PORTUGAL

May 23rd
Bayona (Spain) > Viana do Castelo (Portugal) (34nm)
Only a short sail this one - 34 miles done in strong sun with a slight sea swell and light winds, we had the engine on most of the way and completed the trip in about 7 hours. Saw no dolphins today - or anything else interesting, just calm flat sea. In Viana (our first port of call in Portugal) we were to meet Liz after her 7 day visit to the UK and at the marina which was busy, we were rafted up to a massive catamaran and out of sight. It wasn't until after 5pm that we met up. In the evening Liz and I went out for a meal alone together and left Wally to the boat. In the morning we were due to leave at 10:30 but Wally was having problems at the bank and at the internet sorting out his money and tickets to Madrid ( he leaves us on the 25th). Eventually we got underway at 12 midday, just in time to catch the falling tide out of the harbour.

May 24th
Viana do Castelo > Leixoes (Porto) (35nm)
Dull day without much wind again, and another 35 mile sail. Leixoes is a fairly industrial place and the coast just before Porto is dominated by an immense oil refinery that seems to constantly spew out plumes of smoke/vapour - It's a 3km trip into the centre of the city which we did after spending the first evening chilling out and going for a final meal out with Wally at a local restaurant. It was a great meal and we finished off a few beers and three bottles of wine which went some way towards helping ease some of the tension that had been building between Wally and us over the past couple of weeks. A bit of "cabin fever", a touch of cultural distance and a shade of personality conflict were responsible. So it was a good evening and I am trying to think positively about Wally and how he has helped out when we've had problems with the mechanics on the boat, did his share of helming across Biscay and helped me take the boat 250 miles round the Spanish coast while Liz wasn't here. Wherever you are Wally, take care and good luck with your sailing.

May 25th
Like I said we went into Porto Central the next day and shared the bus with a hoard of other Americans who were on a cruise from Rome to London. Overhearing their conversations (and it was difficult not to because they were SO LOUD) I said a little thank you prayer that none of them had answered my advert for crew. Porto is a great little city with loads of character and good shopping, we spent some time down by the old docks and walked through the centre to get to an internet cafe where we were to say our final goodbyes to Wally who was getting a train down to Madrid. Having done that we went back to the boat and stopped at an off licence to get some booze to celebrate having the boat to ourselves again - A mixed blessing because it means splitting the workload two ways rather than three - but we get some space back and aren't hostage to someone else's habits, moods or behaviour any more. Had some food and drinks in at the local yacht club and watched the world (marina) go by)
May 26th
We spent most of today cleaning and tidying Iris, She needs it as we have spent precious little effort on domestic chores for the past 3/4 weeks. At the end of the day we had thoroughly cleaned the forecabin and stowed all the winter garb that we would be unlikely to need in the Med'. The Nav station is clear of debris and all our washing is at a local laundrette, we've thrown out all the aging food and shopped for fresh replacements, I have changed the engine oil (about time) and the filter - we are ready to go - somewhere! One more night at the marina and we decided to put a few miles under our belt and head for Nazare - about 100nm away. In the evening we went back to the yacht club, had another meal out and watched Porto win the European league cup on TV. There was a lot of celebrating in town til the early hours and even some of the big ships sounded their horns in acknowlegement. Big day for Porto! AND Portugal are hosting the European Cup 2004 which starts in less than 2 weeks time - I think we'll be in Spain again by then - Pity, I fancy going to one of the matches if it were possible.

May27 > 28th
Leixoes (Porto) > Nazare (103nm)
A 24 hour sail to Nazare which puts us firmly in the southern half of Portugal, This will be the longest sail that Liz and I have done alone together. We set off at mid-day and although it started a bit cloudy the sun did eventually come out in the late afternoon. The coastline along this part of Portugal is fairly featureless - white sandy beaches, low hills and not many towns, it's a straight piece of coast as well so our route more or less parallels the coast along a 20m contour line all the way to Nazare. We did a little bit of sunbathing (I am slowly developing a tan but am in no hurry to overdo it), and Liz had a shower on deck using the solar bag. As the evening wore on we both became tired and by 1 in the morning we had taken a blanket and some pillows out into the cockpit. The wind was flukey and annoyingly there are so many lobster pots/fishing markers around that while we have the engine on someone HAS TO keep watch for fear of fouling the propeller. After a while the wind picked up enough to sail for a few hours and we both had a rest. There's a half moon tonight which shone for an hour or two but was then obscured by a bank of low thick clouds - this is one of the darkest nights at sea that I think I've ever sailed in. Hope it doesn't mean anything bad. For a few hours a group of dolphins joined us and danced around the boat squeaking and jumping - kept us amused for a while and Liz almost touched one that came close to the bow. In the morning as the light came up we were in amongst a load of fishing boats and had to take care not to interfere with what they were doing or to "catch a net". The sea swells are bigger here and must have a wavelength of over 100metres and a height of 3/4+ metres. One moment all you can see is the sea - next you're on top of the wave and can see for miles - weird.

Atlantic rollers breaking as we enter Nazare

Nice entrance to Nazare, Rollers crashing on the beach to the north, the swell smashing against rocks at the harbour entrance but a clear stretch of water up to the marina breakwater and the towns beach. This place is run by a guy who settled here after sailing down from The Isle of Man and decided he liked it enough to stay for 7 years. Has given Liz and I lots of tips about cruising the Med' and an address in Nazare where we can get a good meal at reasonable prices. Seems like an OK town - a 2km walk to the centre and plenty of evidence that it is a popular seaside resort for the Portuguese - Bars, tat shops and restaurants a-plenty. Good beach for surfing. We ate at Mar de Maria - as advised - enjoyed the food and went back to the boat. The next day we are thinking of a short sail down to Paniche but....

May 29th
Nazare
The Harbour-master has talked us out of it - too much noise and wake from the fishing boats there - instead we'll spend another day here and head directly for Lisbon tomorrow - a 70+nm sail. I am spending today updating this site, sunbathing and eating.

May 30th
Nazare > Cascais (Lisbon)
Set the alarm for 4am as this will probably be a 70nm sail, which translates into about 16+ hours. I don't much like getting up at that hour and it doesn't help when it's a bit misty, very dark and all you can hear are waves breaking around the harbour entrance and a warning siren from the tip of the bay where there are dangerous rocks to avoid. I'm sure that it will clear later and in a few hours will be daylight, but still... Most of the day went peacefully, we were overtaken mid-way by a 40+ft sloop which we somehow seemed to catch up on the approaches to Lisbon. And as ever the wind started to pick up as we got closer to our destination. At Cascais Marina they explained that they had had problems with their spinnaker - who hasn't? An American trio who are doing a three year Grand Tour of Europe. Cascais is an expensive suburb of Lisbon and we walked into town in the evening - even though we were both exhausted from the sail and the early start. It's a VERY well manicured little town, almost artificial. We had a meal at "John Bulls" restaurant in a pretty square with tiled paving and tables with white cotton sunshades. To bed zzzzzzzzzzz.

May 31st
Cascais & Lisbon
Took a walk to the station and got on a train to the centre of Lisbon, a very attractive place with clean streets, Portuguese architecture and loads to see and do. We went on the No 28 tram (recommended in the rough guide to Portugal as one of the 40 things you must see/do here), it gave us a flavour of the city and whilst we were on it I noticed a hardware store which I went back to later on to get some continuous hinges.

Iris, the boat, has a number of these cabinet makers hinges in her build, they are on cupboard doors, hatches and lockers. In the galley (kitchen) they are used on the cool-box and engine hatch, but as we use the workspace so much, water is soaking into the woodwork and weakening the fixing points for the hinges. It's a bit of a running battle keeping everything in working order.

Back to Lisbon, we did some shopping, clothes mainly, visited an old observation tower in the centre and went up it for a beer in the cafe at the top and enjoyed panoramic views of the city and its harbour. I like Lisbon, it reminds me a bit of Barcelona but a bit more laid back and (at least the central few square miles) is lot less road traffic oriented. By 6pm we'd walked around a fair bit and took the train back to Cascais, the wind seemed to have speeded up as we walked up to the marina and back at our berth, Iris was being pressed by the wind so hard that her bow was just touching the pontoon. After tightening all the warps (ropes that tie a boat to shore) we switched on the windex and watched it record wind speeds of over 40 knots inside the marina! Might not go sailing tomorrow.

May 31st
Cascais
And we didn't, fixed the cupboard and did other minor repairs to the boat instead. A quiet day on board really, followed by a trip into Cascais for a pizza and to see a movie "The day after" which hasn't been released in the UK yet. And in Portugal they show most films un-dubbed, with Portuguese sub-titles.

June 1st
Cascais > Sines (55nm)
Tried to get off early as we knew that this was going to be a ten hour sail at least, but the fuel station at the marina wasn't working to capacity (broken pumps) and we had to wait an age along with a small flotilla of other boats to fill up with diesel. The sail to Sines was all downwind and not much of interest happened, no dolphins today, just a steady 20knt wind on our tail and 2.5 - 3 metre waves trying to break over our stern. At Sines we checked in with all the authorities had some food and a beer on board and quickly went to sleep. Sines is an interesting place, the marina is tucked away in an inner harbour, within a much larger commercial harbour. Probably one of the best protected places that we've moored in. The town is up a hill and has barely been touched by tourism. With any luck the weather will improve slightly and we can get on with getting round Cape St Vicente on the SW corner of Portugal - a stretch of sea that has a reputation for being uncomfortable in bad weather.

June 3rd/4th
Sines > Lagos (85nm)
Set off at 10pm in order to get to Cape St Vicente in the morning when the winds are supposed to be light. Although it was almost a new moon there were thick low clouds around and we didn't get maximum benefit from its glow. A pity because night sailing, especially if the engine is switched on during the lulls, can be tiring work made worse by having to keep a sharp look out for lobster pot markers and fishing net buoys. They will foul the prop' if you're not vigilant. By 4am I was partly hallucinating and began to see horizons where there were none and land formations that didn't exist. Sailing is occasionally a pleasant afternoon in the sun, sometimes a frightening test of nerve but more often it is a case of endurance. I like night sailing but it is easier to do three or more nights at sea and have a routine than to do "one offs" like tonight. Rounding Cape S.V. was good, the weather held and although the wind picked up the seas were moderate and by the time we were heading east the sea flattened out a bit, the sun shone brightly and the wind rose to over 25knts, Iris flew along with a reef in her main and we recorded a best ever speed of 7.8knts, and then we were visited by a load of jumping dolphins who only had the energy to stay with us for about half an hour - live fast..... The entry to Lagos is a bit dramatic having to stay close to a load of weird rock formations on the port (left) hand side and head north for a mile or so to a river entrance and a lifting bridge to the marina.

The entrance to Lagos is at the end of the rocky shoreline

June 4th
Lagos
After mooring up we went into town to get a feel for the place and to have a meal out and let someone else do the cooking and washing up, we were both half asleep with tiredness. Bed.

June 5th
Lagos (Liz's view of events)
Woke up. Had a good breakfast and headed into town to get some snorkelling gear for myself. I insisted on matching mask and snorkel which cost me a few more euro but you have to look right. I got some fins too so I was fully kitted out for the afternoon trip out of the marina to explore the coves and rock formations up the coast towards Ponta do Piedad. Roy pumped up the dinghy and we headed down the river to the amusement of passers by. The dinghy is not the largest available and when loaded with two adults and all their snorkelling gear, plus extra fuel and a rock to act as an anchor we are enough to make a troupe of Portuguese boy scouts stop and point. But undaunted we headed off, our pride just a little bruised. The coast line below Lagos is truly beautiful and we joined the steady stream of tourist boats weaving in and out of the coves and round the tall rocks. This was the first time we had used the dinghy for a true purpose and we made sure the cigarettes were in a plastic bag as keeping dry is not usually an option in 'Pupil' (name of dinghy). At the top of the headland we poked our nose out to see if we could go round further, towards the caves we had seen on our entrance to Lagos but the waves in open water were too much for our small craft, we were taking on too much water, so we went back in to the protected waters. We beached up and had a bit of a swim. The water was cold in patches and we regretted not wearing our wetsuits but we got used to it. Roy had a bit of a run in with one of the tourist boats who rather unreasonably thought he had a right of way over a swimmer. And beneath the waves there was little to see apart from anenomies and a solitary orange fish which disappeared soon after I spotted it. But it was great to be in the water for once and feel that the hardest part of our Med trip was behind us (famous last words).

June 6th/7th
Lagos > Cadiz (121nm)
In no particular rush to get off we had coffee and pastries at a nearby marina bar. Once we'd topped up with water, bought a few provisions and paid for our berth we left Lagos on a sunny, if clouding day at about 1pm. At sunset the sky was an amazing array of colours and the clouds created spectacular patterns from horizon to horizon (see picture). Later, during the evening, the wind started weak and gradually gathered pace until it was blowing a steady 15knts and it kept that up for most of the next 20 hours. During the evening while we were crossing the Bay of Cadiz (about 40nm) the clouds rolled in en masse and we could make out the frequent flashes of a lightening storm to our SE. Worried that we'd be caught in the middle of a series of nasty squalls we dropped the main and let Iris sail on her foresail alone, still managing a respectable 5 - 6.5kts. While this was going on we also had to negotiate the largest fleet of fishing vessels that we've encountered so far, about 25 of them all lit up like Christmas trees and within a few square miles of each other. Apparently there is a spectacular fish market in Cadiz and I suppose that these are (some of) the boats that keep it going. The lightning grew nearer and more frequent and the clouds thickened to an ugly black but at about 5am it all seemed to be behind us and although the wind stayed "fresh" for another 4 hours, we escaped a soaking. We finally arrived in Cadiz at 1:50 pm - about 25 hours and during the sail we broke the 24 hour record for Iris of 117.5 miles - Ellen Macarthur might not be impressed but I'm happy. And we didn't knock our selves out with this night sail, taking turns to and managing to get some worthwhile rest during the night.

Spain (SE) and Mediterranean