10/11/22 Portimao, Portugal
The anchorage off Ferragudo was a bit busy with tour boats
and fishing boats, so the Admiral dictated a move to the anchorage near the
harbor entrance. After a load of laundry and me finally finishing my electrical
conversion, we pulled anchor. There were a lot of boats in the new anchorage,
but plenty of room left for us. As we settled in, we witnessed a Sea World
quality dolphin show as a very active pod swam through the opening to the
harbor.
10/12/22 Portimao, Portugal
Sunshine and calm in the morning as we motored out heading
West for Faro, Portugal. There was virtually no swell and a light wind for our 35-mile
run to Faro. About half way the wind came up to 6-7 knots on our beam. Up with
the sails, off with the engine and off with our clothes (I will spare you the
pictures). We managed to make 3-4 knots as we laid on the fore deck erasing our
tan lines. This was the first hot sunny day in a while.
We motored into the Faro Estuary on an incoming tide, the
water was ripping through the entrance. The anchorage was dead ahead and out of
the fast current. Dropped the hook in 6m of clear water and settled in with
Faro to the north and Ilha do Faro to the south.
Ashore we walked the very quaint little resort town with
many tiny homes and beautiful gardens. The homes were shuttered for the most
part, with very few people wandering the sidewalks. There were no roads or cars
that we saw. We walked to the other side of the island and found a cool little
beach bar nestled in the dunes. It must be the only place open because there
were many people here. We enjoyed a Mojito in the comfortable Adirondack chairs
as the Atlantic lapped the sand in front of us. This is starting to feel like
vacation.
The sunset was beautiful. The anchorage was very calm in spite of the nearly 3m tide. This was our last night in Portugal.
10/13/22 Faro Estuary, Portugal
We departed just before sunrise as we had about 50 miles to
cover today heading to Mazagon, Spain. As we exited through the inlet the
current was running out even faster than yesterday. It was a crazy ride through
the rather square standing wave as the estuary flow hit the Atlantic. There was
a bit more swell today, but beautiful sun and light wind.
We crossed the border to Spain at about 1130, back to UTC
+2. Lots of fish traps, fish farms and fisherman to dodge as we made our way.
We landed in Mazagon and picked up a birth in the marina. It was a hot day, low
80s, so I was pretty unmotivated to do more than enjoy a cold drink. We walked
up to the shore to do a quick survey of the available chandleries and enjoyed a
cocktail at the bar as we savored the shade and the view of all the beautiful
boats. Tomorrow was planned as a work day, mainly to service the generator.
Suzette asked “how long it would take?”. I said “a couple hours…if all goes
well.”
10/14/22 Mazagon, Spain
We started early on the generator. The access is terrible
and required a lot of dismantling just to access the beast. Once apart the
draining of the oil was easy, however, I could not get the filter off. Walked
to the local chandlery that sold oil, filters, etc, but no oil filter wrench!
We had planned a bike ride today so we rode into town to find a store.
This was a beautiful neighborhood with lots of single-family
homes with yards. This was unusual compared to most places we had been with
cramped ancient row houses or huge apartment buildings. Google showed nothing for
hardware stores or auto parts, but it did show a huge grocery store and Suzette
always wants to visit the local grocery store. On the way we found ourselves in
a town center with lots of shops. We asked around, but very little English is
spoken and no hardware or auto parts stores. A young man directed us to a gas
station, but no luck. This brought us to another warehouse type shopping area.
There it was, with a glow around it, not unlike when our suitcases finally
arrived in France, Hardware and Auto Repair. They had just what I needed! A
quick stop at the huge grocery store and we were boat bound.
The tool worked perfectly. I can not understand why these
new filters are screwed on way tighter than the specs call for, another mystery
of life. We called the job complete at about 1700, so much for a couple hours.
It was another hot sunny day, a cool shower felt good. For dinner it was burritos;
we have now entered the clean out the pantry phase where we want no food left
when we leave. I see mustard sandwiches in my future.
10/15/22 Mazagon, Spain
Up and out in fair skies and light breeze for the 40-mile
run south to Sherry/Cadiz. Stopped at the fuel dock to fill the Starboard fuel
tank; 171 L. The day started calm so we motored for a couple hours. As the wind
built to 12 just off our nose, we put out the jib and main sail. The jib has
really great shape, maybe because it has vertical battens. The main, on the
other hand, does not have great shape, may have to replace the main or add
battens. The self-tacking jib made clawing our way up wind a matter of turning
the wheel to tack. Another boat was matching our tacks for a while, but could
not keep up.
It looked like the upper shrouds were looser than they
should be so we put away the sails and motored into the huge harbor of Cadiz. A
haze was setting in so the sky line was not easy to see. We headed into Puorto
Sherry, a marina at the north side of the harbor. We tied up to the waiting
pontoon at 1600. We noticed several vehicles driving away from the reception
building. 10 minutes later we realized that was the port captain leaving for
the day. When they say they close at 1600, they close at 1600 and leave.
We called on the radio as the marina was supposed to have 24
hr check in. The person who answered on the radio did not speak English and
that was the end of the conversation. I called on the phone and got the same,
no speak English, click. The marina looked fairly empty so we decided to simply
take a spot, but then a security guy arrived and directed us to F74 on the
other side of a catamaran. Turns out there was no 74 so we took 64 and settled
in.
It was Saturday night so we headed to shore to explore the
water front. Not a lot of activity, but the yacht club was hopping, cocktails
and live music. Enjoyed a G&T taking in the small, but very comfortable
club. We continued the exploration out to the point and around to the beach
front. The Marina was evidently built in ’85 with the intention of being a
stand-alone resort community. It was only partially complete, between the
beautiful colorful homes are half-built skeletons that will never be completed
as their decay is significant.
The sun was getting ready to set so we found a spot on a
beach front patio and ordered Mojitos. A beautiful sunset over the Atlantic. Hard
to believe that Africa is only about 150 miles south from here. A fog rolled in
overnight, but cleared by morning.
10/16/2022 Sherry/Cadiz, Spain
We have 6 days before our visa expires and we need to leave
the EU. The goal is to make it to Gibraltar by the 19th leaving a
couple days buffer so we can fly out of Spain. The 19th is looking
like a good day weather wise to navigate the straight of Gibraltar. So it begins
today; meal planning to finish off the food on the boat, plane tickets to get
home, boat chores to prepare the boat for its 4 month hiatus.
First chore today was to go up the mast and adjust the upper
shrouds. Hoping to hire a rigger in Gibraltar to check, adjust and tune the
rig. Next chore was some deep clean and polishing of the stainless steel. The
swim platform needed some attention for some loose bolts.
By about 1500 we decided we had worked enough. We packed a picnic and rode our bikes into the old town part of Sherry. There was a great bike path along the shore with beach on one side and park on the other. You could see that there was a grander plan for this park at one time, but, like the unfinished houses, it will never be completed. We followed the river into the old part of town and the bustling restaurants. A few grand old buildings, but mostly just old buildings. We enjoyed our picnic in a little park by the river. We were interrupted by a homeless looking fellow who was picking flowers and sage out of the public garden. He insisted on giving Suzette a flower, so we relented and moved on.
We could see the sky getting darker so we rode back to the boat before the rain started. It was a gentle rain. I love being on the boat when it is raining, protected, yet you can see, smell and hear the rain. The evening was warm and the rain was off and on until midnight.
10/17/2022, Mazagon, Spain
Up before the sun and headed out for the 30-mile run to
Barbate. The weather was supposed to turn in the afternoon to 20 knots of wind
on the nose. We wanted to beat that wind to Barbate. Suzette put the peddle to
the metal and motored at about 8.5 knots. As predicted the wind and chop began
to build at about 1300 with a few miles to go. We slammed our way through the
waves and into the marina at Sherry.
This was another planned resort type marina that has since
fallen in to disrepair and has many empty buildings that were once restaurants
and shops. The boat was pretty salty so we did a major wash down and cleaning.
A dinghy ride through the very empty marina and out to the bay revealed that
what was left was pretty much dedicated to fishing. We considered crossing the
bay and going up river, but as soon as we exited the harbor the wind and waves
were not fun.
Where old anchors go to die? Anchors are for the huge tuna nets
Cadiz skyline
Yes, you guessed it, time for a sun downer and some
relaxation. We did start our departure check list and talked through what
needed to be done to properly stow the boat.
10/18/22
Very quiet night in spite of the wind predictions. We wanted
to beat the heat so we set out or a bike ride first thing in the morning. We
thought we might find some interesting stores and a place to do a Sherry
tasting. No Sherry and nothing in the way of Chandleries. Lots of fishing
equipment and gear. We road the main street and found a very cool fish market.
Lingered over a coffee at a café near bye. The place was full of locals,
everyone seemed to know everyone and took the time to stop, hug and chat.
We road our bikes back to the Marina so we could use the
office WIFI before they closed at 1400. We spent an hour doing our pre arrival
paper work for Gibraltar on line. We think we succeeded, but tomorrow will
tell. The ladies in the office were very helpful, printing and scanning for us.
Suzette was ponding with one of the ladies over her shoes. This led to a “where
did you get those?” Looks like there is a shopping trip in my future. The
ladies let us stay after the office was closed so we managed to book airline
tickets from Malaga, Spain to Detroit. I hope we can get from Gibraltar to Malaga!
As you will recall, Suzette’s Dad passed while we were traveling, so a stop in
Detroit area for some family business.
Back on our bikes we headed to the shoe store, some people collect mugs or some such thing when they travel, Suzette buys shoes in every country. We found the shoe store, but no great shoes in her size. We wandered the town and stumbled on the outlet for the recommended shoe store. The stars aligned and new shoes were bought. On the street we found a cart where to old ladies were roasting chestnuts. We bought a paper cone full and devoured them on the spot. The ladies were using a steel pipe and charcoal as their grill.
On the way back to the boat it started to rain, hope the electric bikes are ok… It did not last long so we rode out to the pine forest and then to the beach as the sun was starting to set. This was a very fun day in Barbate, and our last day in the EU.
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