From Gibralta to Portugal

The Portuguese town of Sines

 

30th July When we were on our way down to the Med in 2012, it took us almost three weeks to sail from the Atlantic Coast of Portugal to Gibraltar. This time it has taken us just four days to do the trip in reverse. Admittedly that included one night at sea, but it’s surprising how much progress you can make when you’re in ‘passage’ mode with no distractions.

We are now in the small port of Sines, which is about 55 miles south of Lisbon. Last time we were here there was a (very loud) folk music festival next to the marina which meant we had a broken night’s sleep. This time there’s an (even louder) rock festival, but we’re in luck as it finishes tomorrow.

Relaxing after a long sail

31st July After two days at sea, we were very tired last night and managed to sleep through the music. This morning we wandered into town and explored the castle and the narrow cobbled streets. It’s a lovely little town that’s famous for being the birthplace of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.

This afternoon I decided to catch up with the washing. I had forgotten how much the Portuguese love their paperwork - before handing over tokens for the washing machine and tumble drier, the marina office insisted on filling out a form listing my name, the boat’s name, our mooring number, when we arrived and when we were leaving. Having printed two copies of this out, one for me and one for the marina, they took my money. Then they filled out a second form noting how many tokens I had bought, what they were for and how much I had paid for them. Two more copies were printed and I was finally given the tokens. What a waste of trees!

Statue of Vasco da Gama in Sines

 

1st August One of the challenges of sailing north up the Atlantic coast is that the winds normally blow from the north or northwest (ie on the nose) and a 2-3 metre swell rolls in from the west. This makes for a rolly ride in mild winds and a very unpleasant sail when the wind rises to force 5 or 6, which it does almost every afternoon. 

I knew that sailing back up the Atlantic coast would mean daily bouts of seasickness for me, so Cliff and I have agreed that I’ll leave the boat and fly home when we get to Lisbon. We’ve arranged for our friends Derek and Richard to come out and help Cliff sail up the rest of the Atlantic coast and then across the Bay of Biscay to the UK.

Oeiras, near Lisbon, is our next (and my last) port of call and we estimate that it will take us around 10 hours to sail there. But we need to arrive before the afternoon wind kicks in, which means we will have a very early start in the morning.

2nd August We left our mooring in Sines at 2.15am.There was very little wind, but as soon as we cleared the harbour we met confused seas with a 3 metre swell and plenty of water over the deck. As we roller-coastered along in the pitch black, Cliff went below to catch up on some sleep while I stayed on the helm and fought down the nausea. After a couple of hours the sea state improved and by the time the sun rose at 6.30am I was beginning to enjoy the ride. We arrived at Oeiras at 1pm and I was glad to be safely in the marina before the afternoon winds began to blow.


The marina at Oeiras

4^th August Oeiras is one of our favourite marinas. The moorings are sheltered, the staff are exceptionally helpful and there’s a good choice of eateries within the marina.  If you fancy a swim, there’s an excellent (free) swimming pool complex just above the marina or a series of fine sandy beaches to the west.

Son et lumiere at the Palace.

7^th August We’ve had a busy few days tidying up the boat ready for the change of crew, but we’ve also fitted in trips to the beach and to the old town of Oeiras. Last night  we walked up to the Palace of the Marques de Pombal where there was an impressive sound and light show. A marked trail took you through the palace grounds and each building had a different scene projected on to it telling the story of the Marques and his family.

8th  August I fly home tomorrow but our friend Derek has now arrived and will be helping Cliff sail Sandpiper back to the UK.

 

 

 

From Cartagena to Gibralta

Back in Cartagena

 16^th July We have spent the last four days in Yacht Port Cartagena marina, a place that holds fond memories for us as it’s where we spent our first winter on Sandpiper in 2012. We had only planned on staying for one night here, but strong winds from the wrong direction have prevented us from leaving.

Cliff changing the nationality of the gas bottle

Cliff has made the most of our enforced stay by catching up with some boat jobs. One job was to paint the gas bottles. Each time our gas runs out we have to take the empty bottle to a supplier and swap it for a full one. But we have found that different countries have different coloured canisters: in Greece they are green and in Spain they are blue. When we came to exchange our green Greek bottle the local Spanish supplier refused to accept it. So, out came the blue paint, and now we have a bottle the right (Spanish) colour!



The beach at Garrucha

17^th July Our departure from Cartagena this morning presented some challenges when the gearbox decided we could only move one way - in reverse! After doing some impressive reverse tactics to avoid other yachts and a very large cruise liner, we decided to return to the marina. Turning the engine on and off seemed to clear the problem, but we would be happier if we knew the cause. Our second departure was uneventful and we had a good sail down to Garrucha on the Costa Almeria.



View of the Rock from our boat

21st July We are now moored in the marina at La Linea, the Spanish town right next to Gibraltar. We have been given a prime spot tucked well inside the marina and we have a splendid view of the rock from our cockpit. Gibralta is only 8 miles from the African mainland and the narrow straits between the two countries have a predictable weather pattern. For the next five days the Poniente wind is due to blow from the west, making the passage through the narrow Straits difficult and possibly dangerous. Then the winds will change and the Levanter will blow from the East, offering us a fast, if slightly wild sail down the Strait. So we have five days to relax and enjoy Gibraltar.

Our DJ neighbour

23rd July Today we had a few drinks with our neighbour Paul Breen-Turner, an interesting character who lives on his boat in Spain and divides his time between working as a TV sports presenter and recording daily shows for English Speaking radio stations in Spain.  He actually records the programmes below deck, then emails them to his producer in London. Sounds like a good life to us!

 

Dinghy troubles in Majorca

Porto Colom in Majorca

27^th June After a very pleasant three weeks in the UK we flew back to Cagliari in Sardinia where we had left Sandpiper while we went home for our son Chris’s wedding. We now have an extra crew member as our good friend Derek has joined us for two weeks. We always enjoy his company, and it will be great having an extra person to share the night watches.

29^th June We left Cagliari at sunrise this morning and by 4pm we were tied up in the marina at Carlo Forte, a pretty town on the island of San Pietro, just off the south west corner of Sardinia. Today is the festival of San Pietro and tonight we had a grandstand view of the spectacular firework display around  the walls of the harbour.

We had hoped to have more time to explore this little island, but the weather forecast shows that the wind direction is perfect for our two day crossing to Majorca, so we will be heading out to sea again tomorrow.

Cliff and Derek at Porto Colom

2^nd July We had an uneventful crossing, once again the winds were lighter than predicted, so after a few good hours sailing we were back on the motor. We are now tied up to a buoy in Porto Colom on the south east coast of Majorca, it’s a lovely, sheltered bay that’s bordered by sandy beaches and pine trees.

After lunch and a celebratory beer we decided to go ashore to explore. Our dinghy has been rolled up under a cover on the foredeck and this was the first time we have used it this year.  As we inflated it one of the rowlocks (the attachments that hold the oars) literally peeled off, and when we pulled the other rowlock it peeled away too. Then we saw that some of the retainers for the grab ropes were starting to fall off. Not good news. But the dinghy itself appeared seaworthy, so we fitted the outboard engine and jumped in to go ashore.  The outboard refused to start, but, not one to be defeated, Cliff told Derek to grab an oar and together they paddled the boat ashore.
 

The rowlocks peeled off....



...and then the seams started to come apart

By the time we returned to the town jetty the dinghy had begun to deflate and it was a real struggle to paddle it back to the boat. We hauled it on deck and a closer inspection revealed that the seams of the dinghy were now beginning to come apart. The adhesive used to glue the dinghy together is clearly no match for the Mediterranean sun,  so it looks as though we will have to manage without a dinghy for the rest of our trip.

This crewing business is hard work

11^th July We made good progress sailing from Majorca to the Spanish mainland and then spent a couple of days in Denia on the Costa Blanca while some strong winds passed through. Yesterday we sailed down to Santa Pola, a small port and holiday resort that’s handy for the airport. We will stay here until tomorrow when Derek leaves us to fly back from Alicante to the UK.