9/24/22 Combarro, Spain
Early start for the 80-mile run south to Leixoes, Portugal.
The skies were clear and the wind was building as we departed Combarro, Spain.
The wind was expected to build to 30 knots with 2m seas predicted. We motored
south between the mainland and the last of the Galicia National Park Islands,
Islas Cies. We could feel the swell sneaking in from the north west. We put up
the code zero and the main and made our way into the Atlantic.
With the wind quickly building to 20-25 knots the seas were
every bit of 2m. We were dead downwind so we sailed wing on wing requiring hand
steering. I took the first shift making 9-10 knots as we headed almost directly
south. Don relieved me as we neared the Portugal border. He hit 12 knots; it
was a sleigh ride as we passed the border.
Portugal Border
Don at the Helm
I return to the wheel as we saw the wind hitting 30. We furled the code zero and sailed under main only. We were making 10 knots and seeing gusts to 35. The seas were building and the swell and wind waves would combine to some 3 m plus waves. We had to head out a bit further from shore to avoid some rock out crops. This made for a very uncomfortable ride as the sea were on our starboard quarter.
The crew was pretty stoic for the long ride in big seas and very happy to round the jetty into Leixoes. As we were making the entrance, we had a ship coming out and another coming in. The outgoing ship passed before us and we slipped into the channel ahead of the incoming ship as we hugged the port side of the channel.
The anchorage was just inside the harbor with 6 or 7 boats
already settled in. We saw our British friend on Periwinkle and anchored
between them and the jetty in about 8m of water. The wind was still high, but
the water calm. By 2100 the wind settled and we were well into our second round
of cocktails as we analyzed the days sail, what we did right and what we did
wrong on a high wind and tall sea day.
Exhausted we enjoyed a quiet night’s sleep.
9/25/22 Leixoes, Portugal
Calm after the storm
It was a short motor into Porto. We would have anchored in
Porto, but the anchorage looked shallow. We headed for the Marina, but we were
told that we had to wait at anchor and check with them in the afternoon. We
made our way to the anchorage and started to drop anchor when the marina called
us in on the radio. We were directed to a birth on a pontoon with lots of big
power boats and a couple sailboats, a very fine neighborhood.
We squared away the boat and walked into town to do a little
exploring on a Sunday afternoon. We all headed to Gaia where the port houses
lined the river. We passed under the huge highway bridge and walked along the
river path. We enjoyed a tasting at a place that represented several ports. There
lots of people on the streets and in the Port houses enjoying what only
Portugal can offer, Port. On the river there were river cruise boats that
looked like oversized gondolas from Venice, except they had motors and a pilot
house.
Diane went shopping
for a Restaurant for the next day while we just wondered along the waterfront.
9/26/22 Porto, Portugal
Another beautiful day in Portugal. We called up a cab and
had them deliver us to the foot bridge that crosses the Duoro River into the
old part of Porto. The bridge had a foot crossing at the lower level and on the
upper-level trains and pedestrians. The bridge was a pretty spectacular example
of steel work from the late 1800s.
We took the telepherique up the hill to the city. We made our way through the city looking for some of the must-see
places, but our navigation was difficult. We did find the overly crowded
shopping district and the beautiful train station. Porto rises up quickly on a
hill, so finding our way back to the river was easy, go downhill. Along the
water front are ancient buildings full of restaurants and shops. There are
boarding areas for the various boat tours and street entertainers for your
pleasure.
We crossed back over the foot bridge and flagged a cab in
order to get to our 1400 appointment at Churchill’s for a port tasting and
tour. We arrived having not eaten much so a cheese plate was a necessity. We
learned a little about port and how it is made on our tour. Churchill was
started by John Graham of the famous for port Graham family. When the family
sold the company, he set out to make his own port. We enjoyed the selection of
port with some phenomenal chocolate that we bought earlier in the day. I picked
up a 2007 bottle that was a year recommended by our tour guide.
It was downhill to the river and flag down a cab to head to
the car rental place in Porto. We picked up a little 4 door sedan and drove
back to the boat. When we returned to the marina, we were informed that we had
to move to another slip as the owner of our slip was returning. We decided that
we would make the move in the morning. Diane had made reservations at Armazem
do Peixe for 1945 so we had time to primp and actually dress for dinner. This
would be Don and Diane’s last night on the boat so there was some packing and
preparing going on. We were sad to see them go, but we still had one more
adventure to go, road trip up the Duoro Valley.
The restaurant had their fish selection out for display as
we approached the entrance. Also outside at the entrance were their large
grills for cooking your choice of fish. Inside was beautiful and bustling. The
meal and the wine were excellent as was the service. No room for desert or port,
we found our way back to the boat.
9/27/22 Duoro, Valley
Up early to relocate the boat and load up the rental car. We
drove east to the Duoro Valley to sample the wine and food. The scenery was
amazing, terraced vineyards rising up the steep slopes on either side of the
river. The road would go from river level to dizzying heights above the river
and back down again as we drove the switchbacks. We ventured down roads that
were not well marked to find wineries we were not sure existed. At one point we
stopped so Suzette could get out of the car and verify that there in fact was a
steep driveway that we could not see from the car. When we arrived at what
looked like a house Suzette got out to knock on the door, but someone came out
first and waved us in.
Our host was Pedro and he was very knowledgeable and very proud of their Duoro Valley wine. The name of the winery was Quinta da Barca (small boat), but the wine was distributed as Busto, something about name ownership etc. While tasting their selection of wine the Owners daughter greeted us and thanked us for stopping by. She is working on finding a distributor in the U.S. We broke out our picnic basket and shared our food with Pedro and he shared his wine. We toured their small wine making facility and bought a few bottles to take with us. He loaded up the box with the bottles we had been tasting from and sent us on our way. We stopped at another winery and had a picnic in the vineyard. One more stop before we found our B&B for the night, Quinta da Manhas.
The accommodations were great, a patio to enjoy the view of
the valley, swimming pool nestled in the garden, lounge and a comfortable room.
We had dinner in the dining room and a bit of star gazing before bed. It was
strange to be in a bed that was not moving.
9/28/22 Duoro, Valley
It was a lazy start to an overcast day. Slept in and enjoyed a long, long hot shower. They served a grand breakfast in the lounge and great coffee. On the way out we stopped in the tiny town of Provesenda and walk the town square. The ladies each found a trinket to buy. We drove to Lemego where they had many beautiful old churches and in particular, Our Lady of Remedies. This church sat way above the town and had a series of terraces that ended at the town promenade.
Working our way back to Porto we stopped at Quinta de
Aleveda for a tasting of the Vinho Verde wine, this is the wine region that
aligns with the Atlantic and is lusher, thus the Verde. Unfortunately, they had
no openings for us so we moved on. Following Google Maps to another Quinta led us
to a foot bridge, so we turned back. This time Google took us to what was more
of a water sluice than a road, but what the heck, it’s a rental. We only
bottomed out once, but it was definitely not a road.
It was getting to be the bewitching hour for food, 1500, so I pulled in to the first place that said Restaurant. They welcomed us in even though it was late and their English was limited. They indicated that their specialty was piglet, so piglet sandwiches it was and they were very simple and good. We ordered a White Vinho Verde and asked that the waitress make a recommendation; she brought out an Aleveda, destiny!
We took Don and Diane to the airport hotel and said our good
byes, we were all continuing our adventures and looking forward to reminiscing when
we see them back in California. They are great sailors; it was great having
them join us for part of our adventure. We drove to the nearest market to do
some grocery shopping while we had the car. A quick trip to the boat to drop
our bags and groceries, then back to the car rental place. Oddly it felt good
to be free from the automobile.
We walked the 8.1 kilometers back to the boat through the
old town of Porto, along the river front, across the foot bridge and into Gaia.
In Gaia we found a couple of unusual stores that were the pinnacle of
marketing. The first was Portugal Can where they sold all sorts of canned seafood.
They all looked like sardine cans, but each label had a theme or a message. We
bought sardines, tuna and octopus. The next shop was selling port served with a
cod croquette filled with cheese. It looked like a huge old library and there
was a piano player serenading the patrons. Having had my fill of cod we moved
on.
We arrived at the boat about 2030 ready for some wine and a
nibble. We launched in to a load of laundry knowing that tomorrow we had lots
to do to get ready to leave.
9/29/22 Porto, Portugal
It was a gray rainy morning but we were up early to get
started on some chores. It was awesome having guests, no chores just fun. We
discovered that we were out of laundry soap so it was off to the store in the
rain. On the way back we stopped at the community laundry to wait out the rain.
It turns out that the laundry is rain fed and comprised of several large cement
tanks to hand wash your laundry. This a relic from the days when this was a
fishing village, Afurada, and the women would gather to do laundry, gossip and
tell stories. Outside was an elaborate mesh of sticks and lines for clothes
lines.
We made it back to the boat a little wet, but not too bad.
When the rain cleared, we scrubbed the decks and cleaned below. 3 more loads of
laundry had us feeling ready to travel. Suzette made a big pot of vegetable
soup to keep us warm and nourished for the day. I got lucky at the local
chandlery and found an oil filter and belt for our generator as a spare.
In the late afternoon we ventured into the neighborhood
south of the marina in search of an electronics store. My cell phone has not
been the same since it got splashed by a rogue wave while on our wild ride from
Combarro to Leixoes. We found a mall with an electronics store and bought
compressed air and a new cord. They had a huge Target type grocery store where
Suzette found some more decorative storage baskets and a few food items. The
walk back to the boat took us through some back alleys that were slightly
smaller than the road we came up. A quiet night on the boat and an early bed to
rest for tomorrow’s journey.
6/30/22 Porto, Portugal
Pulled away from the dock at 0830 and headed south to
Figueira da Foz, about 70 miles. We were unable to secure a reservation and the
anchoring looked iffy. The wind was building to 20 and the seas were running an
uncomfortable 2 m on our quarter. The admiral redirected the ship to Ria de
Aveiro with a cozy anchorage in Baia de Sao Jacinto.
We rounded the jetty at about 1230 and we were greeted on
the VHF by harbor control. They inquired as to our intentions and we stated
that we wished to anchor for the night. He directed us to Baia de Sao Jacinto,
perfecto! Anchor down by about 1300 in 3.2 m of water at low tide with on other
boat at the other end of the anchorage. The sun felt good as it was cold on the
water, 60 degrees, the coldest we have seen yet. A nap on the aft deck was
perfect.
Set about some more boat chores and cleaning. In the meantime
2 other boats anchored in. We dinghied to shore and walked the tiny town. Picked
up a couple things at the general store and found a fabulous vegetable stand.
Suzette made a pasta dish for dinner while I checked the
weather and Orca report. Sadly, our friends on Periwinkle, we met them in
Ribadeo, were attacked and in port for repairs. Worse news was there was
another attack near them SW of Cascais, the area we will transit in a couple
days! Looks like we are back on Orca Watch.
10/1/22 Baia de Sao Jacinto, Portugal
Happy October 1st, as my friend Claude would say.
Early start before dawn as we head south to Nazare, yes, the famous huge huge
wave surf spot. Calm seas and calm wind on a clear day had us motoring. With
such calm conditions today and not so calm tomorrow, we decided to continue on
to Peniche for an overnight anchorage.
It was an uneventful 12-hour motor sail with light wind and
seas the entire way. We were rewarded with our first true Atlantic sunset where
we actually saw the ocean at the horizon at sunset. It was spectacular! We
anchored off the beach outside of Peniche Harbor in 9m at high tide.
10/2/22 Peniche, Portugal
Up early to plan the trip for the day. The goal was too
round Cobo Roco and land in Cascais where there was a decent anchorage just
west of Lisbon. We were unable to secure a birth in Lisbon so Cascais was the
next closest spot. The swell was running about 2 meters, but with a long period
and no wind it was pretty tame. We arrived to a bay chocked full of anchored
yachts. This had to be the most cruising yachts we have seen in one place so
far.
We headed straight for the fuel dock, not that we were low,
just that it was Sunday and I did not know if they would keep regular hours. We
topped up with 312 L, we are burning about a gallon an hour. My friend Zuzanna
said once that we would motor far more than we thought, she was right! However,
if it were not for the Orcas, we would sail a little more. Speaking of Orcas,
the talk at the fuel dock was Orcas. There were 3 attacks today just south of
us near Sines, Portugal, our next planned stop.
Several of the boats that were anchored with us in Peniche
turned up in Cascais. I was surprised how many were crewed by a young couple
and two young children. Several were just starting their trip around the world.
We anchored in the bay not to far from the marina. Dropped the dinghy in and
headed to the marina office. I had called every marina in the area and could
not find a birth. We had guests arriving and it is just easier to bring them
aboard and acclimate them while docked. It turns out that the Marina here in
Cascais had a spot for us starting tomorrow, so we reserved for 3 nights to
wait out the Orcas.
We dinghied over to a town dock and walked through the town
of Cascais. We were back to crowds of vacationers, but in what looked like a
very high-end spot. The streets were beautifully paved with mosaic patterns of
different colored coble stones, lots of great looking restaurants and cool
boutiques. We picked up a couple essentials and inquired about a real grocery store.
Back to the boat it was time for sundowners and relaxation
after a busy 3 days of travel. We planned to get the boat cleaned up and ready
for guests tomorrow, today…relax and regroup. There was an amazing diversity to
the yachts around us; 3 young men on a small Swan, families on 45’ cats
(Nautitech, Fontain Pouget, Nauticat), a 3 masted schooner, a 90’ aluminum
research sailing ship that looked like Jaque Christou’s boat that we saw when
we were in New Zealand years ago.
It was a fairly quiet night, but the out going fishing boats
showed no mercy in the early morning.
10/3/22 Cascais, Portugal
Our friends Harris and Linda Hunt would be arriving today so
the admiral demanded a ship shape boat. I had a few maintenance chores to do;
check the engine vitals, tighten the steering cable that seemed a bit loose,
fix a couple of things in the galley. We headed in to town once the boat was
set and found a great grocery store. With the larder full we set about moving
the boat into the Marina.
Marina de Cascais is supposedly the 3rd largest
marina in Europe, that must be measured by number of boats because it was a
tight fit. A beautiful British couple jumped to help us get tied up at the
dock. They were on their own boat, but running adventure charters. They were
headed to Bermuda.
The day had a weird overcast of haze, but generally sunny and back to being hot. Harris and Linda Arrived about 1700 and, once again, it was so great to welcome friends aboard Raffaellesco. After a brief tour we settled in for a refreshing Prosecco to taste the adventure. Next was a Tapas dinner accompanied by a delicious White from the Duoro Valley. Our guests brought a desert tray of Portuguese baked goods with which we enjoyed the White Tawney port we bought in Porto. We managed to stay up past 2000 catching up with our friends, but jet lag rules and it was off to bed.
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