Portugal - new crew and a broken V-drive

Well, we didn’t get far down the Portuguese coast! The first four day trips were fine, if a little rolly for Katie’s liking. It took a couple of days for the leftover sea swell to die right down.

From Porto south, the Atlantic coast of Portugal seems to be one enormous long sandy beach, broken at intervals by the odd town or harbour. We literally followed this beach all the 30 miles from Porto to Aveiro, arriving in time for an evening beach excursion. The sun was setting as we dragged the kids reluctantly away from their sandcastles!

seagulls following a fishing boat into Leixoes

sandcastles at sunset, Aveiro

At Figuera de Foz, we were joined by a new crew member. Rachel had just joined our friend’s 85' traditional sailing boat, the Bessie Ellen (https://bessie-ellen.com) as a deckhand, but a film crew boarding for the trip to the Canaries had pushed numbers over capacity. As we were close by and have a spare bunk or two, we were happy for her to join us.

She arrived as Halloween preparations were in full swing. Obviously, we were unable to go trick-or-treating this year, so made sure we had a festive feel on board – Reuben loves putting up decorations! Katie also had a new lease of life with a fresh face - she even managed to bake Halloween cookies AT SEA!

excited for Halloween!

chefs at sea

Halloween cookies

We had a good trip to Nazare, with justenough wind to sail, arriving with a stunning sunset, along with another yacht called ‘Salt’. We moored alongside each other for the night and shared a few drinks in the evening. 

arriving at Nazare as sun sets

The following day was Halloween and we set off in calm seas towards Peniche, motoring as there was very little wind. Two hours out, there was a dull ‘thunk’ and the engine revs picked up unexpectedly. Dave went to investigate and found one of the outlets shafts on our V-drive had sheared. No engine!

We managed to set sail slowly back towards Nazare, but it was going to be a very slow trip and we would struggle getting safely into the harbour, if we even arrived before dark. To our great relief, ‘Salt’, who was a couple of miles behind, kindly offered to tow us all the way back. This he did without incident and expertly brought us back alongside the pontoon that we had left that morning.

Ros Ailither entering harbour under tow

Despite all the delays, detours and excitement, we managed to have a good Halloween for the kids, with apple bobbing, far too many sweets, and a family DVD.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween pumpkins

apple bobbing

Halloween lanterns

The next day, Dave managed to get the broken V-drive out and assess the damage. Being All Saints Day, everything in Portugal was closed for Public Holiday, and in Italy too (where the V-box came from), so we had a day of exploring – and bought the skipper of ‘Salt’ lunch out for his troubles. 

Exploring on our bikes

view from the clifftop at Nazare

Lunch out with Captain 'Salt'

Nazare is a little seaside town whose claim to fame comes from the fact that a deep canyon leads right into the shore from the sea, bringing enormous waves in the right conditions. We have just missed the annual 'Big Wave' surfing competition (15 Oct), but have seen incredible pictures of people surfing 30-odd metre waves! Thankfully, it has been calm during our 'troubles', but the sea still kicks up an impressive swell along the beach. Apparently, freak waves are common and at least one unlucky person gets washed into the sea each year.

Big Wave monument

Reuben playing safely away from the waves

Luckily, we have a fluent Portuguese-speaking English contact here who has not only found the right man for the job, but driven Dave to and fro and translated into Portuguese. Thank you Alec!

The broken V-drive.
The shaft on the left has sheared off completely