30th April, Figueira da Foz
Just arrived 15:15 today from Nazare. All OK, more later. Route updated.
27th April 2009, Some Photos, Still in Nazare
Thanks to all who have left comments on the Blog – it’s always good to know that we are being read.
OK here are the photos that we have selected to bring you up to date from Lagos to Nazare. We will probably be here until Thursday….
First photo is of Trevor & Lesley (Kishorn of Ross) saying their ‘goodbyes’ before leaving Lagos to head East, then BB at the computer, the next 19 are from the weekend of the 4th which we spent at John & Rita’s, the area is near Carrapateira and Bordeira. Then 10 photos from the area north-east of Silves and in Silves & Ferragudo (across the river from Portimao) when we spent the weekend of the 11th with Nick & Anne at their place. After that we have a picture of Trevor with Jan & Baukjen (from J&B), T and Liz from ‘Little Else’ and then Ju also from ‘Little Else’ – isn’t it amazing that we have to go all the way to Lagos to meet people that normally have sailed the waters around Ardfern and we hadn’t seen their boat before. Then we have a picture of us on ‘Sheer Fantasy’ with Bob & Di after our successful trip up to Cascais from Lagos, followed by 3 pictures from a park in Cascais near the marina and 7 from Lisbon, and lastly one of us at anchor in Cascais bay before leaving for Nazare, then one of the locals at Nazare.
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OK here are the photos that we have selected to bring you up to date from Lagos to Nazare. We will probably be here until Thursday….
First photo is of Trevor & Lesley (Kishorn of Ross) saying their ‘goodbyes’ before leaving Lagos to head East, then BB at the computer, the next 19 are from the weekend of the 4th which we spent at John & Rita’s, the area is near Carrapateira and Bordeira. Then 10 photos from the area north-east of Silves and in Silves & Ferragudo (across the river from Portimao) when we spent the weekend of the 11th with Nick & Anne at their place. After that we have a picture of Trevor with Jan & Baukjen (from J&B), T and Liz from ‘Little Else’ and then Ju also from ‘Little Else’ – isn’t it amazing that we have to go all the way to Lagos to meet people that normally have sailed the waters around Ardfern and we hadn’t seen their boat before. Then we have a picture of us on ‘Sheer Fantasy’ with Bob & Di after our successful trip up to Cascais from Lagos, followed by 3 pictures from a park in Cascais near the marina and 7 from Lisbon, and lastly one of us at anchor in Cascais bay before leaving for Nazare, then one of the locals at Nazare.
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24th April 2009, Nazare
24th April
Nazare. We left Cascais marina on the 22nd and spent a night at anchor in the bay ready for an early start on the 23rd (5am) to go to Nazare, all the forecasts looked like it should be a good sail – however the weather didn’t develop as it was predicted and it turned out to be another motor-sail. Another long day and when we arrived in Nazare at 19:30 the Porto Recreo was (had been) shut – however, we parked up on the pontoons that had only been put back in action the day before and we scrubbed off all the guano that the seagulls had built up over the previous months. The night at anchor I managed to contact Kishorn of Ross (Trevor & Lesley, anchored about 30 miles from Cartagena) on 8101, didn’t hear Grand Slam (Andy) and didn’t hear the Dutch net.
It may be that we move on from here tomorrow (Saturday) or there again it could be a week … Still working on the photos…..
Nazare. We left Cascais marina on the 22nd and spent a night at anchor in the bay ready for an early start on the 23rd (5am) to go to Nazare, all the forecasts looked like it should be a good sail – however the weather didn’t develop as it was predicted and it turned out to be another motor-sail. Another long day and when we arrived in Nazare at 19:30 the Porto Recreo was (had been) shut – however, we parked up on the pontoons that had only been put back in action the day before and we scrubbed off all the guano that the seagulls had built up over the previous months. The night at anchor I managed to contact Kishorn of Ross (Trevor & Lesley, anchored about 30 miles from Cartagena) on 8101, didn’t hear Grand Slam (Andy) and didn’t hear the Dutch net.
It may be that we move on from here tomorrow (Saturday) or there again it could be a week … Still working on the photos…..
19th April 2009, Cascais
The guessing game of ‘When do we Go?’ finished in a rush on Friday 17th - we had been following the weather forecasts during the week and on Thursday morning, Sunday looked like a reasonable day to head north, then in the afternoon it had changed and Saturday looked the better day; but on Friday it had changed again Sunday was ‘out’ Saturday was marginal but we would make Sines OK during a day sail. We still preferred to try for Cascais and Di from Sheer Fantasy suggested ‘is it possible to leave Friday afternoon and go overnight to Cascais’ – this was just after midday – it was possible – so we put ‘Plan D’ into action and had got organised, paid the bills, said some quick ‘Cheerios’ and were on our way (in company with Sheer Fantasy) by 15:15.
I know it was Friday and the superstitions etc but if we didn’t go it could have been another month – everyone was ‘itching’ to get the first long one over with. As we rounded the capes at Sagres and Sao Vicente the wind was picking up from about 12 to about 16 – 18 and moving round further on our port beam, the seas were also building so we dipped the flag in salute to Sao Vicente on the way round the cape and the seas settled to a more comfortable level and the winds steadied. We also got time to have a quick chat with Jan (on Dutch boat J&B) on 12353kh – he was still in Lagos but we couldn’t make the contact on 8101. The weather was very wet and miserable but the whole trip varied between some good sailing, reasonable motor-sailing, bright stars, blue skies and heavy rain with limited visibility. We didn’t see too much traffic during the night but had the radar on a couple of times to check out some of the lights we were seeing.
We arrived in Cascais about 16:00ish on Saturday, topped up with diesel, checked in and came round to the berth in some miserable heavy drizzle / rain – very Scottish ! So we tidied up the boat and got ready for an early night seeing as we didn’t sleep much during the overnight passage; but that’s the first major step in a northward direction and we are very pleased to have covered the 124 miles in a good time.
Not sure how long we are here for but will up-date the route map and get the photos ready for the next post on the blog.
I know it was Friday and the superstitions etc but if we didn’t go it could have been another month – everyone was ‘itching’ to get the first long one over with. As we rounded the capes at Sagres and Sao Vicente the wind was picking up from about 12 to about 16 – 18 and moving round further on our port beam, the seas were also building so we dipped the flag in salute to Sao Vicente on the way round the cape and the seas settled to a more comfortable level and the winds steadied. We also got time to have a quick chat with Jan (on Dutch boat J&B) on 12353kh – he was still in Lagos but we couldn’t make the contact on 8101. The weather was very wet and miserable but the whole trip varied between some good sailing, reasonable motor-sailing, bright stars, blue skies and heavy rain with limited visibility. We didn’t see too much traffic during the night but had the radar on a couple of times to check out some of the lights we were seeing.
We arrived in Cascais about 16:00ish on Saturday, topped up with diesel, checked in and came round to the berth in some miserable heavy drizzle / rain – very Scottish ! So we tidied up the boat and got ready for an early night seeing as we didn’t sleep much during the overnight passage; but that’s the first major step in a northward direction and we are very pleased to have covered the 124 miles in a good time.
Not sure how long we are here for but will up-date the route map and get the photos ready for the next post on the blog.
15th April 2009 (still in Lagos)
Still in Lagos.. We’re still here, been quite busy and have been very fortunate to visit out into the countryside on the last two weekends, but before we tell you about that we must mention the oranges… I don’t know how we forgot but on the last post about Albufeira and leaving there, we totally forgot to mention about a couple of visitors that used to pop round to see us a couple of times a week. It started with Trevor arriving back down the boat and speaking with Liz who had come round to the pontoon that we were on to check out the Scottish flag and then being joined by her husband Sandy and Maurice (Sandy‘s long time pal). Sandy & Liz have a catamaran in Albufeira and were just down to check it out – anyway during the chatting it turned out that they had been in Dunoon for part of their time in Scotland and also involved with the Mountain Rescue and also know people from Aberfoyle. Anyway, Sandy and Maurice used to call in for a coffee and a chat most of the times that they called at the marina and brought some paper-back books and bags of oranges from their grove that they live in a couple of times and also just before we left – so that we have (almost) enough oranges to last us back to Scotland. Should keep the scurvy away….!
Right then – Lagos, we’re still pottering about, Carolyn has been varnishing the woodwork outside the boat and keeping up with the daily shopping. Bob & Di (Sheer Fantasy) are now back in the water and just along the pontoon from us. We’ve met up with a couple of boats that are going east and have been round to pass on the info that we gathered on the places that we visited. Had a delicious meal on Suerte (David & Sue) that David had prepared, we now have the recipe for Persian Spiced Chicken with Jewelled Rice – very tasty.
John and Rita had been down to the boat towards the end of last month (we didn’t manage to meet up when we came through in 2007) and we went to stay at their place for the weekend. They took us on a tour round the area near the small village where they live – it is wonderful. We had a fantastic weekend and also met up with Anne & Nick, who also lived near Aberfoyle and are now based near Silves. Last weekend we were there at their beautiful place – up a hill in the countryside and very near to the old town of Silves. It was wonderful to visit the historic town and to be in the countryside at both places, very picturesque - amongst hills – very like Scotland in some ways but with more blue skies and less frost…. Of course all this opinion is based on an abundance of spring flowers and the greenness at this time of year. If anyone was thinking of coming out to Portugal – and not be on a ‘Package Holiday’ they could consider checking out http://www.photographportugal.com or arrange their own accommodation through http://www.algarve-rentals.com either would give a good alternative.
How much longer we will be here is still a bit of a guessing game – the weather is still from the north and looks that way for a while. We’ll let you know when we’re on the move again and put up some photo’s in a week or so.
Right then – Lagos, we’re still pottering about, Carolyn has been varnishing the woodwork outside the boat and keeping up with the daily shopping. Bob & Di (Sheer Fantasy) are now back in the water and just along the pontoon from us. We’ve met up with a couple of boats that are going east and have been round to pass on the info that we gathered on the places that we visited. Had a delicious meal on Suerte (David & Sue) that David had prepared, we now have the recipe for Persian Spiced Chicken with Jewelled Rice – very tasty.
John and Rita had been down to the boat towards the end of last month (we didn’t manage to meet up when we came through in 2007) and we went to stay at their place for the weekend. They took us on a tour round the area near the small village where they live – it is wonderful. We had a fantastic weekend and also met up with Anne & Nick, who also lived near Aberfoyle and are now based near Silves. Last weekend we were there at their beautiful place – up a hill in the countryside and very near to the old town of Silves. It was wonderful to visit the historic town and to be in the countryside at both places, very picturesque - amongst hills – very like Scotland in some ways but with more blue skies and less frost…. Of course all this opinion is based on an abundance of spring flowers and the greenness at this time of year. If anyone was thinking of coming out to Portugal – and not be on a ‘Package Holiday’ they could consider checking out http://www.photographportugal.com or arrange their own accommodation through http://www.algarve-rentals.com either would give a good alternative.
How much longer we will be here is still a bit of a guessing game – the weather is still from the north and looks that way for a while. We’ll let you know when we’re on the move again and put up some photo’s in a week or so.
1st April 2009 – a few photos
A few photos starting with 2 from Vila Real when Papa Natal switched on the Christmas lights in the town square, next we have one of the weather when we arrived back in Scotland (the drive up to Inversnaid looking towards the Arrochar hills), the Inversnaid school Christmas Dinner, 2 of the weather we left behind in January. Then the weather back in Vila Real, Katie’s birthday, 4 of the Carnaval at Quarteira (near Vilamoura); strong winds at Albufeira, Stacy and baby Alicia, the gypsy site near the marina at Albufeira, BB and friends at Albufeira. Then Grace taking a picture of Carolyn taking a picture of Grace…. , a visit from Darren & Vicki, 2 of strong winds at Lagos, one from when Carolyn went on a walk with a group of people from the marina at Lagos. The last one is of the birthday boy (Richard).
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