Interview: How "Peter's Café Sport" in Horta became a cult pub for long-distance travellers

Mr Azevedo, what makes your café sport so popular with blue water sailors all over the world?

When my grandfather Henrique Azevedo founded the café in 1918, the customers mainly came from the two large telecommunications companies from Germany and England, which were building a repeater station for the Atlantic cables here in Horta. The many Germans and Englishmen loved football and cricket - just like my grandfather, who was very interested in sport. Hence the name Café Sport. The strong connection with sailors from all over the world came much later.

What happened to the sailors?

My father, José Azevedo, went to sea himself and when he returned to Horta after the Second World War to take over his father's café, the first adventurers were already coming to Horta. On the island, we don't talk about sailors or yachties, but adventurers. At that time, it could take days to clear in. The adventurers often had to wait at anchor for a long time for one of the few doctors on the island who could confirm their health, while they were not allowed to go ashore during this time. And my father understood very well how much one longs for land at sea! So he rowed out to the sailors - for a chat, to help them and to support them as best he could with their wishes and concerns.

How did he help them?

They needed all sorts of things - from mechanics and food to the obligatory doctor's appointment! Over time, my father came to enjoy the trust of both the sailors and his doctor friend, and so he often decided to go to the doctor alone after a cheerful chat with all the adventurers at anchor to testify to their perfect health. The doctor was happy not to have to row out to the dishevelled sailors, so he was happy to stamp the clearance paper. The adventurers were finally allowed ashore and, of course, were happy to come to his pub first.

Why is the café still called Peter's today?

That is indeed unusual, because no one in our family is called Peter. As the British captain on the HMS "Lusitania II" was very homesick for his family and my young father, who sailed in his crew, obviously looked a lot like his son, the captain eventually just called him Peter. Since then, all his descendants have had this nickname. You are welcome to call me Peter too.

What makes this café in the middle of the Atlantic so unique?

You know, the other cafés wanted little to do with the mostly foul-smelling, unshaven adventurers who looked like vagabonds in their sun-bleached clothes. What's more, the other café owners hardly spoke any English, unlike my father, and usually just said: "Go to Peter." My father, on the other hand, had a soft spot for the adventurers and found them very interesting. They were often well-educated, not as destitute as we first thought and, above all, had great stories to tell. Peter's Café Sport catered for many of the sailors' needs: from the often necessary shower to currency exchange and postal services, so that the adventurers could send and receive letters to and from the family.

Do you sail yourself?

No, no, we do have a sailing boat, we travel between the islands here from time to time and sometimes sail regattas. But I've only sailed to the Caribbean once, and my son has never even crossed an ocean. So we are by no means real adventurers, like the sailors here in the harbour! That's why they still fascinate us today!

How do you find running such a traditional restaurant?

I was only six years old when I started going to the café every day, and to this day I feel great pride at being mentioned by so many adventurers in their books. Joshua Slocum, Bernard Moitessier, Jacques Cousteau ... they've all been here! I've even put together a book with all the sailing stories about the café, which will soon be published in English. And I have photographed all the pictures painted by adventurers on the harbour pier.

Why did you have the Frenchman Éric Tabarly carve a whale tooth?

Éric was also here, of course! I honour and immortalise the greatest sailors with a portrait that I carve on a whale's tooth. The art form is called scrimshaw, and I am very proud of my collection, which is, if not the largest, certainly the most beautiful. I like to share the joy of it with other sailors. That's why my museum is located directly above the café.

And where did you get so many whale teeth?

My father felt sorry for the whalers, who worked extremely hard and were also extremely poor. Nobody wanted their children to become whalers, so the hunt for whale oil died out on its own, which was a good thing. The whalers, who did life-threatening work in narrow, open 40-foot-long workboats under sail and oars, only received a very modest wage for the oil at the end of the year or even the following year. The teeth, on the other hand, meant cash in hand, and so my father bought the teeth and thus supported the whalers with quick money, because they were often in debt everywhere. Perhaps also in Café Sport, who knows ... The next adventurer on a tooth will probably be a German woman: I would like to immortalise Susanne Huber-Curphey with a tooth.

What do you enjoy most about your job as operator of Café Sport?

That I can still be useful to adventurers today! For example, when I did exactly the same thing as my father 70 years earlier in the Covid year 2020. Just like him, I went out to meet the adventurers who were anchored and not allowed ashore due to the strict entry rules. In full protective gear with a mask, gloves and covered in plastic, I did the same as my father back then: I had a chat and tried to get them what they needed. My employees, who didn't have much to do due to the Covid closure of the café, were able to help me go to the supermarket every day and run errands for the adventurers stuck on board.

What about the next generation?

Although my children have studied and had good jobs on the mainland, they have now all returned to Horta to continue running the café - it's a passion for all of us! We are attracted by the desire to be together with the sailors and to hear their stories first-hand. My daughter, for example, has a podcast in which she talks to exciting adventurers. My children also feel a great responsibility to continue to be there for the many adventurers who criss-cross the Atlantic in all directions and stop off in Horta for a Peter Gin do Mar, a beer or just a nice chat. We would like to continue to be the central and popular meeting point for adventurers and sailors in the middle of the Atlantic in the future.