I was impressed with how much better the boat sailed, especially going to weather in both light and heavier air. Who knew? I'm very glad that the recommendation to do the re-rig was made and that the work was done without problem. The run across Biscay and around Finisterre was uneventful from a sailing point of view but we did have a significant problem south of Porto that I will get into ina moment.
My crew were Ian and Matt and we left in a northerly F4-5 breeze and we made good progress all night. The wind lightened considerably on the next day and we had to motor sail for a while until the breeze filled in again. We progressed nicely under sail past Finisterre until the wind failed once again..
We motored and motor sailed down the Portuguese coast in very calm conditions, surrounded by dolphins until the motor stopped dead. It would run in neutral but I could not engage forward or reverse without massive vibration. I thought we had hit something and damaged the prop. We got on the radio and fortunately a British boat about 5 miles away agreed to give us a tow to the nearest port which was a place called Peniche, about 15 miles away. Fortunately, conditions were calm and clear and we picked up the tow without problem. Slow progress down the coast and it was very dark when we were picked up by the local maritime police and towed the last mile into the small town of Peniche. We tied up to a concrete wall in the fishing port and by this time it was already midnight, so not much to do.
On the following morning, the local authorities and there were a lot of them told me that it was forbidden to dive on the boat myself, even though we had the equipment. I had no choice but to employ a local dive company who fixed the problem in about 10 minutes. It would appear that we had picked up a huge piece of heavy duty fishing net. So, just bad luck but no damage to the prop or transmission.
After a lot of paperwork and some bills to pay we were again on our way around midday down to Cascais. We berthed at a very nice but seriously expensive marina and had a nice dinner in this very pretty Portuguese town next to Lisbon.
We anchored out in the bay next day and by this time the Portuguese trades had resumed and we had some great sailing the past 120 miles to Lagos with following wind at F5-6 all night. Lots of fishing boats but fortunately no more nets.
Lagos is just as I remember it. A bit touristy and some drunken Brits and Germans but very pleasant with excellent restaurants and amenities.
We have done some road trips to Sagres and Silves and other areas of interest in the Algarve.
The climate is outstanding and there are some beautiful and remote spots to visit.
The Admiral will stay until next week and I remain to put the boat to bed by the end of the month.
Then it's back to California, via London, Iceland and Washington DC.
 |
| The fishing net we picked up south of Porto. Apparently, there is a lot of this stuff floating just below the surface. There is no way to see it or avoid it. Day or night. |
 |
| climbing up the street to the cathedral and fort in Silves |
 |
| Callisto at the Marina de Lagos |
 |
| The western Algarve coast. Remote and beautiful. Much different from the concrete jungle further west |
 |
| Sagres |
 |
| A stork nesting in Silves. Lots of migratory bird here |
 |
| the beach at Lagos |
 |
| Atlantic coast of southern Portuga lremote beaches north of Cape St. Vincent |
 |
| Callisto tied up to the sea wall in Peniche |
 |
| downtown Lagos and the marina |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.