Lisbon

Lisbon
Originally uploaded by rosailither.

From O Porto, we have done short day hops down the coast, overnighting at Aveiro, Figuera de Foz, Peniche and Cascais. We have tried to avoid costly marinas and have often moored alongside fishing boats or quay walls, causing some confusion to the officials who need to fill in the paperwork in each port. It has been hard to avoid marinas completely as many new ones have sprung up to replace the old anchorage sites marked in our 1980s pilot book.
We have just spend a couple of days in Lisbon doing the tourist thing with Hazel’s parents. Despite the whole city sitting on the river Tejo, there was nowhere for yachts to moor within walking distance of the centre. The waterfront was all given over to commercial shipping and, apart from the Tower of Belem and the monument to Henry the Navigator, the city was surprisingly unattractive from the water. However the transport system was brilliant and we visited some fantastic monuments and museums by bus, train, tram and metro. Not to mention eating far too much of the typical Portuguese cuisine – grilled sardines, barbequed chicken, pork with clams, cuttlefish, squid kebabs, and the main staple - bacalhau (salted cod)- tastier than it sounds.
We are now heading south again and contemplating a detour to Gibraltar to top up with cheap fuel before heading to the Canaries. On finding a chandlery with English-language books, we splashed out on the up-to-date pilot book, which should take out the guesswork for the rest of the journey.

Viana do Castelo

Viana do Castelo
Originally uploaded by rosailither.

Having given up all hope of sailing at all in Spain, we finally managed it on our last day. The weather was perfect – sunshine and steady northerlies which pushed us along at 4-5 knots, and we even had a visit from a group of dolphins to further brighten our day. We crossed the border and arrived in Viana do Castelo just as the sun was setting.
On first impressions, Portugal seems much less frantic than Spain. The ‘maritime police’ stopped by to tell us we should be in the marina but then allowed us to stay two nights for free in the fisherman’s harbour!
The town had a relaxed atmosphere, lovely architecture and surprisingly clean streets. We climbed to the basilica on the hill behind for panoramic views, did a tour of the 1940’s semi-restored hospital ship and basically had a stressful day being tourists.
We are now in Porto, having arrived late last night, it was wonderful coming up the river in the dark and being welcomed by the city lights. It´s not quite so pretty and clean by daylight but again some amazing architecture and the cars actually stop for you at crossings, unlike France and Spain!

Getting round the corner

Wind Power
Originally uploaded by rosailither.

The last week in Spain brought the tail end of two low pressure systems and lots of strong SW winds and rain. Very disappointing ….
We spent two days sheltering from the weather in El Ferrol. It’s a huge commercial harbour but we tucked ourselves away in a corner near the 15th century castle ‘Castillo de San Felipe’, one of whose main functions was to keep out the British. We splashed out for the 1€ entry fee and were impressed by the extensive remains, the majority of which were still intact and incorporated clever plumbing and drainage systems. We particularly liked the old-fashioned outdoor toilet block, literally hanging over the edge of the sea. The original ‘plop and drop’…
The weather cleared up for a couple of days, allowing us to make a bit more progress (motoring again). We skirted the edge of the beautiful ria de Ares and stopped in Sada for one night, then went on to Lage the following day. Unfortunately we managed to pick up a crab pot just outside the harbour. Dave was just cursing the number of marker buoys to steer clear of when we noticed we were being followed by a couple, some 150 feet behind and doing just the same speed as us! He managed to pull up the rope with a boathook and cut the buoys free but we still had a short piece of rope around the propeller, which could only be freed one way - and that meant getting wet. Luckily the engine kept going regardless so we were able to anchor in the shelter of the harbour beforehand. Despite the inviting sandy beaches surrounding the bay, Dave said the water was rather cold.
The following day brought a forecast of SW winds Force 6-7. We wasted the morning debating whether to go out or not, then when no winds had materialised by the afternoon, we steamed round to the next harbour of Mugia with another English boat, a Warren Cat, behind us. This meant we were finally around the corner and had more chance of being able to sail in what seemed to be prevailing W winds.
We also arrived in the middle of another fiesta, one that lasted four days and was situated some 500 yards from our berth on the quay wall. This made for good entertainment but not much sleep. The music from the dodgems seemed to be competing for volume with the main stage, and neither of these let up until 5am. Then, just as we’d drifted into deep sleep, we were cruelly blasted awake at 9am by 25 enormously loud rocket bangers fired from a nearby boat. You’ve got to admire the stamina of the Spanish, the fiesta-goers spanned all ages and the older folk were just as keen as anybody to dance the night away.
The SW Force 6’s did finally appear the following day so we stayed for a repeat performance in the evening, but this time accompanied by a fantastic fireworks display at half past midnight.
The next day took us to a tiny harbour called Corrubedo, again motoring as the forecast NE 4-5 winds barely blew a 3. The Spanish weather forecasts seem to be fairly accurate - but not for the day in question, for either the day before or the day after! It’s a case of looking at the sky and decide…
The Spanish seem to have gone all out for wind power, most of the coastal hilltops were covered in large wind generators. We found these far more appealing than a nuclear power station.

Portugal at last

In need of restoration, El Ferrol
Originally uploaded by rosailither.

Just arrived in Portugal, in a place called Viana do Castelo. Due to technical problems, will update the blog properly soon.
Bom dia!

Nearly out of the Bay of Biscay

Lastres
Originally uploaded by rosailither.

We’ve covered a fair bit of ground in the past week, leaving the Basque country for the Costa Verde and now Galicia, but sadly it’s been all motoring and no sailing. There has generally been very little wind, and what there was has been against us. It has also been very misty, with visibility down to a mile or so. We passed a range of mountains 20 miles inland that are apparently snow-topped all year round but we couldn’t see them.
We spent a day in Santander, where we found ourselves in a ‘medieval festival’, with stallholders dressed for the Middle Ages, knights in shining armour on parade and goblins, fairies and hunchbacks wandering amongst the crowds.
We made the brief acquaintance of a blind sailor who, with the help of several crew, was returning from a cruise in Norway, which he pronounced ‘beautiful’. He was also making plans for an extended world cruise. Watching him negotiate the ladder on the quay and putting complete faith in his helpers’ hands gave a glimpse of the day-to-day struggles he must face. A very courageous and determined man.
We also decided to try out the local yacht club after reading in the pilot book that they were very welcoming to visiting yachtsmen. We were informed by the not-very-welcoming man on reception that it was members only. On learning that we were visiting yachtsmen, he reluctantly allowed us in for a drink but told us that no meals were available as the club closed at 10pm. Imagine our surprise to see the place full of diners later that evening when we returned from a very enjoyable meal we had eaten elsewhere…
After Santander, we called at Lastres, a fairly typical Galician village with houses built up the steep hillside around the fishing harbour. As in most ports, the entrance was well indicated by a cluster of small open fishing boats which kept disappearing in the swell. Inside, the whole length of the pierhead was taken up with rod and line fishermen, and we had to nudge our way in amongst them. Once they’d re-positioned themselves at either end of the boat, they settled in for the night and the murmur of voices above continued until at least 6am. Yet we’ve never seen anybody catch a single fish!
The next stop was the uninspiring commercial port of Aviles, and from there to the much prettier ría, Ribadeo. Here we met another English couple on a 60-foot converted trawler and joined up with them for the short trips to Burela and Cariño. I was tickled when we passed a large aluminium smelting plant belching out smoke and their little boy (aged 3) thought it was a cloud factory! It was quite nice to travel in company with a similar vessel and reassuring to see that they roll just as much as we do at sea…