 On 22 May, they departed Trepassey Bay, planning to cross the Atlantic to the Azores, refuel, and then fly on to Portugal, retracing the transatlantic route of the United States Navy Curtiss NC-4 flying boat in 1919, but they ran low on fuel due to unfavorable weather.Pinedo was forced to land the "Santa Maria II" on the ocean and be taken under tow by a Portuguese fishing boat and an Italian steamer for the final 200 miles (322 km) to the Azores, where the plane arrived at Horta on May 30.After a week of repairs, the three Italian aviators were airborne again in the "Santa Maria II", flying back to the point in the Atlantic where they had been taken under tow, and then finishing their transatlantic flight from there.