of Summerside, P.E.I., completing the first leg of his solo sail around the world.

"It takes a couple of hours to get your balance back after being bounced around for three weeks. But it's great," said Mulholland about being back in port.

"It's a lovely place and the folks here are so kind, just like islanders everywhere, I think."

Mulholland is making the journey on the 26-foot Wave Rover.

He hit his roughest weather just a few days after leaving Canada. A 40-knot gale battered his boat, throwing up four-metre waves, for 18 hours. There was a lot of ship traffic, and Mulholland had to contact them by radio to let them know he was there.

Alan Mulholland made this video of highlights of the sail to Flores Island. (Wave Rover/Facebook)

"I'm not really that obvious on the water because the waves are much bigger than my boat. I get in between them," he said.

His jib sail was torn open twice by the wind during the crossing, forcing makeshift repairs.

But there were moments of amazement as well.

Two weeks ago a large pod of whales with an escort of dolphins swam by his boat. Two of the whales surfaced within seven metres of the boat as the pod moved by.

Mulholland will be about three weeks in the Azores, making repairs and adjustments to Wave Rover.

From the Azores Mulholland will sail to the Canary Islands, the Caribbean, and then through the Panama Canal to the Pacific.

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