Skipper's Log 19th October 2005 - Falmouth to Lagos

     

     SKIPPER’S LOG 2005       VOYAGE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN

Biscay

25^th June

We did our last minute shopping for bread and so on. Also bought two pairs of jeans for just £10! We filled up with water and fuel and at 1125 departed Falmouth, bound for La Corunna.

We have been sailing very slowly so far with the cruising chute but now  at 1700 we have the genoa up again. After clearing Lizard Point, the wind picked up a little and we picked up speed. By nightfall we had a brisk wind and were flying along.

Dave took the first night watch from 2100 to 2400 and Andy was up with him some of the time. They saw dolphin, they came from astern in a line, looking like torpedoes with the phosphorescent streaks. I took over at midnight and had an uneventful watch. Andy relieved me at 0300. The next days, we just moved forward three hours each day, so the watches rotated.

In the evening, Rie served up pasta with meat sauce (home cooked with fresh meat) which set us up for the night.

26^th June

Today we saw dolphin several times in large numbers. They entertained for half an hour or so and then disappeared again. Restless has been sailing well. At times the wind has been up to 20 knots and we had one reef in the main sail before nightfall. The sea was “moderate” meaning quite big waves for a small boat and it was like being on a roller coaster ride at Tivoli as the boat dropped down the backs of the waves. I have spent many hours alone with my son, David, talking about his new life out in Australia. He is skipper of a dive boat in the Whitsunday Islands (see www.powerplaycat.com). It was great to be sailing together again after so many years.

27^th June

Our route has taken us west of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) off Ushant, so it wasn’t until we were well into Biscay that we really saw shipping. Dave made egg and bacon butties for lunch.  Tonight, I was on watch 2100 to 2400 and saw a great deal of lightning but heard hardly any thunder. Andy said that it was much nearer during the next watch. Today has been very wet and overcast all day.

Rie served up an evening meal of chicken breasts in sweet and sour sauce served with rice – very good.

28^th June

The time seems to fly by on this trip. Today, the wind has been strong from west and south west and at times we have sailed with two reefs in the main and a well rolled genoa. There has been a big swell and at times life down below was rather difficult. Rie was thrown from one side of the cabin to the other, hitting the table as she flew over it. She was badly bruised and felt as if someone had beaten her up.

The wind remained strong – at times force 7 Beaufort. Although the 5 day forecast on departure had been for a stable NE airflow, a nasty little depression has developed over the Iberian peninsula which has given contrary winds. The night was largely uneventful – just ploughing on through the waves. We have lost contact with Bonita, maybe they are too far ahead of us. I tried to call in to the British Maritime Mobile Net, but there was so much static noise that we couldn’t make contact.

29th June

The wind has dropped today and we struggled to maintain a good speed. The direction has changed to south west so we can only sail south or west. We made landfall late morning near the Ria de Caldeira and we then tacked NW to clear offshore rocks etc. Around 1400, we started the engine and motored the rest of the way to La Corunna where we found Steen and Trina waving to us from the quay. We arrived at 1715 BST and they had arrived around noon.

Later that evening, we went out for a meal together at a small restaurant where we sampled a variety of food. We compared experiences and I think Steen and Trine have had a harder time than we had. We were lucky to be four on board, three of them experienced sailors. Trine and Steen were alone and did not get the rest periods we had. Also the Rival has a good sea kindly motion and remains drier than their boat.

                                                                 SPAIN

30th June

Today has been for relaxing and tidying the boat. It is amazing how dirty she feels down below after such a tour. We have used the washing machines in the marina and Dave has arranged his flight from Santiago to the UK for tomorrow. (Iberian). There are several small jobs to do before we continue our journey.

1^st July

Today, we took the bus to Santiago de Compostello. We left Dave at the Santiago bus station to catch another bus to the airport. We took a taxi into the middle of town. Andy, Rie and I had an interesting few hours wandering around the cathedral and the old city. We saw many “pilgrims” who had walked the ancient pilgrim route and heard a special service for pilgrims. Many of these were just long distance walkers, but there were others who had done the route on grounds of religious belief. The city had many souvenir shops. The cathedral and associated buildings were very impressive, but the old city was also lovely with all the squares and narrow streets.

We took another taxi back to the bus station and as we were just about to board the bus to La Corunna, Dave came along – what a surprise!. He had booked his flight with Iberia on the internet, using my credit card. However, it turned out that he only had a reservation and they had not taken payment for the ticket. Naturally he couldn’t present the credit card at the airport so he couldn’t fly!

So, we all four took the bus back to La Corunna. In the evening we we went back to the internet café and booked a flight for the following day with Ryanair – no problems. Later we went out for a meal with Steen and Trine.

2^nd July

Dave left early to catch the bus to Santiago Airport. The rest of us sailed out of the marina at 1130 and motored round to the yacht club to buy diesel. We were surprised to find all new pontoons when having read in Reed’s that they were dilapidated – I felt let down. We had moored at the club in 1997 and had found them very helpful.

After refuelling, we set sail for Islas Sisargas which lie at the very NW tip of Spain. After rounding the islands, we sailed further to Corme, where we anchored between the mussel rafts and the beach. It had been a lovely sail with sunshine and F3 from the NE.

Andy and I rowed ashore in the Avon dinghy and did some shopping, while Rie took a swim around the boat.

3^rd July

Another sunny day. Andy went for a row in the dinghy while we got breakfast ready. Afterwards, Rie and I rowed ashore and had a walk around the town. When we returned to the boat, Andy had washed down the cockpit area.                                                   Corme

Around 1100, we hauled in the anchor and sailed out of the ria. We set a course to give Cabo Villano a wide berth. We could see waves breaking on the submerged rocks inshore. We followed the transits into Ria de Camarinas. We were prepared to berth bows on with a stern pick up buoy, but to our surprise Club Nautico Camarinas has new pontoons and finger berths! We had a meal at the club at a reasonable price. The club is just as welcoming as before.

4^th July

Andy and I took a long walk out to the lighthouse on Cabo Villano. It was a long way and it was very hot. We wished we had taken drinks with us!

Rie explored the town and had a couple of nice experiences. She was admiring a lovely fruiting lemon tree when she was spotted by the owner  - an elderly lady -  and was taken by the hand up to her terrace. There she gave her home made, ice-cold lemonade made from her own lemons. Rie was also offered a large cigar, which she declined.

After that Rie had been to the old church, where she was invited to observe as a nun taught some small girls to read. We ate on board tonight.

5^th July

Andy left us today, he caught the bus from the harbour which took him direct to Santiago. We stayed on in Camarinas as it was drizzly and overcast. We did some odd jobs on the boat.

6^th July

I paid my harbour dues, only 12€ per night here, and left Camarinas just after midday. We had bright sunshine and a good wind from the NE. On leaving the ria, we had the Atlantic swell again, a few metres high, but not so unpleasant. The boat just rose on the swell and down again as they passed – no sharp edges on these waves.

As we approached Cabo Finisterre, we were visited by more dolphins, always a welcome sight. As we rounded this great cape, the wind picked up to F6 and the small harbour of Finisterre was no longer so inviting, having no shelter at all in the NE wind. We continued to Ria de Corcubion and passed some rugged rock strewn hills as we entered the ria. We continued up to the head of the ria where we found a sheltered anchorage just south of Pta. Forelis. The wind continued to gust through the night but our anchor held fast. We did not go ashore here. This was indeed a beautiful ria.

7^th July

Another sunny day and we enjoyed a late breakfast in the cockpit, and enjoyed the views. A little after mid day, we hauled up the anchor. The chain was covered in thin sheets of seaweed and it took a long time to clear. The wind was still NE F5-6 so we sailed down the ria with just a reefed main, only letting out a little of the genoa so we could tack towards Finisterre. Then the course took us south which again was almost a dead run, and we achieved 7 knots!

We took the short cut through the Canal Los Meixidos and on rounding the point into Ria de Mouros the wind hit us in the face at a good F6 again. We motored up to Muros town, making slow progress through the steep waves.

On arrival at Muros, we found both pontoons full of small local boats. A helåful young man helped us to moor against a fishing boat, which he said would not be moving as it was broken down. However when I tried to go ashore, there was a good 1.5m leap to the harbour wall as the wind held the big boat off.

We considered anchoring, but it was too windy to get ashore in a rubber boat – we would have been very wet. We decided instead to motor over to Portosin, some 5 miles away on the other side of the ria. Here, we were met by very helpful staff who showed us to our berth and helped us to moor. By now it was blowing hard, a good F6-7, and without shore help it would have been very difficult to moor with stern to wind.

We went out for a meal at a small restaurant in the town this evening and saw pictures on tv of the London bombings. We had contacted Carol earlier and found her on the way to the airport by car with Dave, as he was on his way home to Australia this evening.

8^th July

Last night it blew up to a full gale and the whole boat shook. I was glad of the Spanish system of mooring with a fixed stern rope which kept our bow off the pontoon.

Today it was still very windy, so we decided to stay here and do a big clothes wash. The Club Nautico Portosin has good facilities, including large washing machines. We also needed a rest after yesterday’s hard sail. We ate at the club tonight.

9^th July

Still very windy, so today I set to sewing up the torn seam in the sprayhood and repairing the ignition switch. Rie took a walk into town and did some shopping. It has been sunny and hot all day despite the strong wind which is not showing signs of calming down. Today, we both caught up with our log books and sent an update to Poul from the computer in the clubhouse.

10th July

Another warm day, but still very windy. We took a taxi to the nearby town of Noia where we had been told there was a medieval festival. The streets were strewn with hay and there were many people in medieval costume. Many craftsmen had stalls where they sold their wares and demonstrated their skills. We watched while a young woman decorated a wooden fan with a floral pattern. Of course we bought it as a souvenir.

There were stalls that sold dread and pastry snacks and cakes, herbal teas and remedies. There were leather workers, lacemakers, stone masons, smiths, woodcarvers and many other trades. The waiters in the cafés were also in costume and had set hay bales outside to sit on. We had a great day out and came back very tired after the hot day.

Later in the evening, we sent more pictures for posting on our website, but we still have a lot of catching up to do. Heard from Bonita, they have at last got away from La Corunna and are now in Camarinas.

11th July

Another beautiful sunny day and we left Portosin around 10am and sailed down the ria on a light breeze. When offshore, the wind died completely so we resorted to motoring for a couple of hours. On entering Ria De Arosa, a fine wind picked up from the NE and we beat all the way up to Pueblo De Caraminial at 6 knots plus.

In the evening, we walked up to the town and had a meal of sardinellas at a tapas bar.

12^th July

Today it has been unbelievably hot, with only a very light breeze. In the afternoon we cut up an old dinghy spinnaker and Rie had her sewing machine on the cockpit table. We sewed a “wind scoop” to direct air down the fore hatch. I went out to find a couple of screws to repair the kicking strap block. I managed to get them, but they are not stainless steel so will have to replace them later.

13^th July

It was rather cool this morning. Everything was shrouded in thick fog which was being blown in from seaward. I walked up to buy some gas and found the street market in full swing, the town was full of people. I hurried back with the gas and fetched Rie so she could see it too. We spent the rest of the morning looking around the market. I bought a pair of shorts and Rie bought a colourful light skirt. We also bought an electric fan to push some air through the cabin – we can only use it when in harbour with access to electricity though. On return to the boat, Rie was very disappointed to find the skirt waist too small!

14^th July

Again over clouded and a bit misty. We heard from Bonita this morning that they had left Muros. We met an English couple from Ipswich who are also on their way south but then will cross to the Caribbean. We have decided to slow down and our aim now is to over-winter the boat in southern Spain.

15^th July

Another foggy day, so we stayed in harbour. In the late afternoon, it cleared up a little. Met Mike and Angie Williams from Ipswich in their 43ft boat “Lady of Lorien”.

16^th July

It looked a bit better today so, a little after noon, we set off. There were still fog patches drifting about. The wind came straight up the ria, so we motored until we were outside of it. Later we could sail, so we continued on and up the Ria de Pontevedra to Cambarros. Here there was a harbour festival and it was noisy, with fishing boats darting around all over the place. We tried anchoring, but found the bottom foul with old moorings and thick weed. We turned around and headed back down the ria. On the way we met Mike and Angie and they came back with us to the marina at Sargenjo. This turned out to be a full facility marina and when we saw the huge boats moored up, we were concerned how much it would cost. However, it turned out to be reasonable – certainly cheaper than England’s South Coast marinas. Some of the boats here had their own “pens”, like the eighty foot sailing yacht there.

In the evening, a loud disco started up and continued through until 5 am. So we didn’t get much sleep.

17^th July

Today, we sailed to Islas Cies. These are a beautiful group of islands in the mouth of Ria de Vigo. When we arrived, the bay was full of local boats but we found a spot to anchor in 4m depth. On the way here, we had caught a couple of mackerel so that was our evening meal. In the evening all the local boats went home to places like Vigo and Bayona so there was plenty of room and we enjoyed this peaceful place. Rie took a swim from the boat but couldn’t entice me into the still cold water. During the late afternoon, several more English boats turned up, some of them boating large ARC banners.

18th July

We spent the whole day here at anchor, we moved up closer to the northern end of the bay where there was more shelter. Bonita moved round the back of the next island. We took a trip ashore in the dinghy and had a walk. Steen had lent me a book called “Stormy”, which describes Svend Billebolle’s circumnavigation in a 23ft boat – a Leisure 23. Angie came over and cut Rie’s hair on our foredeck. She had to stop every time a boat went by! We heard from Dorthe that she and Brian will meet us on 2^nd August, we look forward to that.

19^th July

In the early afternoon we sailed to Ens de Barra, just a few miles into the ria. We thought this would be more sheltered in the forecast NW wind. It was again a delightful anchorage, off a long sandy beach. However, the beach was full of nudists parading back and forth along the sand. Rie took a short swim from the boat and I became engrossed in my book.

20^th July

In the morning we rowed ashore, before the beach became invaded by nudists. Rie went for a swim and I paddled a bit – still not that warm. We collected some shells before rowing back in the dinghy. On the way back we called on Mike and Angie to hear of their plans – they would stay another night here.

                                                           Lady of Lorien

We sailed on to Bayona in the afternoon, arriving at 5pm. A young man in a RIB came out to meet us at high speed and showed us to our berth. He also helped us moor up by taking our ropes from the pontoon. In the evening we went out for a meal with Steen and Trine in the old town. There are some wonderful old streets in Bayona and there are cafés and restaurants everywhere. This is mainly a holiday destination for the Spanish.

21^st July

In the morning we went up to the supermarket and while Rie did the shopping, I went off to find a barber and made an appointment for the afternoon.

Our engine start battery is no longer holding its charge, so today I ordered a new one from the local chandlers – collect tomorrow. I had my haircut in the afternoon – a friendly and efficient young man who didn’t speak a word of English. Had a short summer cut – just right for this weather.

22^nd July

Today, we collected the new battery and a crew member from the neighbouring Swedish boat helped us to carry it back to the boat. I soon discovered that it would not fit in the battery compartment. The dimensions given by the chandler did not include the handles! So, out with the woodwork tools and the compartment was soon modified to fit.

Later in the day, our earth leakage relay tripped and so we could no longer take shore power. I could not see that changing the battery would affect it, so decided there must be a problem with the shore power or a faulty connection on another boat. Decided to wait and see what happens at the next harbour.

Today we have had thick fog most of the day and it was late afternoon before it cleared up.

23^rd July

We left Bayona at 10.30am and motored out of the ria against a light westerly breeze. As we turned south we only had a light sea breeze most of the time, so we let the engine help us along. We followed the coast southwards and crossed the border into Portugal at 3.15pm, so Rie hoisted the Portuguese courtesy flag.

Portugal

At 5pm we arrived at Viana do Castello on the Rio Lima and motored right up to the road/rail bridge designed by Eiffel. Only at the last minute could we see the entrance to the marina – we were wondering if it no longer existed! The marina staff here are very helpful and most of them speak English. Portuguese sounds more like Russian than Spanish! We met another Danish boat “Borina” and paid a call on the English boat “Bizm” who we last saw in Portosin.

In the evening we took a walk into the town where there was a book fair – we bought a small dictionary! Then we listened to an open air concert in the gardens; a local group played and sang traditional music which was most pleasant. We came back to the boat at midnight local time. We turned our clocks back one hour as Portugal uses the same time as England – an hour behind Spain.

24^th July

We explored the western half of the town today, a wonderful mix of old and new. There are several churches and a monastery and nunnery, also a church high on the cliff overlooking the town. The style of the old buildings is called “Manuelian” and is reminiscent of the main towns on the Azores. We found a school named after Magellan, the well known Portuguese explorer who gave his name to the Magellan Strait. The Portuguese people seem to be more open and friendlier than the Spanish and they are more ready to speak English.

25^th July

Washday! The harbour has a good sized washing machine and drier, so today we caught up with the washing. A few more boats have arrived from Bayona today and the marina is getting full. Many of them are ARC boats, one, a Dutch boat is 53ft long! The forecast is for southerly winds until Friday, so we may be staying here a while.

26^th July

We found an internet café today, so we updated our website. The lady in the internet café was very friendly and gave Rie an introduction to Portuguese – how to ask for the bill, etc. and count to 10. We came back to the boat about 5pm and were invited aboard a Dutch boat for coffee. The boat was 53ft long, an Amel 2000 – all mod cons, including a washing machine and dishwasher!

27^th July

Woke up to strong wind and pouring with rain. We spent most of the day reading.

28th July

Another rainy day – we stay. In the afternoon we put our oilies on and went shopping – then it dried up.

29^th July

The early morning was dull but it soon cleared up. We filled up with fuel and sailed out at 1020am. Within an hour, we had bright sunshine. We sailed most of the day and caught 9 good sized mackerel – another 4 got away. We shared our catch with Steen and Trine when we arrived in Leixoes. We found the harbour technically closed as they have not opened after a fire a year ago, but we were allowed to moor to a pontoon but without water or electricity – we didn’t have to pay either.

We had mackerel for supper of course – and we have enough for lunch tomorrow too.

30^th July

Today we took a trip to Porto. This is a fascinating city, the old part is built on the N. bank of the Rio Douro and is a maze of narrow streets, many with steep steps. It was clearly a poor area. Behind the old city lies modern Porto and a greater contrast is hard to imagine. We walked over the Luis I bridge, which is being renovated, to Vila Nova de Gaia where all the port wine cellars are found. We had a guided tour around the Calem caves where we saw huge vats holding 5500 litres each and the guide explained the differences between the different types of port wines. The tour ended with a tasting session of course, and we bought a couple of bottles.

The river Douro itself is very scenic, with the old Ravela boats lying on their moorings on the south bank. These boats were used to ferry the barrels of wine down from the vineyards, this method of transport ended in 1976. It used to take 3 days and nights to get down to Vila Nova. I had another tasting in the Noia wine cellars and bought a bottle to take home.

We caught a bus back to Leixoes and were surprised to find a near gale there. Later we discovered that this is normal in the afternoons! The sea breeze adds to the moderate wind to produce a gale. We obtained a forecast of F7 for tomorrow.

31^st July

The wind had died down during the night but by 2 pm was back up to 25 knots and increasing. We stayed in harbour and planned our next move. Now we think we’ll head for Aveiro tomorrow if we can, and meet Dorthe and Brian there.

1^st August

We left Leixoes soon after dawn at 0620 and hoisted the mainsail in the outer harbour. When we left harbour, the wind was light but as soon as the sun came up it blew a decent breeze and we were soon doing 5 knots under sail. There was a good swell of about 2-3 metres and we rolled and screwed our way south.. By the time we arrived at the entrance to Rio de Aveiro at 1230 it was already blowing 1 knots, and as we motored upriver it really started to blow. We entered the lock near the town of Aveiro, but there were just a few mooring posts and no facilities – not even water. We saw some local boats moored by some dilapidated buildings which did not look very interesting, so we headed back down the ria to a boatyard where we had seen “Lady Jane” lying alongside a large boat.. We went alongside an empty section of pontoon but were told we couldn’t stay there as a big catamaran coming there. So we roped Restless round the back of the pontoon past a big steel boat. By now it was blowing 26knots plus, but we were at the top of the tide and so slack water. Soon after, the tide began to ebb at up to 7 knots. We doubled up all ropes as we were hanging from the pontoon in a near gale. I noticed a workshop nearby with a Yanmar sign, so I went over and asked if they had a n ignition switch for the engine. The man in the stores was very helpful and drove me a few kilometres to their other stores – but they didn’t have one in stock. They offered to get one from Spain – but that would have kept us here for many days. Finally they said that the switch was a fairly standard item and would send Miguel, the electrician over in the morning. Meanwhile we are lying in a wild open place, surrounded by salt pans – some still in use, with conical mounds of white salt.

2^nd August

Miguel turned up about 9 am and took our broken switch away. He came back with a new one for which he had made a collar, so it would fit. Now we have a working switch. Meanwhile the yard owner came down and told we would not be able to get out near low water – he arranged to come back at 11.30 to move the big steel boat behind us so we could switch places. He came with 4 of his men and we were first roped alongside the steel boat, and then into the new berth after the steel boat was moved along the pontoon.

Soon it was time to go up to the town of Aveiro to meet Dorthe and Brian who would come by train from Lisbon. It was a long walk, but interesting as we walked alongside the working salt pans and then the pretty canals into the town centre. Having met them, we had some lunch in a small restaurant and did some shopping. Rie went into a café and asked if they would ring for a taxi for us – they were most helpful and the taxi came.

After we had our guests settled in, we all went over to “Lady Jane” for drinks. I talked to Christophe of the French catamaran. It was 10pm before we had our evening meal! Gale force again!

3^rd August

We left Ria Marine at 7 am in order to catch the tide down to the entrance. There was not much wind, so we motored most of the way to Figuera da Foz. On entering, the wind suddenly increased to 19 knots as we were taking down the sail. As we neared the marina, we were hit by a wall of heat which persisted the rest of the afternoon. We walked over to the main beach where there were big sand sculptures left over from a competition. There the wind swept the sand along the beach so it stung our bare legs and faces. As we came back to our boat, we saw that “Bonita” had arrived – Steen said the wind was 60 knots when they came in the entrance!

4^th August

We left Figuera do Foz at eight am, with a slight easterly breeze, but once away from the entrance it increased so we could sail at 5 knots. It soon dropped again though and we had to resort to the engine. It kept cutting out at low revs though.

As we motored along the coast we saw forest fires and behind us the visibility was drastically reduced due to smoke. We later found out that the main fire had a front 15km long! As we came in to our berth at Nazare, the engine cut out again so we had to glide into the berth. We were met by Capt Mike Hadley who managed the marina. He called a mechanic to look at our engine – who decided there was a leak just before the lift pump so that air was getting in. He would come back in the morning to fix it.

We went out for a meal at the harbour restaurant – which also catered for the workers from the nearby fish auction. Good food at reasonable prices and good service. What more could we ask for? By the way the temperature today has been up to 47 deg C!

5^th August

The mechanic came at half past eight and decided it was the fuel system that failed. He took away the lift pump to check it but seemed ok. Then after a lot of fiddling he took the injectors to a specialist firm to get them checked. I went with him and had a hair raising drive to Alcobaca. When they were refitted, there was no change. The man at the diesel workshop had suggested the high pressure pump – so another even faster drive  - it was now 4 pm. The workshop stripped down the pump, cleaned all the parts and replaced a few and reassembled it again. Another high speed drive over the hills back to the harbour – with the smell of burning brake pads in our nostrils. The pump was refitted – but no change. Then the boss came down and decided it was the primary fuel filter – it had been replaced only the week before – but on with another but to no avail. By now all concerned were getting frustrated and when a Swiss sailor from another boat came over and insisted it was valve problems, things got a bit heated.

In the end I paid them off – 50€ for the workshop time and 90€ for 12 hours of labour and said I would continue until I came to a marine workshop. I now think the Swiss may be right and it could be valve or piston problems, but there was no way these bodgers were stripping down the engine. Tired to bed!

6^th August

Brian and I walked into town before breakfast to draw money from the cash machine and bought an electric kettle. We use a lot of gas just for boiling water when we don’t pay extra for being plugged in to the mains electricity. However, we later found we could have withdrawn cash at the marina office. Having paid our dues, we left the marina in a cloud of black smoke. The mechanic had not found the fault! We motored the 5 miles to Sao Martinho do Porto, a beautiful little enclosed bay. Once under way, the motor had been OK. We anchored outside the local moored boats, we were the only visitor. Rie, Dorthe and Brian went ashore in the rubber dinghy, landing at the club pontoon. In the evening, sea fog rolled in and I went to bed concerned whether we would get away in the morning.

7^th August

I woke up at 6 am to thick fog and the sound of the foghorn. We could not even see the boats on moorings nearby. It did not clear until 9.am and at 0930 we cleared out of the bay. We could easily have been trapped here for days if an onshore wind had picked up. Outside the bay visibility was more than 3 miles and it was flat calm. We motored and kept a radar watch.  When abeam Cabo Valeiro, we topped up the engine oil and laid a course for Cabo de Roca, still hardly any wind though.

After passing Cabo Roca we changed course for Cascais and put another ½ litre of oil in the engine. We had a little wind now and could have sailed but we dared not stop the engine in case it would not start for entering harbour. We arrived at Cascais at eight thirty and were shown into an overnight berth without having to tie up at the reception pontoon. We had to hand over our registration document for the night until we could register properly in the morning. We were given temporary security cards so we could come and go and also use the facilities. It had been a nerve racking day, hoping the engine would hold out for the 70 miles to Cascais. We went out for a meal in the evening. Here there are many restaurants that cater for foreign tourists – several seem to be English run.

8^th August

I went up to reception and registered and was given a berth in the visitors area at the far end. Brian and Dorthe went up to explore the town and to find out about transport to the airport tomorrow. Later, I enquired at one of the yacht service agents about getting a mechanic to repair the engine. It was arranged for one to come next morning at 0930. Rie and I went shopping – Cascais is in many ways a fine town but it is a long way to the food shops.

                                                                     Cascais anchorage

9^th August

We were up early to see Dorthe and Brian off – they took the train to Lisbon and then taxi to the airport.

The mechanic arrived around midday and set to work on the engine. I explained what the other mechanic had done but he soon concluded that the problem was to do with compression. He took the top off and listened to the valves while turning the engine round and decided it was one of the pistons that was losing compression. Arrangements were made to take out the engine next day. Carlos, the mechanic warned us however that it could take up to 3 weeks to get Yanmar parts in Portugal.

I was impressed by this mechanic – he was methodical and cleaned everything after use. He even had a rubbish bag for all the bits of paper he’d used. His young helper was dressed in white shorts and T-shirt and tools were asked for and handed over as in an operating theatre! This week Cascais has a festival and there are many booths on the seafront selling food, crafts etc. We had a platter of grilled sardines and boiled potatoes. You can’t get fish fresher than here – caught locally same day.

10^th August

Carlos and Sergei came back around 11.30 and disconnected the engine, ready for lifting out. It had been decided that the engine could be hoisted out with the mast crane, so avoiding hauling the whole boat out. The marina staff came round with their towing RIB and towed us over to the crane berth. The engine hoist went like clockwork and Carlos drove away with our engine. We were then towed back to our berth. When the engine came out, we could see where all the oil had been leaking out at the back end and there was a right oily mess in the bilge. We were relieved though that we were still afloat and could live normally on board for however long it takes to repair the engine.

11^th August

I had asked Nauti Star if they could pump out the bilge for us as it was fairly full of a mixture of water, diesel and engine oil. A young man turned up in the afternoon and thoroughly cleaned the engine compartment and bilge, having pumped out into various containers, which he disposed of. We couldn’t really converse as we had no common language. Afterwards, I gave him a beer, and he asked if we were Ingles. I said no, we were from Denmark and pointed to the flag. Brian Laudrup, I said – then he understood. Brian Laudrup is known throughout Spain and Portugal and is a great ambassador for Denmark.

I had been worried that, having taken the engine out, we would take in water because of reduced pressure on the Deep Sea Gland. However, I had forgotten that the rope cutter was fastened to both the hull and the shaft, thus preventing the shaft from sliding in. Phew! We spent the rest of the day reading, relaxing, and getting up to date with writing our logs. We are rather isolated here, because we are the only foreign boat on our pontoon and each pontoon has its own unique access card. It rather cuts down the on-board socialising for us. We do occasionally meet others ashore though.

5^th September

We have been in Cascais a month now, while our engine was being repaired. The fault was found to be the pistons, two of them were breaking up between the rings! We believe the cause has been overheating and have asked them to find out why.

After two weeks, we asked if we could move to another pontoon where we could come into contact with other foreign yachts. This was accomplished with ropes, and with help from George, on “ Katrine of Mersea”, and Steve – another single hander. George sails with his dog “Caddy”, and each day they go for a morning walk so Caddy can have his ice cream. In the evenings they go out and share a beer!

We were glad when the catamaran “Lady Jane” turned up, and we had several pleasant evenings with Jim and Jane. Eventually, they sailed for Madeira. The next day “Lady of Lorien” turned up and we spent several pleasant evenings with Mike and Angie Williams.

One day, Angie organised a trip to Sintra, a town to the north of Estoril. We all four took the bus from Cascais and we looked around the National Palace, which design is heavily influenced by the Moors. There are some delightful water courtyards to keep the place cool and amazing tile work all over. Each room was known by its ceiling design. On the end of the building was the great kitchen, with tall conical chimneys over the roasting spits.

From here, we took a small bus up the winding narrow road to the Palace de Pena. This is an amazing palace/castle built by a king for his wife as a summer residence. Every room was different and the outside walls were colourful. There were many turrets and archways – a real fairy tale castle.

Another day, we took the train to Lisbon and wandered round the city all day. Lisbon still has a few trams in service, plus a couple of “street elevators”, which are specially designed trams to cope with the steep inclines. We also went up a vertical lift which goes from one street level to another and gives views over Lisbon. Overlooking the city lies St George’s castle.

Cascais itself is not the worst place to be stuck in, but it is expensive, and noisy at night because of the discos. We had to resort to earplugs in order to get some decent sleep! It is a long walk from the marina to the food shops, which are on the NW edge of town.The marina facilities are good, but at 27€ a night, they should be! Many yachts choose to anchor in the bay, this is more convenient for shopping as it is much nearer, but it does involve the use of a dinghy. However, we are trapped in the marina without an engine.

While we have been here, work has been progressing with extending the marina mole. There has been a steady stream of lorries carrying huge stone blocks for the construction. Also, the yacht club is being rebuilt – it’s just a building site at the moment.

6^th September

This morning, we had rain – the first time since we were in Viano do Castello. Otherwise, we have had cloudless sunny days most of the time. We can feel that autumn has arrived, the evenings are already cooler and the shops are already selling winter clothes!

Nauti Star had faithfully promised that our engine would be installed today, it should have been yesterday. However, it wasn’t to be. Now they say it will be tomorrow afternoon, after they have test run it in the morning. Tonight we were invited aboard “Free Spirit”, a Vancouver 32 registered in Itchenor. Mark and Natalya have been here a week – Mark has been back to the UK for a few days. Mark told me the disturbing news of another incident of the Yanmar 3GM30 with piston problems. He showed me an article about an American catamaran with two of these engines and both failed with piston breakage after 4000 hrs running! It was suggested that they were originally fitted with incorrect size piston rings.

7^th September

Today we have washed our fresh water tank, as it was beginning to smell bad.  We flushed it through with fresh water and have also replaced the water filter. Otherwise, we have spent the whole day trying to get news of our engine. Last night we had heavy rain and today it has been cloudy and windy.

8th September

Still no engine!!! Nauti Star say the mechanic is sick and won’t be back at work until tomorrow. It could now be Saturday before we see our engine again. We are not very happy with Nauti Star!!

Steen and Trine called by today, they have moved back to the marina overnight, they are getting ready to sail “Bonita” to the Canaries.

10^th September

Today, we got our engine back, after a complete rebuild. We had been rather worried how much it would all cost but the total bill came to 1793.16€, what a relief!

The engine had been run in the workshop for 6 hours and we have been out for an hour’s sail with it with the mechanic on board. It runs and sounds like new – and no smoke! As well as the three pistons, all the oil seals and bearing shells have been replaced, as well as all the gaskets . It has also been repainted!

Yesterday, we restocked with food etc. so we are ready to sail tomorrow morning.

11^th September

As soon as the office opened, we paid our dues and topped up with fuel and water. So at 1015, we left Cascais in company with “Free Spirit” and “Dart Warrior” and set sail for Cape St Vincent. After motoring clear of the anchored ships, we hoisted the mainsail and rolled out the genoa. It was great to be at sea again.

                                                                             Free Spirit of Itchenor

                                                                        Dart Warrior

Near Cabo Espichel, the wind had gone round to the NW. So we took down the main and set up a working jib as a twin with the genoa, This gave us a much more comfortable ride, and as wind increased to about 30 knots we were flying along, with the Windpilot doing the steering. Rie took a night watch from midnight to 3 am and I took the remaining night watches.

12^th September

We rounded Cape St Vincent in the dark so we could just make out the dark shape of the soaring cliffs. Just before dawn, we came round Sagres Point and changed our course. This meant we were no longer running before the wind, so had to abandon the “twins” and reach with main and genoa the rest of the way to Lagos. During then night the gps had been showing our speed over the ground as up to 9 knots!

Dart Warrior approaching Lagos

All three yachts arrived in Lagos together at 1015! Our Rival 32, the Vancouver 32 and the Warrior 35 were pretty evenly matched. The Rival was clearly faster downwind with the twin sails, but the others made up for it on the final reach. The 130 nm had taken us exactly 24 hrs. We entered the fine marina in Lagos and the rest of the day was spent relaxing and catching up with our sleep.

13^th September                  

During the early hours yesterday morning, we discovered that, on starting the engine, the batteries were not being charged. So, today was spent finding out why? I found the fault to be in the charge splitter – the blocking diodes were all open circuit. This must have happened when I had tried to install a solar panel we had been given, which turned out to have a faulty control box. Luckily, there is a good chandler in Lagos so I was able to replace the blocking diodes.

Afterwards, we went for a wander through the town and stopped for a meal on the way back. In the evening we were on board “Dart Warrior” for drinks and discussed the weather forecasts. It doesn’t look good for the next few days.

14^th September

In the marina, there is an internet hot spot, and Kieran let us use his account, so we can check our e-mails etc. from on board. He also sorted out our computer so we could access the net again – that was a great help.

Most of the day was spent exploring Lagos. The town has a very good atmosphere – quiet and calming, the older part was a delight to walk around in. We found the building that used to be the slave market in the 1700’s – the only one in Portugal.  We found a little shop that sold hand made goods from Ghana. So we bought two small baskets to hang our fruit and tomatoes in. The shop assistant - Rosie - was a delightful friendly woman.

                 

The town is walled, roughly pentagon shaped and most of the wall still remains – but not along the river. In the late afternoon, we had a thunderstorm and the heavens opened.

In the evening, we invited Mark and Natalya from “Free Spirit” and Kieran and Ellie from “Dart Warrior” over for drinks. Rie had also put out cheese, olives, grapes, biscuits etc. and we had a great evening. “Restless” has a fine cabin for entertaining.

                                                                                          Party on Restless

15^th September

We have had thunderstorms again today, complete with rain and hailstones. It continued to rumble around all day, and it doesn’t look like we can get away tomorrow. Today has been a day for reading, relaxing and catching up with our computer log.

16^th September

I managed to pick up the Ham net this morning, but it was very weak and very noisy. Their weather forecast was the same as the one I got from DMI yesterday. The wind is still in the east. The weather is still overcast and distinctly cooler at 26 deg C!

17^th September

Trine and Steen arrived today in the afternoon. They had also sailed overnight from Cascais and were very tired. We stayed around the boat most of the day, but in the evening we went up to the Bamboo bar and found a whole load of Brits. We found there are a large number of Brits over wintering here on their boats.

18th September

Rie did the washing today and I rubbed down and varnished the port side toe rail. The other side can wait until we are berthed port side to.

In the evening, Steen invited us out for a meal at a restaurant in town. They now have a new crew, who has joined them for the voyage to the Canaries.

19^th September

I made contact with another Welsh couple, from Conwy. They had been up the Rio Guadiana for 3 months and had just returned to Lagos for the winter. They were living permanently on board, having sold their house in North Wales. They were Roger and Susie Evans. “Bonita” has left for the Canaries now. We had been together most of the way from Nieuport, in Belgium.

Aboard Bonita

25^th September

We said goodbye to Kieran and Eli, from Dart Warrior, as they left the marina today. We had a get together on board “Restless” last night, with Kieran, Eli, Mark and Natalya. They are calling in Faro and then heading for Cadiz and Gibraltar. We had planned to sail with them, but having spoken to several sailors here and searched the internet we have now decided to stay here in Lagos for the winter. The marina offers a good deal for 9 months from 16^th September for the price of 2 months at high season rate. That is for a fully serviced marina berth, afloat. The nearest I had been quoted was at Estepona for storage ashore. We will still fly home for a few months, but can return any time to live aboard and cruise around here. The weather here has improved again and the temperature is back in the 30’s. It is very pleasant exploring the old town.

1^st October

We have heard that “Bonita” has arrived safely in the Canary islands, we wish them a good journey on to the Carribean. We have met yet another Welsh couple. They are Dave and Sandra Thomas, from Llanelli. They live on board their Countess 36 but move ashore to an apartment they own in Lagos for a few months in the winter. One day, we took a ride on one of the tripper boats, a traditional boat, to see the caves just along the coast from Lagos. The sea has carved the limestone cliffs into a labyrinth of caves and arches. We transferred into a smaller boat to enter the caves.

We have also been out for a couple of day sails just off the coast but have spent a great deal of time in the harbour area. Apart from the sightseeing, we have been doing boat maintenance and have continued rubbing down and re-varnishing the woodwork.

3^rd October

This morning, the sky had a peculiar colour and it seemed a bit chilly. When we walked over to see Mark and Nat, we discovered there was a partial eclipse of the sun! When we borrowed some special glasses from the Dolphin watch people we could clearly see the moon’s progress across the sun. When we arrived at Mark & Nat’s boat, they took their sextant out and we continued to observe this annular eclipse.

6^th October

To the east from Lagos, towards the Spanish border, the coastal strip is low lying with lagoons behind the sand dunes. We have just returned from a few days spent at anchor off the old village at Alvor. This is a fishing village where the new fish quay is still in use.

The newer part of Alvor is also pleasant, we found several beautiful villas there. However as in all Portuguese towns, there are many contrasts – there are also poor areas too. When the wind blew out to the anchorage from the village, we could smell the sardines being grilled over charcoal outside the waterfront restaurants. Eating out is fairly inexpensive here in Portugal if you choose the local fare. A platter with 6 grilled sardines, for example, costs around 7€. In Alvor, we happened on a Welsh café, and a vegetarian one at that! It was run by Jo and Lloyd, I believe they were from Pwllheli. That evening, we sat at a waterside café and ate our evening meal while we watched a brilliant red sunset.

One day, while we were at in Alvor, we woke up to the sound of people working the clam beds just a few yards from the boat – it was low water. It turned out to be a national holiday and whole families were out on the uncovered sandbanks scraping and collecting these shellfish. We took a trip in the inflatable dinghy along the lagoon and were amazed how many people were out on the sands.

When the tide came in again, and the sandbanks were half covered, we hauled up our anchor and sailed out of the lagoon. We had a pleasant sail all the way back to the Lagos entrance where we started the engine and stowed our sails.

7^th October

Mark and Natalya of “Free Spirit” are still here in Lagos. They are busy preparing for their trip to the Canaries and on to the Carribean. Mark has bought and fitted solar panels here in Lagos, where they are much cheaper than in Northern Europe. I may do the same in the spring. There is someone here who can manufacture an “arch” for me so we can mount the panels properly and tidy up the stern rail. Tonight, we entertained Dave and Sandra Thomas on board “Restless”. They presented us with a welsh flag, “Y Ddraig Goch.” We had a very pleasant evening, Rie loved their soft Welsh accents. Dave has promised to keep an eye on “Restless” when we return to Denmark for a few months.

Dave & Sandra Thomas

We have booked our flight home with Easy Jet, via Stansted. This was a quarter of the price of a direct flight from Faro to Copenhagen! When we tried the local travel agent, the service was very poor and I doubt the young Portuguese girl knew where Denmark was! In the end we said “No thank you” and booked the flight with Easy Jet on the internet.

Dave had told us about a transfer service to Faro airport. So we booked that on the internet as well. The net address for the service is:  low-cost-transfer.com     and covers Portugal plus Madeira and the Azores. The fare from Lagos to Faro airport was just 14€.

9^th October

We had intended going back to Alvor again this last week, but it has been blowing hard from the SE. This morning it has rained heavily and the weather forecast is not so good for the next few days. So now is the time for writing up our logs and getting our website up to date while we still have free wireless access to the internet. I think our sailing season is over for this year now and the next chance we get, we will wash, dry and pack away our sails for the winter.

15^th October

Today, it was dry and we dried out our sails one at a time before packing them away. We had a tropical storm the other day, centred just 20 miles away off Cape St Vincent. It hit during the night with storm force winds and torrential rain. The met people called it Hurricane Vincent. This was a rather unusual event in this area, as the last recorded hurricane to reach Portugal was 30 years ago.

18th October 

We spent most of the day getting the boat ready for the winter. All loose gear has been taken off the deck, including liferaft, and stowed in the forecabin. So we are now sleeping in the main cabin a couple of nights.

We heard only yesterday, that they have a problem with electrolysis here in Lagos. On Dave’s recommendation, I bought an extra zinc rod, attached by a length of wire and hung it over the side near the stern gear. The wire was connected through the cockpit coaming and bonded to the other zinc anode and the bronze hull fittings. We will lift out for a scrub in the spring and will check the fixed anode at the same time. The problem seems to be greater at the end of the marina where the bigger boats are. Having heard how much electrical equipment some of these have, maybe it is not so surprising. We are down the other end among the sports fishers! At 32 ft long we are almost the smallest visitors in the marina. There are some smaller yachts of 27 ft but these are based here, and only sail locally.  We met a Norwegian couple in Alvor who were on their way down to the African coast in a Contessa 26!

19^th October

Today, we were up early to catch the minibus to the airport at Faro. The whole trip went smoothly enough and we eventually arrived in Copenhagen at 2110 , Danish time. We have been reflecting on the year and although we have been to some lovely places, the best part has been meeting and making friends with so many wonderful people on the way. We believe we have made some lasting friendships, and thanks to the modern communications possibilities, we can keep in touch, although we may be the other side of the globe! We are already making plans for the next phase of our cruise next year.

Now we are home a few months,  some work and spending time with friends and family.