Category: Ports of Call (Page 23 of 39)

We thought we had a 3-hour motor to get to Lagos. We had put up our main anyway to dry it out in the sun. Suddenly we had at least 10 knots on nose plus choppy seas and a foul current that slowed us down to 2 knots. In an effort to get comfortable, and get some last season sailing in, we decided to head south to get a better angle on the wind and the waves. It meant tacking and going a slightly longer distance, but it was a nice sail.

It was bittersweet to come into the Lagos marina to end the sailing season. However, Mads and Lotta (our sailing friends that live in Lagos) were there at our slip, waiting with bubbly and apps – never have we had a welcome like that! (And probably never will again, the standards are much too high now.)

Though we’re done sailing for 2022, we’re still going to be on board for a few weeks putting things to bed, cleaning, packing and, more importantly, touring about this beautiful area. Lagos is one of the more popular places to winter a boat, and we already know 5 other boats here. There will be a few more posts before I finish the season.

A whole flotilla of boats left Sines early in the morning, most, like us, trying to make it south and east while we still had good northerly winds (the winds were scheduled to altogether die and then come from the east for a week). Of course we had a windless morning and motored for several hours. When the wind finally came we got up to about 8 knots, a fabulous finish to this season. Sigh, and then there were squalls.

The first couple of squalls were a little bit of rain or a little bit of extra wind, all coming from the west. Then I looked behind us. Ominous black clouds were coming from the north. And just like that the wind went from 12 to 28 knots……and we had full sail up….ugh. Trip was able to round up, head into the wind to slow down, and then fell off again to blanket the jib enough with the main so we could furl the jib. Unfortunately we were going to have to gybe the full main to come around the point to get to Sagres. With some screaming, a lot of cursing, and a lot of strained muscles, we managed the gybe without damaging the main or the boom, and headed east to Sagres.

Sagres was a beautiful anchorage with great holding in the 20 knots we were still getting. There’s room for 100+ boats, I can only imagine how crazy it gets in the summer. There were only 8 of us or so (many from the morning’s ’flotilla’ had pushed further east to Lagos or Portimao).

The next day we picked up Anna and Clyde (they had lost their dinghy in Cascais) and headed for the beach. We wandered up the beach a bit, and then found a spot for afternoon drinks and apps. After a while, eagle-eyed Trip suddenly jumped up – our dinghy was drifting out to sea! I yelled for Trip to pay the bill, and I ran after Clyde, who was already running down the beach. Luckily an old man walking the beach had caught our painter, and calmly handed it to Clyde before continuing his walk. Clyde and I caught our breaths, Anna and Trip arrived, and we decided it was time to head back.

Before we left for Lagos and the marina, Trip wanted to change the zinc on the propeller. Unfortunately, cold water + fins that would not cooperate going on + a lost dive weight + unexpected current meant Trip was in the water for almost 90 minutes and a bit hypothermic as he came up. He was able to get the job done, but took a hot shower, I made hot chocolate, and he dug out his warm clothes. Body temp came back to normal.

It was a bit of a crazy departure from Cascais. We got up early, only to discover that our anchor had dragged 200+ feet the last few hours. Luckily we were at the back of the anchorage and therefore hit no other boats. Even more luckily the anchor came up cocked at a crazy angle riding on the swivel, and we were able to see exactly what the problem was: As the winds eased, the boat had begun swinging with the tidal current again, sometimes up to 180 degrees. during one of those swings the swivel bent and managed to hook the anchor, pulling it out and not letting it reset. The swivel has not been doing its primary job anyway (preventing twist in the chain), so it will be coming off at our earliest opportunity.

Traveling the coast is now a predictable pattern. We usually aim to make 50-ish miles a day given the amount of daylight hours we have (we try not to enter unfamiliar harbors in the dark). We leave around 7 in the morning, knowing there won’t be wind till the afternoon, so we need to motor. The wind picks up, and then we have fabulous sailing in the afternoon, doing sometimes up to 8 knots in 20 knots on a beam or broad reach.

To get to Sines, we had to cross the Setubal Canyon. Because of the fear of contacts by Orcas, most boats these days are traveling in shallow waters (less than 25 meters), hugging the coast. This adds ALOT of miles to travel to reduce risk as the coastline goes way in before going way out again. We opted not to and sailed straight for Sines. Very soon into the passage we saw three large military vessels. Looking up their details on AIS, we saw that they were NATO warships. With everything going on between Russia and the Ukraine right now, these convoys are currently very active. We later realized that there were 17+ ships in the canyon, and it was also speculated that all of their activity kept the Orcas at bay. (More about the Orcas at the end of the post).

Sines is a small fishing harbor tucked in behind a massive cargo ship and LNG port. It’s also the birthplace of Vasco do Gama. It has the most beautiful beach, and enough room for about 12 boats to anchor, as well as a really nice, small marina. Most importantly it’s protected from both the wind and swell, giving us a bit of time to rest before moving on.

First we wandered through the boatyard, where we saw up close the damage that Orcas had done to a boat rudder. The rudder was completely stripped of its fiberglass, and the stainless steel frame bent severely. Yikes! We wandered through town a bit with Anna and Clyde (they were in the marina), and settled in at the local brewery for lunch. Good food, good beer, and a great view.

***More about the Orcas…..They live and travel following the tuna between Gibraltar at the entrance to the Med up the coast of Spain and Portugal, into the Bay of Biscay in France. Beginning about 3 years ago, they began making contact with sailboats and specifically destroying their rudders. No one knows why. The most plausible theory that we’ve heard is that tuna populations are dropping, which means Orcas will also hunt whales. They bite the tail to prevent the whale from diving and escaping. Orcas are phenomenally smart animals, and speculation is that sailboats are being used to ‘train’ younger Orcas as the rudders of newer boats could look like a whale tail. Our boat is: 1) painted with red bottom paint (looks nothing like a whale), 2) has a cutaway full keel with attached rudder (looks nothing like a whale tale or tuna). Hopefully this makes us less of a target. Bottom line is that it’s a scary situation, but hundreds and thousands of boats pass through these waters without incident, and we hope to be part of that group…..

Sunday night the winds started to calm, and we risked a dinghy trip over to Carl on Selsea, a French boat also heading south. We had met Carl and his wife Melanie back in Leixoes, and it was great to see him again to catch up over a cocktail.

The winds calmed down even more on Monday for us to have one last day ashore before heading south again. The original plan was to head back to Belem, but that plan got scrapped when we discovered that the monastery was closed to visits on Mondays. Instead we decided to poke around Cascais some more and headed for the waterfront on the other side of the marina.

The walk to Boca do Inferno (Hell’s Mouth) let us linger through neighborhoods of beautiful old homes. Sadly, the closer you got to the water the tighter the security became and soon we were surrounded simply by gates and walls with no views of the homes.

The water thundering into Boca do Inferno was pretty impressive, and the walk along the water was wonderful. Our walk also took us past magnificent, old summer homes that were now museums as well as through beautiful parks. We were rather glad that we hadn’t rushed back to the big city and instead spent more time in Cascais.

Lisbon is just a 40 minute train ride from Cascais, and it’s a pretty ride along the banks of the Tagus River. After a first stop at the new food hall for a breakfast of coffee and the best egg custard tarts we’ve ever had, it was off to wander the hilly (every town in Portugal is uphill in all directions, I swear) Lisbon streets.

We turned a corner and ran into new cruising friends Anna and Clyde from Viking Goddess. We had known they would be in Lisbon as well, but what were the odds of running into them? They had signed up for a city tour in the afternoon, so we decided to wander the city together that morning and then join the same tour.

Lisbon is the capital of Portgual and is a huge city, but once again felt very walkable. There were cafes everywhere you turned to satisfy the local craving for a coffee and a cigarette (a habit we’ve both been able to avoid). We didn’t have much of a plan, just wandered the streets enjoying the views. We eventually turned back toward the river, and started looking for a restaurant for lunch.

The tour was rather remarkable. Our tour guide was very passionate, and rather than just walk us past buildings and recite facts, would sit us down and re-enact parts of history like the famous earthquake of 1755 or the Carnation Revolution of 1974. He did not shy away from difficult subjects like life under a dictator (women did not get the right to vote till 1974!) or the fact that there are no antique buildings in Lisbon (as you would expect in other tours of Europe), because everything was reduced to rubble during the earthquake. The tour was a bit exhausting, but really made me want to learn more about Portugal.

We needed another drink after the tour, so found a little cafe around the bend, and rehydrated again. Then it was back to Cascais.

We started the day a little bit later than we expected, but found the local bus station in Cascais and hopped a bus out northwest to Sintra. This area is home to home upon home built in the romantic style, and it was one charming chalet after castle after another. Unfortunately this area really requires a week long visit at the very least, and we only had one afternoon.

One of the tour books says that the Pena Castle looks like something out of the movie Shrek, and we agree that it’s totally got a Far Far Away look to it. It’s not nearly as old as other European castles, thanks to the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 that left everything in the area a pile of rubble. Ferdinand II had the castle built upon the grounds of the monastery that originally stood there.

I found everything about the castle quite gaudy, but irresistible at the same time. The views from every corner were spectacular, and the color scheme kind of grew on you after a while.

Lisbon has several marinas up river, but also has a wicked current. Alternatively, there’s an anchorage right in the town of Cascais at the mouth of the river and Lisbon is only 40 minutes up by train. Cascais is a very charming town on its own, if a bit touristy. The marina and surroundings are clearly aimed at a much more upscale crowd, but things are still pretty affordable.

Wandering through town viewing the fabulous architecture, the pretty neighborhoods, the dramatic coastline, and it’s always fun to people watch. Football (American soccer) has always been big in Portugal, but this was the first place we’d seen where they play (I don’t know the actual name, but…….) a combination of football and volleyball. Played on a volleyball court with the net, only your feet, thighs, chest & head can be used. No hands. Difficult to do & impressive to watch. Lots of restaurants too. Gone are our days of cheap little taxca meals (think local tavern food), but we’re still eating well (& spending less – just not as less).

Funny enough, boats that we met in Leixoes are all following the same path south, and this is one of the major stops. We’ve already seen a few boats in the anchorage that we recognize.