Thursday, 19 November 2009
Cascais to Vilamoura 12 to 14 Nov 09
Athough conditions were very well suited to continue south, I put in to Cascais to have the new main repaired, as the luff rope fittings were chafing the rope and repeatedly causing it to break. I also was keen to meet up with friends who live close to Cascais. It was also here that Delphine departed and Charlie joined.
The passage of Atlantic lows once more influenced the departure date and this time conditions were not that good but with a swell of up to 8 meters predicted to move down the Portugese coast in the next few days, it was best to head south ahead of it.
We set off in light winds to cross the mouth of the Tagus. It seems every headland is there to impose its will and Capes Especial and St Vincent certainly did that. For most of the passage the sea state was very confused with a NW swell competing with one being generated by a SE wind. The iron sail was again needed from time to time to keep up a steady progress. Once round Cape St Vincent it was noticeably warmer and as we progressed east the sea state improved until it was virtually flat. There were jobs to be done that needed Plane Song to be alongside so the plan to anchor near Faro was changed for a berth at Vilamoura marina. It is so large that a water taxi is needed to get about!
Mary joined me on my birthday, the best present I could have wished for. She brought with her the numerous things I discovered I could not exist without, including a new laptop-thank you Bill for helping out! Shortly after Mary leaves my nephew Theo arrives and we will be looking for some fair winds to take us south to the Canaries.
Athough conditions were very well suited to continue south, I put in to Cascais to have the new main repaired, as the luff rope fittings were chafing the rope and repeatedly causing it to break. I also was keen to meet up with friends who live close to Cascais. It was also here that Delphine departed and Charlie joined.
The passage of Atlantic lows once more influenced the departure date and this time conditions were not that good but with a swell of up to 8 meters predicted to move down the Portugese coast in the next few days, it was best to head south ahead of it.
We set off in light winds to cross the mouth of the Tagus. It seems every headland is there to impose its will and Capes Especial and St Vincent certainly did that. For most of the passage the sea state was very confused with a NW swell competing with one being generated by a SE wind. The iron sail was again needed from time to time to keep up a steady progress. Once round Cape St Vincent it was noticeably warmer and as we progressed east the sea state improved until it was virtually flat. There were jobs to be done that needed Plane Song to be alongside so the plan to anchor near Faro was changed for a berth at Vilamoura marina. It is so large that a water taxi is needed to get about!
Mary joined me on my birthday, the best present I could have wished for. She brought with her the numerous things I discovered I could not exist without, including a new laptop-thank you Bill for helping out! Shortly after Mary leaves my nephew Theo arrives and we will be looking for some fair winds to take us south to the Canaries.
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Bayona to Cascais
There are few better places to wait for the right weather than Bayona and the sailing club once again lived up to its outstanding reputation. We were not the only ones waiting to head south as several French boats arrived with varying tales of their exploits crossing Biscay. The passage weather site predicted the wind would go north sunday afternoon and stay that way at 15 to 20 kts for the next 4 days. As the flags on the fort moved round so did we to refuel and head out into heavy seas as we cleared the harbour mole with intense rain for a bonus.
Once clear of the offshore rocks, we made rapid progress with full main and working jib, a deliberate choice of to allow for stronger winds during the night. Rather than run dead down wind, always a difficult point of sail but more so in the heavy swell we encountered, I decided to tack either side of the wind line with the going tack only 15 to 25 degrees from the desired heading. In the first 24 hrs 138 nm were covered. Most of the time we could see the lights on the coast and I was struck by the immense waste of energy involved in lighting empty streets.
South of Peniche it was possible to make a long reach down the coast and pass very close to Cabo Roca, the furthest point west in Europe, and despite a good sea state and 15kts of wind the cape still managed a reminder to exercise caution rounding this cape by way of an extra 10 kts of wind and some rough seas. Soon after we were checking in at the marina at Cascais having sailed the 238 nm in 38 hours. I am pleased to have made it to the 38th parallel and hope for some easier sailing as I head south. Had I not been able to set off as the wind went north, the swell from a severe gale pounding the UK was predicted within a few days to increase to 6 to 9 metres along the Portugese coast.
Lots of dolphins came to play and seemed to enjoy diving under the hull when it was being elbowed about in the swell at 7 kts.
Now its time to sort out some minor problems and prepare to move down to southern Portugal.
Once clear of the offshore rocks, we made rapid progress with full main and working jib, a deliberate choice of to allow for stronger winds during the night. Rather than run dead down wind, always a difficult point of sail but more so in the heavy swell we encountered, I decided to tack either side of the wind line with the going tack only 15 to 25 degrees from the desired heading. In the first 24 hrs 138 nm were covered. Most of the time we could see the lights on the coast and I was struck by the immense waste of energy involved in lighting empty streets.
South of Peniche it was possible to make a long reach down the coast and pass very close to Cabo Roca, the furthest point west in Europe, and despite a good sea state and 15kts of wind the cape still managed a reminder to exercise caution rounding this cape by way of an extra 10 kts of wind and some rough seas. Soon after we were checking in at the marina at Cascais having sailed the 238 nm in 38 hours. I am pleased to have made it to the 38th parallel and hope for some easier sailing as I head south. Had I not been able to set off as the wind went north, the swell from a severe gale pounding the UK was predicted within a few days to increase to 6 to 9 metres along the Portugese coast.
Lots of dolphins came to play and seemed to enjoy diving under the hull when it was being elbowed about in the swell at 7 kts.
Now its time to sort out some minor problems and prepare to move down to southern Portugal.
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