Our first sight of land! (Well, ok, we did see the lights of distant towns earlier as we approached the Portuguese coastline at night).
Our final day was a bit fraught and a bit exciting. We approached Cabo Sao Vicente at dusk and our first task was to negotiate the shipping lanes. The screenshot from our chart plotter says it all – there were a lot of ships – cargo ships, tankers, fishing vessels and sailboats – all squeezing into the narrow lanes around the cape, and our job was to cross them all and not get hit! All went well, but the drama was not over: around the cape, the winds and seas are known to build, and last night did not disappoint. The winds picked up to force 6, with steep waves and confused seas. In our minds, we were also thinking of the possibility of an Orca attack – a pod of Orcas had been spotted by a whale watching boat just a few hours earlier. Thankfully, nothing bad happened and our only issue was to avoid the numerous small fishing boats that fish along the coastline at night.
By 6am the skies were lightening, and we were treated to the first clear sky in nearly a week. A few hours later and we berthed in Vilamoura marina. After a quick hose down for Merryn, and showers for ourselves, we set off for lunch and much needed beers!
After showers and lunch John and I are back on board Merryn contemplating a siesta – we are obviously not used to beer! Peter has left us – he has commitments back in the UK and took advantage of the flights from Faro to get home. He will be much missed, both for his reassuring expertise at sailing, and for his undimmed enthusiasm for everything from baking bread to playing backgammon. Thank you Peter!
Tomorrow John and I plan to sail on to Mazagon, and the next day onwards to Rota or Cadiz. Further plans depend on the weather and I have a suspicion that we will be stuck in Rota for quite a few days waiting for a weather window to cross the Gibraltar strait. If so, John will probably head home and Cate will fly out to help get the boat to Gibraltar when conditions allow.
Now… time for that siesta…
