1st – 3rd Oct
Still in Nazare until the weather settles and we can head on south (usual story) but I’ve had a (well overdue) haircut and Carolyn had a chat with her Dad on the sat phone to wish him a happy 80th. Still going strong, well done, Jim – and we hope you have many more.
Our mobile phone provider (0044) tell us that it could be November before they have the system back up and running; the network provider that they use has gone into receivership and of course its not an over-night solution.
Wed 3rd
Leave Nazare to Peniche, but we wont be staying there long because it has a bad reputation as being uncomfortable due to the speed that the large fishing fleet passes by. We got in at 14:30 so still have enough time in the evening to go a walk through the town and see some of the streets, and a quick beer in one of the bars. Early start next day so nothing excessive! The officials are smart enough to be aware of the date on my passport and are very nice to me….
Thurs 4th
Head out at daybreak (7:45 ish) for Cascais and arrive at 16:30 and go straight onto the fuel berth to top up again (should have bought a motorboat).
We spend the next day in Cascais which is a very nice holiday town near to Lisbon, and top up with some stores from the big supermarket ‘Jumbo’. Every thing is slightly more expensive in Portugal than in Spain which may be due to the difference in VAT (but we’re not sure). Today is a public holiday which explains why everywhere is so busy and why there is a town square called ‘5th October’ (I think it’s republic day); but on the town hall in the square there are tiled panels on the building depicting various Saints. I am amazed to discover that there is a panel dedicated to St Mateus (I thought he made the wine….).
Sat 6th
Another dawn start to go to Sines and we arrived at 17:45, but we’ve already planned on a 6am start for tomorrow so we only get checked into the marina, have a shower & something to eat and have another early night. We notice another Barbary Ketch in the harbour but it looks like it’s closed up for the winter. Also see Charlie & Alison’s boat ‘Breagh’ but they are also not onboard so we leave a note.
Sun 7th
Depart at 06:00 and arrive at 19:15 so a long day but that’s us round Cape St Vincent and onto the Algarve. Now we can relax and just hop along the coast when we please. From the corner at St V to the entrance to Lagos we have a great sail because the wind is from the North (from the land) and there are no waves or swell to talk of, about 19 – 23 knots on the beam; so the last 15 miles brings a smile to our faces – great sailing at last! Just as we pass the Cape at Sagres Seawalk calls us up on the radio – they are anchored with Nocturne in the bay and see us passing and wonder if we are going to join them, but we explain that we want to get into Lagos as soon as possible because Laura is now here in the Algarve. So we book into the marina for a week and hope to have a good time.
8th – 14th
Lagos Marina
Parked up in the marina for at least a week! The marina has a very active international group of cruisers that are either wintering or passing through (ARC participants etc) and run a radio net on the marine vhf a few days of the week to give weather & other info including sales & wanted, borrows, and technical info / assistance – and also organise various activities, which all helps those that are new to the area or need help with something.
As I said earlier in the blog Francy & Richard brought Laura through and she had a couple of days with us before she went through to visit Stacy & Amy in Albufeira. We went through on the train with her and didn’t realise that the train station is actually 7k from the town.. Ah well – taxi ! Both the girls looked good – hale & hearty and after a quick beer we made our exit back to the train and left the girls to catch up with each others news – Laura would come back on Friday.
We’ve also had a good walk round the town here at Lagos and a lovely meal out with Laura before she went to Albufeira; Diana & Jaap came with us on the train to Faro when Laura was going back to the airport. But while she was here we did manage to get out for a couple of hours sail and have a close look at the coast, cliffs and small islands. The rest of the time has been spent doing the other exciting necessities like shopping (food) & laundry etc., and explaining grib files for the weather to Nicholas & Colette on Xing before they went to Madeira.
It’s now been 3 months since we left Ardorran and it’s actually quite amazing that we’ve been existing in this small space for that time and are actually still enjoying each others company. The sites and experiences along the way have all been quite remarkable and although we haven’t put it all on the blog we’ve tried to give you all a selection of what we’ve seen and done. (don’t want to bore you with too much detail) We’ll get some more photos ready to put up after this and let you see something of the section from Sada down to Lagos.
8th October
Now in Lagos, Francy & Richard brought Laura over and we will be here for about a week. We have reasonable internet now so will be able to catch up on email and blog (I have updated the pegs on the route). More detail on the blog in a couple of days.
24th - 30 Sept. Updated 5th Oct
Mon 24th - Thurs 27th
The crews of four boats went into Porto on the Metro (Charlie & Alison have already been). Two crews to the port bottling area of town to find out about the history of port and two – ourselves and Seawalk explore the old town. It is a very old town beautiful in parts. There are a lot of tiled houses as well as churches. It looks like a strange mixture of Baroque, Moorish and the modern. On the way back to the metro we pass through the shopping area and see that the styles in the shops are different again (from Spain & France) and more ‘modern’.
Tues
We have checked the weather so it will be another couple of days. It’s very windy. The breakers on the rocks are quite impressive. A day to catch up with jobs, and Carolyn found an internet café. It’s a long walk! Trevor ordered an adaptor that will hopefully help us get better wifi signal. Next day we go to the computer shop and Lidl. There wasn’t as much in Lidl as hoped and the part had not arrived for the computer. We are not leaving until 15.00 tomorrow so there’s time tomorrow.
Thurs 27th
Nocturne leave at 8.00am heading for Cascais depending on the weather. Seawalk leave at 12.00 heading for Cascais. It is 170 miles! Success at last! Trevor has the adaptor and hopefully this will help us get wifi. We leave with Kiara at 3.00pm for the 90 miles overnight trip to Nazare. We managed to get the sails out and engine off for an hour or so in the late afternoon but the wind didn’t last and we were back to motoring. It’s been a bit of a surprise how much motoring we have to do - but rather that than getting hammered by high wind and seas.
Friday 28th
Arrived Nazare just before 10.00 am. It was a quiet overnight sail (well motor ………………… again) Just at the watch change – 12.00 (midnight –ish) - 30 or 40 dolphins came to play. They stayed for ages. Every time the dolphins come we end up with bad weather. It’s as if they come to tell us. When we arrive in Nazare we are told by Captain Mike Hadley to double up all ropes there’s going to be a force 10!
Sat 29th
Unfortunately our mobile phone network has gone off. So, the sat phone has been kept switched on, which is ok price-wise for texting but very expensive to use for conversation. The force 10 seems to have stayed well out to sea but the swell that has developed is far too big for us to go anywhere, so we get the opportunity to explore Nazare which is beautiful. The weather is still good but windy. We took the funicular railway up to the old town at the top of the cliff. The older women here nearly all still wear national dress. Once they are widowed it’s the same costume but all in black. We are about a mile from the town but the buses are fairly often and the taxis cheap enough with four sharing. On Sunday Diana and C cycle into town on the Kiara bikes with the mission of finding internet, and they found an internet café only 1km away. By email we find that Seawalk and Nocturne went all the way to Sines which, if the swell is from the S.W., is apparently quite uncomfortable. We were surprised to hear that they have had rain there for a couple of days.
The crews of four boats went into Porto on the Metro (Charlie & Alison have already been). Two crews to the port bottling area of town to find out about the history of port and two – ourselves and Seawalk explore the old town. It is a very old town beautiful in parts. There are a lot of tiled houses as well as churches. It looks like a strange mixture of Baroque, Moorish and the modern. On the way back to the metro we pass through the shopping area and see that the styles in the shops are different again (from Spain & France) and more ‘modern’.
Tues
We have checked the weather so it will be another couple of days. It’s very windy. The breakers on the rocks are quite impressive. A day to catch up with jobs, and Carolyn found an internet café. It’s a long walk! Trevor ordered an adaptor that will hopefully help us get better wifi signal. Next day we go to the computer shop and Lidl. There wasn’t as much in Lidl as hoped and the part had not arrived for the computer. We are not leaving until 15.00 tomorrow so there’s time tomorrow.
Thurs 27th
Nocturne leave at 8.00am heading for Cascais depending on the weather. Seawalk leave at 12.00 heading for Cascais. It is 170 miles! Success at last! Trevor has the adaptor and hopefully this will help us get wifi. We leave with Kiara at 3.00pm for the 90 miles overnight trip to Nazare. We managed to get the sails out and engine off for an hour or so in the late afternoon but the wind didn’t last and we were back to motoring. It’s been a bit of a surprise how much motoring we have to do - but rather that than getting hammered by high wind and seas.
Friday 28th
Arrived Nazare just before 10.00 am. It was a quiet overnight sail (well motor ………………… again) Just at the watch change – 12.00 (midnight –ish) - 30 or 40 dolphins came to play. They stayed for ages. Every time the dolphins come we end up with bad weather. It’s as if they come to tell us. When we arrive in Nazare we are told by Captain Mike Hadley to double up all ropes there’s going to be a force 10!
Sat 29th
Unfortunately our mobile phone network has gone off. So, the sat phone has been kept switched on, which is ok price-wise for texting but very expensive to use for conversation. The force 10 seems to have stayed well out to sea but the swell that has developed is far too big for us to go anywhere, so we get the opportunity to explore Nazare which is beautiful. The weather is still good but windy. We took the funicular railway up to the old town at the top of the cliff. The older women here nearly all still wear national dress. Once they are widowed it’s the same costume but all in black. We are about a mile from the town but the buses are fairly often and the taxis cheap enough with four sharing. On Sunday Diana and C cycle into town on the Kiara bikes with the mission of finding internet, and they found an internet café only 1km away. By email we find that Seawalk and Nocturne went all the way to Sines which, if the swell is from the S.W., is apparently quite uncomfortable. We were surprised to hear that they have had rain there for a couple of days.
Update from Leixeos 24 Sept 2007
Wed 12th
We caught a bus into Coruna and then another express bus to Santiago de Compostela which is a pilgrimage place for those that are so inclined. I’m sure there’s a load of information on wipedika or somewhere if you need more. It was a good day out and an interesting old town but there were a few too many people trying to get their god out of my pocket in the name of someone else’s religion. (rant over) We also tried in vain to get a wifi booster & usb connection to make it easier connection to the internet – but no luck again. Terry & Vicky came into Sada with a torn mainsail on their Oyster 56 – Chantana.
Thurs 13th
We moved from Sada to Camarinas leaving at about 6am local time so we had an hour and a half of darkness – which was OK in the Ria until we were nearing Coruna and the fishing fleet (about 30 boats) started playing ‘dodge-ems’. They were steaming all over the place and it was quite difficult to work out where they were going to pass us, we put the radar on but they were so close and so many it just looked like a rash on the screen. However - all without incident. It was a long day (about 11 hours) and we all (Kiara, Seawalk & Balchis) all arrived in the small marina safely. Seawalk also has a web site at http://blog.mailasail.com/seawalk . The web site Babelfish can be used to translate the words from Dutch (or any other language) but the grammar doesn’t come out very well, put alta vista in google and babelfish is in the listing (not sure of spelling).
Charlie & Alison (Breagh) and Terry & Vicky (Chantana) also came into Camarinas – so it was a nice get together with people we have met along the way.
While in Camarinas T helped Xing (St Vincent & Grenadine flagged boat with a Swiss couple on board) with a problem on the electric windlass, Terry and another Dutch boat (live-aboards) with some HF radio problems. C went a walk with Diana round the point of the ria.
Sat 15th
Moved out to anchor in a lovely little bay just round the corner from the marina and went to the beach with the dinghy. Next morning we headed out to move down the coast and round Finisterre (5 boats in company) and anchored at San Fransisco bay near Muros, a great anchorage and beach complete with (visiting) pirate ship. A short walk in the village got us to Sahorta Café which had free Wifi, great coffee and very helpful owner.
Mon 17th
Muros to Ria de Pontevedra and into the marina at Sanxenxo, topped up with diesel (at 1.03 euro / litre). Terry & Vicky (Chantana) are here and T came round for a chat & we went round to Chantana later in the evening. Racing starts on Wednesday so it is very busy, we’ll move on tomorrow (only half an hour to PortoNovo). PN is an interesting little town but the fishing boats travel past at stupid speed and make the pontoons very uncomfortable.
Wed 19th
After PortoNovo we moved to an anchorage on the east side of Islas Ceis, just a little north and west of Baiona. Very good anchorage in clear water and sand – quite tropical really. We had a great time on the beach and walked to the top of the island for a great view. A ferry runs from the mainland and there is camping and 2 restaurants on the island. Kiara, Seawalk and Xing are also in the anchorage along with a couple of other boats that we haven’t seen before. A couple of fishing boats are working amongst us at anchor and sometimes come a bit close for comfort. Next morning while walking up the beach, we see that the fish are only about 1 metre away from the shore and that must be why the fishing boats are so close in.
Thurs 20th
A short hop (no skipping no jumping) to Baiona where we see Palletline from Ardorran at a mooring buoy. Terry & Vicky had left but asked me to see Keith on his Oyster 47 to talk radio stuff and he passed over some pamphlets on harbours further south (K is heading north on Cornish Oyster). Baiona is a bit expensive for not much in the way of facilities or security and the diesel is 1.09 – luckily we don’t need any. Vicky and Darren on Nocturne also come into the marina after selling the yacht that they were lifted from by helicopter (near Finisterre) last year.
Fri 21st
Just as we are getting ready to leave, Alex, the Skipper / engineer from Infinity comes over to chat about places that may be worth visiting on the way south. We have seen Infinity earlier and it may not be able to get into some of the places that we may choose to visit… it’s a 90 feet motor boat (ship), one week old , all brand new and shiny. However, we give some advice and also some computer files of info that should help. Keith pops over with a bottle of wine (thanks Keith) and we (Kiara and us) head out of Baiona to make for Portugal. The trip starts with a little wind that will be just nice when we turn after heading out of the ria and get the wind and waves more astern, but during the trip the wind (and the waves follow) pick up to about 20 knots over the deck and with 6 boat’s speed that all adds up to a lumpy sea. When we turn into Viana do Castelo (and the wind) it is up to 32knots or there abouts. We arrive at low water to catch the start of the flood and minimise the river current across the marina mouth and there is no problem. There is now a swinging pedestrian bridge that opens (pretty much) on demand and is open all night, and a waiting pontoon in the river – so really easy.
So here we are in Portugal – Viana do Castelo is brilliant – very pretty old town – very friendly and helpful people (marina a decent price). We have a day of sight-seeing on Saturday, also shopping, a meal out and a couple of beers with Diana and Jaap in the evening. We also met Mo who is travelling on an old boat (with a couple of v. old Frenchmen) that he bought in France. Mo lived in Scotland, for a while, at Fourdon and had a mini-market shop in Stonehaven and when I met him I thought of the book ‘ Life of Pi ’. Good luck with your travels, Mo.
Sun 23rd
We have now arrived in Leixeos and met up again with Breagh, Seawalk and Nocturne, and of course Kiara is here also. I will apologise now for our Dutch accents and give you more detail on this area after we have visited Porto tomorrow. Had a quick look at the weather (Mon 24th) - we may be here for some time.
We caught a bus into Coruna and then another express bus to Santiago de Compostela which is a pilgrimage place for those that are so inclined. I’m sure there’s a load of information on wipedika or somewhere if you need more. It was a good day out and an interesting old town but there were a few too many people trying to get their god out of my pocket in the name of someone else’s religion. (rant over) We also tried in vain to get a wifi booster & usb connection to make it easier connection to the internet – but no luck again. Terry & Vicky came into Sada with a torn mainsail on their Oyster 56 – Chantana.
Thurs 13th
We moved from Sada to Camarinas leaving at about 6am local time so we had an hour and a half of darkness – which was OK in the Ria until we were nearing Coruna and the fishing fleet (about 30 boats) started playing ‘dodge-ems’. They were steaming all over the place and it was quite difficult to work out where they were going to pass us, we put the radar on but they were so close and so many it just looked like a rash on the screen. However - all without incident. It was a long day (about 11 hours) and we all (Kiara, Seawalk & Balchis) all arrived in the small marina safely. Seawalk also has a web site at http://blog.mailasail.com/seawalk . The web site Babelfish can be used to translate the words from Dutch (or any other language) but the grammar doesn’t come out very well, put alta vista in google and babelfish is in the listing (not sure of spelling).
Charlie & Alison (Breagh) and Terry & Vicky (Chantana) also came into Camarinas – so it was a nice get together with people we have met along the way.
While in Camarinas T helped Xing (St Vincent & Grenadine flagged boat with a Swiss couple on board) with a problem on the electric windlass, Terry and another Dutch boat (live-aboards) with some HF radio problems. C went a walk with Diana round the point of the ria.
Sat 15th
Moved out to anchor in a lovely little bay just round the corner from the marina and went to the beach with the dinghy. Next morning we headed out to move down the coast and round Finisterre (5 boats in company) and anchored at San Fransisco bay near Muros, a great anchorage and beach complete with (visiting) pirate ship. A short walk in the village got us to Sahorta Café which had free Wifi, great coffee and very helpful owner.
Mon 17th
Muros to Ria de Pontevedra and into the marina at Sanxenxo, topped up with diesel (at 1.03 euro / litre). Terry & Vicky (Chantana) are here and T came round for a chat & we went round to Chantana later in the evening. Racing starts on Wednesday so it is very busy, we’ll move on tomorrow (only half an hour to PortoNovo). PN is an interesting little town but the fishing boats travel past at stupid speed and make the pontoons very uncomfortable.
Wed 19th
After PortoNovo we moved to an anchorage on the east side of Islas Ceis, just a little north and west of Baiona. Very good anchorage in clear water and sand – quite tropical really. We had a great time on the beach and walked to the top of the island for a great view. A ferry runs from the mainland and there is camping and 2 restaurants on the island. Kiara, Seawalk and Xing are also in the anchorage along with a couple of other boats that we haven’t seen before. A couple of fishing boats are working amongst us at anchor and sometimes come a bit close for comfort. Next morning while walking up the beach, we see that the fish are only about 1 metre away from the shore and that must be why the fishing boats are so close in.
Thurs 20th
A short hop (no skipping no jumping) to Baiona where we see Palletline from Ardorran at a mooring buoy. Terry & Vicky had left but asked me to see Keith on his Oyster 47 to talk radio stuff and he passed over some pamphlets on harbours further south (K is heading north on Cornish Oyster). Baiona is a bit expensive for not much in the way of facilities or security and the diesel is 1.09 – luckily we don’t need any. Vicky and Darren on Nocturne also come into the marina after selling the yacht that they were lifted from by helicopter (near Finisterre) last year.
Fri 21st
Just as we are getting ready to leave, Alex, the Skipper / engineer from Infinity comes over to chat about places that may be worth visiting on the way south. We have seen Infinity earlier and it may not be able to get into some of the places that we may choose to visit… it’s a 90 feet motor boat (ship), one week old , all brand new and shiny. However, we give some advice and also some computer files of info that should help. Keith pops over with a bottle of wine (thanks Keith) and we (Kiara and us) head out of Baiona to make for Portugal. The trip starts with a little wind that will be just nice when we turn after heading out of the ria and get the wind and waves more astern, but during the trip the wind (and the waves follow) pick up to about 20 knots over the deck and with 6 boat’s speed that all adds up to a lumpy sea. When we turn into Viana do Castelo (and the wind) it is up to 32knots or there abouts. We arrive at low water to catch the start of the flood and minimise the river current across the marina mouth and there is no problem. There is now a swinging pedestrian bridge that opens (pretty much) on demand and is open all night, and a waiting pontoon in the river – so really easy.
So here we are in Portugal – Viana do Castelo is brilliant – very pretty old town – very friendly and helpful people (marina a decent price). We have a day of sight-seeing on Saturday, also shopping, a meal out and a couple of beers with Diana and Jaap in the evening. We also met Mo who is travelling on an old boat (with a couple of v. old Frenchmen) that he bought in France. Mo lived in Scotland, for a while, at Fourdon and had a mini-market shop in Stonehaven and when I met him I thought of the book ‘ Life of Pi ’. Good luck with your travels, Mo.
Sun 23rd
We have now arrived in Leixeos and met up again with Breagh, Seawalk and Nocturne, and of course Kiara is here also. I will apologise now for our Dutch accents and give you more detail on this area after we have visited Porto tomorrow. Had a quick look at the weather (Mon 24th) - we may be here for some time.
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