18th May Passage to Aςores.

The Passage to Aςores.

After rushing about making the final preparations, we finally left Portimao in the early afternoon of May 18, hoping that the 750nm passage to Ponta Delgado would take between 6 and 7 days. Along the coast of the Algarve the wind was very light and variable, with an annoying swell. However,as daylight faded and we approached Cabo San Vicente, the wind rapidly piped up to over 20 knots from the North and we soon had 3 reefs in. We had delayed the evening meal too long, so that we ended up with everything happening at once—darkness, reefing and eating. For Sue this would turn out to be the only meal of the trip!

The next day and a half passed uneventfully, making good progress on a beam reach in a Northerly Force 4-5. For a while we picked up a couple of hitchhikers, in the form of a couple of little birds who explored the boat thoroughly before flying off. Sue wasn’t well enough to get out of her bunk, so it was a bit tiring for me being on watch the whole time, although I did manage to snatch enough sleep to get by. The shipping was pretty heavy initially but thinned out quite a bit, as we made our way west. I was very thankful for the AIS to help me assess the ships around us.

The morning of the second full day at sea turned out to be a defining moment for the trip. I went to start the generator as normal to replenish the batteries after the night but absolutely nothing happened. Eventually I spotted that everytime I pressed the preheat switch, a relay on the generator tripped out. This had happened once before when in harbour but on that occasion, just resetting the relay fixed things. Now, it seemed permanent though, so it looked as if we would have to rely on the engine for charging, which was less than ideal. Even less ideal was the fact that when I started the engine, the starter motor failed to disengage—the same problem as had lead to us buring out the previous starter motor earlier in the year. This time we spotted the problem quickly and realized that it was caused by the key not returning to its proper position after starting, so it was easily fixed. The engine was now running but we didn’t know whether we had damaged the starter motor, so we were faced with a dilemma. Should we turn the motor off once the batteries were charged and take the risk that we couldn’t get it started again or play for safety and leave it running. We chose the safe but noisy option and left it running for the next 100 hours!

A little after this we suffered the final setback of the trip, when the forecasts started showing the weather to be becoming rather unfavourable. A depression moving out from between Portugal and N Africa in a few days time was going to pinch the isobars together, increasing the wind but more significantly changing the direction into the NW. The best tactics for us appeared to be to stay on a beam reach on starboard tack and let the backing wind carry us down to the South. For once, things played out just as planned. By the early hours of 23 May , the wind had backed and freshened to Force 6-7 and instead of heading straight for Ponta Delgado on Sao Miguel, our course was taking us halfway between Santa Maria and Madeira! However, the condition weren’t too unpleasant, as we had very little in the way of rain and a fair amount of sunshine. By then end of May 24, the wind had started to moderate and veer back a little. With it forecast to go back into the North but very light, it made sense to change our destination to Santa Maria, so we could turn the engine off as soon as possible! At first light on 25 May we tacked and with a little help from the engine, were shaping a reasonable course towards Santa Maria.
By midday we had more typical Azorean weather with a glassy calm sea and were glad of the mechanical horse. The dead calm didn’t last too long and then we had gentle Force 2-3 until, at sunset, I sighted the island 30 miles to the North. The pilot book advised against a first time night entry into the harbour of Vila do Porto, so we sailed very gently onwards until we about 10 miles off, then waited for dawn. There was no other traffic about, so this gave me the opportunity to catch up on some much-needed sleep. Eventually the sun rose behind the island, heralding a beautiful morning and all the tribulations of the voyage were forgotten. At 9am we were safely secured in the marina where, in spite of the hour, I celebrated with a cold beer. The marina is only 2 years old and people don’t seem to have discovered it yet, so it was almost empty. There were just 6 yachts when we arrived but no other British ones among them. In the best Azorean tradition, the staff were very friendly and helpful, with no language problems, so we could soon settle back to recover from the voyage. Instead of 6-7 days, it had taken almost 8 days and we had ended up at a different island from that originally intended but we had made it in one piece!!

After Seville

Our next visit was to San Lucar de Barremeda. Weather not too good so we took rain wear. The really helpful guy in the tourist office recommended the Ice Factory which has been turned into an interpretive centre for the Donana National Park, it also has some history of C. Columbus where he had contact with the town. Lunch was on the Bajo de Guia an upmarket seafront eating area where we had our first Spanish ‘Tapas’. It included Octopus, mussels, clams, salted sardines, and ‘caviar’, with salsa and salad. We had started eating under the sun awning but when the rain fell in earnest we took our plates inside.
Suitably replete we then did the tourist trail—marked by a thick red line around the town. ALL the churches and monuments were by now closed for the afternoon (4 o’clock) but we knew what we were missing because at each was a board telling us!
Saturday we prepared again for heavy weather sailing and slipped for Cadiz (Cadith). With 15-25 knots on the nose all the way, seas slightly confused and rather big rollers. All three reefs in and Malcolm played about with the foresails to get the best combination-but hey this was only one day of so many peaceful days and I coped very well –on deck the whole time and happy! Arrived Cadiz 8.30. Dinner (fish & Chips) and bed.
Sunday more wind and rain but plenty to see in Cadiz.
The best views were from the top of the Cathedral ’Santa Cruz’’, but before we did this we took a cycle ride around the outskirts on the Atlantic side through the ‘Parque Genovés. This was very formal with plenty of summer bedding and numerous side ponds along a central walk. These were possibly fed from a waterfall which gave a cooling influence (aaah). Also in this park was another Theatre- ‘Permain’ but it had the look of rather desolate and forgotten.
Further on we came to the Castillo Santa Catalina. This has a large sundial and various sculpts in the grounds. The newer buildings house artists exhibitions. The two we happened to catch were of Digital photography and acrylics. They were both excellent. The photographer had used an ultra wide angle lens to capture almost a whole street (how amazing since the said streets were soo narrow!) and the depth of field even picked out feathers on the odd errant pigeon. The paintings were Brazilian Naïve (similar to Lowry) but the topics were very diverse. From harvesting coffee and sweetcorn , the town square with children playing, to wedding ceremonies. No cameras were allowed which is a shame since I can’t do them justice. We continued along the esplanade to see the old fishing harbour. Next we cut into the town and found the municipal market for our fresh veggies and a supermarket for sundries.
There are three walks for the city each with a bold coloured line to show us the way. We spent the next few days following them. Generally the streets are quite narrow and the buildings three or four stories high. Most windows have iron bars protecting them. The most colourful plaza was that with all the flower sellers. Perfume flooded the air.
Another couple of hours was needed for the Archbishops House archaeological site. Basically everyone and his dog had used the site for their house, starting with the Romans, Moors and progressing to the archbishop in later times. The depth of excavations is enormous with underground tanks for the treatment of certain health problems and dark rooms to lie in to be cured. On top of this is the oil storage area where at least 6 huge amphora have been sunk/or filled in around before the next builders laid the floor for the stables. There was also a sacrifice area with a dish of food given as an offering which was excavated in tact !
We managed to get hold of Marina Bay on Gibraltar to book a berth over the weekend so everything has been dropped for a short sail to Barbate.
OK I lied! It would have been shorter but for the Tuna nets which take up most of the entrance to the Marina. The only way through was across to the far side and back round! We didn’t venture into the town it looked soulless and dead. Up early the next day for the sail to Gibraltar.
0800 slip and straight away we were rigged with full sails.. Rather than putting the engine on when the wind dropped we hoisted the MPG and were more than pleased with the turn of power. By the time we reached Tarifa the wind was astern and increasing (5-7 knots boat speed) I should just say that the Atlantic is narrowed by the Straits starting at Tarifa so the water and winds increase accordingly. The pilot book reckoned that winds of 30 knots are said to blow for 300 days of the year !! Anyway we flew into the bay and had to slow right down for fear of all the traffic! Oil tankers, container boats and so many ferries all made for a stressful entry. Enough once we turned into the Marina it got quieter. We moored bow to and got the passerelle out to use as a path. Then time for a cool beer. Then out to look for British Fish & Chips Yum Yum!
Day 1 we cycled to the cable car station but were sold a mini bus ride up to all the sights, which turned out to be very good value. Plus no mountaineering from the Barbary apes to the tunnels! Awesome views from the top -yachts in the bay look so tiny ! After the tour we had lunch and saw the Botanical Gardens.
Day 2. Another day to see the interior of the city. As expected rather a lot of British tourist.
Day 3. Chilled out during the day-but then a trip to ‘Morrisons’ where we stocked up with stuff not available in Spain nor Portugal. The big plus was Granary bread AND English flour!. The small Marks & Sparks had a food department so I also stocked up on extra strong Tea bags (1000) so they should last a while! Finally out for duty free booze. I had a pleasant afternoon in the city archives looking for anything to do with nurses during the second war. I found two ledgers which exactly fit the bill but neither contained my grandmothers name. The archivist said that if she had been attached to the Naval Hospital then the documents would be back in Kew ! Ho hum but is was a very relaxing afternoon! We also had to fill up with cheap diesel (50p/l). This done we were ready for the return trip.
Up early and slipped for Cadiz . We left Gibraltar with very little wind and decided to hoist 3 reefs and Full Yankee, then down 2 reefs then 3 then just the Staysail ( you guessed the wind was increasing! 40 knots apparent and 9 knots boat speed WOW who needs a bungee jump for an adrenaline rush ? It was still dark when we arrived so we were careful not to wake the neighbours. Graham next door was surprised to find us cleaning the salt from the decks, windows you name it… Finally we did some more sightseeing. No help given to the visiting cruise liners this time.
Final leg was to be straight to Portimão. (10 hours ha ha). The winds were light and even with the MPG we made little progress. When the wind finally came up it had changed direction and (yes) came from dead ahead. So we ended up motoring and got in about midnight then changed our watches to Portuguese time.
First day cleaned Piano again and rinsed the salt from the MPG and other sails, made bread and finally did some washing.
While we were back in our old berth we had John Holloway out to check the starter motor and the switch behind the key. Comforting to know that he said it was all working perfectly. We also met up with Kerry and John who came over for lunch from their anchorage in Alvor. To reciprocate they accompanied us to the flea market and onto Monchique where they used a mountain spring to refill their water supplies. Of course this included a picnic lunch laid on by Kerry with home made Ginger Beer from my old recipe!
Last few days and time to provision for the passage to the Aςores, Three main meals, 2 quiches, green, pasta, rice and potato salad for lunches. Last of all easily accessible emergency food just in case.
We ended up slipping after lunch and had a pleasant sail to Cabo San Vincente. Where after reefing I went down for a rest…..