28th to 29th June - Wind, waves and other critters

I woke up early the next mooring to a bit of a shock at finding a strange creature in our cabin but it turned out only to be dangerous if spoken to in the wrong tone of voice.

A strange creature in our cabin 

We left Lagos at 4:30 am and, sadly, because it was dark, we are unable to see the spectacular coastline close between Lagos and Sagres.  The weather was quite cold and cloudy and, as we approached Cabo St Vincent, the most westerly point of Portugal, the wind became stronger and stronger and the waves rougher.  This is a notoriously difficult area when the winds are strong and it was pretty unpleasant rounding the point even though we stayed two miles off, as it would have been much worse if we had been closer in.

Rounding Cabo St Vincent

Fortunately, after the point the weather and sea were not too bad and we made good time.  We also heard that the orcas were now North of Sines and so we did not have to worry about staying too shallow.  It was still a tiring day and we did not arrive at Sines until 5:30 in the evening but it was a large calm anchorage and as we were the only boat, it was easy to anchor and get settled.

Of course, the day would not be complete without a problem and no sooner had we started to prepare dinner when the water pump stopped working.  So there was another delay while I replaced the pump with a spare (moto:  always carry spare water, toilet and waste pumps.  Only the waste pump to go now!).

Water pump replacement

Emma and I then made dinner, a pasta concoction of our own invention.  We managed to use most of the bowls and dishes and implements in the kitchen but luckily for us Greg and Richard were doing the washing up.

The following day we again left early again as we knew that some very strong winds were forecast for later in the afternoon.  To make matters worse, the orcas had been sighted directly ahead of us, so would have to try and stay below the 20m contour.  Something that proved quite difficult to do as it was a very narrow band close to the coast.

Most of the trip went smoothly but as we approached the coast between Setubal and Cabo Espichel we received a notification that the orcas where in that exact location in 15-50m of water.   It was quite a scary couple of hours but we did not see anything and after we turned the corner and headed to Cascais we knew that we had left the orcas behind (for now at least).

As we approached Cascais the winds again got stronger and stronger and the sea became rougher.  Our boat speed dropped from 6.5 knots to 4.5 knots and as it was taking longer to reach Cascais the wind increased further.  Our entry into the marina was one of the most difficult I have encountered but fortunately with the help of a passing Vendee Globe sailor on the reception pontoon we managed to tie up.  While we were waiting to be allocated a berth the wind gusted to a gale force 40 knots.  

Not what you expect inside a marina!

We were all pretty tired when we arrived, some crew members were giving good impressions of zombies.  

Zombies

However, we did manage to walk into Cascais which looked to be a very attractive town, and have a meal.  

A bit touristy but a nice meal

With the wind forecast to get worse we had booked in the marina for three nights which would give us a chance to explore Cascais and also Lisbon, which is only a 30-minute train ride away.

Cascais


Comments

  1. Anonymous2 July 2023 at 03:48

    In my experience, first mate Emma, always developed a taste for ‘Pina Coladas’ by the bucket, when sailing with Neal. Has there been any evidence of that on the trip?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous2 July 2023 at 03:49

    Has ‘Roger the cabin boy’ aka ‘eye candy’ bored you all to death with yet another sighting of a ‘sheer water’?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2 July 2023 at 03:51

    You are headed in the direction of a large pod of orcas outside Navarre - Francois (marine biologiste)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous2 July 2023 at 03:52

    Has the captain been deliberately blocking the crews toilet because they keep having to be told to ‘close the fxxxing hatches’?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous2 July 2023 at 05:27

    Wow - drama
    On a toilet note keep saying to our crew don’t do big poos 🤣 must do bit by bit and not one go. Poo is a hot topic in our fam 😂💩 😂
    Enjoying reading about your adventures and learning!! Just said to C we need spare pumps!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous6 July 2023 at 07:29

    What's the strange creature in the cabin? Looks like Greg's long lost hair.

    ReplyDelete

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